From managing their family
and children, fulfilling their 'duties' as a daughter, wife,
daughter-in-law and more, to also setting up and running their own
business - women across India are fighting stereotypes and challenging
themselves to create their own individuality in a patriarchal society.
Whether
it's via a fashion brand, a beauty and wellness range, yoga classes or
bakery solutions, some women entrepreneurs are making the most of their
skills and talent to make themselves self-reliant.
Gujarat-based
Ranu Patel has an emotional story to share. She was born as a second
daughter to her parents and since her birth, the family had to bear
unpleasantness from extended family members.
Luckily, she had
liberal parents who let her pursue an MBA specialising in HR and
Finance. She enrolled her company, efonebits, with e-shopping platform
Amazon to become a seller of mobile accessories.
She kept her investments small and focussed on selling two types of mobile covers, sourced from the wholesale market.
"In
the beginning, the profit margins were small because I wanted to
establish myself as a reliable seller," said the 24-year-old, who sells
gel back covers and leather flip covers for mobile phones.
Patel
now works as a business development executive with a pharma company and
while her job is a reliable source of income, it is not a lot of money.
"But the income I get from selling on Amazon is quite substantial," said
Patel, who plans to expand her product portfolio and knows that the
"best thing about my business is that even after marriage, I will
continue to sell my products online."
Post-marriage, balancing the personal and professional life is a tough act.
Sneha
Mehta, who runs an almost year-old fashion luxury brand Kukoon,
however, says women are born as experts in the art of balancing, but
supportive in-laws can be a bigger boon.
"I try my best to give
good quality time to both my work and family and I'm lucky to get a
supportive family and my staff who have been my strong pillars to keep
me going," Mehta told IANS.
Kukoon's successful journey can be
verified with the fact that top Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka
Chopra, Jacqueline Fernandes, Deepika Padukone, Kanika Kapoor and
Taapsee Panu have sported the brand's creations.
There's another
example in aroma therapist Rupal Shabnam Tyagi, who has launched Wikka,
an exclusive line of beauty and wellness potions. She says family
support is key for women entrepreneurs.
"When you meet with a
like-minded person who understands you and is willing to be by your side
in your life's journey, you are ready to take the plunge," said Tyagi,
whose products are based on the age-old practice of aromatherapy.
Tyagi
agrees that for the modern age woman, "travelling in two boats -- one
of motherhood and other an entrepreneur -- is always a tough ride". So,
she suggests that it's important to "prepare a way ahead in order to
avoid the stress of workload both at home and at work".
Talking
of stress, there's certified yoga trainer Manisha Kharbanda, who
launched BrahmYog, a brand in lifestyle space in 2014. Her motivation
for setting it up?
"Being born and brought up in the princely
estate of Patiala, the lifestyle issues were aplenty. Each time I hit
the streets, I could see people indulging in unhealthy habits vis-a-vis
food, alcohol and drug abuse. It always inspired me to divert them to a
healthier way of life," Kharbanda told IANS.
Whether it's for
money, for passing time, to optimise their skills or for the betterment
of society, the reasons for women to get drawn into the entrepreneurship
web are many, and the online medium is helping them in a huge way to
spread their wings -- far and wide.
(Nivedita can be contacted at [email protected])
