Risk Inspiration

Personal Jottings

By RK Rishikesh Sinha

The Government of India’s decision on restricting the entry of foreign-owned e-commerce portal in India came as a sigh of relief who are into online retailing. Lot many that includes me have been lucky with the Government’s policy that it has not fallen on them. 

Had it been the Government’s decision to allow the entry, what would have been my course of action? Was the risk running an electronic commerce sites gone dangerous to pursue? All these thoughts consume me. But as I step down the memory lane, the risk appear to be less dangerous than the one I had taken two years ago of quitting my job and set foot in a new course of life to create a new world for me. Two years ago in this month in 2009, I was working in an office; and today I don’t have office and those office hours. Instead, now my whole day and night is my office hours and my work more strenuous. But the difference is that I love it.  What prompted me to leave my job permanently? There are certainly lot of reasons that urged me to change my life path. I think, some of the reasons could be:

1. I am not the person to follow rules/regulations: Working many years, I found that I am not the person who is comfortable with rules and regulations, and hierarchy.

2. Missing ‘my’ feeling: I was not getting the feeling of ‘my job, my office, my post’ since all these are transitory. You are what your company is. So I had to plunge to create something of my own to have the feeling of ‘my’. Today I say this is my site, my business, my market, my employees.

3. Discovering oneself: There was an inner feeling in me that I am not exploring and discovering another side of my personality. Somewhere in humdrums of office culture, it remained hidden and I have to discover it. 

4. Pulling and Pushing: Besides the above three reasons, if there was something that really pushed me was my innate urge to lead my life in my own terms and conditions, and not in terms of others. I cannot give strings of my life to fancy wishes of others (superiors for promotion, increment). My life should be in my own terms, be what may be. The feeling was so strong that I didn’t take my last salary; I left it.  

Coming back to the Government’s decision, had it allowed foreign online retailing in India. I am assured that I would have given a fight. Moreover, presently there are big fishes in the market, and we small do exist and run our show with our agile tactics and maneuvers. Time is ticking. In few years the Government might allow FDI for foreign e-commerce sites to operate in India, and I have to be prepared to face the challenges from today with the same spirit of risk-taking.