Mr Karn Agarwal is a Director of TNT Roofing Solutions and Acme, Shanti Exim.
We are back with a young turk & a business catalyst this time. Mr Karn Agarwal, Director of TNT Roofing Solutions . Karn is also the owner of other companies such as Acme & Shanti Exim dealing into stone supplies. He has pursued his MBA from the University of Brunswick & completed his executive education from Harvard school of business. Karn is also a member of the Canadian Institute of Charter accountants. He believes that ethics are supreme & doing good is the only sustainable way to leave a mark on the road.
Karn says his finance background was bi-product of his higher education in Canada. Like most of the MBA pass-outs, he too wanted to work for a consultant firm & worked with Grant Thornton and Deloitte Canada. This gave him a lot of exposure, and he learned a lot through the procedure.
A part of his plan had always been to come back to India. Having been put into different things and working in various corporations, he has learned that adaptability is the most important & being dynamic is the crucial role that everybody should play.
The competition is among those things that Mr Agarwal loves about the real estate industry; however, what helps him succeed is his empathy towards his partner workers. He says, as long as you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their concerns, it becomes easier.
He says he has never been uncertain about his and his company’s future because he believes that when an individual is consistent with hard work and successfully sustains oneself in the competition, he/ she can definitely reach the desired goal. Karn explains that there’s always room to improve & you need to learn every day. As long as you are flexible to learn new thing, there won’t be anybody stopping you from achieving success.
Raw material procurement is critical, like steel is a commodity where you need to know what to buy, where to buy and how to buy. Nobody wants to be paying more, and if you can master this procedure of procuring raw materials, you will be able to sustain yourself till the end.
Communication is key to the smooth execution of every project. If you get caught in the middle of something & you, do not have a proper communication chain, it won’t let to move forward. Karn adds that right from the start of the project, you need to draw clear expectations as par what you can do & what you cannot. Do not over-commit, as this is something that needs to be taken care because these small commitments build as well as demean your brand name and identity, when not served.
Karn’s most defining moment in his life yet is the day he decided to take a ticket back to India when he was in Canada. At the back of his mind, he always had the vision clear & was happy to kick start the first move.
Along with the various other things he also talks about the significant issues that our industry is facing today- most of the steel plants are running at a 50 per cent capacity. There are delays in the delivery of steel. “We must have a thousand tons of steel that are yet to come, that we have ordered… Most of the workforce have returned back to their hometown, and that’s where the execution is lacking”, says Mr Agarwal.
Mr Karn and his team have already put a dent on the South Indian market in terms of PEB (Pre Engineered Buildings), having done projects in Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kerala. We also want to play the pan-India gam & to assist the purpose we have set up another unit in the North.
In the end, Karn leaves a message that everybody needs to understand that we are building the new India & that’s the legacy we all need to carry forward. All of us need to take pride and do an excellent job for the country and the people. That is the value that everybody in the industry should have. He also adds, accepting failure and learning from it is the, most crucial advice that he wants to give to all of us.
