Lessons learnt during my entrepreneurship journey – Kanika Gupta

My journey began at a very young age when I remember that I used to be forever fascinated at my father’s shop. But those days were of blissful youth and I made full use of it by learning all the trade craft. After marriage and kids it was my time to put all that I had learnt to earning through my own brand. But there was a surprise in store for me. Those were my lessons learnt during my entrepreneurship journey.

Life needs a balance

You are a woman wanting to step out in the business world. In a society where the males go out of the house to earn money, a woman has to first take care of the responsibilities at home. Life for a woman then becomes all about balance. Taking care of the kids and running a business seems an impossibility at first. But you have to prevail. As I always believed, every person gets exactly 24 hours for the day. What you do in those 24 hours is what will define you. That also means you need to cut out things which clutter your life, unnecessary things which you cling on due to traditions and societal pressures. Imagine doing a two hour family function when you are already having a busy day and just add the festive season to it. I can feel the frustrations when festival season begins. My targets are sales while my family is looking out for festival related holidays.

Patience

While dealing with clients and selling patience is the most important virtue. Do you think you are an impatient person. Even if your answer is yes, your brain is like a dog. You can teach your brain new tricks. I realised this quite early. It is the same as taking care of kids. You need lots of patience. Once you practise patience and master it, you can convert any client.

Realisation of self-worth

Every human is born equal, both in mental and physical form. But it is the surroundings which shape and define you. Take for example if you are in an academy or school which teaches military training. Within a few years, you will be sharp and physically fit. These academies even monitor the nutritional needs of their student cadets. The same principle applies for your self. Over a period of time, the society will try to downplay your abilities. Even for me, everyone around me told me again and again that my place is at home managing the family and taking care of kids. Self-worth was self discovery and completely my own effort.

Commitments

Every person has commitments, some chosen and others come your way. The brand that you have created and nurtured is your own commitment. You need to decide which take priorities. The only way to get closer to your goal is by letting go.

Responsibilties

Women take on more responsibilities due to the societal structure and feudal mindset of people. You need to first define what is a responsibility. After prioritising commitments, next comes responsibilities. Remember many people live a life of comfort because they pass on their responsibility to others. I too had to take some hard decisions in identifying which is my real responsibility and which ones I need to step down from.

One tip I can give for your entrepreneurship journey, make your children grow into self reliant since early age. Encourage and allow them to do things on their own.

Good listener

You cannot learn things by talking all the time. To need to learn, you need to be a good listener. Women by nature want to talk more and be in command of things. That becomes counter productive because you cannot learn and grow if you are habitual of hearing your own voice.

Value of time

Not only I needed to understand how much time I need to put into my work, but also how much time I need for rest and relaxing. You work hard for the first few days, maybe weeks, you will get tired and exhausted. So your plan needs to be how to manage your time too. I learnt it the hard way and realised the value to time.

Value of money

We begin a life where we either have too much or too less of money. In either case you are always in conflict with situations around you. I sell imitation jewellery. How much do you think is my commission and earning. If I am selling a jewellery piece worth Rs 2000, a 10% earning is just Rs 200. Some time back that used to be pocket change lying around my house. Today no longer that is the case. It is my money and my earning. Every rupee counts.

Self Belief

A sportsperson aspiring for that Olympic medal believes that he or she is worth it. Then the training and practise begins. Players enter the field to win. Why should I be anything different. This is one single thing that changed me.

Updating my knowledge daily

Selling and marketing is an art. It all comes down to convincing someone. Though I might consider myself as a born artist, is that sufficient. During my entrepreneurship journey, I realised it is always better to update your knowledge on a daily basis. It gives you an edge over the competition. Updating with the latest trends also helps you remain one step ahead.

Improving PR

Even though I was an outgoing person since my childhood, I realised that no matter what your nature, you still need to have a solid plan to improve public relationship. Do you think there is a difference between marketing and PR? Yes, marketing is one to one which PR is more of a plan. It is a plan of perception management.

My entrepreneurship journey has completely transformed me. It has helped me to improve myself and find my identity. Hope the same happens to you. My best wishes always.