Ferdous Hossain from Uttar Shankarpasa village in Pirojpur sadar upazila was a meritorious student. In class V, he secured a scholarship. But after completing his Higher School Certificate, as youth too often do, Ferdous took a few missteps in life. He passed days aimlessly in the company of the wrong crowd.

Although he enrolled at a college in Khulna to study computer science he returned to Pirojpur a year later without completing the course. For someone who once dreamt of a career in administration it wasn't easy to face the reality that hopes were dashed.

"I didn't finish my study," Ferdous, now 27, regrets. "But I realised that I had gained some computer knowledge." With few options to re-align his life in a more fruitful direction, Ferdous thought of business.

"What I've realised is that business is the most honest way of earning an income, more so than many professions. And in business one can shine relatively quickly," he says.

Of course Ferdous's business journey was not without challenge. At first he took a loan for Tk 85,000 from relatives in order to rent a shop in Pirojpur town. The advance on the shop was Tk 50,000; with the remainder he bought a computer.

It was a modest start. Ferdous used to load songs onto people's mobile phones. Gradually he started servicing mobile phones with skills gleaned from watching others. He thought to onsell computer equipment purchased from wholesalers in Khulna. But progress was incremental, stifled by being an unknown business quantity and by lack of capital.

"For three years I focused on building customer relations," says Ferdous. "Customers are the main component of any business. I tried to gain trust by offering the best products and services according to their needs. I still do."

As an incentive, Ferdous offered free servicing of all equipment sold.

He spent time marketing his business, and went door to door inviting people to visit his shop. To create IT awareness he also organised several campaigns at different educational institutions, arranging IT general knowledge competitions that proved popular.

At the same time Ferdous was earning trust elsewhere. Khulna IT wholesalers became confident to extend 15 days' credit to him on larger purchases, which helped overcome the problem of a cash flow that was little more than a trickle. It meant he could deliver products quickly despite limited funds.

After most of four years when Ferdous decided it was time to take Tk 7 lakh in bank loans to fund expansion, he was determined to establish relationship of trust with the bankers as well.

"Ferdous always repays loans in time," says Parimal Chandra Biswas, manager of Pubali Bank in Pirojpur. "Ferdous is a successful IT businessman. He has done well quite quickly and we hope to give him a new loan soon."

Nazmul Hasan, customer relations officer of Brac Bank, echoed Parimal. He said: "Ferdous maintains good terms with us. Sometimes in my free time I go to his shop and I saw that he tries his best to serve the customers, always calmly."

His shop, New Chips and Bytes in Pirojpur's Hatem Ali market, sells both wholesale and retail IT equipment. He has become the local distributor for two companies. With monthly turnover of about Tk 20 lakh, his business serves around 80 percent of local government offices and most NGOs. He employs 11 people.

Central to his business strategy has been customer satisfaction. "I have been with Ferdous from the beginning and I'm really pleased with him," says wholesale buyer Masud Gazi from Mathbaria upazila in the same district. "He always gives us his best service," says Paritosh Mondal, owner of a computer shop in the district town. "I am happy with his business policy and I only deal with him."

Yet Ferdous says that a focused business mind is the root of his success. "I am always developing business strategy," he says. "When I go to sleep I think of my business. I believe in aiming high. I want to reach the top position in my business, and I want to create jobs for others as well."

Always forward-looking, this year Ferdous established a computer training centre approved by the Bangladesh Technical Education Board. "My next goal is to set up branches in all of the seven upazilas in Pirojpur," he says.