Mrs. Sonal always was intrigued by the manufacturing industry and after graduation worked for a couple of years before starting on her own. Providing training to freshly graduated engineers and industrialists, Mrs. Sonal changed the face of the industry. As a woman she has come a long way while overcoming obstacles, and all the while encouraging other women to explore the field of manufacturing.
Sonal Potdar is the Head of Business Development at Solid Vision, an entity that came about in 1998 and is located in the city of Mumbai in India. Since 1993, Mrs. Sonal has been in the field of design and manufacturing. With the vision to train engineers, she started this company and hasn’t looked back since. Solid Vision is a technological partner that provides training in the best available technologies. With an experienced team, they help in the implementation of new technologies and provide customers exposure in varied market segments while keeping operational costs low.
‘Ask me Engineers’ is one of the companies in their group that has as its mission providing high quality software solutions, engineering services, and training services. For over 25 years they have been training individuals in CAD/CAM. Mrs Sonal’s passion in training and technology is clearly imprinted in their courses that envision providing engineers better training in the field of engineering while using the latest technologies. They also provide contemporary services including Re-engineering and Rapid Prototyping for businesses given the need these days for skilled manpower to be abreast with the latest technologies.
‘Ask me Engineer’ came about to address a real-life problem that Mrs. Sonal faced when she wanted to learn new technologies that she found too complicated to comprehend. This led to her starting a training center to solve problems, train engineers and access new technologies with ease. Fresh graduates invariably search for non-technical jobs due to lack of knowledge in technical matters. To improve the situation, this company provides them easy access to knowledge in technical areas so as to bring about employability. Their game plan worked and they got the support of known industrial entities including the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra. Gaining knowledge from the latter, they train freshers who are then absorbed into M & M.
This venture went on to be the distributor and reseller for several MNCs and the authorized training centers for Mastercam of the USA. Way back in 1995, when there was hardly any awareness of Mastercam products and other software, Mrs. Sonal got into training and improving the skills of those employed in industries besides being the distributors of Mastercam licenses in India. In addition, they partnered with SDRC to distribute the latter’s I-DEAS Software and also became the distributors of specialized scanners used in industrial re-engineering.
Breaking the stereotypes
Despite breaking stereotypes, Mrs. Sonal never found the field challenging enough. Coming from a non-technical background she faced few challenges in coping up. One was of the field being male dominated. Attending conferences and exhibitions, there was little to no presence of women. She was left to be the face of the company and received a lot of respect from other industrialists. “It was actually exciting for me,” says Mrs. Sonal about attending these conferences.
Mrs. Sonal’s performance remains notable in that she almost doubled key targets in sales and revenues that were assigned to her. With the right determination and courage anyone can be successful in their sectors, she says. In a training program by Siemens for marketing and negotiation, Mrs. Sonal impressed her trainer with her negotiation skills. “Maybe you should teach instead of me,” said her trainer!
Mrs. Sonal’s thorough understanding of the sales and manufacturing processes makes her one of the most successful in her field. “I understand the process and then accordingly provide solutions” she says about bottlenecks faced by manufacturers. For Mrs. Sonal there is no place for solutions that aren’t based on facts. According to her, one should start by understanding the manufacturing process, and only then venture into creating solutions so as to be effective.
Facing challenges and overcoming them
Despite years of experience, she still faces questions like “Are you sure you can do this”, “Do you need someone else to help you understand” and the likes given the dearth of women in manufacturing. It gets all the more challenging with the ego coming in between or when she has to prove her worth every now and then. “Are you sure you are capable of doing this?” is her favorite among such questions. Despite these she manages to come on top every time.
“It was my father’s dream. He is the one who could visualize all this”, says Mrs. Sonal who joined the field to make her career. A sportsperson during her school days, she was more often to be seen on the cricket ground or swimming. The only girl around, all this happened close to four decades back when the world was a lot more orthodox. Despite getting nagged from ever source her father believed in her and her abilities to do the right thing. To him, being a boy or girl never mattered. She was his child and he stood by her through thick and thin.
As for Mrs Sonal, she broke stereotypes quite a while back when she was still a young girl. Completing her graduation, she worked at Jyoti Plastics only to realize that a job wasn't her cup of tea. Staying on for two years, she and her husband whom she met while in employment started their own company ‘Ask me Engineers’. What’s intriguing is that no one in her immediate family is into a business of any sort. She had it her way and has lived life on her terms. Her father always knew that she was exceptional and she proved him right all the time.
Motherhood and Manufacturing
“I was already a mother,” says Mrs. Sonal about managing her personal and professional life after she was blessed with a son. It felt very easy for Mrs. Sonal to balance both. Her team took care of her son while she was busy attending meetings, “From a young age, he has become the director” jokes Mrs. Sonal. Her son seems to keep tabs on her work by asking her daily about her tasks and the targets she managed to complete every day.
Life brings its share of challenges every moment, and according to Mrs. Sonal everyone needs to practice gratitude. In 2015, they decided to focus on their own services, a big decision for Mrs. Sonal. The design of a ‘Thurst Aircraft’ by Captain Amol Yadav was done by the team at Solid Vision. This, a 6-seater indigenously made aircraft was recognized by PM Narendra Modi and is the first indigenously developed aircraft.
“To be a leader, you need to make others leaders too” comments Mrs. Sonal on leadership. A good leader is someone who lifts others. “Allow them to explore, and trust them while they do so” says Mrs. Sonal to the families of women who want to enter manufacturing. The latter has a huge scope and Mrs. Sonal recommends engineers to improve skills and knowledge in their own fields before venturing into any enterprise.