Do you ever wonder what it takes to build a company from scratch into a successful venture in a male dominated society? Well, there are probably few women entrepreneurs who have done it. One of them is Bindu Sharma of MSMBox.com and her story is one of intrigue and interest. As a woman, one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment is being your own boss and seeing something which you’ve created and nurtured come to fruition.
Bindu Sharma’s in-depth understanding of the retail market has helped her provide advisory services to many established brands to put them on the road to profitability. She has been an integral part of several start-ups including Oma, Maishaa, Renovation Factory, Epique and now MSMBox.com. To get better insight into this maverick, we understood why she entered into the beauty segment, challenges which she faced and her thoughts on women entrepreneurship.
Bindu’s personal interest in beauty products prompted her to explore the beauty market. She observed that with the ever increasing number of working women in India and growing awareness about the importance of beauty products, there is a huge potential to make substantial inroads in this domain. Bindu relied on the fact that the need to groom arises the moment someone steps out of their house since they become conscious about their appearance.
For Bindu being an entrepreneur; is an incredible experience – but it isn’t always easy. An adventure? Definitely. All sunshine and rainbows? Not so much.
Like any other business, during the inception stage Bindu had to face initial challenges to succeed, the most prominent being lack of awareness about the importance and utility of beauty products. Another challenge was to expand business in Tier 2 and 3 cities; however the growing logistic sector made it possible.
As per Bindu’s experience, there’s no magic formula for entrepreneurial success. Most business challenges faced by women entrepreneurs are similar as the ones faced by men. To be successful, all entrepreneurs should make it a point to ensure that there is no compromise on the quality of the product. Further she believes that an entrepreneur, irrespective of gender, can accomplish a lot if he/she focuses on proper leadership; team building; and marketing one’s product in a judicious manner. Also, qualities like realistic approach; optimism; patience and perseverance; high confidence level; thoughtful execution of ideas; helps in establishing an entrepreneur on a firm footing.
For women entrepreneurs; rejection is replaced by acceptance through sheer determination and making sustainable business connections. Finding like-minded female mentors is key. JK Rowling suffered many rejections before she was catapulted to stardom via the Harry Potter books and movies.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”
J.K. Rowling
Entrepreneurship is an art of survival and it nurtures creative thinking.
