Royson Afonso, a diploma holder in air conditioning. Having worked initially with private companies and thereafter with Goa University for three years. He left the job at Goa University in 2009 and started his own business and now is a successful entrepreneur.
Q. What was your motivation?
– I don’t enjoy sitting in one place and working. I prefer to explore and work outside of an office desk. This keeps me going and helps my body to stay fresh and active.
Q. What made you join air conditioning course?
– This idea occurred to me a long time back during my childhood when I was in 10th standard. Normally when a child or a student is at this stage of their life they try to think of innovative ways to better their future. One of my friends suggested that I should do an air conditioning course as it has a good scope abroad and would overall benefit my future.
Q. What were the early stages in starting up your business?
– I was never into sales. My strong suit was my service. I started my career in service industry and that was the strongest asset which I carried with me. I started as a service franchise in Goa for brands like Panasonic and we started doing well as far as service was concerned. Our customers were quite pleased with the service we provided and they soon recommended that we should sell the products as well. We soon started selling to them and that’s how we got into sales.
Q. How did you decide the location of your outlet?
– It wasn’t planned. You can say it was a God’s gift to us.
Q. What are your thoughts about online shopping websites? Do they have an impact on retailers?
– Yes, they do. There is a huge impact on retail counters due to more online shopping websites these days. Our main focus is post sales service which is very important as people will buy from us based on the service we provide to them. We also have clients who have repeated orders with us. So it’s not just the walking customers we depend upon but more importantly the concept of post sales service or the people who approach us after service.
Q. Who has been your inspiration throughout your business journey?
– I haven’t really looked up to anyone in terms of business. I just went with the flow and created my own path. You can say it was by God’s grace that things worked out well for me.
Q. What is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
– As an entrepreneur, you are presented with many opportunities and most importantly you can make your own decisions. You have the freedom to make your own decisions regardless of what anyone says. If things go well it benefits your business and if it doesn’t you tend to regret it. Your freedom of choice comes with a risk and that’s what I think being an entrepreneur is all about. As an employee, however, you do not have the freedom to make important decisions. If at all you do, you have to take permission from your boss or whoever is in charge. The main aspect is that you do not have the ability to explore your options.
Q. If you had the opportunity to start your career all over again would you do it differently?
– When I was a child I always wanted to be a cop. Unfortunately due to my height constraint and physique I was unable to get into that field. Even though I was on the right path towards fulfilling this dream in terms of education and doing the right things, it never really worked out. The way I live my life today is completely different from how it was five years ago.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business so far?
– There were a few actually. The first one was when we were awarded as the best dealers in Goa by Panasonic. I was happy that we finally got something under our belt and this motivated me to work harder. Last year we were awarded ‘Best Mitsubishi VRF Dealers’ for Goa and Mumbai branch which was presented in Japan.
Q. Along with air conditioning what other products have u added to your business?
– My core business is air conditioning. However as I mentioned earlier our customers requested that we sell other products as well since they loved our service very much. This led us to selling other electronic products such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines etc.
Q. Do you have any plans to expand?
– We might think of expanding in the future but at the moment we have two outlets. One in Taleigao and one in St. Inez. We had started an outlet in South Goa two years ago but unfortunately had to shut it down due to lack of man power. I believe in honesty and need people who are like minded. I felt that we were lacking in that area and therefore I had to close down our store in Margao.
Q. What message do you have for people who fancy government jobs?
– As I mentioned earlier, I worked at Goa University for three years and then left the job to start up my own business. My parents did not approve of this decision and felt that I was on the wrong path but there wasn’t even the slightest bit of doubt in my mind that I was on the wrong track. I trusted my decision and things went well for me. I would advise those people to go after what they truly love doing and work towards achieving their goal each and every single day without doubting themselves.
Team TNV
