Success for Ganesh Shew, the owner of hydrographic and engineering surveying company Sealand Surveys, is “acquiring your goals without hurting anyone in the process”. And that says a lot about the personable 37-year-old who confessed that he went into business for himself five years ago because he did not like to be bossed around.
Ganesh Shew
Sealand Surveys specialises in near-shore and in-shore hydrographic and engineering surveys, the Plantation Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara resident says. Hydrographic surveying is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/offshore oil drilling and related activities. Sealand Surveys operates within the restricted waters of Guyana, and Shew has done work for Bosai and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc among other companies.
“We provide bathymetric data for any marine shipping, dredging or construction operation in the ports and harbours of Guyana. But aside from my surveying business, I also have a speedboat service and I do some farming,” he added.
Shew is definitely a soul who keeps busy and has several irons in the fire. It’s clear that the trained land surveyor and boatmaster, who recently completed business training at ActionCOACH through the Small Business Bureau, believes in educating himself in the various aspects of his life. But it’s all based on his understanding that when you are your own boss, you have to work harder and longer, a lesson he has learnt from experience.
“My field of business is very limited, because there’s a small sector that requires such a service,” Shew noted in measuring the response to the services offered by his business. But the hydrographic surveyor, who says his biggest inspiration is the future because “you never know what lies ahead”, has great hopes for Sealand Surveys. He remarked that his niche business had great potential, since the development of the oil and gas sector would increase demand for hydrographic and engineering surveys. Making full use of technology to provide better service to clients is at the top of the list of his priorities.
A former student of Bartica Secondary School and the Government Technical Institute (GTI), who was raised in the Pomeroon and Georgetown, his early experience of travelling across the country and living in diverse places was good preparation for the travelling that is an inherent part of his work. “My work is 50 per cent in the field and 50 per cent in the office; since my office is at home, my work doesn’t take away time from my family. I even take my wife in the field when it’s not too dangerous,” he said in explaining how he dealt with the challenges the business can pose. The fact that he loves travelling and views it “in itself” as a vacation makes Shew’s profession even more perfect for him.
He advised budding entrepreneurs, “Put your all into your business because only then you would be able to have results.” Highlighting that the most important trait of businesspeople was “learning to deal with uncertainty of business”, the former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer said access to finance at an affordable rate and payment term was vital.
The determination and willingness to learn shown by Shew, who said his grandmother was his biggest influence, have been pivotal on his rise into capitalism.
Contact: Sealand Surveys, Plantation Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara; 614-8400
