Finding money out of business idea and not business idea out of money

An entrepreneurial voyage

Dhaar Mehak M

The most important consideration of a sustainable business is market knowledge. This is followed by the viability of output and the approximate industrial location. Ibrahim Rah, a man stating from the battle to survive himself and sustain his family at an early age came a long way while establishing his firm, ‘Rock-Land Sang Tarash’ along with his friend and partner Bilal Malik. The highlight of this business unit is that the duo has expertise in ‘Hamam’ making and have lately been successfully installing Hamam’s in the first and second stories of the houses in and across south Kashmir.

Practising the skills with hammers and stones, Ibrahim learnt the art of engraving over stones from his father. Like any other local, the toll of conflict did reach his individuality and his elder brother got shot by a random bullet in the 1990s. Soon after, his father passed away in an accident and the young kid was left alone and unaided to take care of his family. Struggling at every step, as he grew old day by day, he gained skill. He wanted to do something big with and about the stones right from the beginning. Managing to sustain his family at the margin for years, he moved out to Saudi Arabia in 2011, worked hard doing stone and tile work and came back in 2015.

Coming back, Ibrahim tried his best to find a partner to start his long due dream of starting the stone factory. A person agreed to join in and put in a little money. Jointly the duo pooled a basic sum to buy a machine used to cut stones. At the eleventh hour, however, the person backed off and the dream that seemed farfetched till date started to sink. In 2017, Ibrahim was installing Hamam at an acquaintance’s home. While having tea with him in the evening the journey as it is coming up in conversation and the acquaintance said that he was ready and confident in pooling in for a partnership.

When everything was falling apart, exactly at that point a new beginning was being carved from the rubble. Ibrahim went back to Rajasthan ordered the machine and stayed there for three months learning everything he didn’t know and specializing in taking care of the machine. As soon as the machine was ready, they transported it to Kashmir and parked it at home. In 2018, the land got allotted to the duo (Ibrahim and Bilal) in the (SICOP) Vessu Industrial estate of Qazigund. Soon after fencing, gate fixing and generation installation, the first machine was finally installed and the production began in the Fall of 2020 after the clearance of all NoCs and the appropriate registration of the unit.

Currently, the ‘Rock-Land Sang Tarash’ unit is classified as a micro-unit as per the MSMEs definition (2020) based on the value of their ‘Plant and Machinery. The current turnover of the unit is limited given the infancy of its operation. The unit currently employs four machine operators, twenty labourers and two drivers; all locals. The unit specializes in Hamam installation (on any floor of the house), stone cutting, tile making, stone panelling and other related things. The vision of Ibrahim along with Bilal and the entrepreneurial zest makes this unit a uniquely inspiring story of struggle, entrepreneurial spirit and steady growth. The current plans of the duo include further specialization and innovation in stone designing for houses and offices. With no proper mechanism of advertisement in place yet, the unit has a growing client-ship based on grape-wine.

The story of Ibrahim has certain underlying entrepreneurial lessons. The lesson he sums up from his own struggle is the notion of finding money out of business ideas and not the other way round. No entrepreneurial milestone could be reached till the person tastes dust for himself. At a more universal level, the story of the Rock-Land Sang Tarash is well-grounded in the principle of feasibility and viability of the business. Given the cold weather in the region, the obsession of people with the construction of up-to-date houses and the warm-blooded human nature compelling people to keep themselves warm; the viability of a stone unit in the region is quite obvious. In light of this example, a practical lesson is put forward for all the aspiring and potential entrepreneurs of checking and accessing the feasibility of a production line/business unit in the region (of J&K) before investing in an(y) idea.

The local market in J&K is still a big income booster for the firms located across India given the consumer nature and income level of the state. If researched properly and accessed with a vision, the industrial potential of J&K is deemed to touch great heights capturing the local market and decreasing the problem of unemployment. At the same time, the stories of struggle can be translated into anecdotes of success made of hard, smart and steady work…

The author is an industrial researcher and can be reached at dhaarmehak@gmail.com