Ajay Sharma is the Chairman and the Managing Director of Abhinav Immigration Services in India. He has done his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Delhi University and is a successful entrepreneur. The entrepreneur was conferred the Prestigious Business Leader of the Year 2022.
He has been one of India’s pioneers of visa and immigration consultancy services since 1994. He is specialized in advisory services like start-up visa programs, residency visa programs, and investment programs for people in business and high-net-worth professionals.
Ajay Sharma is a Business Economist (Masters, Batch of 1985, Delhi University) and Commerce Honours graduate (Batch of 1983, Delhi University). His strengths include consultancy and advisory services on Citizenship by investment programs, Start-up Visa Programs, and Residency visa programs for skilled professionals, Businessmen, and High net worth individuals.
A Globe-Trotter and an affluent speaker, he is an all-cross-culture expert. Ajay Sharma is a featured author in publications like Economic Times and is often quoted in Global Mobility, Immigration, and Jobs Overseas. He likes to write on subjects as diverse as human rights and relations, gender equality, and international relations.
He is fond of animals, traveling, and public speaking. In his conversation with Icy Tales, Ajay Sharma opened up about his entrepreneurial journey, challenges that he faced, and general advice that he has for budding entrepreneurs.
Q) Did you aspire to be an entrepreneur from a young age? If yes, why?
Ajay Sharma: Not really. In my case, it happened to be incidental because, as it happens, you can have a different opinion. And at times, that difference of opinion can help you decide if you should take another job. But then I thought that if you cannot take a difference of opinion of your immediate job, then perhaps you are not meant to be doing a job.
I have learned over the years since 1989 that when you are doing a job, you’re working for that person. But when you are an entrepreneur, you’re working for everybody else. So now you are responsible for 200 people at that time, not only for yourself.
I became my own boss and it helped me contribute to the enterprise and business we are in. So I’m glad that this particular thing happened as it was a life-changing decision.
Q) How do you navigate yourself from struggles and crossroads?
Ajay Sharma: If you survive today, there is always the possibility for a better tomorrow. If you can put yourself in the 24-hour time frame aiming that a couple of good things will happen, I’m sure a couple of unexpected things will also happen.
So I think the correct way that one should approach life is in a balanced state where you don’t get too excited about things. If something bad happens, you won’t get too sad or depressed. So once you achieve that stable state of mind where you do not begin to react in either of these extreme situations, I think you can cope well with tough situations.
Focus your attention on doing something better, and you will eventually get into a better state of mind. This way, you will find a solution for all crossroads. I’ll share another interesting learning. Instead of using the word problem, I use the word situation. That itself brings down the burden of the whole process.
Q) Were there any challenges while setting up your venture? How did you overcome them?
Ajay Sharma: I think the biggest challenge every entrepreneur faces is the funding part. A very simple solution for that would be to strategize accordingly. The biggest challenge new entrepreneurs face is that they have ideas but don’t have the money. But in my own experience, people have ideas and money but don’t know how to manage their cash flow.
The other challenge that is very common is that there are two stakeholders that you are dealing with. You can manage the internal stakeholder, but dealing with the external stakeholder is definitely a challenge.
Q) Is there any particular advice you want to give youngsters today?
Ajay Sharma: The earlier you start your entrepreneurial journey, the better it is. The youngsters of today have that advantage as they are extremely talented. Because the more you think and wait for years of training to begin your journey, it’s only going to get delayed.
Productively use your ideas and aim for the best. I believe in this because an entrepreneur creates more jobs, so the younger you start, the better it is.
Q) Do you have any hobbies or any particular activities that you do during your free time?
Ajay Sharma: I’m not really into the web series because my core areas are geopolitical issues. I like keeping many videos on geopolitics and reading about geopolitical situations. And secondly, because I’m an economist by background, I like to read a lot about anything happening in the economy across the world.
Q) If you had to choose something else as your career, what would it be and why?
Ajay Sharma: I will be opening an animal farm and then feeding animals that are old or injured. I would also like a hospital to look after stray dogs. Aside from consultancy, this will give me maximum satisfaction.
Q) Do you think our current education system can continue to build new entrepreneurship skills, or do you have any changes to suggest?
Speaker 2: Compared to our generation, the education system is more elastic today, and they have a more practical side regarding core courses. The system is much better than what it used to be as it creates a base for everything that you want to do.
I think the education system, right from school to college must have compulsory subjects in each of the classes, and it should be something like how to be caring for others and understand the value of life. If this is there in the system, it would be a much better country as a whole.
Ajay Sharma wants to expand his office space and bring his services to Chennai. Apart from being a successful entrepreneur, Ajay Sharma is also a great writer and has voiced his views on human rights, gender equality, and international relations.
He aims to motivate youngsters to take entrepreneurship and build their ideas for a better tomorrow. Ajay Sharma advocates the quote “Be Your Boss” and strives to spread the word about it.
Check out the delightful conversation with Ajay Sharma on our YouTube Channel.
Last Updated on by Sathi
