I am a beneficiary of women entrepreneurship: Naturals salon founder at Women on a Mission summit

A company worth Rs 400 crore, enabling more than 400 women entrepreneurs with more than 600 outlets and thousands of employees: Naturals Salon and Spa has a story like no other. If there is one factor that has defined the Naturals’ story, it is that of partnerships.

At the HerStory Women on a Mission Summit in Bengaluru on Wednesday, CK Kumaravel, CEO and Co-founder of Naturals Salon and Spa, spoke about his entrepreneurship journey with his wife Veena, and on empowering thousands of women along the way.

Kumaravel began by proudly saying, “People call me an expert in women empowerment. But I am not. I am a beneficiary of women entrepreneurship.”

Kumaravel’s wife Veena’s refusal to be a housewife was the beginning of Naturals. “Veena was particular about becoming an entrepreneur, rather than stay at home as a glorified housewife or taking up an office job,” he recounts.

Since neither of them come from a business background, identifying what to do in terms of a business was their first task. “Irritation is the biggest source of energy; it shows you an opportunity,” he recollected with a smile on how the couple figured the way forward. 

Irritation to inspiration

Most consumer-facing businesses start with entrepreneurs trying to solve day-to-day problems, and fill gaps in available options. Naturals was no different.

“We were irritated with the lack of good quality salons in our locality. We had to choose between salons at five-star hotels, which were unaffordable and intimidating, or local barber shops that don’t offer good quality service. We, as customers, did not fit into both, and wanted a third option,” Kumaravel reminisced.

Beauty services is a Rs 30,000 crore industry, growing at 23 percent, and the organised sector does not account for even half of it. There are two lakh beauty parlours in the country, including barber shops. But when the husband-wife started their business, Kumaravel claims they didn’t know any of this.

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Neither did they have any prior experience in the sector. As first-generation entrepreneurs, finding the right skill and the capital was not easy. They launched the first Naturals Salon with money from friends and family, hoping to achieve Rs 60,000 monthly profit. But the first few months only showed losses.

“Our well-wishers were all telling us to give up. But I told them I will work with LUCK - Labouring Under Correct Knowledge. Many told me, 'You have failed', but I told them 'my idea has failed, not me',” Kumaravel said. 

As the duo marched on without giving up, there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. They made Rs 60,000 from their salon in one month; this soon grew to Rs 1 lakh, and then Rs 2 lakh in a matter of months.

Growth in the time of banks, not VCs

The entrepreneur couple decided to open more outlets, aiming to be the number one salon chain in Chennai. For this, they applied for a loan of Rs 60 lakh from various banks.

Kumaravel says 53 banks rejected their application and told them that Rs 3 lakh was the maximum budget for a beauty parlour, of which a bank only gives Rs 2 lakh. Banks asserted that anything more than that amount would not be viable.

“If a bank rejects your application, it means it’s a very good project. Bankers don’t understand finance; they are just cashiers,” said Kumaravel to wide applause from the audience. 

Finally, one banker granted the loan, saying that since the two were married, they would pay it back. “It was a foolish statement, but we soon opened three more salons,” Kumaravel added.

The going, of course, was not easy. In the first year, Naturals made a revenue of Rs 20 lakh and a loss of Rs 10 lakh. In the next year, it was Rs 30 lakh revenue for Rs 5 lakh loss, and the following year saw

Rs 40 lakh revenue with just Rs 2 lakh loss.   

Rising to number one

In six years, Naturals had six salons in Chennai. Their next target was to reach out to all of Tamil Nadu. For this, in 2006, they started looking for franchise owners. Despite more than 440 people showing interest, nothing materialised. “Nobody wanted to put in Rs 30 lakh for a franchise; we are not a multi-national company, after all.”

Around this time, Naturals had on-boarded actress Genelia D’souza as its brand ambassador. Seeing a Naturals’ ad featuring her in a magazine, Bharti-Walmart contacted them, and the two entities entered into a partnership, through which Naturals opened 250 outlets.

After six outlets in the first three years, Naturals now has a chain of 680 salons. But for the Kumaravels, their biggest achievement is not the money; it's helping more than 440 women entrepreneurs become financially independent, and generating more than 9,000 direct jobs.

“Money is like a fuel for your car; it’s neither the journey nor your destination. It is a by-product of the service or products you offer. Instead of loving money and using people, we loved people and used money. That’s how our business exploded,” he says.  

By 2020-end, Naturals aims to enable 1,000 women to be successful entrepreneurs, open 3,000 salons, and create 50,000 jobs.

No means next

Disappointments are a part of entrepreneurship. But the trick is to not give up.

Kumaravel sums up his own story: “For me, no means next! If one says no, go to the next person. If one does not work out, go to the next idea. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their own dreams. I believe Jack Canfield’s (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul series) S-W formula: Some will, Some won’t, So what, Someone’s waiting!”

According to him, the best fashion statement for a woman is to stand on her own feet.

He concluded with a statement that evoked huge applause: “It is foolish to think that women are equal to men; they are much superior to men.”

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