Enterprise: Colours Polymers

Founder: Jaimin Doshi

Industry:  Publishing, Printing & Stationery

Year it was founded: 2009

Based out of: Mumbai, India

Jaimin Doshi believes that every challenge you face carves a better person out of you. Coming from a business family and on his way to becoming a specialist in the field of marketing, Jaimin decided to foray into a completely new line of business. Backed by the immense support of his father, he started Colours Polymers, a printing and packaging venture, in the year 2009. Diversifying his product portfolio, in 2015, Jaimin launched his own e-commerce marketplace featuring all sorts of spices, condiments and handcrafted products.

In 2018, Jaimin faced a formidable challenge when the Maharashtra government banned the use of plastics. Being a major supplier of plastic materials, he had to either completely reinvent his business or risk shutdown. Not one to back down, he started a range of eco-friendly and economical cloth bags. Jaimin realised that many retailers were also looking for alternative options to replace plastics. This further boosted his sales.

A year and half back we faced plastic ban in Maharashtra. We turned the situation around to our advantage and stopped making plastic carry bags and instead introduced the cheapest cloth bags. 

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Jaimin Doshi shares his business journey.

GL: Tell us little bit about your business journey. What motivated and excited you to start it?

Jaimin: My business sense comes from my father. He has always motivated me to do something different. In 2008 when I was in my first year of MBA, we came across this business of packaging and printing. It was a completely new opportunity for me. With my father’s support and advice I started this business in 2009 and just recently completed 10 successful years in this Industry. 

It feels great when you always have your father to guide you on complex issues and learning from his experience is definitely the best thing that has happened to me. Combination of youth and experience together is a sure shot success formula for any business.

GL: What has been the most effective way of raising awareness about your business?

Jaimin: As a professional specialised in the field of marketing, I have always explored new areas where I can project the business to the world and make people aware about our company, products, what we do etc. There are many good portals and sites where you can raise awareness by spending money.  The more money you spend, the more people you can reach out to. Other effective marketing strategies like print and social media advertising also helps attract eyeballs. However GlobalLinker is the only one of its kind platform where you can directly promote your business to well-known businessmen and professionals without spending any money! I really appreciate this platform for SMEs.

GL: What are challenges for your business to grow bigger, better and faster from here? How are you doing to tackle them?

Jaimin: We are into the packaging and printing industry so we have to face challenges every now and then. A year and half back we faced plastic ban in Maharashtra. Because of this we had to reinvent ourselves and make huge changes in our business to comply with new norms. What I learnt from challenges is that they make you a better person. I realised that running away from the situation or opposing government policies wouldn’t help. You have to accept the fact that changes are inevitable. What defines you is how you shape yourself to meet the changes. Afterall, "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

So we turned around the situation to our advantage and as our contribution for the environment, we stopped making plastic carry bags and introduced the cheapest cloth bags instead. Our cloth bags started from INR 7! This was helpful to business owners as they were also searching for new options which they can use in their business. In the end, the speed and the rate at which you can adapt yourself to the change decides the success and longevity of your business. We have examples of Nokia and Kodak in front of us who didn’t change their business with time and had to face shutdown.

GL: You are a Linker. Which offerings of GlobalLinker have helped you? And why should other SMEs use it too?

Jaimin: When I came to know about GlobalLinker, I couldn’t believe that we can have a platform where business owners can connect and share about their products, services and views. What I liked the most about GlobalLinker is that you get a huge number of like-minded professionals who are also capable of being your customers. I received a lot of benefits from GlobalLinker. From getting discounts on products and services to even families and company executives eligible to avail offers, the platform is a boon for SMEs

GL: What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur setting up their first business? 

Jaimin: I would rather share my experience than giving a piece of advice. No matter how far you have come along in your business journey or how influential you have become, it is very important to respect your staff members.  These are the people who really help you run the business.

Also never compromise with the ethics of your business. Honesty always helps and will benefit you in the long run. Make friends with your stakeholders and develop a connection with them. Taking calculated risk is very much important. And never ever enter in any partnership if everyone involved in it do not have same passion and understanding for the business.

GL: What is the next big thing on your business agenda?

Jaimin: We developed an e-commerce marketplace www.kutchkart.com for regional specialties in 2015. We started with 30 food products and today we have 2500 products from six different states which we ship to India and abroad. These products include snacks, spices, sweets, pickles, handicrafts, mangoes and much more. Our startup is Department of industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP) and Government of India approved and has been getting a good response since the past three years and we are about to break even. We are already searching for investors to make this startup grow further.

GL: We would love to know the person behind the entrepreneur

Jaimin: Well, I start my day pretty early. I wake up at around 5:30 AM and the first thing I do after waking up is recite the Navkar mantra. Like any other human being, I love spending time with my friends and family. I travel and cook and read good books to unwind myself and relax. In fact I would urge everyone to read a good book whenever possible. It makes you wiser and a better human being.

My go-to person for every advice is my father and I would love to share what he taught me, “Don’t be afraid of failures. Just give your 100% into everything you do. Learn to take risks.” This is something we commonly hear but fail to stand by. If you are unwilling to take risks, you are missing out on all the great opportunities in life.

Jaimin Doshi proves that the mark of a true champion is not just winning but rather how he deals with challenges.

Network with Jaimin Doshi by clicking on the 'Connect' button on his profile.

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.