She was in love with handmade trinkets and would pick them up at different places around the world while street shopping. Arundhati Kane's family and friends loved her choice in styling jewellery. So one day Kane sat down to experiment with designing something of her own. That's how her fashion accessories brand Itahdnura was born with an aim to create fun and stylist stuff at affordable prices.
Entrepreneurship journey
"From planning, logistics, supply chain, marketing to shipping each order with utmost care and love, it has been a wonderful experience. I didn't choose to become an entrepreneur; it just happened" recalls the psychologist turned business woman who juggles between her role as an entrepreneur and practising counselling psychologist. The Mumbaikar has her own venture called Mind Mosaic. Due to the pandemic, she has shifted online and is offering tele counselling and online counselling. She is also a curriculum developer and creates lesson plans and text books for all the major boards in India.
Kane was an early mover. She started back in 2013 using digital platforms to sell. A one woman army to start out, she built her website from scratch. Today she works with designers and manufacturers who create for her.
The Pandemic Pivot
For entrepreneurs across the country, the pandemic hit where it hurts. But Kane says she was better prepared to take on a pivot given that she was an online business already. "The pandemic was a little difficult to navigate since people were making fewer purchases and her logistical partners were not functioning during the initial part of the pandemic."
But where the pandemic did help, was to make the business strategy more agile and imbibe a better sense of customer feedback and behaviour along with a stronger sales plan. "It has made me robust where my marketing and sales strategies are concerned now," says Kane, who calls entrepreneurs a big learning curve.
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Itahdnura Products
How Google helped me shape by business
"As entrepreneurs, you can never sell something which we don't wear ourselves", says Kane. She calls internet a boon for business as it is helping entrepreneurs like her reach millions of people while sitting at home and also feels that the future of fashion e-commerce is NOW since everything is available at our fingertips. And so she is very particular about how she gets customer feedback and the digital tools she uses to build the business.
Sometimes the most basic tools take away a lot of efficiency challenges. "For instance, we found storing, sharing and using images via Google Drive very helpful for the team, that's located around the country."
Talking about the artisans and designers who work with her, she says that it is a creative collaboration. "I keep sharing ideas with them which they incorporate in the designs they make", she says adding that her designers are mostly female and based out of Mumbai. The onus of creating jewellery, setting the stones and doing the detailing work lies on the male artisans working under her.
Kane believes entrepreneurship can offer a real sisterhood to women. "People aspiring to become entrepreneurs should imbibe the qualities of passion, perseverance, patience and the ability to take risk without the fear of failure."
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"There will be good days and bad days. Learn from your bad days and enjoy the good days. Becoming an entrepreneur has been a humbling experience. It lets me do what I love and hence it doesn't feel like work"
Talking about managing work-life balance, she says that she doesn't miss her 'me' time. "I unwind by listening to music, cooking or watching movies. I follow a daily routine wherein I can allot time for work and quality time at home.", she explains.
Future plans
Kane, who is a diehard movie fan, has goals for her business. She started her business with a very small investment. Her sale and customers have been increasing every year. She told us that the revenue she is making now is 20 to 30 times more than what she earned in the first year.
Here's wishing Kane the best in taking this business to the next level.
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