Mr. Ketan Sheth | Founder, MD & Principal Designer | Goldmine Project Consultant
The below excerpt is an exclusive interview with Mr. Ketan Sheth – Founder, MD & Principal Designer of Goldmine Project Consultant Pvt. Ltd.
IS: Kindly brief us about your company.
Mr. Ketan: I am the Founder, MD & Principal Designer of “Goldmine Project Consultant Pvt. Ltd.” And on Its board since its inception in December 1989 with a vision of providing turnkey solutions in Design & Build along with other space creatives in Residential, Corporates, Commercial, Buildings, Hospitality, Healthcare, Retail and Education Verticals.
We provide aesthetically designed and immaculately planned project with an eye on fine details that accentuate the particular qualities of a place and conceive our project with efficiency & highest level of professionalism and are able to adapt our creativity to meet the need, desires and expectations of our clients.
Goldmine’s planning and design solutions aim to enrich the lifestyle envisioned for each project. We continuously strive for excellence in design, each project is treated individually and as a team assure prompt response and absolute flexibility to the customers need’s and complete the assignment to the extreme contentment of the clients.
Through our projects across market categories we believe in keeping abreast with the changing global trends and staying current with best trade practices which has transformed our organization into a corporatized design firm with finest quality execution & management standards.
IS: Brief us about the Founder/CEO and his/her contribution towards the upliftment of the company. What was the source of inspiration for your company to be a pioneer in the Interior segment?
Mr. Ketan: I as the Owner and Principal Designer offers the finest Interior Creative Consultancy in all sectors of design fraternity. Having a vast knowledge in interior designing, I have acquired a degree in Interior Design & Decoration (I.D.D) from JJ school of Arts in Mumbai and later graduated from the Inchbald School of Design in London where I developed an acumen and panache for in-depth creative Designing for Interiors. Conceptualizing exceptional designs, while adhering to the client’s budget and brief along with paying attention to the finer details is my forte.
My focus on space, light and structure, coupled with his selection of material, helps create captivating and dynamic spaces, which exhibit practical and functional planning and detailing. Innovation is my key area of operation.
Designing Is My Forte and “I was lucky enough to be born with creativity and was in love with the idea of breathing new life into a space. One will be surprised to know that I have been a commerce student yet creativity took over my mind”.
“I was bursting with ideas which needed implementation, as creativity was an everyday affair for me, and I knew that only my own company would give me the liberty to play around with new designs. Hence in1989, I started my own company “Sheth Associates” currently known as “Goldmine Project Consultant Pvt. Ltd”.
IS: What are the distinct products and services provided by your company, setting you apart from your competitors?
Mr. Ketan: We offer services in Architecture Design Consultation, Interior Design Consultation, Design & Build (Turnkey Solutions) and Contracting Solutions (Finishes / Fit outs).
Other than this we provide our clients with value added services which develops faith & trust between both parties.
Whatever projects comes to us, we don’t take it as a formality but we take it very seriously which is for us most important, just on a trial basis we don’t do anything, we get into the depth of it we try to work out the best possible solutions for whatever client’s demands and requirements are, hence give the kind of service absolutely in a proactive manner. We give lot of working in advance and that has helped us in a big way, as a result we build better confidence in clients and vice versa, we are always ready with all our preparation, we try to show them what is going to happen at the end of the project so huge amount of working and presentation plays a very important role in our interaction with our client.
IS: What are the key attributes that helped your company to overcome the challenges?
Mr. Ketan: We are not dealing with Clients of a specific segment but we have Clients of Different Segments. Our Clienteles are Builders, Factory owners, Diamond Traders we have all kinds of Clienteles and we work in different segments too, we make Offices, Banquets, Hospitals, Private Offices, Corporate Offices, Residences and Villa which are our 365 days job. All the above experience has helped us to overcome many Challenges.
Also we explore a lot, we had branches at Dubai, Bangalore now we have office at Surat we work Pan India, we are open to work all over the Globe.
IS: What is the current scenario of Interior industry, from your point of view?
Mr. Ketan: This Industry is excellent and ever growing, the Demand is very huge. Everyone needs to beautify their House, Make their Restaurants, Offices, Banquets for that they need Architect, Designers and Consultants. There are Designers at all Levels and as per the budget and requirements of the project there is definitely business for everyone.
Availability of Material from any part of the world is also not difficult now a days but of course there are some formalities to be done. Selecting materials from Europe, China or Italy has become very hassle free. Certain Level of Clients Prefer materials from these countries. Even now days thanks to ‘Make in India’ we get good materials in domestic market as well and they are doing exceptionally good job but still Price is the Criteria. Sometimes it happens that it is easy to get items Imported rather than getting it customized locally. Of course after Demonetization and Implementation of GST there is a tremendous drop in Real Estate and the Market has become very sensitive, everyone is Cautious while expanding or Taking Business Risk.
