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Atiq was a 23 year old computer science student when he started his company. "I wanted some pocket money …. And I started wondering what to do."
Surprisingly, Atiq did not turn to software programming or services to start his venture. Instead, Atiq looked around at his fellow students, and decided that management students should have uniforms. Ten years ago, this was a new idea.
"People at that time thought that there was no need for uniform for management students. But I saw it from the perspective of a student. When a student goes out of a B-school and enters the corporate world, he tries to get a sense of corporate dressing. So why not get him used to wearing a tie and suit right at the beginning?"
Atiq turned to his network, and after many tries, got lucky. One of his friends took Atiq to meet the director of a college in Calcutta. Atiq bagged his first order: 50 suits for young management students.
When Atiq started off, very few colleges were open to having uniforms for their students; it was not a ready market - so his first task was convincing people of the advantages.
In doing this, Atiq faced some of the same hurdles faced by many young entrepreneurs: "See, the business of education is serious and the promoters of any college are usually the aged wise men. They were always hesitant to give away an order to a very young person like me." Atiq solved this problem by allowing his customers the option to reject the uniforms if they were not "up to the mark."
Over time, the idea of uniforms caught on, Atiq proved his reliability, and he built a strong base of repeat customers.
From the start, Atiq had competitors, "But they were usually individual tailors," he says. "And I had the advantage of being well educated. So the way I was dealing with people in my meetings was different. I always made a proper presentation with samples."
But as the market grew, other organized businesses saw the opportunity, and entered the fray. That's when Atiq's creative mind took charge. "I wanted to differentiate. And I saw a lack of creativity in this field," he says.
Atiq started to innovate with the designs and colors available, working with designers to give his customers more choice. "I have created uniforms in red, maroon and green," he says.
Today, Atiq has diversified his base. "I cater to management colleges, catering institutions, corporates and industrial organizations," he explained. This allows Atiq a steady stream of orders throughout the year. The company also started exporting garments to various parts of Europe.
Atiq started on a pittance, but it was a challenge to get even that support from his father. "The first money was too little," he says. "I don't recall, but my father helped me a bit. But it was a tough task convincing him. They all asked me why I wanted to get into manufacturing garments when I had a degree in software programming. But I always believed in the fact that it's not what you do, but the level at which you do things that helps you grow. "
Atiq's strategy allowed him to grow on very little money. He would land the orders, and then outsource the work to his personal tailor. In fact, Atiq grew his business for three years this way, before finally setting up his own factory with ten machines in 1999.
From there the business financed its own growth. "I kept rolling the profits back into the business and so did not need any other investment."
"When I started my company, it was just me," Atiq says. When he got his first order, he requested his personal tailor to help in stitching the order. After getting four or five orders in a go, he hired three people: one tailor, one office boy and one assistant.
Now he has six people for administration and a team of nearly 60 tailors on a contractual basis.
Today, Ecstacy Enterprises is one of the top five uniform manufacturers in West Bengal, with a presence in all the major cities and districts.
The company has about 15 steady clients for its uniform business, and a growing base of corporate clients. Atiq is also building an export business in men's garments across Europe. "The importers then brand and sell these garments in their countries," he explains.
Speaking about the future plans Atiq smiles, "The company is still growing. There is no final destination. I just keep going."
Partly to return something of his success in the academic realm, in 2004 Atiq started a management college, Christ Academy of Management Studies (CAMS), in Kolkata. "My career started at an educational institution, so I was inspired to give back what I've received."
CAMS, in its first year, was noticed by the academic fraternity for quality academic delivery. CAMS offers Bachelors' Degrees in Hotel Management, Tourism Management and Masters' Degrees in Hotel Management, BBA and MBA. Current enrollment is 540 students.
Labor.
"My biggest problem is my delivery. I can never be complacent, because if I don't deliver, others will. And to deliver you need manpower-tailors who are only available on a contractual basis. They only work on weekly wages-Monday through Saturday. And they may decide on Monday morning not to turn up. So they don't realize that I have a deadline to meet regarding my delivery.
I have 30 machines today as against 10 which I started with. I can even increase the number of machines. But will I be able to find enough labor on a regular basis to keep them running throughout the year?"
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