• Ishara Weeraratna’s story of success 

“Racing Against the Pandemic” has become a term that all of us are all too familiar with now. Every day is a race to live, to continue working, and to earn a living so one can conquer these hard times. [caption id="attachment_159691" align="alignleft" width="383"] Author of ‘Racing Against the Pandemic’ and Founder of Luxe Colombo Ishara Weeraratna[/caption] Ishara Weeraratna, in his debut publication; aptly named Racing Against the Pandemic, has chosen to tell the story of the inception of his venture Luxe Colombo and how he navigated the unchartered waters of the pandemic and grew the online platform to one of the most sought after names in the Colombo circles. The book provides insight into the challenges, strategies to overcome them, and anecdotes to aspiring entrepreneurs. It also provides a detailed look into how when you set your mind to something you truly believe in, it must come true. We caught up with Weeraratna for a chat about his new book and how he got to writing it. Starting off his career as a software engineer in Italy many years ago, he was also involved in his family business which required him to travel around the country and back. Before the pandemic, Weeraratna was a traveller at heart, but unfortunately is chained down to one country now, which gave him ample time to sit down and pen a book that would go on to motivate many others to make a difference with their life, even amidst such difficult times. His family business surrounds the import industry, where he imports cheese and other gourmet products and sells them to hotels, which was affected by the pandemic due to the closure of restaurants and left his family with products worth millions that would expire within weeks, and not a clue what to do. This was when he came up with the idea to open his venture Luxe Colombo; a food delivery service that offers a luxury shopping experience. This was a massive success and of course, an inspiration to all that are struggling with maintaining a business that doesn’t seem to work with a pandemic and a lesson on how to overcome hardships and thrive. He picked the name Racing Against the Pandemic for his book because Luxe Colombo started as a response to the pandemic. “Most people would give up and would prefer to wait until it goes away to get back to business or even start a new one,” Weeraratna noted. Even his friends preferred to wait out the pandemic rather than racing against it to start something of their own, hence the name, and why he decided to inspire people with his story. Before he wrote this book, he had many people approach him with questions on how he started his business. “Every week I would get about four calls from strangers asking me to give them tips and questions on how I did it,” he expressed. This is what actually prompted him to sit down and pen his story. Weeraratna also told us that there are a few institutes with a focus on marketing that use Luxe Colombo as an example to teach marketing strategies and such. This also pushed him towards writing a book, in hopes of benefiting more people and leading them towards a path of success. “My book is the success story of Luxe Colombo and has tips, and dos and don’ts of running a business,” explained Weeraratna, adding that it’s not merely a story, but could be viewed as a business book as well. The book also has tips on how to build a business from ground zero, how to establish a sustainable business, how to scale your business to achieve higher goals, and also focuses on the importance of customer satisfaction and working towards it. The book focuses on how they started, and all the sacrifices and dedication that went into it. He very generously gave away the secrets of his business for the humble reason of helping our country grow and develop into one we can be proud of; one that is home to successful citizens. When writing the book, Brunch asked Weeraratna if he faced any obstacles, to which he responded saying he didn’t. “I did take a lot of time to actually write it, because despite the pandemic work goes on, and I had a very busy schedule,” he told us, adding that it was impossible to finish it in one go. He wrote out certain parts of it, and eventually put it together in the most fitting order. Upon completion, he sent it to some friends and family, and was happy to hear feedback from them; both the positives and the constructive criticism. Weeraratna is all about striving towards perfection and being the best version of himself; an admirable trait, we must note. When asked if we can expect more from him in terms of another book or more literate work, he revealed that he has already started writing and drafting the second book as well. He added that it will take some time, but hopefully by February next year, he should be prepared to release it. His next book too will be business-focused, but with a touch of personal experience and testimonies. His parting words of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs were: “Be inspired by a business that was born as a response to the pandemic and find out how it became a market leader in its category.”  Website: racingagainstpandemic.com Instagram: @isharaweeraratna