As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Passionate Leader and Entrepreneur Harshita Jain for an interview with us. She is a Strong Women Leader, Business Strategist, and Director of Consulting Engineers Group Ltd. Let’s read more about her inspiring journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive Interview with her:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur/coach, please;
I want to introduce myself using these three words – Dreamer, Believer and Achiever. Since my childhood, I have been super-ambitious, passionate and determined. Having a family background of entrepreneurship and business, I always dreamt to do something on my own.
I was born & brought up in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. My elder sister and I were always given freedom by our father to pursue our dreams. Since our parents are Civil Engineers, we already had an exposure to the field, and it was instinctive for both of us to follow their footsteps and choose Civil Engineering as our field of study. However, wanting to change this limited exposure to have a radical view, we decided to go to the UK to complete our education. I completed my education by graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Bath, UK and then did an executive management course from the London School of Economics.
Most people who study abroad wish to settle there permanently. However, for me settling there was never an ambition, and I always wanted to transform the face of Indian infrastructure with my international exposure gained in the UK. To accomplish the same, I could find nothing better than joining Consulting Engineers Group Limited, an infrastructure consultancy business founded by my father, Mr. Vishwas Jain.”
It has been six years since I have joined CEG as Director, Business Development and I take pride in saying that we have achieved a lot after that. As said earlier, I was given a chance by my father to make independent decisions in the business. With his encouragement and my passion, I contributed to transforming CEG into one of the largest Indian owned infrastructure companies in the country. The turnover of the company has grown from INR 33 Crores to INR 150 Crores with an average annual growth of 30 %. CEG is proud to be currently associated as a consultant with projects of construction value of more than INR 1.5 Lakh Crores which is a significant milestone for the company as well as for my professional journey in expanding the business further.
You said you started working in your family business, which was already well-established by your father. So as an entrepreneur how you contributed to grow your business and what challenges did you face?
Well, India is a country with the highest percentage of family-run businesses. Having an already established company surely gave me a great platform to work; however, my aim was always to transform our business into a brand and take it to the next level.
I always wanted to be known by my work and not my name, as the daughter of the MD. To achieve this, I started from scratch, learned the nitty-gritty of the work and took one step each day.”
When my father asked me which cabin I wanted, I chose to let go of the cabin and sat in the middle of all the people, abandoning the cabin system. I gave everyone the freedom to call me by name rather than calling me Ma’am or boss. I wanted to assure them that even though I am the owner of the company, I am also one amongst them. It gave them a sense of feeling that I was working with them rather than just dictating my orders. I could use my presence with the company to induct international work culture. I used my skill to develop a more cordial work environment with freedom to work. I believe in developing leaders and could help my company in doing so.
If I talk about the business development front, I worked vigorously to establish CEG in varied infrastructure sectors. Before my joining, CEG was known as a highway consultancy company. I diversified the business into new sectors like Metros, Water Resources, Water Supply, Rapid Transit Systems, Tunnels, etc. across international borders.
Ever since our childhood, we have always been taught to compete with each other, first for the grades in school and college, then for jobs and so on. I, however, work on the principle of collaboration and utilized this to grow my business. We collaborated with various international companies from countries like America, Europe, etc. wanting to work in India and having the ability to execute highly technical and mega infrastructure but had little or no base here. Our collaboration made up of their technical expertise and our strong local presence proved to be a winning combination. As a result, today CEG is the only Indian company involved in the highest number of metro projects in India and is associated with Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore Metro. Similarly, we ventured into different other sectors of infrastructure and are now known as the largest Indian owned infrastructure company in the country. We applied the same strategy of collaboration to expand our business in the African sub-continent and worked on several significant projects in Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
The world of civil engineering and infrastructure is perceived as a male-dominated bastion. But fortunately, I could break this myth. Both my parents and my elder sister, Ms. Veenu Jain, have been involved in our family business.
