Everybody loves a good rags-to-riches story. Well this one is not really the authentic rags to riches variety but it is nonetheless a story of growth and achievement.
What began as a small business trading in safety items in 2002 has grown in a few short years to a reliable and dependable supplier of in addition to safety items, power tools, and construction and electrical materials.
RSD Trading is located on Lagoon Road right after the Grenada Tire Service if one is heading toward Grand Anse and is very impressive in it's stocks.
Owner/manager Mr. Mahendra Singh (Ryan) and his wife Sheneeza run a business that is designed to, while supplying the needs of the customer make him feel welcome and valued.
Ryan said RSD- the abbreviation come from the first letters of his and his wife’s names together with that of his young daughter Daveda-started officially in 2004 but was trading in basic safety items since 2002.
They started off offering the construction industry things like hard hats, safety boots, gloves overalls, safety lens and other related items. Before long they included on their list of available items, electrical power tools-drills, saws, and the like- before moving into to provision of all sorts of construction and electrical material.
At the time that Ryan began trading in safety items he had recognized that there weren’t enough of safety supplies on the market to supply the construction industry especially after hurricane Ivan. He realized that while there was a lot of construction material and equipment it was difficult to go into a hardware store and ask for 100 hard hats for example and get them all at once.
An astute businessman, Ryan decided to invest more into the safety items and now supplies the Grenada Breweries, the Grenada Bottling Company, Gravel Concrete and Emulsion Production Corporation and other big companies which need safety supplies. They can come to one place and get whatever quantity they need.
When deciding to go into safety supplies Ryan thought he could make a difference by reaching out to the contractors and the workers and to have them work in a safe environment with affordable and good quality items.
As a result more contractors are taking note of safety and are patronizing that aspect of the business more than before.
Ryan was driven to branch off into supplying the wider construction industry. They realized he was supplying safety items at reasonable costs and so asked him to source other items at lower prices than were being asked on the market by the local hardware entities.
The manager of RSD is pleased the he helps homeowners and contractors save a lot by selling at prices lower than the rest of the market. He is playing his small part in making it easier for someone to build and renovate.
Being a small operator Ryan does not have the huge overhead and utility costs that the larger companies incur. This saving is then passed on to the customer.
Another advantage he exercises is attention to quality. He says he tries to get the best quality. They will not even bring in an item that is not assured to last a long time.
The manager said as a small business quality is very crucial. It will not do to have a reputation of having low prices but poor quality but it must be a combination of both.
Sauteurs is now benefiting from a branch of RSD Trading. According to Ryan the company has a good customer base in the parish. Many of them came down to St. George’s to purchase from the company and have encouraged them to establish a presence there because of the quality of items and prices.
Being new in the industry, Ryan admits that it is proving a challenge to establish his company on the market but progress is surely being made. Having started with only one member of staff besides himself and his wife they are now up to nine persons including 2 in Sauteurs all of whom according to the manager give very good support to the company.
Being the attentive and considerate businessman that he is Ryan has been able to foster some very personal relationships with the contractors.
He deals with all of his contractors on a personal level. He goes to them takes their orders, delivers to them on time and provides them with good quality product and services. Ryan also provides free delivery once it is within St. George’s.
Although starting small, Ryan’s ambition was always to get larger and he intends to take his business to the next level, getting a bigger place and offering a wider variety of items.
As committed to his role as husband and father as he is to the success of his business Ryan admits the effectively executing both is challenging he is up from early in the morning to late in the evening putting in that extra effort to keep his small business growing and play his role as a family man.
What keeps him going? His wife is a major factor added to the fact that having started a business he has no intention of seeing it go down. According to the businessman he has people working with him who have commitments of their own and if he should fail it would mean other people out of a job.
Ryan is originally from Guyana. He worked with Gafoor’s Works the largest hardware dealers in Guyana, to their representative in here, Grenada Steel Works and worked there for a while before branching off on his own.
He is presently pursuing a degree from the University of the West Indies but has put it on hold temporarily since the business is taking up most of his time.