Founder & CEO, Hireavilla Hospitality Pvt.
Saagar Panchal is the Founder & CEO started Hireavilla Hospitality Pvt ltd at the young age of 21 years. He started off with a team of 4 individuals and worked hard to gradually expand the business & its properties to Karjat, Alibaug, Panchgani and other sectors of Maharashtra & Goa. The business picked up so well that by the end of the year 2016, the company had booked more than 300 bookings and served up to 2000 customers. He now has a team of 15 and they are all under the age of 25.
- 5 management mantras according to you?
- Provide simplicity & Transparency: In a high performing company, everyone can very simply describe what they did and how they created value. It is lucid, it’s important to ensure that you simplify complicated matters which in turn offers simpler value add to the business
- Feel free to ask for help when required: Change is tough and inevitable and hence also emotionally difficult. This in turn may require you to have the ability to access different opportunities with different types of assistance. There are people who get to a certain stage in their life and have no network at all; they become lonely and find it tough to navigate change. Hence you must not shy away from asking for help if you require the need to do so
- Invest time in sharpening your intuitive abilities: No business can work without intuition! Right from dealing with people to making investment decisions, you have to listen to your gut feeling. It is not easy but if you start now and are able to make your decisions based on intuition, you will prosper
- Be bold: Success does not come easy. If life throws you a challenge, you must calculate your risks beforehand but you also must not forget to fight back hard. You might fail numerous times to achieve your final dream but never let failure be an end. You must be bold and take on each crisis as an opportunity to differentiate and offer creative solutions
- Always know the big picture: You must ask questions to gain knowledge and understanding of why a particular work is being done. You must be aware of the purpose behind any work that you are doing, no matter how big or small. You must understand the goal of your project; make it your goal and only then march ahead
- Do you play any kind of sports which helps you in your work? How does it help?
I am always open to a good game of cricket & badminton. These games help me keep myself active and the key management lessons I learn via these sports are:
- It is okay to make mistakes: There will be many times when players make mistakes during games or practice. Whether that be losing the basketball in a dribbling drill, turning the ball over during a game, or taking a bad shot
- Builds more Integrity: It was in sport that I learned not everyone shares the same values or principles, and that for some winning was everything. I was taught early the difference between playing ‘hard’ and playing ‘dirty’, and the importance of always playing ‘my’ game
- It teaches you to be a Follower: Just as it’s important to learn how to lead others, it’s also incredibly important that players learn how to be lead by others. Having a coach is in a lot of ways similar to having a boss. The coach is an authority figure that will be giving instruction, praise, and criticism to the player.
- Please share with us the turning point in your life related to your career?
The turning point in my life related to my career was pretty much right in the start when I was introduced to the concept of college placements. These placements made me realize that a 9 to 5 job was not my cup of tea and I needed to do something else to achieve financial and work independence. I had always been interested in markets and back then I used to truly enjoy bitcoin trading and various other virtual market tradings. After declining to participate in the college placement, I had a lot of pressure to start something of my own or I would end up doing nothing for a while after my college, also I was worried if I didn’t get placed my dad would make me join his own company. So all this pressure accidentally made me start up my company Hireavilla which now successfully deals into luxury vacation home rentals.
- What is the secret of your success?
I swear by the following three mantras:
- Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be”
- Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing
- Focus on why you are doing this instead of what you have to do, focusing on your target market is very important.
- What is your philosophy of work?
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
- Any particular person you admire who has inspired you? How? Please explain in a few lines.
My Father, he is my true source of inspiration. Probably the real reason I am an entrepreneur is because of him, I really appreciate the way he balances his work and his private life.
- Your favourite books and why?
Zero to One, because I believe in building oneself and working for the future.
- Your fitness regime?
I work out 4 days in a week, 2 days I brisk walk for 45 minutes each and another 2 days I hit the gym or do a basic workout home.
10) Lastly, 5 Mantras for Success in Business according to you.
- Collaborate with other like minded people: Nothing is more inspiring than surrounding yourself with other people who are also working hard on their businesses. It helps you remember what you’re working toward, but even more, it exponentially increases your own learning process
- Prioritize: When you might first start out trying to build a brand the very first challenge that presents itself is learning the difference between projects that sound nice or sound interesting, and those actually worth your time
- Done worry if you are not good at everything, you aren’t supposed to be in the first place, identify your strengths and build on them. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what efforts to put to learn the new skills
- Narrow down what interests you the most: Never enter a battle ill-equipped for the challenges you’ll be facing. In order to experience quick results, your business must be backed by relevant skills, experience, or industry knowledge. After all, business success happens only when the right skills meet the right interest areas
- Master the art of self-promotion: Never forget that building your business is a real deal. That means you’re going to need to devote a fair amount of time (and financial resources) to promoting yourself and your solutions. After all, how else are you going to find new clients? The self-promotional aspect is hard for a lot of people, but it’s really, really important. There are a lot of talented freelancers out there who don’t do it well and don’t succeed because of it, and less talented people that do it well and succeed more
- Anything else you would like to say?
Your dreams are what can get you through even the worst days. If you are struggling, your dreams are your reason to keep going. They are why you wake up in the morning and try again. They are what makes your entire life worth living. Don’t stop dreaming!