Patrica Thomas has faced lot of Tragedy through out her life. Her hard time begins when she married the man she fancied secretly against her parents will, only to know that her Prince Charming was actually a drug addict. Then she started selling tea and snacks on Marina Beach now she build the empire of food chain business in Chennai. From then she didn’t turn back in her life, but the Tragedy is on the way again in her life. Patrica’s daughter Sandheepha Sandra, fresh out of college and newly married dead in a car accident along with her husband and her husband’s brother and his wife died in the same accident to make situation even more worse.
Patricia Thomas is 17 when she married her love Narayan who is 13 years older than her and that too a Hindu Brahman boy while she is a Christian. She was disowned by her father. To her, situation become even more worse that her Prince Charming was actually a drug addict. She left her husband with no choice along with her 2 kids. She started a mobile cart at Marina Beach to sell snacks, fresh juice, coffee, and tea. She took financial help from her mother and she employed two disabled persons to help her in selling. She said that Marina Beach is her first Business School and selling at Marina Beach is her MBA Degree.
With in a year her hard work and dedication paid off, she started branching out into running canteens for offices across Chennai. Later in the year 1998, she become a director of Sangeetha group’s Nelson Manickam Road restaurant in Chennai.
Even then her situation is not well, it even become worsened due to her husband behavior, he used to beat her for money and even some times he stub her with cigarettes when he didn’t get money from Patricia, and will disappear for months until he spent all the money. But in 2002 during one such disappearance, her husband died. Two years later Patrica’s daughter Pradheepha Sandra, fresh out of college and newly married dead in a car accident along with her husband and her husband’s brother and his wife died in the same accident to make situation even more worse.
Later Patricia and her son with broken hearts started their first restaurant ‘Sandeepha’ in memory of her late daughter Sandeepha Sandra. Patricia has loved and nurtured her restaurant the way she would nurture her daughter. Earlier on day one, she managed to sell only a cup of coffee for 50 paise. But Today, of course, the total sales from the 14 outlets of Sandeepha across Chennai avg Rs. 2 lakh per day.
In the year 2006. She has also purchased an ambulance and stationed it at the spot in Chengelpet where her daughter Sandeepha and her son in law died. On the day of the accident, the ambulance that came there had refused to carry the bodies, this incident made here to do this.
Patricia won the ‘FICCI Woman Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2010 for her extraordinary life and struggles she faced in the past.
Finally Patricia said, “I started my business with just two disabled people. Now, there are 200 people working for me in my restaurants over 14 outlets of Sandeepha across Chennai. And also changed my lifestyle From travelling in a cycle rickshaw, I moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car (Luxury cars). From 50 paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day."
Share Your Views In Below Comment Section.
No comments:
Post a Comment