Zouk, The Chhaunk & JhaJi Store: Businesswomen who hit it big
Synopsis
Many of these women, especially in India, come from humble backgrounds and have had to overcome challenges such as financial constraints, societal norms, and lack of support from their families and communities. However, they refused to give up and persisted until they achieved their goals.
Women entrepreneurs from all over the world have shown that with hard work and determination, they can overcome any obstacle and achieve great success in their respective fields. Many of these women, especially in India, come from humble backgrounds and have had to overcome challenges such as financial constraints, societal norms, and lack of support from their families and communities. However, they refused to give up and persisted until they achieved their goals.
One such woman is Disha Singh, the founder of fashion and lifestyle D2C brand Zouk, known for its vegan, cruelty-free and functional bags. However, starting a brand was not a cake walk for her. Born and brought up in a middle-class family with no history in business, Singh faced a fair share of challenges to make Zouk what it is today.
During the initial phase of her startup journey, Disha had to travel for more than four hours a day, from Goregaon to Dharavi in Mumbai, in search of artisans who could design the bags as per her needs.
“Women entrepreneurs or leaders are not taken as seriously as men in our country. When I used to go to Dharavi to find artisans for my brand, the people there thought I was just doing it because it was one of my hobbies. They didn’t see me as a professional who has come to find workers for her brand,” says Disha, talking about the hardships she faced while building the brand.
An IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, who quit her well-paying job to start her own venture, Disha was always enthusiastic about business. At a young age of eight, she used to collect books from people in her society and her two elder siblings to build her own small library during summer vacations. She even used to rent these books at a minimal price to society residents for a brief period. This not only depicts her business-mindedness but also her love for books as she is an avid reader.
Things for women change when they get married or become mothers. But in Singh’s case, both sides of the family (hers and her husband’s) were equally supportive of her career choices.
According to Disha, it’s important to get family on board if you are starting your own venture because that provides emotional support and strength to overcome challenges.
“All the women entrepreneurs who are looking to start their venture or are in the initial phase of setting-up their own businesses should keep three things in mind: First, put in all your effort and dedicate yourself to it; second is to get family on board. Try to convince them because they will act as your pillar of support during hard times; third, and the most significant, is to ignore all the irrelevant and negative comments (unless they are constructive feedback),” she says.
“People will always have something to say. You just need to focus on your plan and work on it,” Disha says, with a smile on her face.
Equally inspiring is the story of another set of women entrepreneurs Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha of JhaJi Store, a brand which gained traction after being featured on Shark Tank India Season 1.
These sisters-in-law hail from Darbhanga, a small town in Bihar, where conservative mindset around working women still exists. Yet, these two women did not let society affect their plan of setting up their own venture.
“JhaJi Store was created out of our urge to do something on our own after spending a major chunk of our lives serving family members,” says Kalpana Jha, smiling graciously.
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