It’s been almost 10 years since creating the business that I have today. In 2013, initially, the plan was to go on a partnership with a fellow businessman in my locality. However, some complications arose and I decided to go solo. But it was not the business of furniture manufacturing that sparked my inner entrepreneur. I began my journey by selling tree logs and similar raw materials but I was always left with some raw materials which I could not sell. That’s why I had to go into production and that’s the story of how Pure wood Furniture was born.

All that I was able to achieve in life, was only because of my creator and my willpower. Otherwise, I would’ve never thought about creating a manufacturing factory, let alone a furniture showroom. In the first year of business, only 4-5 people worked for me. The thing that helped me to start this business so smoothly is having an established business. I have a diagnostic test center with some other shareholders which gave me the freedom to do something completely unrelated to what I already had. After starting the factory, I got a few orders to make customized furniture. At first, it was a bit frightening to deliver the orders because I did not know if the clients would love my work. However, the feedback was quite positive and that pushed me to go on further.

While the sales were not exactly that much, but still, the way my business grew in the next years was remarkable. From production to operations, every aspect of the enterprise grew at least 4 to 5 times. The only thing that seemed concerning to me is the low sales of ready-made products. Although the custom orders kept coming every month in a consistent number, the ready-made furniture sales could’ve been higher. Nevertheless, I was content with what I had built up to that point. 

But as we all know, contentment is scarce in our world, especially when it comes to small enterprises like mine. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic really took all that I had created in a single sweep. My factory and showroom had to be shut down for months without getting a single order. I had to cut down 4-5 employees because of the overbearing costs. It was possible for me to continue my furniture business because I had the diagnostic lab to support my finances. Otherwise, I never would have found the motivation to move ahead with it. Thankfully, with time, the situation started to get better and the production began with a new hope.

Getting associated with LightCastle Partners through the B-SkillFUL project was truly a blessing for me. They were very supportive of my business and helped me to learn a few important things. Their advice to focus more on the marketing of my business sped up the post-pandemic recovery of my business. On top of that, I created a treatment plant according to their suggestion which helped to reduce the raw material wastage. I have more plans to take the business further but it’ll have to wait as I don’t have any funds to reinvest. Hopefully, one day my business will achieve new heights.