Question 1 : What ignited the spark in you to be an entrepreneur?
Scarcity is the Mother if Invention : During 2008 There was a Great Recession and that led the Apparel Industry completely down and out in India due to the Dollar Value went down drastically. Lots of Garment Company Closed and almost 80 % of the People from Apparel Industry were jobless. So am I. I lost my Mob the day I returned to Bangalore after my Marriage. My Husbands Business was also not doing so well due to economy slowdown and recession. NO work, No Good news from anywhere and depression everywhere. Anybody I was calling in the expectation that something work out somewhere giving more bad news.
At that point of time we decided not to depend on anybody and start something of our own. But there was no capital to invest. Only what we had is what we have learnt from our past job. Sashi had some experience in marketing in USA and EU region. So we thought let’s see if we can get some clients from there. So together we started working on that. We got our first client who paid $15 / Design (Tech Pack) and creating one tech pack is almost 2 days complete job. Slowly some work started coming one by one. Things started from there. We used to make that much of money which would required for surviving. This was the starting point of Urban Purple. If I am not wrong it was somewhere near 2008 March when we started this but yes informally.
Question 2 : How do you generate new ideas for your business?
If you are asking about Creative ideas, then it comes from clients mostly. Clients from different part of world talk in different way and their perseverance on fashion is different and this differs from client to client. As a Clothing Designer listening to your client, their requirement and visualizing their thought process is most important aspects of success. Take it or not you are being paid by them and it is your duty to find out, visualize and put it on paper is what you are paid for.
Business Ideas also comes from clients. We work with almost 150 International brands across globe at the moment and every business has their own strategy. Some fails and some succeed. So every client is a new case study for us. With that experience we sometime give our suggestion to the client. But its up to the clients discretion to take that or not.
Question 3 : How do you determine feasibility of your innovative business ideas?
When we think of something new and undone definitely we try to test it. However, With Experience in working many years, it comes automatically. Usually the feasibility study is something which we do on an every day basis. In your future years you may come across clients who would ask you to do something which you might have never thought of it. Usually Innovation comes from people who do not have any experience in the field of fashion and they ask you to do something which they think is possible. If you ask me as a clothing designer this happens mostly working with people with non-fashion background.
Question 4 : How do you assess competitors?
I don’t want to run alone. There are Positive and Negative side to it . I don’t want to fall behind at the same time I don’t want to run alone and when I look back there is no one behind. Competitors are not always competitors what I see today is a competitors may become my complimenting company or individual tomorrow. Every Individual has their own way of doing business and perceiving competitors.
Question 5 : How do you develop your understanding about the industry?
This is something you learn hard way. I have learnt it hard way. I fall and rose and this is just like a bumpy ride throughout the journey of Fashion Studio to Complete End To End Apparel Designer and Production Unit - Urban Purple. I am not saying I have got which I wanted but what we are now is not easy way at all. Things come to you but you stay focused and keep walking. My Learning points are through losses in business that I have done because of my mistakes wrong decision taken sometimes. I would like to take all to myself.
Question 6 : How do you attract, develop and retain right kind of HR for your business?
Apparel Industry is one where you find the maximum number of Labor Turnover. It is More than 20% in reality. You are dealing with people who are not organized. This is highly unpredictable and you never know when they leave you. However, At Fashion Studio Urban Purple we had people who are with us for last 3 years and still going good. You must talk to them periodically and try to understand what goes in their mind and what issues they are facing at work and also in their family. Your workers would be interested in your business if you are interested in their business.
Question 7 : Getting financing or funding is a big issue on business. How do you manage it ?
Fashion Studio Urban Purple is a Self Sustained Apparel Designer Studio and Garment Manufacturing Unit and as of now we have not approached any company / bank to give us any funding. We have grown slow through recycling our profits and minimizing cost. Many times we have invested from our pocket. There was a time when I tried to get M.S.M.E Loan. I faced the same issue which every small industry faces when they start something. No body weather it is Banks or Govt extend their hand to bring about a new and start up company. But later I felt it is better not to go for it rather focusing on getting more qualitative business than running around banks and Govt Officials. No banks or Investors trusts you if you are a start up weather you call it fate or reality. As you grow and show some growing sign in your company Investors and Banks would be after you to give you loans. This is the hardest reality of Business and we have seen both the part. Investors keep coming to us now when we feel we do not need any investment and without it we do grow quite comfortably.
Question 8 : What is the biggest failure of your entrepreneur journey and what have you learned from it?
Good Question. Its not always necessary that you learn from your success. Again I am going back to my old life of 2008. We met a client from EU region who wanted a clothing designer to get one of his collection designed. He Came up with some 60 design ideas and wanted to get the complete Technical Design and Production done. We were quite excited because at that point of time we were really falling short of money and with that big project we thought we would save a lot of money. With that excitement We did all the detailing and tech packs and sent that client. The Day we sent it from the next day we never found his whereabouts. IT was that time when we needed money for our survival. It was a disaster and we literally felt helpless. From here we got two lessons: 1. Never Ever Give something which is not being paid. 2. Set Rules for your Business. At least that lesson made us realize that we should be cautious on each person we are dealing with and the rules that we set for our business filters the genuine and fake clients from the beginning.
Question 9 : Grabbing opportunity efficiently is a big thing in business. Share an opportunity you grabbed efficiently.
I do not quite agree to this statement. See there are two sides to it. There is something and you would like to pick it before anybody else knows it. Second, The Opportunity is there and finding the right person to pick it up. Which one you choose to be? I would suggest you to become efficient on what you are good at. Opportunities would come finding you. There is Number of Competitors out there. At the same time there are number of clients who are trying to find the right people who they want get their job done. For Me personally Gone are those days when I was thinking like the question you asked rather I am looking for right people who can grab clients. I would suggest going deep in to what you like most in your field and be a specialist.
Question 10 : Your wisdom on managing finance.
I don’t like Finance. I can’t do everything. This is something which I left my finance person to do. But Yes This Department is one of the most important departments. The Person handling this department must be the one whom you trust the most. Personally I have quite a distant relation with this department.
Question 11 : Your wisdom on managing Intellectual Property.
There is nothing called Intellectual property in Creativity and Design or in Fashion. When you steel design from one person it is called copy. When you steal design from many people it is called inspiration. So if there is no intellectual property in fashion there is no problem in managing them. Well I have my office, Apparel Factory and Sample Development Unit. All are insured.
Question 12 : According to you, what are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
- Know what you can do best. Don’t be Malty Focal.
- Every Day Do something How little it is does not matter. But that would make you feel that your day is not gone wasted.
- Go deep in to it and Explore as much as possible.
- As Clothing Designer Promote yourself so that Outside world knows what you are and what you do.
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