This is an inspiring case study of Mr. Vivek Sharma, aged 50 who made a career change. 

 

Starting with a stint as a Gentleman cadet at NDA, Vivek pursued Mechanical Engineering from one of the premium NIT's & an MBA from a Govt institute. He further built up a successful career in Sales & Marketing over 2 decades in Berger, Idea, Bharti, Reliance.... before he decided to follow his calling.

 

Subjects that fascinated him in Engineering were Woodworking , Product Ergonomics & Engineering Drawing. The other interests were Writing & Teaching... Between passions - he picked up Woodworking as his Startup Idea - one which would not translate into 'Just an Expensive Hobby!’

 

Performed a comprehensive but simple ‘market sizing’ exercise of furniture market in Mumbai. Estimated ~INR 3,000 crore Teakwood furniture market per annum in Mumbai alone (working shared in pic).

After doing an Industry SWOT analysis, Vivek went on to experiment with his passion of Rustic Furniture designs in Teakwood. With his flair for creativity and a taste which fortunately has many admirers, coupled with a superior understanding of Engineering Ergonomics , he saw a niche for himself which resulted in birth of brand ‘RusTeak’.

 

He started operations in Andheri, Mumbai in Sept 2018. Achieved a modest top-line of 2.4 crores in the first year.

 

He works with customers having a taste for artistic teak wood furniture. He runs an in-house integrated workshop to keep control on quality. His USP's - pricing transparency with customers, delivery timelines & use of World's Best & time tested products to rein in a Superior Quality.

 

Vivek Sharma says,  "Getting WHY and WHAT of a career change right is much more important than worrying about HOW to get started."  

 

Key takeaways for career change enthusiasts:

• Your hobby may not be a commercially viable option. You have to discover your true passion - something that will give you complete self-expression and which also has a market value. 
• Doing a quick market survey, SWOT analysis, identifying your differentiation and USPs goes a long way in keeping the right focus and avoiding any kind of disappointment.

 

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