My father had established the Rangpur Engineering Workshop years before the independence of Bangladesh. Since then, the company has changed ownership twice. After my father, my elder brother took control of the business. Eventually, he decided to focus his efforts elsewhere and passed the company on to me.

Due to family responsibilities, I could only complete my education at the intermediate level. However, I have no regrets as I feel proud to run a business that my father had built with his own hands. Moreover, I receive ample support from my family and friends, especially my elder brother, who is always willing to guide me in the right direction.

Overall, I can confidently say that our business is very much stable without any significant problems. We mainly take orders for agricultural machines from our local customers and deliver the goods after production. Because of this procedure, we can balance our cost of production with the revenue and ensure adequate margins. Eventually, I plan to expand our company to other parts of Bangladesh and may even attempt to increase our product range for exporting. But till we meet our financial goals, this vision for expansion is still on hold.

The Covid crisis brought unprecedented challenges to our business. Over time as the pandemic worsened, our orders dwindled, and we had a tough time maintaining proper cashflows. And this problem was further aggravated by the need to make payments for fixed expenses such as salaries and rent. Fortunately, we were lucky to receive financial assistance from the bank and a number of our friends and families. These funds helped us keep our business afloat throughout the economic crisis.

I got acquainted with LightCastle Partners when they visited our factory to train us on business development and marketing support. These training sessions and the B-skillful program have immensely helped us improve our profits by properly implementing strategies and models. I am optimistic that we can achieve our financial goals and finally expand our business to new heights with this new knowledge and support.