Be it Male or Female Financial Independence is the corner Stone of any kind of Independence – Shilpi Sinha

The journey from an enthusiastic journalist to a passionate entrepreneur…

Shilpi Sinha hailing from a small town in West Bengal is a woman entrepreneur. She has given an inspiration to all women who are struggling the brutal reality of life.

Being a journalist in the initial years of her career she has worked with many reputed news channels but further she choose to be an employer for sundry.  

Shilpi started her own textile and jewelry industry in the 2017.

A single mother and a professional, she is a source of strength for many women hailing from a humble financial background.  

In a conversation with Shilpi few questions were asked…

When you created Ava Creation what was the primary thing that struck you to create this company?

To be honest my destiny drove me to this business. I hail from a small town and came to Kolkata with a dream to become a journalist. I work with a number of news channels. But as vernacular news channels in Kolkata were not a good pay master and my role as a single mother and all my subsequent duties of motherhood forced me to change my profession.

But for the inbuilt creativity in myself prompt me not to opt for a soul killing routine job. I set up my own business with small capital of 250 only. I went to Barrabazar in Kolkataand started to make my own junk jewelry for 150 rupees. Initially the days were tough but I did not look back thus Ava Creation was born in 2017.

As a woman entrepreneur in the initial stage of your company what was major obstacle you faced when it came to your finances?

I am not the only woman but a woman who is a single mother. Secondly, my parental family’s financial health was not good. Hence organizing the only capital was a challenge to me. I did not have a proper set up or official papers to manage a bank loan. Moreover most banks ask for collateral security for loan. I did not have anything that I could have pledged for.

In case of business venture related to textiles and various designs of textiles what do you think is scope in today’s competitive market?

The main challenge of the genre I work is to convince people about the USP of an organic product. Because the products of power loom are much cheaper than to my products. Also, the indigo products are for particular class of people. Naturally the masses of West Bengal are not my Target Audience. This is main problem of a small entrepreneur. The promotion of such products particularly handloom products demand branding and branding demands financial resources.

When it comes accessories particularly jewelry many cities have fashion trend of oxidized silver jewelry and afghan jewelry. As you provide Afghan jewelry what is the trend of this jewelry and how is it balanced?

I am dealing with Afghan jewelry and German silver jewelry. All Afghan jewelry are antique pieces. One piece is more than 100 years old. Afghan jewelry is trendy, colourful and bright. I think in several states of our country most girls have a collection of oxidized silver jewelry or Afghan jewelry.

As a founder of a company when it comes to branding a company and promoting it on social media what is the major drawback you face?

I do not have any dearth of idea. But the main constraint is finance. I even managed to meet the famous actor Mithun Chakraborty; so that he might lend out a helping hand to me for the promotion and branding of my products. I gathered support from my acquaintances from media to get exposure in leading dailies. But in order to promote my brand in a professional manner funding is required.

Since majorly, your target audience are women but in the recent times men are also interested in carrying jewelry. Do you think oxidized jewelry has a future when it comes to men’s accessories?

 Yes I think it has a future in men folk as well.

As a woman, how important is financial independence for the mental growth of a woman?

May it be ‘Male or Female’ financial independence is the cornerstone of any kind of independence. If you can manage to designate yourself respectfully in the wheel of social production system inclusive of all verticals of different sort of service you will be in a position to assert power in social realm as well. However in any patriarchal society it is important for a woman to be financially independent

Lastly, on the way to success in a competitive world how much does basic values and principles matter in running a business venture.

I think competition is with myself. My thinking should be on how to make my work better at every step. I don’t think about who launched what product in market. I think what I create this is the fashion this is the trend.

Times Magazine India wishes you luck for the future!