If I talk about discovering my niche, I was always apprised and fascinated with the magnitude of the Infrastructure Industry, which contributes the second highest GDP in India and gives us ample new opportunities every day. Today I handle a team of more than 1300 Civil Engineers working from our 52 offices globally. CEG is now recognised as a brand synonym with quality, ethics and integrity working in the niche of consultancy business.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
‘Emotional investment in your business drives money’, I believe. When I say emotional investment, it means maintaining a healthy relationship with clients as well as the team members.
My team significantly contributes to transforming my vision into reality. Keeping my employees happy, motivated and satisfied is always my priority because only then they would be able to add more value to the company.
I also believe that it is more important to chase your passion than anything else. Passion is one kind of emotion that brings you success and ultimately money.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
We can’t control everything that goes around us. However, what we can manage that goes around in our mind. I believe pressure and stress are negative words which should be deleted from our mind dictionary. If you enjoy what you are doing, you don’t feel the pressure or stress to do that. We should stay focused on what we want to achieve with a positive mind set. It might happen that even if you maintain a positive attitude, the others in your team would feel the pressure and stress. It becomes very important for you as a leader to keep them motivated and encouraged. It is also important to find the right balance between work, family life, social activities and solitary pursuits so that the pressure and stress doesn’t get to you.
When you are an entrepreneur, there are many ups and downs or you may experience some hiccups along the way, however, in such a situation your perseverance and determination are the things that take you forward.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
My work and my aspirations are the sources of motivation for me. I don’t really get anxious about the future. Rather, I work towards ensuring that my today is better than yesterday. I am someone who likes to embrace the present and be happy in it.
I consider my family as another great source of motivation. Even after so many years, my father has a remarkable zeal towards work, and his enthusiasm encourages me to perform better each day. Another thing that my father has ingrained in me is that you should live for your passion. If you are hardworking and passionate, success shall follow. I have always applied the same principles to my life and can say with pride that success has surely followed.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Like I said earlier, I firmly believe that success comes to those who believe in themselves and work with utmost honesty & sincerity. The reason why CEG has been a frontrunner in the infrastructure industry since the last three decades is that we have always followed the path of Ethics, Integrity & Commitment.
I also believe and accept that success can never be achieved alone; it comes when you surround yourself with people who are equally committed & dedicated. I for one have surrounded myself with people who are more intelligent and experienced than me. Being an entrepreneur, it doesn’t mean that you have to be the most intelligent or the most experienced, what that really means is that you find the right talent to work with you and keep them together as a team. We are fortunate to have extremely talented people working with us, who are as ethical, honest and committed towards the company’s growth as we are.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
My never-ending desire to learn is one thing that has helped me evolve as a person. I have always stayed grounded. I initially worked as an apprentice in my own company and gradually worked my way up.
I have always had a strong belief in myself. I like to meet every challenge with confidence and try converting it into an opportunity to achieve something new. A positive attitude towards work and life has helped me grow, both personally and professionally.
Like I said before that keeping talented people around you makes you an even more successful entrepreneur, I believe in the strategy of networking and keeping in constant touch with them.
What advice would you give to someone starting out particularly aspiring women?
My advice to all the aspiring women entrepreneurs would be ‘Have faith in yourself and never give up on your dreams.’ If you are passionate and talented enough to bring a change, nothing can stop you. Age & gender do not define your chance at success, but you as an individual do. Also, in my opinion, learning & growth go hand in hand. Therefore, it is always essential to keep updating your knowledge and skills to carve a niche for yourself.
One other thing I would like to say, even though women entrepreneurs are now growing in numbers, in today’s scenario there still are a lot of women who have a lot of talent but do not get the support of the family to pursue their dreams. I was fortunate enough to have support from my family. But to the others out there who don’t, please don’t give up your dreams, fight for them and do the things you enjoy in your life.
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Follow Harshita At:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/harshita.jain.98
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jharshita29/?hl=en
Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshita-jain-a09156a0/
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