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| Rayneau Gajadhar |
Here is part one if his success story:
Interviewer: Tell me about Rayneau the entrepreneur and how he would like the public to see him?
Rayneau: I like to be seen as hard ordinary worker – nothing different from the ordinary man. But because I put more effort and energy into what I do, people will succeed. So it is not anything fancy, it is just ordinary. No different from any other man,but the difference is the energy and effort I put into doing it, makes it appear much better.
Interviewer: What are the values that guide you daily?
Rayneau: Strictly, I am driven by opportunity. I look for all the opportunities and take advantage of them. Everything I do, I always want to make sure that many other people benefit from it. But not directly but indirectly. So in other words, any business I go into, I try to do it providing a service which is better than what there is. So by me providing for a whole set of people, I can benefit from it. The focus must never be on me. The focus must be on everybody else, but in the end, I get to benefit from it.
Interviewer: Give me a history, starting from scratch, to where you are today?
Rayneau: It all started because I could not get a job when I left school. I did many odd jobs. Giving you a full history would take a very long time. I did many odd jobs during that time.
I can remember being a photographer taking pictures at wedding parties. I did commercials. I used to have a repair shop to repair electronics equipment. I also imported televisions and VCRs and sold them. I had a video rental shop, sold ice cream. I even had a wrecker service at one time. I ran an auto mechanic and body shop and did body work. I was also into furniture and many other things. Every now and then, somebody reminds me of what I used to do. But I ended up doing construction.
Interviewer: What pushed you into Construction?
Rayneau: Nothing pushed me. There was an opportunity to buy two little bobcats from a company. This was a company that financed equipment for a company called Habitat. This was the company that built the homes in Bonne Terre. At that time it was Ausbert D’auvergne and Harold Boseliel and Crew. But that failed and General Financing seized the two little equipment and wanted to sell them for $110,000.00. But they could not get it sold and so I offered them $45,000.00 and bought it for that. I got to rent the equipment for people in construction. And that is how I got into construction.
Interviewer: Your latest business entity is Rayneau Construction and Industrial Products. What had you to start this form of business?
Rayneau: Two things. One. Opportunity again. And two, It is directly integrating the kind of business I was in, which is construction. So basically someone may see RCIP as a store to sell stuff, but I see it originally as a warehouse for myself. So basically I am warehousing for myself, which I use in construction; and I am able to sell to the public and provide a service. So that is basically what it is.
In terms of the size, I entered into it one time which is very unusual for people to do because of the size. I entered the market and it was deliberate, because there was a monopoly in St Lucia at the time and that is when Peter & Company had bought over M & C and Sunbilt, which were the main outlets for building materials. So I saw an opportunity to compete with a monopoly and saw this as a very good avenue. So I decided to go into it, and go into it big.
Interviewer: What is your vision for Rayneau Construction and Industrial Products?
Rayneau: The vision for RCIP is to become a one-stop shop for all St Lucians to get everything - building and construction. And we’re talking both residential and commercial stuff. A one-stop shop, not only to provide the materials but everything to provide the services connected to construction. Basically, what we will end up doing, is financing for homes and buildings for people. We want to be able to help them with architecture, drawings, and supervision. So it’s going to be much further than an ordinary store. It’s going to be a full service when it comes to construction.
Interviewer: What strategies have you employed or is in the pipeline to develop a successful customer
base?
Rayneau: Everybody that walk through the store will tell you they feel a difference walking through it because of the customer service we provide. We need to continuously work against that and what we need to do apart from Customer service, is to spend time on customer experience and create a customer loyalty. So we have two other phases to go within this - Customer Care and Customer Experience. But we must also be able to interact with the customer so that they can feel they are part of what we are doing.
Interviewer: In your quiet moments when you lay back what do think of as your joy of the business?
Rayneau: All of it. Nothing much in particular. I like to see the buildings coming up, so I can actually see something coming up. The actual construction from the beginning. And to see something that was created from the work, so you see that’s what it is.
When you have done something for the customer and you can see that the customer is satisfied, that brings joy.
Interviewer: Finally,what inspires Rayneau Gajadhar?
Rayneau: Opportunity. I am not driven by money.
