“Move Consistently Towards your Goal”-The Success Story Of Basant Mehta

BlueBell Computers recently celebrated their silver jubilee anniversary. From the past 25 years, they have been fulfilling the IT requirements of the blue city of Jodhpur. Let’s take a glimpse of the years gone by and life of the Man behind this long and successful journey - Basant Mehta.

Early Days

Some 30 years back, Jodhpur was a small town with various livelihood issues. There was a shortage of water and electricity along with less potential for infrastructure growth. With such basic issues, IT industry had no chance to grow and survive. Basant Mehta said, “There were only a  few IT dealers working here and computer literacy was very little”.

It was in the year 1991, when in the local newspaper, Basant Mehta read the requirement for LAN  with server, cabling &  PCs,  from a  Government department of his own town. He approached that time LAN leader -  Zenith computers with this particular opportunity.  He and his team of young men jointly carried out LAN setup there. Further, this project provided him with a practical opportunity of setting-up of a complete IT solution. It was a very big achievement for Mehta, as it inspired and motivated him to choose to provide IT solution as a future career prospect.

Professional Life

In 1990, Basant’s interest dug deeper into computer applications. He was in the III semester of his Masters in Computer Applications course from MBM engineering college, Jodhpur. He shared that he loved reading and was an avid reader of leading IT magazines of the country such as Dataquest and PCQuest. Reading these magazines helped me understand the growth and future of computer industry in India.

Later, it was in 1991 that Mehta along with his classmate started a company called BlueBell Computers with a capital investment of fifty thousand rupees only. The initial investment was given to him by his family.

In the beginning, Basant and his business partner were selling Floppy disks, Tape drives, Computer stationery, Ribbons and peripherals to schools, colleges and government departments. Besides this, he also started providing professional services and software development solutions to local manufacturers and hoteliers.

Slowly, they shifted their focus to branded PCs, Printers, Softwares & IT Integrations. And further, participated in Government & SME enquiries of IT products & services and AMC. He added, “Fortunately, we were blessed with many customers and our business started flourishing after a year only”.

At present, Basant Mehta is a business partner of – Sify, Lenovo, HP, Dell, Cisco, APC, Microsoft, Molex, Dlink, etc. and has a long list of thousands of satisfied customers.

Mehta further added, “Technical knowledge of  Computers &  technology products helped me in properly analyzing  IT  requirements of my customers & designing the best solution for them. The products &  solutions suggested & supplied by our firm were promptly supported by our team of technical people. We have successfully implemented datacenters & many big size corporate  IT infrastructures as well”.

At present, Basant Mehta is the founder president of regional  IT association - Jodhpur Computers Dealers Association ( JCDA), formed in the year 2002. With the consistent activities of its members & his efforts,  JCDA has become a part of top IT associations of India.

Challenges and Success Mantra

There is never a story without tough times, challenges and failures. Mehta also had his share of dark days while aspiring for his dreams.

He faced tough competition from local assemblers and partners of other territories because of a large price difference between assembled & branded  PCs.

Though, he and his team never felt isolated. The faith & belief of his customers always prepared a road ahead to travel. His approach to providing quality products with committed support helped him grow his business gradually.

Mehta said that he has always followed ethical business policies. He stated, “Once committed, it was fulfilled - whether the task was related to payments, supplies or services. We have always believed in long-term relationships with vendors as well as customers. We have always promoted quality products & services and tried to keep our customers happy by giving them support & services. We knew that a satisfied customer will always lead to more customers for us”.

Guidance To Young Entrepreneurs

Mehta didn’t forget to give some advice and guidance to his younger generation, who plans to enter the IT sector.

He said, “Without giving up in between, move consistently toward your goals with hard work. Do not try to sell or advise fake or poor quality products to your customers. Keep on adding values to your product portfolio. Stay closer to your customer. Maintain good relations with your vendors/distributors. And never ever delay today’s work for tomorrow”.

Personal Life & Hobbies

Basant also shared his personal life and hobbies. He told us about how wonderful and supportive his wife and kids are. He said, “My wife Sonal, is very kind-hearted and loving. She takes care of my family & helps me in all walks of life. I have two pretty grown-up children – Ankit, who has completed his B.Tech from NMIMS Mumbai this year and is presently working in Reliance Industries, Mumbai. My daughter Avani, she is aspiring to commerce college next year. I and my family love to travel and explore new destinations. We like witnessing different cultural heritage sites and enjoying delicious vegetarian delicacies”.

Future Plans

While talking to DQ Channels about the future years, Mehta Stated, “I am looking forward to expanding our portfolio of technology product & services  with - Lease line, Datacentre & cloud solutions, High-end Workstations &  Networking  products & wireless solutions” and “planning to extend  consultancy in managing & recycling of old or unused Computers & Peripherals”.