There are many ways to spend time and money online. If we aren’t shopping for stuff, we are looking for games, music and films. Either way, it’s entertainment, rather than utility that we expect the Internet to deliver.
E-commerce has restructured the traditional way of doing business many times over. And it has also proved to be a silent aide to the creative souls in our midst.
These two young businesswomen from Tiruchi decided to use their Facebook pages as a means to realising their dream of financial independence.
From dud deals to overseas customers, trend-spotting to style-hopping, they share their stories with us.
‘You are your own boss’
She’s all of 23, has done the regulation Engineering degree, and could have been well-settled behind a pair of headphones in a call centre by now. But Tiruchi resident Subhiksha Rajasekhar was quite sure that she wanted to do things a little differently. “I studied B.E, and my parents thought that my childhood craze to run a small business had vanished. But it came back soon after graduation.”
Starting her Facebook page ‘Beauty Quills and Corals Boutique’ in June 2015 (after she spent a year convincing her parents) to sell fashion accessories made out of paper quilling and silk thread, Subhiksha soon noticed that there was a niche in the market for affordable, yet good quality dress materials and saris in Tiruchi.
A few Googling sessions later, “I found 100 suppliers of dress materials online, of which I shortlisted 25,” says Subhiksha. “Today I am dealing with 17 suppliers in 12 cities across 5 states.”
As she doesn’t have a bricks-and-mortar store to back up her FB page, Subhiksha first gets the money from the customer and then procures her stock. She also supplies garments to local boutiques and earns a commission on each order. WhatsApp and Facebook are her chosen tools of communication.
While the initial orders were given by her own circle of friends, today Subhiksha has a clientele that consists mostly of middle-aged and professional women looking for trendy daily wear outfits and cotton saris, besides the usual embellished designer products.
“I keep surfing the Net for sites that predict upcoming trends, so that I can be prepared for customers’ requests,” says Subhiksha. “One day, there seems to be a rush for kurtas with net sleeves and the next, they want sleeveless shirts. So I keep an eye out for what could be a bestseller.”
The boom in event management, especially for family occasions, has given her a chance to foray into options like ‘uniform saris’ and bulk orders of footwear and return gifts.
“The best part of being a Facebook businesswoman is that you can be your own boss. You can stay open the whole day or for just a few hours, because you are working from home. I earn between Rs. 20,000 to Rs.27,000 per month, which I spend on family and leisure,” says Subhiksha, who had just returned from a holiday in Manali when she spoke to MetroPlus.
But there can be some pitfalls too. “Maintaining privacy is a problem for young women online, which is why I removed my profile picture from my page,” she says. “E-commerce is based on trust, and sometimes you will find deals going wrong because you believed the wrong person. But my mother helps me to filter out potential scammers, and I use software to monitor my incoming calls, so I’ve sort of settled down in my work.”
Nurturing a secret dream to start a café (“I’m sure my parents will be outraged,” she laughs), Subhiksha says she has few regrets. “I wanted to show the world that youngsters don’t always waste time on social media.”
The perfect match
Her Facebook page has several notices warning visitors against filching the images of the silk-thread ornaments pasted there. But 27-year-old Kalaivani Vijayaraghavan of Srirangam knows that her lovingly photographed jewels (she’s the one taking the pictures), will pop up somewhere else online despite her best efforts. “They may not have my logo, but I know my designs just like a mother knows her children,” says Kalaivani, with an exasperated laugh.
Why did the Masters graduate in Computer Applications become a costume jeweller? “Because I didn’t have any particular financial need to get a job soon after graduation,” she replies. “I wanted something that would be creatively satisfying and easy to keep up even if I got married.”
The paper flowers that she started selling first on her Facebook page (Kalai.Designs), have been replaced by silk-thread fashion accessories.
Each of the jhumkas, necklaces and bangles is hand-crafted by Kalaivani, using embroidery silk threads and plastic base parts. “For bulk orders, I have a small network of crafters to share the labour. Otherwise, it’s just me working from my dining table,” she says.
And that dining table has been her launching pad for orders to U.S., U.K., Denmark and most recently, a shopping expo in Dubai. Kalaivani offers customised packing and has tied up with local and foreign courier companies for logistics support in shipping.
“My business relies completely on colour matching,” she says. “So my starting point is usually a photo of the customer’s outfit. As to why these lightweight ornaments are such a hit with women of all ages these days, she says, “You may have to spend lakhs of rupees of gold jewellery which may not match your dress. But silk thread accessories cost only in the hundreds of rupees, and can be made in any colour. Naturally, the price and match is the main attraction.”
After burning her fingers in a few false deals, Kalaivani has started filtering genuine customers by requesting for half the payment in advance. She keeps her price list offline to avoid rivals undercutting her.
“I’m thinking of expanding the business by training four or five women workers and also by selling other accessories through my Facebook page.”
Kalaivani has no time for people who ask her why she is not working in a regular office job. “Success has many forms, this is just the way I want to experience it,” she says.
