Page 31 - GMBF Business Guide

throughout his school life, lacking a sincere liking for academics. He could secure
hardly sufficient marks to get promoted to higher standards. In his SSC exam,
he failed 5 times in maths, his most hated subject. But a passion for selling
goods unexpectedly culminated in him. He would sell tamarinds to housewives
and schoolchildren for some time. Later in college he sold phenyl and instant
mixes door to door in the Mumbai suburbs. His father Mahadev Datar, after
retiring from IAF, joined Air India and served there for a few years. Later he
worked for a British company in UAE and moved to Dubai. As a child, Dhananjay
naively dreamt of instant fortune. He also wanted to go to Dubai for any job with
a handsome salary. But the wheels of fortune are strange. Instead of him, his
father found the opportunity first- of entering the business field in retirement
age. He set up a small grocery shop in a rented space to cater to the needs of
the Indian UAE community. When the shop started fetching a good response he
sought his son’s assistance and called Dhananjay. Dhananjay immediately left
for Dubai and joined his father in shop management. This is how his business
career started.

In the very first year their business suffered a huge loss. Dhananjay and his
father had no reserves to cover it, so they thought of retiring the business. But
Dhananjay’s mother, Shashikala, a woman of invincible faith, sold her jewellery-
even her gold Mangalsutra (wedding chain), and thus raised the money. She
convinced and revived them with wise words- “Time changes. Do not take the
foot back which you have put forward for business.’ This incident transformed
Dhananjay and inspired him to take up entrepreneurship with grit and
determination. He worked laboriously, devoting 16 hours a day to business and
eating whatever was available. He started his career cleaning tiles, sweeping
the floor, carrying 50 kg bags on his back etc. After hard work of 4 years their
shop started yielding profit.

Dubai really awakened the spirit of entrepreneurship in him. He met a number
of small businessmen who generously shared their business skills. Dhananjay
owes his success to his parents and all those people who gave him business

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