Business-savvy Tanapong Chirapanidchakul has always known what he wants from life. Having been goal-oriented since a youngster, it doesn’t come as a surprise that today, at just 39, he is CEO and founder of Tanachira Group, importer and distributor of top fashion accessory brands Pandora, Marimekko and others. Moreover, the self-made businessman has his own jewellery brand, Tilda.
Tanapong Chirapanidchakul, also an avid art collector. photo courtesy of Tanachira Group
However, success hasn’t come easy for this soft-spoken entrepreneur who wears his heart on his sleeve. A health issue, exacerbated due to working around the clock and poor fitness, landed him in hospital late last year — just about the time his company was going from strength to strength, with revenue at an all-time high.
The life-altering encounter jolted him back into prioritising his health and well-being before work.
“Last November I had stroke,” recalled Tanapong. “I had began to ignore my fitness and health in general. This eventually took a toll on me.”
Tanapong’s life revolved around building the business and his growing family. In 2011, when he started his company, he was basically doing everything himself, working seven days a week, and this continued for the next five years as the company’s portfolio grew. Since then it had all been about either building up the business or doing things for others. He had forgotten to look after himself like he had in the past.
“The doctor found that I had a small hole in my heart that had contributed to the stroke. Poor eating and sleeping habits could have very well contributed to my ailing health. No amount of sleep helped me feel refreshed, while I suffered from constant headaches. I was on a downward spiral, and I had no idea what was wrong until the morning I participated in a marathon with my staff. Despite feeling tired after the event I had a great time. However, soon after I could not speak. I had to literally learn to speak again.”
“It was a wake-up call for me, and today I’m working less and spending quality time with my family and loved ones. I hope this could serve as a lesson for people who neglect their health and focus their entire life on career goals. For me it was not so much about the money but about succeeding in reaching the goals I set for myself.”
On the work front, Tanapong is one of the brightest stars in the retail sector. The second of four children, he credits much of his business acumen to the experience he picked up from the role he played in branding his family’s furniture business.
He was encouraged by his parents to pursue a career in business. The idea was to have him become a merchant like them. His parents gave him a taste of what it meant to be an entrepreneur early in life. It didn’t take long for him to gather the know-how to be where he is today.
Already equipped with determination and the perseverance to reach his goals in life, he used each opportunity that came his way to inch closer to success.
After years of being groomed in the family business, he ventured into investment banking, providing him with knowledge on such things as how an overall business model should look.
Academically, he also did not leave any stone unturned. Besides a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Melbourne, Australia, he has two master’s in business administration, from both Thailand and the US.
Having a head on his shoulders since an early age, Tanapong got the first foretaste of importing leading fashion brands in 2009 when he became a partner of AT Luxury Group, which imported top brands of the likes of Kate and Jake Spade. The executive did not wait too long after that to set up Tanachira Group. The first brand he brought into Thailand was Pandora. Since then he hasn’t looked back.
“My family business is furniture manufacturing, so I guess my passion for interior design came from there,” said Tanapong. “The core DNA of my existence was living to excel in what I do. And I pursued my dreams with gusto.
“My mother worked hard to save enough money to send me to boarding school in Australia. The life of excelling in school propelled me to develop my independence and broaden my knowledge. I have always been independent — I managed my own check book at the age of 15. Being tasked to look after my elder sister while we were studying in Australia also gave me the freedom to make my own decisions. My upbringing in a Chinese-Thai middle class family and overseas education pretty much set the tone for what I am today.”
From the personal experience of setting up his own company, Tanapong suggests up-and-coming entrepreneurs to fully understand the nature of their business and the goals they set to achieve before getting into it.
“The Buddhist teaching of learning to let go is crucial in our line of work. This is especially challenging for people like myself who are career-driven and independent. Since an early age, I set goals for myself, few of which included making a difference in life, seeing the world, embracing diversity, encouraging team spirit to achieve a desired goal and trying new things. While I’ve managed to achieve quite a few as an entrepreneur, I’ve now begun to set personal goals that don’t always focus on work, but rather family and friends.”
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.