Sometimes, life’s most exciting journeys can begin unexpectedly. My saga began when I moved from my hometown Saharanpur to Delhi when I was barely 20 years young. I was eager to experience life in a metro city and explored varied options for career develoment, whilst still living in my hometown. So I took up a hospitality course and made this the perfect excuse to shift to Delhi.
Thankfully, my parents were supportive of my dream to lead an independent life. For a couple of years, I had an enjoyable stint in a BPO. What’s more, I found the love of my life in this company. Soon, we were married.
A New Home-Based Opportunity
Before long, I came to know about my new family’s unstable financial position. Concerned yet optimistic, I decided to take this as an opportunity to work towards achieving my dreams and I was fortunate to have my husband encouraging and supporting me. Undeterred by societal pressure, I was determined not only to strengthen my family, but saw it as an opportunity to rekindle my passion and dream of becoming an entrepreneur and supporting my family, while also being a financially independent woman. My husband and I soon found an opportunity whereby I could work from home.
After basic research, I discovered e-commerce could be a lucrative opportunity. This was a new experience for me since neither of us had a business background. I was very apprehensive about embarking on this entrepreneurial journey due to my limited understanding of the nuances and skillsets to run business, but my gut knew that this was my only chance to turn over a new leaf. With courage and not overthinking any longer, I took a leap of faith and registered ourselves on e-commerce portals. Little did I know it was the start of an exhilarating journey that would change our lives forever!
One of the challenges I faced was not knowing where to start, how to flesh out our ideas and bring them to life. I began by uploading 10-15 products in the deodorants and perfume category on one portal.
I was fortunate to have sound advisers to help us give shape to our dreams. Their guidance immensely boosted my conviction to start this journey in the formative stages when I had no idea about what lay ahead. As I started this journey on one portal, they were professional and kind enough to help me closely track our business performance. Whenever the sales showed a downward trend, I received a call advising us on the next steps and sustenance strategies to accelerate numbers.
Sustained Support
Over the years, our assortment has extended to categories such as cosmetics, beauty and hair. Today, we have more than 500 products listed on e-commerce websites. I first began my journey with Snapdeal; thanks to their guidance, coupled with our persistence and hard work, the business has been on a steady growth trajectory. For example, in the past year, there has been a 122% increase in the number of orders we process on Snapdeal.
Significantly, this portal operates a fair and transparent payment process, which is one of the most important reasons for our success. Since I had limited money to invest in starting our business, prompt payments gave us the working capital to reinvest. The portal’s transparency means it reflects the exact amount due and the expected day of credit, with the money credited in the account on this date. Not once in the last five years have I ever followed up on payments. This predictability has helped us manage our funds better to scale the business.
Another important aspect is recognition due to sustained sales online. For instance, I received the Snapdeal Seller Excellence Award as a mark of my accomplishment. The certificate award has given me the confidence that all my efforts are in the right direction. I have worked hard to ensure we sell only quality products. The portals recognize this, which has empowered me to fulfil all dreams via online sales to sustain my family. Honestly, without such sustained institutional support, guidance and encouragement, my enterprise would not have been as successful as it is today.