Mr Chaitanya Parekh
Managing Director - Soham Real Estate Development Co. (P) Ltd.

1. Tell us something about yourself?
A. I come from a family that is socially motivated. My father was the General Secretary to a Gandhian Organisation and spent his life dedicated to Gandhiji. I have done my Civil Engineering from
Ahmedabad, Gujarat. I excelled 3 times and stood 1st at the
University Exams. I have committed all my knowledge .

2. Since when are you in this profession?
A. After working for three years as a Civil Engineer, I started SOHAM Real Estate Development Group in 1981 to satisfy people's ever need of good quality housing.
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3. What was the reason you selected this your profession?
A. At my college, my Professor motivated me and other classmates to join Civil Engineering to create a better environment to live in. He felt that this department was neglected and encouraged many top students to join it.

4. What were the hurdles you faced at the beginning of your business?
A. Since I do not come from a business background, I had to learn its rules the hard way and also as I started my business in Thane and come from Gujarat, I had to negotiate a totally new environment. I had to make people aware of SOHAM BUILDERS and earn their trust right from scratch. But clarity of the purpose in my mind and sincere hard work put me on the road to success.

5. What all things do you take care, for giving out the best to your clients?
A. Before starting our work, we educate ourselves to the needs and special requirements of the target customers. Then we design the floor space of the building and the common areas and facilities accordingly. We use best of the material and supervise our work in detail to give long lasting and well-finished homes.

6. What are the added advantages in your services and what all are you planning to integrate in future?
A. We are developing housing complexes and not just buildings. In this complex, we provide facilities for shopping, schools, health clubs, temples, playgrounds, gardens etc. This added facilities gives a big advantage to our customers who can enjoy these basic necessities apart from a house at their convenience. In the near future, we are planning to provide more services to our customers by developing tie-ups with the commercial institutes who will provide special discounts and other services to our customers.

7. What are your future plans?
A. For the future, we have planned to increase the professionalism of our company and bring it to an international standard. For this, we will be doing re-engineering in our company to make it very efficient and systematic. This will allow us to build our housing complexes to better standards, at less cost and in much reduced time.

8. Are you a totally satisfied busineessmen today?
A. Yes, I am highly satisfied with my work. The trust, which my customers have shown in me, has brought this satisfaction This trust has also made me work harder and better to satisfy them fully. We have also provided lands and buildings free of charge for schools, ashrams, temples and Thane Municipality. This has also given me a satisfaction of social achievement.

9. What are your suggestion for newcomers?
A. If one has conviction towards his vision, he can face any hurdles in his life. He should have a clear vision for his goals and his short-term actions should be aligned with his long-term goals.

10. Any message for Thaneites?
A. Thane is a very beautiful city. The people are very peaceful, friendly and law abiding. There is al lot of cultural activity along with modern amenities here. The infrastructure is better than most cities of India. All the people who have settled in Thane have prospered. I, as a Thaneite believe that Thane City is second to none. We should be proud of our city and do our best to maintain the peace and prosperity of Thane.

As told to Thaneweb.com