Prema Ram, at age 60+, single-handedly manages her boutique, Aikya. She tells us what motivated her to start a new enterprise post-retirement & her message to would-be entrepreneurs!

Career

Having worked in the Airline Industry in a senior leadership position, I retired from Air France / KLM as a GM-Sales for South India. After that, I had a short stint in the Real Estate space as Executive VP-Shared services.

Setting up Aikya

After a rewarding corporate career, building & leading large teams with a result driven approach, I decided to set up an Enterprise to promote the community of Weavers. The Corporate world was all about targets, revenue, productivity & profits. Having been in this number chasing game for over 3 decades, retirement gave me opportunity start a business which was socially relevant by way of promoting handloom weavers. I undertook visits to looms in remote areas in various states to identify weavers who were skilled but lacked the ability to market their products. I also wanted to do something new & start from ground up.

Thanks to cheaper power loom products being available, our skilled weavers are struggling to survive and face exploitation by big retailers. They are a diminishing community and need support. I made a choice to help them in my own small way through the enterprise. Having done the required due diligence, I handpicked a few weavers and launched a home Boutique, ‘Aikya.’

I sourced directly from weavers & manufacturers and marketed it to consumers, thus eliminating the middle men and creating a win-win situation for us. Minimizing establishment costs has helped to achieve the objective of giving a fair price to the weavers and making available a wide range of quality- controlled products at a less- than- market price, ensuring a good customer base for Aikya.

By curating handwoven Sarees, the business scope expanded over the years to cover Cottons, Khadi, Linen, Pure silks, Tussars, etc. Aikya also has brought on board the best of Embroiderers, fabric painters and Organic saree weavers. Positioning the enterprise as a go-to boutique with a wide range of products, at the right price, & selecting the right customer segment has contributed to sustaining this business.

Building a Client Base

The customer base has been built primarily through social contacts and referrals only. There have been no marketing spends at all. The sales pitch is “good quality at the right price “and “transparency in the business.” Stringent quality control & a zero-defect policy with my suppliers has helped in earning the confidence of my customers.

Going it Alone

I do not have any employees on roll, I manage single handedly. My team comprises of the external suppliers, approximately 20 + on an ongoing basis, pan India.

Challenges ….

The challenge was to find the right customer base as well as the right type of skilled weavers. Since our weavers are not from an organized industry, I had to choose people with commitment to quality & timely delivery. Both were issues initially but as I kept experimenting & fine-tuning my strategy these initial challenges were overcome.

Shot in the Arm!

The people I work with, embroiderers, weavers, fabric painters, Ajrakh block workers, etc, are predominantly women who are bread winners from marginalized communities. By promoting them Aikya is contributing to their economic development which is visible during my visits to their homes/ work places. And seeing this change gives me the shot in the arm so to speak.

Age is a clear advantage:

One has the required experience, working knowledge, pitfalls & challenges, understanding of strategic decisions making and most importantly the freedom to make wrong decisions, and do the required course correction!

My strengths are my focus and the ability to hold on during business lows, financial management & best practices with my group of weavers.

Inspiring moment!

The meetings with my elderly weaver late Shri M P Govindaraj, the Master Weaver from Sirumugai who at 104 years did not give up weaving Kanchipuram silks. He had the courage & conviction to keep going though he did not see any money, having trained the best of weavers in South India.

Passion & perseverance:

This is my advice to Seniors who wish to start an enterprise. Stay focused, and enjoy what you do, view it as a productive engagement.

Aikya has grown in scale & scope, thanks to referrals from satisfied customers, and more importantly, has contributed significantly to the financial upliftment of the weavers and their wellbeing.

The last 7 years has been an extremely engaging and satisfying experience through Aikya, an enterprise committed to a social purpose.

  • By Prema Ram, with inputs by Anita Natu