Pooja's family business manufactures women's footwear. She has always had a background in fashion. She wanted to start her own business and saw a scarcity of good bags in a decent price range for men and women. Good bags are rare with strong anti-leather sentiments, and she wanted to capture that gap.
She advises starting a company with a team always. "Trying to do everything is rewarding but also taxing. And when you lay the foundation of the business with a good team with decided key roles, the growth in the business is faster."
"My experience taught me to Be consistent, there will be challenges and at times, the business will be slow, but don’t give up. Consistency is always rewarding. NEVER compromise on the quality of your raw materials. A good quality product is what always takes the business to desired heights." Says Pooja
Her family supported her all throughout. They gave her the seed capital and always let her follow her dream and passion the way she wanted. She gives all the credit for being what she is today to her parents.
She says, starting a business only requires limited resources. But to use the resources wisely can make a small amount go longer. "For the first 3 years in invested 80% of my earnings back in the business and kept 20% for myself. This helped me to always have a cash flow in the business." Says Pooja.
Selling the products without wanting to spend a bomb on a retail outlet was a challenging for her. She did a lot of exhibitions which were extremely taxing on the body, but it was worth and rewarding as there is direct customer interaction and feedback.
"Eventually, I started with smaller quantities so managing the costing was also a challenging part." She adds "I always wanted to give the best quality in a decent price range. To combat this, I kept her margins low."
Lastly, she gives the message to the world that to; "Always persue your dreams, Never give up. There will be challenges but think wisely, and always keep moving forward."
Comments