Inside the entrepreneurial minds

Akangchila Longchar | Morung Express News

The Winds of Change are definitely blowing in Nagaland. Be sullen, negative, dispirited or myopic about Nagaland, but there are many youngsters intensely making a difference to society and are involved in the process of change. 

Especially youngsters, who went out of Nagaland, put in their focus and gained all they could, and are back home applying the knowledge gained. Lezo Putsure is one such youngster. Smart, suave, intelligent, industrious and enterprising are just some of the positive adjectives one could use to describe him. 

Working eight to ten hours every day, Lezo says that business can be excellent one day and really bad the next. “I believe when people start to trust your brand and your organization starts to perform consistently and you are able to meet monthly, quarterly, yearly targets, then these are good indicators of a successful enterprise,” he says.  

Lezo admits that he had always wanted to be involved in business. “I wanted to work for a few years and later build my own organization.” He also touts his dad, who was also a businessman, as an inspiration. 

Coming Home: My roots give me responsibility to work and contribute. Good economies are built around a strong middle class and with Government jobs saturating and a big gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’ it was important to have people venture into private jobs or Entrepreneurship rather than waste time waiting for the next BIG thing. This really troubled me and in 2011, I was connected to YouthNet. After months of emails, discussions and talks with Hekani Jakhalu (YouthNet), God guided me home and in April 2012 we launched NJC, Kohima and NCDC, Kohima. 

Two ventures that connect to young people looking for private jobs/ skills building/career guidance and with already more than 100 job placements in the private sector we are adding more productivity to our state.

His brainchild SMARTER Nagaland: Lezo explains that SMARTER Nagaland is about building business ventures that add value to society; it is looking at the smaller details that make the bigger difference by doing the same things DIFFERENTLY; to be able to generate employment and good annual turnovers and to play a part in building a SMARTER Nagaland.

Learning from mistakes: ‘Only Variety can destroy variety’ hence it’s important to specialize in one field and venture only once your foundation is strong, Lezo says. Sharing his earlier experience about trying to become an entrepreneur, he says at one point of time in Bangalore, he had a job, also ran a small Garment business, a mini food joint and a Paying Guest. “We expanded too quickly and hence dropped quicker too.” 

Hindrance in Nagaland: Electricity and too many social causes.

Building customer base: You try to maintain personal interaction with each customer, e.g. call them with their names, appreciate them for the good things they have and follow up on their issues. 

Good Employees & Success: Lezo feels that good employees are the backbone of one’s business and the first face of an organization. He shares that good employees are extremely important, and for those who work hard, “Reward, motivate and groom them to bigger roles and better pay- checks. Fire the ones that don’t.”  

Finding the right kind of people: Lezo points out that every person has their own strengths, weaknesses and skills. He says, “You need to know how to align them to objectives of your organization so they can be most productive. Also talk, consult and listen to their suggestions and feedback. You may be the boss, but if you are the smartest in the organization, that’s not a good sign”.  

Top four skills required: As an experienced entrepreneur, Lezo shares that Hard-work, Sincerity, Consistency and Continuous Innovation are the top four skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur. 

Advice to college students: Lezo shares three pieces of advice for college students who want to become entrepreneurs: First choose a business line you love, second start small, and last take every challenge as an opportunity. 

Advice to good Samaritans: ‘Invest in Entrepreneurs rather than big houses’ by Anonymous is one advice Lezo gives people who may want to help entrepreneurs. Big houses and cars only mean higher maintenance costs. Even if a family is given a Rs. 5000 loan (pay back every month) to start a small shop, it generates employment and keeps the family bills running. 

Business trick: Location, Location, Location.

Motivation Factor: My passion to get up each morning and do what I love to do. 

Definition of Success: Success is when you have happiness in your heart, peace in your mind and each day you look forward to learning and sharing. 

Secret to become Successful: ‘There is no Magic potion’. You just got to work hard. 

A gratifying moment: When you are able to deliver against your targets, and when you bring a smile to your customer 

Being your own Boss: You get to decide whether you’ll perish, stay stagnant, stay small or grow BIG.

Lezo minus work: I like Running, Cycling and music

Sacrifices he has made: No Sacrifices, This is what I love to do.

A big fan of: I am the biggest Fan of YouthNet, the passion, the energy and the objectives are just so amazing. Hekani Jakhalu continues to inspire me and so many young people in Nagaland. I’m so glad that YouthNet exists. 

Lezo and the entrepreneur 10 years from now: SMARTER Nagaland would like to venture into fields of education, employment and healthcare.  Education, so that while our students grow up, they have access to good information, good mentors and already pre-planned career options. Healthcare, so we all lead better healthier lifestyles. This is one of the biggest growing industries and also the need of the hour. Employment, so that we have better standards of living, good purchasing power, more cash flow within the state and we are able to bridge the ratio of what we produce to what we consume. 
 

Lessons from Entrepreneurs Part 1