On the 28th day of December 1932, a boy was born in a lower-middle-class family of Junagadh district of Gujarat who grew up to change India’s economic history forever.
He was a born businessman, in his school days while kids played he went around selling pakodas to make some money. As he grew up, he realized his family’s financial troubles and went to work in Yemen (where his older brother worked) just at the age of 17.
During his stay in Yemen he learned the art of trade, he made the right contacts which helped steer his career. 7 years later he came back to India to start a business of his own. He initially exported spices and imported yarn and settled himself to be a spice trader because he did not have enough capital to invest in his business.
This led to the birth of reliance with the help of his second cousin Champaklal Damani. Their partnership ended several years later because they had different business views.
He knew his business had great potential, so he asked banks to give him loans, but banks refused him straight out. So now, he convinced money lenders to lend him money in turn he promised to give them their share of profit. He was a man of his words, he did exactly what he said, and he gained the trust of many people with his hard work and loyalty.
He grew his business right from the scratch and eventually jumped into synthetic fabric manufacturing with the help of the IPO’s which made him great profits. Eventually, he mapped into petrochemicals, retail, telecommunications, energy, etc. He has been given several awards throughout his life for his contribution to India’s Business.
This man is none other than one of the greatest entrepreneur of the 20th century “Dhiru Bhai Ambani”.
Turning adversities into opportunities
Hurdles were a part of his life. The man faced a countless number of challenges all his life, for instance first in 1965 when his partnership with Champaklal Damini broke. Instances such as this often makes businessmen tend to give up after losing their partnership but in this case, Dhiru Bhai Ambani choose not to give up.
Right after this great loss, in 1966 Indian rupee increased due to which the cost of textile production increased.
Yet he did not give up but faced all the hurdles with wisdom and intelligence. Further while launching his products in the market he faced several oppositions against powerful businessmen of that time.
He did not fear away, instead, he fought all the odds against them all. In 1986, he suffered a fatal stroke which paralyzed his right hand completely.
“Think big, think fast, think ahead.
Ideas are no one’s monopoly”
– Dhiru Bhai Ambani
Despite facing financial, economic, governmental, and health problems. This man chose to fight. He always stood up for his company. He is a true inspiration to many upcoming entrepreneurs.
Today Reliance group which is one of the major contributors to India’s GDP was the brain child of this man. He passed away in 2002 leaving behind 25.6 Billion for his sons who have been working since then to make this company reach higher heights.
The lesson to be learned from this man’s life “YOU CAN WIN THE WORLD IF YOU DARE TO DREAM BIG”
Key takeaways from Dhiru Bhai Ambani’s life story:
- Don’t crunch about the change: Appreciate the change and have a flexible mindset
- Hold onto your dreams: Temporary setbacks and failures are part of life. Trust the process
- Skill over education: In today’s world mere educational qualification is not enough to shine in life. You need to have some skills.
- You can learn the most from the risks you take.