Gutsy lady overcomes business setbacks
2009/10/19
I WAS born in Batu Pahat and studied in a convent school. At the time my father was a supervisor with the Works Department in Gunung Banang.
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| Radha Saraswathy (right) at a family wedding. |
I am one of five siblings in the family -- three girls and two boys.
Today, the area where we lived has lost its natural beauty to housing developments.
At 18, after my father's death, I left for Singapore to work as a secretary for an import-export firm until I was 25 years old.
I got married and left the firm for Johor Baru in 1991. In 1998, persuaded by my friends, I started an Indian food business.
This is because everyone I knew enjoyed the food I prepared. I also believed I would succeed as a restaurateur.
I did well for two and a half years with my three food outlets in various places in Johor Baru before losing two outlets due to mismanagement.
Also at that time, with two growing children, my husband lost his job as a project engineer in Singapore. It strained our relationship.
I fell into depression which affected my morale.
Imagine, doing so well and then suddenly having to cope with a huge debt hanging over my head.
But, I kept going, with encouragement from a very good friend, Manjit Kaur.
She is a true inspiration, without whom I do not think I could have managed alone. She even helped pay for my children's school fees and other necessities.
Today, with her encouragement, I am still running the last of the three restaurants.
I must say that all my suppliers who knew of my predicament did not give up on me.
I am grateful to them.
They kept extended credit to me as I was trying to prop up the last restaurant.
Also the customers who used to frequent my other outlets came to eat at my restaurant from time to time.
There were times when I had to wait for customers to buy my food so that I could buy rice for the next day's supply.
It was five gruelling years before I paid off all my debts.
Besides running this restaurant, I also had to work part-time elsewhere to make ends meet.
Today, I've moved back to my old house in Taman Daya which I left during those troubled times.
I have learnt not to quit despite life's hardships.
Today, I have become stronger and am prepared to face the future confidently.
I am writing to share my story with those who are facing hardship, especially businessmen.
I hope my story will be a source of strength for those who are facing financial difficulties.
And as for budding entrepreneurs, my advice to them is to be prepared for the worst.
If there is a will, there is a way. If you can't go through the wall, go around it or over it.
Being a businesswoman, I am concerned about the problems faced by the business community in these difficult times.
I found banks are not doing enough to assist once healthy but now failing businesses.
Some business people are forced to go to Ah Long for loans after being blacklisted by banks.
I hope the government will do something to address the problems facing the business community.
Radha Saraswathy, a mother of two, runs Shivaa Banana Leaf Restaurant in Landmark, Johor Baru.
Interview by Shenton Thomas De Silva
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