Tianoktang Lemtur. (Morung Photo)
K Filip Sumi
Dimapur | October 12
Education is not a primary requisite for self-sustainable entrepreneurship if one is sincere, dedicated and hardworking.
This statement is truly reflected by the entrepreneurial experience of Tianoktang Lemtur (40) who could not study beyond Class VIII owing to family issues and the family house being burned twice on different occasions during the 1990s when he was a teenager. Tia, as his friends call him, is the youngest among the five siblings out of whom two have passed away. With no means to study further like his other friends, Tia started collecting rejected clothing materials from second-hand shops run by non-locals in Mokokchung. After washing/ironing them, he transported the materials to Shamatore and Wapher Village to do business around 2001.
Money was not always what he got in return for selling clothes. He even accepted vegetables in exchange for clothes from those who could not afford to pay in cash. He then freely distributed unsold items to the people and this was how he steadily gained their favour and built a strong customer base.
When he could not travel to Shamatore or Whophor, he earned by doing daily labour jobs in town. A true entrepreneur, Tia was a hard worker and by the year 2008-09, his finances slightly improved and he grabbed the opportunity of going to Delhi to bring better and more quantity of second hand clothes. However, he faced severe loss getting a return of only Rs 25, 000/- after investing Rs 1.30 lakh. This loss did not deter Tia and with the help of friends, he ventured into the business of shoes, which somehow revived his business.
Tia is now the proprietor of Export Surplus Shopper located at NST Complex, Mokokchung. The shop deals with genuine leather branded bags, shoes, clutches and other accessories for both genders.
Tia believes in customer satisfaction and has, on several occasions fully refunded the cost of any goods found unsatisfactory or defective by the buyer even though the damage might have been caused by excessive wear and tear.
A regular customer, John Kuotsu, who teaches at Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung attested to this saying that, he got full refund for a defective shoe bought from Tia’s shop. “I should have first checked for any defects before buying but still he refunded full amount of the shoe,” John said.
Still single, Tia hails from Longmisa village and is sponsoring studies of more than three students besides supporting his mother and siblings.
“I have struggled a lot and gone through many troubles to come to this level. My message to the youngsters is that they should not fully depend on their parents once they attain certain age and be able to work towards standing on their own,” Tia states.
Despite financial constraints, Tia says he is constantly trying to level up his entrepreneurship. He adds that everyone was not destined to be well off and acquire education but that one has to struggle for survival in their own capacities.
