Nand Kishore Chaudhary and Jaipur Rugs – The inspiring story of a social entrepreneur
Nand Kishore Chaudhary is an inspiring example of a social entrepreneur who used empathy as his guiding light to reach his entrepreneurial goals. A venture with humble beginnings, Jaipur rugs has its foundations in enabling socioeconomic development of rural artisans, tribals, and women across the Northern and Western villages of India. This honorable approach has not only helped him succeed but also share his success with thousands of gifted and well-deserving artisans.
His journey and achievements have motivated many entrepreneurs and have also been discussed in fifth edition of the book titled The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by CK Prahlad. Let’s find out a little more about this socioeconomic revolution in rugs.
Jaipur Rugs and its origin Jaipur Rugs specializes in exporting hand-knotted carpets primarily to the United States, with the Indian market fast opening up to their exquisite and artistic offerings. This organization is a symbol of empowerment – for women and tribals with immense artistic potential who have been trained in rug weaving.
Mr. Chaudhary hails from Rajasthan, and after his graduation, he did what his family expected from him – join his father’s shoe business. He soon realized that selling shoes was
definitely not where his calling was. He soon left his family business to take up a job in a bank. But there too he realized that he wasn’t really cut out for a regular job-based life. His heart yearned for more, and he decided to explore business options where he could prove his capability.
After extensive research he realized that the carpet business had immense scope, given the demand for rugs abroad and the chaotic landscape that needed correction. He did not jump into business, but he learned the landscape in detail, found the loopholes that required correction, and gathered the required knowledge and skill sets. He visited many artisans from across villages and reviewed the scope for hiring the best hands for his work. After finalizing his goals and business strategy, he decided to take the first step toward the creation of Jaipur Rugs.
With a loan of about 5000 Rupees from his father, he purchased two looms and a scooter, his first business assets. He employed about nine weavers initially, and although he was proceeding as per plan, he did face a lot of challenges.
Mr. Chaudhary’s challenges Mr. Chaudhary had to initially overcome a lot of community- and caste-related taboos. He found incredible artistic passion among the tribal communities but the society initially frowned upon his decision to move away from traditional practice. He also soon realized that working with male artisans had a lot of disadvantages. But many women in these areas were equally talented and sincere in applying their learning to their artistic creations. Another critical loophole in the landscape was the presence of middlemen across the network. These middlemen often exploited the artisans, robbing them of their deserving money and recognition.
Hence he set to work, overcoming all these challenges and shunning every societal pressure. He went ahead and identified pockets of talent across castes, religions, and genders. His only focus was quality and skill sets.
The journey Once he found his talented artisans, Mr. Choudhary moved on train the artisans the tricks of the trade. Most of his artisans were tribals and women who learned to fine tune their traditional talents. His rugs soon became well-recognized for their unique designs, master craftsmanship, and brilliant variety. Thousands of artisans from Rajasthan and nearby states contribute to spreading the brand name of Jaipur Rugs globally. His success in recognizing the value of and empowering women and tribal artisans created quite a social revolution. His move in eliminating middlemen delivered to the artisans their rightful returns.
The lessons learned One of the main lessons from this entrepreneurial success story is to understand the value of empathy in entrepreneurship. Equally important is the lesson that empowerment of the society is as important as reaching your goals.
Jaipur Rugs is also a shining example of an entrepreneurship retaining its success through constant innovation and learning.
The first critical step for entrepreneurs is to extensively research their field of expertise. Dig deep and learn, find the problem areas, build end-to-end strategies, and think about every aspect of your entrepreneurial journey.
Mr. Chaudhary and Jaipur Rugs are inspiring examples that every entrepreneur should look up to. He is truly a business mentor that can we can all learn from. More such inspirational stories in the days to come‌
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