How Taking Substantial Risk At 52 To Start My Entrepreneurial Journey Enabled My Ambitions

The journey of a career begins somewhere between uncertainty and a bit of excitement. Coming from a family of doctors, I was quite obviously encouraged to take the path of a medical professional. However, to everyone’s surprise, I chose to pursue a degree that was unheard of in my family.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Home Science, I went on to complete my Master’s in Literature and Business Management. Despite venturing into a completely off-beat education, I was still unsure of my interests and goals. Working a corporate job seemed like a long shot that I did not even consider until after my marriage.

Embracing existing opportunities and creating new ones

When I got married, I had everything as imagined. A loving family, great friends, and an idyllic home life. My husband, also a doctor in the Indian Navy, was transferred to Mumbai. The bustling culture of the city compelled me to begin my hunt for a job.

All my friends and family members were sceptical and told me that Mumbai is a fast-paced city with little scope for rookies. However, I had my mind made up. From responding to Blue Dart’s paper advertisement to co-founding my venture, I embarked on an extraordinary professional journey, one full of exciting challenges and unexplored avenues. Even though I had no prior work experience, the company hired me as a customer experience executive and 31 years later, I retired as the company’s Sr. Vice President, Customer Service. During my stint, I was offered numerous leadership roles at top conglomerates, but my total commitment, dedication and sense of belongingness kept me entrenched at the company. My first and only job!

I believe I was and still am driven to create something valuable that would truly make a difference in the industry and the lives of people whom we deal with daily. Being Blue Dart’s ‘Day One’ employee, I was a part of the 10-member team that built the company from the ground up. I knew that it would be a roller-coaster ride, but I was determined to break the glass ceiling.

Logistics is a constantly evolving space that completely thrives on customer satisfaction. It is all about creating solutions head-on along with managing expectations and the sensitivity of human nature. Compassion and patience are two extremely important human qualities that make the customer experience very different from most business aspects. Without effective strategies in place, a brand would lose its end consumer. Therefore, I created a pioneering customer journey process at Dart through strategies that were based on the principle of the 6 R’s which are Responsiveness, Relationship, Revenue, Reliability, Retention and Recovery. It helped me establish one of the most seamless customer experiences in the logistics industry.

To align with customer expectations, I also crafted the Customer Service Vision. I was accountable for customer orientation, customer loyalty, customer centricity, customer grievance cell and review and facilitation of the top 100 customers who contributed 45 percent of the company’s revenue. All these responsibilities led me to take a bottom-up approach where I often conversed with employees kept me abreast of the ground reality, helping me create a strong roadmap.

Though women make up only 20 percent of the logistics industry, it is an evolving space that has a lot to offer. As such, I was a key member of the core team which studied the complete aviation system before we launched Blue Dart Aviation and was instrumental in ensuring the optimal utilisation of aircraft space. Furthermore, I played a role to synergise Blue Dart Express and Blue Dart Aviation making it more cost-effective and resourceful, leading to better service. This was a challenging but highly rewarding part of the job as it is often believed that women are better suited for passive tasks.

At this point, I had the full confidence of my colleagues and was entrusted with an industry-first reverse logistics project. Managing it was not only thrilling but also provided an entirely new aspect to the customer experience journey. With the support of my team, we were able to execute the project effectively and achieved a milestone in the Indian market.

One thing that I realised while working in this space is that self-motivation is a must. The role of a customer experience officer is challenging and does not come with positive feedback or praise for the process. It requires a lot of determination and the will to continue finding better solutions, throughout the journey. But, with absolute dedication and the right approach, a win-win situation can be achieved for both parties involved.

Towards the end of my stint at Blue Dart, I was inspired to commence my entrepreneurial journey. Being my person is one of my strengths. Even though sometimes it might feel overwhelming, taking that step and risking it all will always be worth it. With Smartr Logistics, along with my peers, I took on that challenge and successfully established a new-age express delivery business.
In my new role, I work with all kinds of passionate individuals who share our vision to be the changemakers of the new world. My objective now is to helm a team of talented people to evolve and make the company an employee-friendly and equal-opportunity-driven employer of choice. I aim to create an unmatchable company DNA that will include both the internal as well as external stakeholders of the company.

Throughout my life, I have accomplished numerous accolades and milestones, today I am proudly the Director, Co-founder, Chief Human Resource, and Customer Experience Officer of Smartr Logistics’. Thus, for any woman considering a career in logistics, I would say go for it. It is a highly rewarding industry that evolves with the changing times. Nothing is impossible for today’s women. Whether you are still exploring your career options or want to spend time nurturing your family, I believe that it is up to the person to make a difference. Uncertain or ambitious, take your time and decide what is best for you.

Suggested reading: How Odisha’s Sangita Majhi Turned Challenge Into Opportunity And Became An Entrepreneur