A Different Pattern of Entrepreneurship: Ahmedabad Cottons
Lead:
Nowadays, so many women are job seekers. But some run their own business from their house and support their families with their income. Many women run small businesses like tuition, crèches, sewing etc. along with looking after their households. The textile industry is not an exception to this. This is a success story of Swati Joshi and her Ahmedabad Cotton clothing business.
Matter:
Swati is just like any other ordinary housewife. Her husband used to be out of the city on job assignments. Her family members included an old mother in law, father in law and her school-going son. She used to think of what way she could work after her usual household chores like cooking, preparations for festivals, attending to guests etc. in fact she was well educated. She could quickly get a well-paying job. But it was impossible to dedicate 8 hours a day for a job while performing the everyday duties in the household. This led to mulling over the possibility of starting a business from home to sell clothes. She was relieved at this time. And thus began a business named ‘Ahmedabad Cottons’. Swati Joshi heads it.
Swati belonged to Nandurbar. Her mother used to sell women’s dresses in that village. At that time, there were no exclusive stores only for ladies in Nandurbar. Hence her mother ran that store for ladies undergarments for nearly 5-6 years. This store received a good response. Swati used to see that and also helped her mother in her business. This experience is the limit of her entrepreneurial knowledge. After marriage, she settled in Pune. Her husband had a job with frequent transfers; therefore, he was seldom in Pune. Swati was the sole person in charge of the house. But as mentioned above, while discharging all her household duties, she felt restless as an entrepreneur. The idea to sell women’s clothes just like her mother used to pop in her mind, but she was dithering with a lot of ‘ifs and buts’. Swati used to reside in central Pune, near Lakshmi road, Tulsi Baug. This area is the hub of clothing material. Both these locations are plenty of shops selling a variety of clothes in different sizes, colours and price. Swati was sceptical of how people would respond to her business in the context of these two markets. But after a long process of yes and no she decided to give it a try in 2008.
At first, she brought a small lot of sarees from Surat. She told her neighbours and relatives about the products. They got sold like a hot cake. Swati became very excited. She went back and brought dress material this time with sarees which were also sold out in no time. Her confidence was boosted. Somebody suggested buying goods from Ahmedabad rather than Surat. It was said that Ahmedabad was the place for excellent quality cotton products. Swati agreed and went to Ahmedabad along with her sister. She met many wholesalers. Every cloth or saree was handpicked, checked and bought by her. She returned to Pune. By this time, her home business was creating a buzz. She had regular customers. She never advertised. Swati goes to Ahmedabad 3-4 times a year and buys material. She checks every saree, dress material minutely. She chooses the goods as per the needs of the customer. This saves time on the customer’s part, and there is almost no chance of getting a defective or soiled product. Her association with wholesalers in Ahmedabad has been solidified; hence in case of defective goods, they replace it without hassle.
Although it is a household business, Swati has built racks for arranging the goods. She takes special care to keep the clothes dust-free. Most of the women are very particular about shopping. They ask to show several dresses even if they want to buy one of them. Swati actively shows all the options to such women without any boredom, noticing their likes and dislikes etc. Unsold dresses need to be packed and put on display immediately.
Along with sarees and dress materials, Swati has now introduced other variants like Kurti materials, readymade kurtas, leggings, t-shirts and gowns etc. for all the womenfolks in the family. Ahmedabad cotton bed sheets are also available. There is a wide variety of bed sheets available in her collection.
Swati tries to maintain the professional side of her business, although she manages it along with her household. Therefore she visits banks or other organisations like LIC on request to show her collection. She receives excellent responses at such places and also creates new connections. Her regular customers, especially older women, call her home with her sarees. Swati provides sarees at their doorstep. Her calm nature is an essential asset in this business. Generally, women buyers are very curious. They ask a lot of questions before the actual purchase. Swati answers them very peacefully and satisfactorily. Obviously, she has every bit of knowledge about the goods she is selling. A lot of customers continue because of these satisfactory answers. To this date, Swati has connected to a minimum of 800 customers permanently.
It is a puzzle how Swati built such a vast customer portfolio while being so near the markets on Lakshmi road and Tulsi Baug. It needs to be solved. As told earlier, Swati handpicks all her material; hence quality is always excellent, and it is continuously maintained. Since she has all the knowledge of her goods, there are fewer chances of any ill services. It creates 100% trust. A household business does away with all the extra expenditure of big business such as showroom décor, facades, air conditioning, advertising and staff salaries etc. Hence it is possible to keep the prices reasonable. This is beneficial, of course, to the customer. A limited number of customers also ensure focused attention to everybody’s needs. Clothes can be presented to them as per their liking, their budget etc. This makes the customer happy. Individual attention creates a bond which facilitates her to increase the number of customers.
Notwithstanding that one has to maintain professionalism which includes things such as showcasing a variety of products, making available products considering the latest fashions, keeping the prices reasonable etc., women are attracted to offers. Swati, therefore, gives a discount on every transaction. Recently her husband took VRS from his job. He now helps her in business. He has started computerised barcoding of the clothes. This has made it possible for them to know at any given time the exact stock of their products. They are planning to have their website, online payment facility and online shopping etc. soon.
Swati’s business became successful, and she got an idea to expand it uniquely. She was thinking of opening franchises of her brand Ahmedabad Cottons. This idea was born due to a different event. One of their acquaintances lost his job suddenly. His wife was a full-time housewife with no means of income. This sudden development created a financial problem for the family. Swati and her husband allowed them to open a franchise of their business simply as a way to help them. They gave them the cloth material without payment. Today that woman is running her household with the income from this business. Several other women requested Swati about opening their own franchise businesses. She always supported them to start their own business. Swati accepts all the unsold items from the franchise. This reduces the burden from the franchise. Swati really feels that there should be many other women like her who will be financially independent. Remarkably, she is never afraid to create in them her own rivals. The demand for clothes is going to increase day by day. Hence honest business people will always be successful. She is planning to develop her franchise model to open franchises in every district every tehsil. Her husband, Mahesh and her son are helping her in this venture.
This business is very suitable for women, says Swati. It can be started with a small investment. Household duties can also be fulfilled. Most of the customers are connected permanently with word of mouth publicity. Hence there is no need for advertising expenses. Moreover, any other type of garment can be used for business just as Ahmedabad Cottons. For example, Paithani and jaree silk sarees or only designer sarees, or little girls’ wear, or bed sheets and chaddars, so on and so forth. Choose any of these, but one has to keep in mind the latest trends of fashion and customer choice. In accordance, the stock needs to be updated. Swati believes that everybody is free to decide the profit margin on the goods purchased wholesale in Ahmedabad. But it needs to be reasonable compared to the showroom prices. Only then, customers will trust them. Swati herself pays attention to these factors, which has helped her business to grow wonderfully.
Block:
Swati is a science degree holder and also a classical singer. She has run classical music and harmonium classes for ten years. Her students take music exams at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.
Originally Published in Yashashwi Udyojak. Subscribe Today.
