With an investment of just Rs 5,000, this woman entrepreneur now receives 100+ orders a day for handcrafted products

Pooja Kanth quit her cushy corporate job a few years ago to explore macrame art, a form of textile produced by using knotting techniques. While picking up the nuances of the art, Pooja understood that training in macrame could help create employment in rural areas.

“I decided to become an entrepreneur in the hope of building a business that could create a positive impact in society. I believed that macrame art could help provide women the financial support they needed towards making them self-sufficient and independent. Over time, I worked with women from villages like Kanjhawala, Jaunti, Bawana, and Karala, providing them learning materials and training needed to create handcrafted products,” she says.

Her venture, Pooja Ki Potli was established with an initial investment of Rs 5,000 in a small studio in New Delhi to sell handmade products and materials across categories, especially macrame art. This includes home decor products, home and garden products, and craft supplies. The business has an offline and online presence, but a large part of its sales now happens online.

“One of the primary challenges we faced was not being able to procure the right eco-friendly materials for our products. This eventually led us to manufacture our own materials. We have set up our own production unit in Delhi with machines and a dedicated team that works towards this,” Pooja says.

In four years, Pooja’s small studio has expanded into a big offline retail store located in New Delhi with a team of 25 employees that support the brand’s operations across various job roles. 

Last year, Pooja joined the ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ programme, which helped her build both online and offline presence, enabling Pooja Ki Potli to reach customers across Delhi and the country.

“Initially, we used to receive one or two orders in a week; this has now increased to 100+ orders a day, all thanks to the ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ program. Wider reach and access to customers have led to increased sales and revenues for our business,” she adds.

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Pooja says the brand has witnessed an overwhelming response for its products from customers across the country, most notably art and craft enthusiasts. Her goal is to keep the products at affordable rates for small artists.

“Over time, we’ve grown to a brand that generates revenues upwards of Rs 20,00,000. We plan on making additional investments to expand our brand and garner more visibility with a wider range of products over time,” she says.

Offline sales were massively affected during the pandemic but being part of Local Shops on Amazon and having an online presence has greatly helped Pooja Ki Potli.

“The growth of our business has been so tremendous that we were able to add six employees to our team during this period,” Pooja adds. 

Plans for the future

In the future, Pooja plans to introduce more eco-friendly products and involve more women in business operations, supporting and empowering them to be independent in the process.

“Apart from macrame, we are focusing on creating new products and product lines that require the use of cotton and canvas fabrics,” she says.

Though the entrepreneurship journey has not been easy, Pooja believes selling products online and working with driven and ambitious women has allowed her the flexibility to raise her children and manage a thriving business - something she would not have been able to do in a corporate job.