By Vishnu Makhijani
New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) His first job was as a charitable intern earning Rs 150 a month and after nine years of struggle, he started earning Rs 450 a month but he always wanted to branch out on his own, says Mukesh Batra, who today presides over a chain of 225 homeopathy clinics with 350 doctors in 133 cities in seven countries.
“I might have worked comfortably with my father’s practice but I decided to move on my own. I had to pay through my nose for the flat where I was living and it took me four years to clear my loan,” Batra told IANS in an interview ahead of the third edition of “Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai”, the stage adaptation of his autobiography, “Nation’s Homeopath”, at the Sophia Bhabha auditorium in Mumbai on Thursday.
He later decided to start his own private practice in a polyclinic and in 1982, started his own clinic, and called it Positive Health Clinic in Chowpatty, South Mumbai, “with a bank loan at an exorbitant 36 per cent interest”.
“I treated over 300 patients per day, including heads of state, movie stars, politicians, and business owners,” Batra explained.
What is his advice for young entrepreneurs who want to make it big in the city?
“One should be a differentiator. One needs to understand the needs of the society and the need for the product or service. Examine the need for it and work hard to obtain it. Begin small and then grow big, dream big while keeping your feet on the ground, and don’t give up easily, just try again and again. Believe in yourself. Have faith in what you are doing,” Batra maintained.
What is the key ingredient to be a successful entrepreneur?
“One should have risk-taking ability. Risk-taking ability means being ready to go back to zero and believing in yourself to put your money where your mouth is. One can’t expect other people to fund the business, one should fund himself, and grow from that. Start earning money, and put it back into the business without worrying about the returns.
“Always have a sense of purpose and passion. If you believe in something, pursue it with zeal. If you combine your passion with your purpose, it means you are working to help people heal. More people healing means reaching out to more people. One can become a successful entrepreneur through passion, purpose and belief,” Batra asserted.
How should one take challenges and failures?
“Failure is a stepping stone to success. It is important to recognise failure and learn from it without becoming dis-heartened. Everyone who is successful now had previously failed. One should be persistent like Thomas Edison who ‘failed’ to invent a suitable and practical light bulb thousands of times.
“Like Thomas Edison, you can learn what ‘not’ to do in the future by reviewing a failed small business strategy. It’s always a good idea to keep track of your new business strategies so that you know what steps you took along the way. Managing challenges entails reviewing steps and making changes as needed to achieve the goal you’ve set,” Batra explained.
He has been in the healthcare industry for over five decades. What has been his biggest motivation?
“My biggest motivation is to heal people, reach out to more people and promote homeopathy. I worked hard to legalise homeopathy in Mauritius. In 1996, I opened the first international clinic in Mauritius and Dr. Batra’s clinic was one of the first legally recognised homeopathic clinics. Over the last few years, homeopathy has been promoted in the Gulf countries and spread to places like Mauritius, Muscat and London,” Batra concluded.
And that’s what “Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai” is all about.
(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
–IANS
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