Vivek Sharma had a successful 20-year career in sales and marketing before deciding to follow his passion for woodworking and engineering design. He performed market research on the furniture market in Mumbai, estimated to be around 3,000 crore rupees annually. Using his creativity and understanding of engineering ergonomics, he started the brand 'RusTeak' in 2018 focusing on rustic teakwood furniture. In the first year, the business achieved a modest revenue of 2.4 crores. Vivek emphasizes getting clear on the why and what of a career change is more important than worrying about how to get started.

1. Your hobby may not be a commercially viable option. You have to discover your true
passion, something that will give you complete self-expression and which also has a
market value.
Doing a quick market survey, SWOT analysis, identifying your differentiation and
USPs goes a long way in keeping the right focus and avoiding any kind of
disappointment.
Inspiring Career Change Story of Vivek Sharma, aged 50
Starting with a stint as a Gentleman cadet at NDA, Vivek pursued Mechanical
Engineering from one of the premium NIT's & an MBA from a Govt institute. He further
built up a successful career in Sales & Marketing over 2 decades in Berger, Idea, Bharti,
Reliance.... before he decided to follow his calling.
Subjects that fascinated him in Engineering were Woodworking , Product Ergonomics &
Engineering Drawing. The other interests were Writing & Teaching... Between passions -
he picked up Woodworking as his Startup Idea - one which would not translate into 'Just
an Expensive Hobby!’
Performed a comprehensive but simple ‘market sizing’ exercise of furniture market in
Mumbai. Estimated ~INR 3,000 crore Teakwood furniture market per annum in Mumbai
alone (working shared in pic). After doing an Industry SWOT analysis, Vivek went on to
experiment with his passion of Rustic Furniture designs in Teakwood. With his flair for
creativity and a taste which fortunately has many admirers, coupled with a superior
understanding of Engineering Ergonomics , he saw a niche for himself which resulted in
birth of brand ‘RusTeak’.
He started operations in Andheri, Mumbai in Sept 2018. Achieved a modest top-line of
2.4 crores in the first year.
He works with customers having a taste for artistic teak wood furniture. He runs an in-
house integrated workshop to keep control on quality. His USP's - pricing transparency
with customers, delivery timelines & use of World's Best & time tested products to rein
in a Superior Quality.
Vivek Sharma says, "Getting WHY and WHAT of a career change right is much more
important than worrying about HOW to get started."
Key takeaways for career change enthusiasts:
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