Owner/operator of Ramlagan's General Hardware and Electrical Ltd, Krishna Ramlagan, says succession planning plays a pivotal role in ensuring that a family business stays in existence for decades.
"Succession planning means that my five daughters would have to take up the mantle from here and, of course, provide what the market requires," Ramlagan said in an interview with Business Guardian.
The group, which started with one small hardware store in Balmain, Couva, some 30 years ago, now comprises five businesses including a superstore, which sells household items, a plumbing and electrical supply store, a paint store and a small hotel in Tobago.
Now, 60 years old Ramlagan–a welder before he became an entrepreneur– never attended university or even secondary school, but now employs more than 100.
Ramlagan is this year's winner of the Abel Solutions Ltd's "The Strongest of Them All" promotion and has been receiving awards since 1998.
As an entrepreneur for decades, he said location is important when starting a business as there is a "natural" demand in Balmain for the products and brands his businesses offer, without too much marketing.
Ramlagan's second business was Mediplus Pharmacy which he eventually had to close down due to personal reasons.
Determined to succeed, he opened a 19-room hotel in Crown Point called Sunspree Resort Ltd that includes a restaurant and bar which started 15 years ago. The resort was the start of Ramlagan's diversified portfolio of businesses since he expanded from his core business of hardware into hospitality and other areas.
Ramlagan then started another business, this time providing plumbing, electrical and small hardware items calling it, Classic Hardware Electrical and Plumbing Ltd which is now 10 years old. Ramlagan did not stop there as he opened a superstore providing household items to his Balmain, Couva customer base.
His technique for knowing what type of business to open involved observing the trends in demand within his customer base. One of the trends he noticed is that customers were demanding a different paint grade from the one he carried at the hardware. This prompted Ramlagan to open a paint shop, Ramlagan's Colour Shop Ltd.
"Customers were not requesting regular paint from the shelf especially new homeowners. They would want to go to the colour shops which is a new business (new trend) in T&T. The water type paint would sell an average of $140 to $150 per gallon."
"What I observed is that customers were leaving that paint and going to buy the paint in the colour shop which will vary slightly from the regular paint chart. They would pay double the price $250 for the same grade of paint."
Ramlagan, who is a father of five daughters and grandfather of three, started off as a welder at Tricon at 17, where he was the youngest employee.
His advice to budding entrepreneurs: never give up, always work hard, be dedicated and committed and they would be successful.
"My five daughters are directors of the company. I went straight from primary school into the working world. Your business is your customers. It isn't you. Treat your customer how you would want to be treated, when you go into any business and you are a customer."