IS: With the massive advancements in the Architecture & Interior Designing industry, what are the opportunities and challenges evolving with it?
Mr. Ketan: There is definitely a superb opportunity available now, on the global map, India is considered as a very important place or destination, people have noticed India very well and after definitely Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ concept, people have an eye on our country so very big opportunities are there, how open we are and how we are able to visualize those opportunities, it depends on that, better the way we visualize, better opportunities are available and not only in India as India itself is a gigantic market but even out of India we have got scope, even 3rd world country when we talk about Africa there is definitely scope for us, even in Dubai-Gulf we have scope over there, so the market is quite open for everyone in our country… this is about the opportunities….
Secondly, even in today’s time the builders have starting inviting international designers so the possibility of collaboration is also there at the same time so not necessary you have lost it, if I have to import some ideas, some technology, we can definitely get it from up countries and they are far more advanced and ahead of us, bringing all those technologies and ideas will definitely help us to improve our work and to deliver something best so that is one thing about opportunities and of course when we talk about challenges, of course there are multiple challenges like in today’s time many designers have started their own companies in our country, so they have become directly & indirectly competitors to us, at certain Level, HNI level and at corporate level, mostly when I say corporates, means not only Corporate Offices but Residences too, even building industry, real estate industry, they prefer to hire designers from Up countries like Singapore, China, HongKong, Dubai, China, US, UK- good number of designers are coming from all these countries to our country and they are doing exceptionally good job, and those opportunities we are also losing, so these are the big challenges we are facing, another challenge we have the production quality what we get in European countries, States, even in China we don’t get it over here so our challenges are always being compared by our clients what is available here and what we can buy from outside countries, the gap in the rate is not always high when we talk about the volume it becomes more cheaper to get the things (material) from China and very good quality, the volume, timeframe the way they manufacture things is very fast, we can’t even think of it, so all those advantages are there, with this we can consider as an opportunity as well as challenges, if any manufacturer is over here for them it is a big challenge, if somebody is importing furniture or any material from up countries but of course if we talk about again opportunities, then Morbi has taken over in a tremendous way against other manufacturers in the tile industry and in the ceramic industry against China and they have made it difficult for China to sell the tiles in our country and we get extraordinary quality and because of the competition Morbi has done great job.
IS: What are the benefits gained by your clients while doing business with you?
Mr. Ketan: As I have mentioned above, the same thing I would like to repeat here, because of the exposure, our clients gets an immediate advantage out of it, our exposure is helping them so there is no trial or error happening, it is always tried & tested kind of thing and we are also working in the level of what is happening in the international market so that advantage clients always has with us.
IS: What is the role of your employees behind your company’s success? How do you keep them motivated?
Mr. Ketan: Every Industry works with the people, no individual is responsible. The head of the company cannot alone make the Project or Company Successful. Even the day to day activity needs the support of the team of good people. Employees are our biggest strength, without them we cannot perform. There is no Individual performers the entire team performs. Our Industry specifically needs a huge team of Professionals at various departments. We are not Individual Lawyer or doctors, we are a team of Designers & Architects. For a success of a project the team needs to perform, for their Support day in and day out is needed, their exposure & their thought process gives them freedom and work environment which allows them to explore their inner qualities more. The benefit is for the company and in the end to our clients.
If you become more rigid then there will be no growth personally or for the company.
We motivate our employees through all happening things we have picnics, going for movies, parties keeping an environment wherein we have freedom of voices, things are quite liberal.
IS: What would be your advice for the budding startups and entrepreneurs in the industry?
Mr. Ketan: Design industry is amazing. One should think beyond design as hard work is the important essence of success. One has to stay focused, committed and work with a professional attitude to face ahead healthy competition and aim at moulding a space into something that is beyond comparison.
There are no escape or shortcuts. Remember one thing “When you are doing everything you are not known hence create your own niche’. Keep yourself updated and stay tuned with the global trends.
“I fervently believe that nothing can substitute hard work. So, my first success mantra is hard work. And, if this is coupled with honesty and integrity, then there is no stopping one from achieving success.”
Client satisfaction inspires us and that satisfaction is what we aspire to…
There are many challenges which are common to every organization. Today’s challenge is to do something versatile – “To deliver better than the Best”. We are known for creating transformation in the lives of our clients and adding happiness in the environment that we blend with harmony and that itself is a challenge.
IS: Brief us about your company’s future perspectives.
Mr. Ketan: We aim to become a leading Interior Designing and Architectural Firm in India and our Dream is to be listed among the Top Ten Companies by 2022. Our Mission is to use our imagination and creativity to convert our clients’ dreams into reality. Client satisfaction inspires us and that satisfaction is what we aspire to…
