Here’s a look at some of the successful small businesses that SMBStory covered this week
One started small while the other revived after failure. These stories show how patience and perseverance hold the key to entrepreneurial success.
It is famously said, “Success doesn’t happen overnight. It needs patience and perseverance to achieve goals.”
We often hear about entrepreneurs who have made really big. However, most of the times we fail to see the years of struggle they have put in.
SMBStory has drawn up a list of successful businesses it covered this week. These businesses have not only made it big in their journey, but also show how patience and perseverance can help an entrepreneur overcome every obstacle in his or her way.
Indian Beautiful Art
Nitin Kapoor, Co-founder, Indian Beautiful Art
Started with just Rs 10,000 and an idea to sell Indian products globally, Nitin Kapoor and Amit Gupta founded Indian Beautiful Art in Noida.
The company started small by selling lace trimmings and embellishments as well as garment accessories—popularly referred to as gota patti in India—used to enhance women’s clothing, and later expanded across categories, including readymade clothing.
However, with the passing years, these young entrepreneurs understood the shortcomings of the textile industry. Nitin says that though India is one of the largest manufacturers of textiles and apparels, the country is also facing the worst environmental scenarios.
With water scarcity looming across the country, more than 600 million people are facing “acute” water shortages, and 21 Indian cities are expected to run out of groundwater by 2020.
This is why the co-founders decided to incorporate Just-in-Time (JIT) to conserve water. After much trial and error lasting two years, Nitin and Amit came up with their JIT model in 2015. Managing their inventory using a “demand-oriented production” methodology, they were able to keep the utilisation of natural resources in check, along with avoiding dumping of waste fabric or garments.
Veetaday
Veetaday founders Arjun Agarwal (left), Bhupendra Agarwal (centre) and Raghav Agarwal (right)
When Lucknow-based brothers Raghav Agarwal and Arjun Agarwal started cookie brand 'Veetaday' in 2014, they didn't expect to shut their entire cookie division in just two years.
After their premium cookies (which were costly to make) did not sell well enough, closing it down was inevitable. But, the brothers soldiered on. They soon discovered that they already had an ace in the hole.
Alongside cookies, Veetaday used to make rusks (milk toasts). They weren't the focus of the brand, but they were doing so well that Veetaday pivoted completely to become a rusk brand.
Raghav is now expecting his rusk sales solely to rake in Rs 25 crore for the company this year.
Cakes N' Craft
Cakes N' Craft founder Jasmine Lulla
In 2016, Jasmine Lulla was undergoing chemotherapy in Indore. The woman entrepreneur's cancer diagnosis had come as a shock: just when her baked confectionery brand Cakes N' Craft was planning to expand beyond its two stores.
Describing it as the toughest stage of her entrepreneurial journey, Jasmine maintains that baking was almost like a meditative place where all her troubles went away.
She continued to bake and keep the brand's product line running. With the help of her husband Manish, Cakes N' Craft expanded to more stores. As her business' health improved, so did hers.
In a year, she beat cancer.
What started as a baking project in Jasmine's home kitchen is now seeing daily sales of 500 to 600 cakes and a revenue of Rs 8 crore, she says.
