Step by Step

To begin with, school curriculum and academics never appealed to me and as the saying goes – one can’t teach a fish to climb a tree so I feel very blessed that despite my early shortcomings, my father paved my way into the industry that I’m in today and that gave me a chance to build myself as an individual – personally and professionally. My career is very closely linked to the person I am because a lot of what I’m doing is drawn from the things that I love and are dear to me. From an individual perspective, I’d like to give back to society, by spreading smiles. It makes me happy to see those around me in good spirits.

2. What are some important lessons of your journey that you’d like to share with our readers? 

That there is no shortcut to success. I’ve learned from my share of experiences that focusing on oneself with an endeavour to be better each day goes a long way. I hold closely the many life lessons that I’ve learnt but the one that I truly believe in is to be humble and determined. If you truly want something you believe in – begin somewhere, keep going and don’t give up – one day, success will be yours.

3. Where did you derive your knack for successful enterprises such as yours? Please elaborate.

My father has played an influential role and was an exemplary figure in my life. While growing up, when our business was still in its infant stage, I would watch him wake up early in the morning to start his day ahead of everyone. One thing he’d often tell me was that if you lay a brick every single day after a certain point of time it would turn into a building. These words still ring true in my life till date. There is no shortcut to building a successful enterprise.

4. Among the leading business names globally – Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who among them appeal to you and why?

Like many around the world I too admire the work of all three business tycoons. However, at a personal level, I like to draw inspiration from those that I meet on a day to day basis, as well as those that are working hard to bring excellence to what they do. From a street vendor to a business tycoon I admire anyone walking that extra mile to challenge themselves and do better than they previously have.

Among these names, if I were to choose from the three, it would probably be Elon Musk. The reason being that just like Musk, I’m passionate and concerned about the environment that we’re living in and we’re making continuous efforts everyday to sustain it and make it a better place for our future generations.

5. What are your thoughts on the startup culture? Do you think there is a pressure among the youth “to have their own thing”?

The startup culture gives young entrepreneurs a brilliant chance to showcase their talents. These young entrepreneurs should focus on hard work and have patience to watch what they sow so it can bloom into an amazing venture in the future.

I do believe that the food and hospitality business are evergreen as are banks, garments and construction firms. Having said this, I do believe that all businesses in that aspect are evergreen. What makes the food and hospitality sector so popular is that even though we’re in a world that’s so progressive, fast moving and busy, a good meal within the comforts of a good ambience is satisfactory. Personally, I think when we take that little break accompanied by good food, it is surely a treat.

Keep going, don’t be disheartened even if studies aren’t your cup of tea. Work hard in whatever you love to do and you will surely succeed.

For the younger generation aspiring to start their own businesses, my advice to you would be to set goals for each day and complete one thing at a time. As one gets on with life, it’s integral to remember that life is a temporary gift and therefore giving back to people and society as an example for the coming generations ahead, is a great investment.

8. Apart from your success in your professional arena, you’re an inspiration to many for your green project across the city/state and beautification. How did you come about that?

Having been born and raised in Shillong, I consider myself lucky to have grown up around its scenic beauty and greenery.  I think that’s when I first fell in love with nature at a very young age. Until recently, when the garden at my house was all I had the time for, witnessing the dwindling beauty of Shillong turned into a motivation for me to restore the memories that I grew up with. This is where our small but dedicated team with its humble efforts sprung into existence. We have been part of an initiative to plant and maintain trees in and around Shillong city.

During the onset of the pandemic we collaborated with the Shillong Municipal Board to feed the people they had sheltered. From trying to get meals to the needy and the sick, to helping farmers distribute their produce to avoid wastage, Team Jiva has tried to incorporate my values that I learned in my formative years.

Start by taking action – cleaning up after ourselves and caring for our neighbours.

10. Combining the three ingredients of food and hospitality, green sustainable ways and entrepreneurship, what do you envision for the future of our state? 

If taken up diligently, Shillong can be nothing short of a top tourist destination. Our State is famously referred to as “Scotland of the East”for the very reason that it’s natural beauty is striking. By means of preservation and taking environmental conscious steps towards development we can do better than what we currently are.

With generous handy tips from a man, who went from strength to strength and setting an exemplary example for citizens across the spectrum to follow, Jiwat K. Vaswani truly stands out as a figure of inspiration and hope to many.