Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires - 2 :Chhotu Sharma

Chhotu Sharma equipped himself with computer know-how and discovered teaching skills. Photo: Anil Dayal

By Aditya Sharma :Reders Digest




“When you are determined, the odds are in your favour.”

Educate Yourself
When Chhotu Sharma graduated in 1998 with a BA degree from Government College, Dhaliara, near his village in Himachal Pradesh, he hadn’t ever used a computer. “My degree wouldn’t get me anywhere,” says the 37-year-old father of two, who moved to Chandigarh 15 years ago.

One of the biggest obstacles to making money is not having some professional education or special skills. “I was jittery about my future when a friend told me that a computer course would land me a Rs5000-a-month job,” says Chhotu, “and so I came to Chandigarh only to realize that my family couldn’t afford the fees.”

Chhotu, though, wasn’t going back empty-handed. He got a job as a peon at the local Aptech Computer Education Centre and managed to fund his one-year computer course as well. “To save money, I often skipped breakfast,” he recalls. Chhotu had to spend all day at the centre, which gave him a lot of free time to practise his computer lessons. He also started guiding other students with their programming lessons—and discovering his skills as a teacher.

After becoming a Microsoft certified software developer, Chhotu continued teaching, but he was now riding his bicycle by day to students’ homes for that. He was also taken on the Aptech faculty for their evening classes.

By 2000, Chhotu was earning enough to buy a motorbike and his first PC, with which he started his own computer institute in a rented two-room flat. In six months he had 80 students and more computers— all in a bigger place.

 Today, he teaches advanced software development to more than 1000 students in his own Chandigarh-based CS Infotech. About 125 employees work in CS Soft Solutions, his software development company in Mohali. In 2007, his home state honoured him a Himachal Gaurav Puraskar for his extraordinary contributions to information technology.

 Chhotu also helps those in need: he reaches out to deserving students, funds marriages and helps youngsters from his village get an education.

“Back in my village, I never thought I’d get this far,” says Chhotu. “But all it takes is a little extra education and effort to make it work.”