So..I never thought I would start blogging but here I am. I want my series of blogs to be related to just not business but even some fun events in my life. I hope this helps my customers or my followers gain a better insight in my life and what really goes behind the whole process you see before you.
So for my first blog, I really just want to kick off the series with the topic of "getting started". How did all of this happen, when did this business stuff come in play and basically just how all of this was created.
About a few weeks ago, a school newspaper article approached me saying they wanted me to write up a short article on my entrepreneurship journey. While I was writing that, the idea of starting my own blog series came about. I'm going to rewrite the same thing I wrote for them here because it applies to my first blog as well.
"Starting a business has always been my childhood dream. Believe it or not, it actually runs in the family! I set up my first e-commerce store at the age of 16, called “Queen of Hearts”. Cringy? Yeah i know, well I was young, so it felt cool to me back then. I used to engage in dropshipping products to my customers (who were really just 10 of my friends) and that's how it all started.
( This logo on top was my first e-commerce brand logo )
(This was my very first poster in 2016)
(This was the first product idea i had back in 2016)
Just like any other teenager, I had zero finances. Hence, eventually I was forced to shut down the store. The main problem was the website domain price, it was $40/month back in 2016, which I couldn’t afford. For the next 4 years, I kept on having various business ideas, but was never able to pursue them either. I was really low on cash to invest in a business. It was towards the end of 2018, when I told myself to save up and venture into entrepreneurship again. I started working 3 jobs on a regular basis while doing my A levels at the same time. A Lot of people suggested simply taking money from my parents. True! I could have, but that would not have been “my work”. I wanted to build something I could have full claim over and be proud that it took blood,sweat and tears to achieve it.
So fast forward to 2019, I successfully saved up enough to have my first jewellery collection out. What a lot of people don't know is that it was a collection that was actually original and created by the team from scratch. I launched it on 15th March 2020 and it was sold out WITHIN A MONTH!! I honestly didn’t expect that people would like it but they did and it was a very humbling experience. I get asked a lot “what inspired my first collection?” and my answer is really just - “my culture”. I am very proud of my culture and heritage so I wanted a collection that was Indian themed yet having a little bit of a twist in it so as to stand out from the crowd. Which is why you would notice a lot of bright neon colors used in my earrings which is uncommon in Indian Jhumkas. Overall, the whole entrepreneurship experience is one of the most precious ones I’ve had and I would strongly encourage everyone to try it out at-least once in their life. A Lot of people think it takes tons of money, but it really doesn't. There are so many cheaper and more convenient options available to start a business (e.g reselling, drop-shipping etc.). All one really needs is the passion and the drive to do it. If you have a plan to open a business, start NOW. There is no age limit to when you can start one and a lot of people tend to forget that. Excuses like “I have no money” , “I don't know how to start” or even “I don’t have time” are really not going to get us anywhere. We have a very blessed era of technology and we fail to make the best of it. I’ve never had any help or guidance from anyone on how to start or run a business. All I did was google, google and more google. It really isn’t rocket science, it's very achievable.
For my brand, I do see plenty of exciting things happening. My ultimate goal is to build a proper brand that manufactures all original content which is new, unique and exciting in its own way for the consumers. I hope that I can develop a better, more personal relationship with my customers as well, hoping that people are able to connect to my brand more. One thing I do want to sign off with is the question of how I feel my brand differentiates itself from others in the space. To that i would say; my brand is driven more by customer experience rather than sales. I do like to invest in customer experience through my marketing and packaging. I strongly believe in first impressions and that customer satisfaction is the key to a successful business. Every customer of mine should open their package and go “wow”, to bring out that whole experience alive. That is what I strive for and I feel that is also a reason as to why people like to shop with us. They are given an experience where they get the product they want and on the top of it, something that is above their expectations, an experience that is memorable ! "
And there it is. My first blog on how I started my journey and how you can do it too. If you guys liked this blog, you could 'like' or 'comment' so I would know :) In my next blog, i will probably talk about more technical things as well so you guys gets some tips ! Stay Tuned <3
