Until a year ago, I was a full-time job holder at a pharmaceutical company. After my graduation, I joined that company in 2015. It was not an easy journey because I had to move to Noakhali, which is 500 km away from my hometown in Rangpur. So, when I came home at the first lockdown in March 2020, I thought about what I wanted to do about my situation. That’s when I realized all the efforts that I was putting into my job could be utilized more efficiently.

With that thought, I left the job in mid-2020 and began to look for ways to start my entrepreneurial journey. As I had previous experience with poultry farms and inputs, I opened up a veterinary shop in the local market. In addition to that, I made a poultry farm of a thousand chickens in our backyard. Although the investment came from my savings, my father and brothers helped me immensely to set everything up. They supported me wholeheartedly. After the production started and I started selling them, I realized that although my income was not as high as my job, my savings increased by 10-15% because now I did not have to pay house rent, food bills, transportation costs, etc. So, my decision was a successful one.

Apart from my business prospects, I was always involved with social activities. When I was a student, I used to raise funds for poor children for their education. One of the main reasons for me to start my business was to help others through my services. Private jobs don’t allow that opportunity to help others directly, but a business can directly impact a large number of people. My production from the farm helps people to eat healthily. I can also provide employment through my farms and stores. I could never get this opportunity if I was stuck in that 9 to 5 job. That’s why I believe that entrepreneurship has brought me the freedom I always wanted.

Personally, Covid-19 did not bring any significant changes to my business. While it was not the best scenario or circumstances, my business did not face any heavy blow. I had to incur some losses due to decreased prices in the market, but I am already recovering from it. On the other hand, I worked with many young health enthusiasts to raise awareness against Coronavirus. We distributed masks, hand sanitizers and guided others to follow the rules to stay safe.

Now, for my future, I have multiple plans and projects. I am already working to build a new poultry farm and a dairy farm. Adding cows and goats to my farming space will bring new opportunities. Another thing that I have in mind is to start a fisheries project with my friends, who also got encouraged to start their business. That’s why training programs about fisheries from LightCastle Partners and WorldFish helped me a lot to understand many things about this sector. Apart from this type of support, I believe thorough surveillance of prices is much needed to regulate the market properly. Also, the financial support for new entrepreneurs is scarce, which needs to be changed. These will definitely help to have more entrepreneurs in our economy to build a green future.