From humble beginnings, Jha lives American dream

Reprinted from the Denver Business Journal, June 20-26, 2003.

For Ceasar Jha, the road to success has been uphill and more than a little bumpy.

Born in a small village in India, Jha became separated from his family as a child when they went to another village. Authorities put him in a Mother Teresa orphanage, and from there he was placed in foster homes in Calcutta and Bombay.

As a youngster, he worked as a mechanic’s helper. He later moved to Oman and took a job as a mechanic, working his way up to foreman and building a nest egg.

With the help of an American pen pal, he moved to the United States in 1982. After losing his savings by investing in a failing motel, fellow church members helped him buy tools. He started repairing cars, initially operating out of the trunk of his car and later opening a two-stall repair shop in the back of another business.

Meanwhile, he graduated from college with a degree in aviation and became a licensed pilot.

In 1990, Jha began selling used cars in addition to his successful repair business. Eight years later he bought his first auto dealership in Montana, and continued to pick up financially troubled dealerships and turn them around. Today Jha is the owner of five dealerships in Colorado, California, Montana, and New Mexico.

He attributes his business’ success to a business model called QCEP: Quality, Customer, Employee, and Product. Problem-solving and decision-making by his employees are major focuses of the program.

He believes it develops initiative, promotes sales ability and nurtures dedication to the product and the company, making the dealerships more successful – a success that employees share. Managers also receive 10 percent ownership after one year.

At the same time, Jha expects his managers to give back to the community by becoming involved in a hands-on way with local and charitable activities.

As far as the future is concerned, he continues to look for additional dealerships to add to his automotive group, and he’s involved in developing a system to bring the latest technology into his company’s selling process.