The story of a couple of women who became entrepreneurs and tasted success
“It has been a long expedition for me from the software industry to the world of business. I conceived the idea of being an entrepreneur to overcome the problems of being an employee”, said Suma Radheshyam, an entrepreneur of the city.
“Being boss myself, I can make my own hours, work from almost anywhere, pursue my passion” says Ms. Suma who ventured into the beauty business with an objective of achieving financial independence and generate employment for others.
With the association of Lakme Academy, she runs salons in different parts of the city. “I am balancing home life with business.” After gaining hands-on- experience in an IT firm, she identifies herself as a confident entrepreneur. “Initially, I faced a lot of challenges. Mobilising funds, finding the right talent, managing human resources were major tests during early days of business. However, hard work paid off and multiple salons that I own says it all,” she said.
‘My own rules and benchmarks’
Kalpana Nagaraj, an engineering graduate who worked in L&T initially, is MD of Micron EMS Tech Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, shares a different experience as an entrepreneur. She ventured into a male-dominated business in 2003. Yet, she carved out a place for her dreams. She faced a number of hurdles as she had no clue about the rules of the game. “Yet I set my own best practice rules and benchmarks”.
Now, her company is one of the leading EMS providers focused on delivering end-to-end manufacturing solutions to technology firms. “We have expanded into the LED lighting arena as original equipment manufacturers with high technology involvement.”
Ms. Kalpana also faced the challenge of finding the right lateral hires who could work for a woman. Though she had no legacy or immovable collaterals to offer to a bank to get a loan, she runs the firm with resolve and commitment.
Organic products
Nirmala Guttal, who started organic food networking as a passion, has now turned it into a business. She runs Arya Farm and provides jobs to 40 people. Her firm manufactures products by hand-picking produce from farmers. “We manufacture 140 products ranging from healthy drink to wheat and rice” she says.
