There’s been a lot of conversation in recent years on what it means to be an entrepreneur and what it takes to get your brand out there. But with the coronavirus crisis, the rulebook has been thrown out of the window. Whether it’s missing a crucial harvest season to source raw materials, holding back much-awaited launches, or delaying expansion plans indefinitely, their limited resources can leave independent businesses quite vulnerable.
We tap into five indie beauty brand founders to share their advice to powering through the uncertainty. Not the ones to take a backseat, these women are using this time wisely to nurture new ideas, relook at their strategies, and find ways to support their teams.
View this post on Instagram
Jessica Jayne, Pahadi Local
“I urge small business owners to take a very serious step towards building sustainable businesses. Do more, talk less. This crisis has magnified the urgency to be gentler on our natural resources and to be kinder to the workforce by empowering them at every step. With the power to create a business comes the responsibility to do it in the most mindful way we possibly can. I’ve been seeing the hashtag #WeAreInThisTogether a lot on social media. I just want to reiterate that we are all in this together even after the lockdown ends. So don’t be hesitant to reach out to one another for help, advice or to just have a cup of tea.”
View this post on Instagram
Aishwarya Sawarna Nir, founder of Global Beauty Secrets
“Save on cost. Rationalize your fixed costs as much as possible, extend credit facility from and for your vendors as we all need to support each other during this crisis. Maintain communications and positive relations with your community, and seek to help them in as many ways as possible—even if that means extending yourself to give back to society.”
View this post on Instagram
Rubeina Karachiwalla, founder of Ruby’s Organics
“The uncertainty of the situation is keeping us all concerned about the future. The recovery process may take a while as well, and small brands like us need to be well equipped to carry on operations. My advice would be to plan for the worst-case scenario. Deploy your capital where absolutely necessary. Don’t make promises to employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, etc. that you can’t keep. Stay optimistic, because before you know it, one bright sunny day, the world will restore itself. In the interim, invest in skills and knowledge that you may have not had the time to acquire.”
View this post on Instagram
Ritika Sharma, Founder and CEO, House of Beauty
“As an emerging business, we had an exhaustive roadmap planned for all the activities needed to grow our business, but this crisis demands attention to areas very different. We’ve refocused our teams to focus on internal operations, growing our social media expertise, upgrading our website and making sure we’re still connected with our growing customer base every day. We’ve realised that our consumer’s needs have evolved with these times and so have our ways of reaching her. Whether you’re in the beauty business or any other, the consumer today is not who she was before the rampant spread of this virus. As a nimble business, acting upon these swift market changes is possibly the only recipe for both survival and success.”
View this post on Instagram
Mansi Chowdhary, founder of Body Cupid
“This isn’t the time to lose hope or focus. Business momentum might be slow, but invest time in researching consumer behaviour and studying trends and work on product strategy based on these learnings. You must also consider that COVID-19 and the new health safety rules will change buying patterns, and the online space will be the go-to for consumers till the situation settles down. The new-age business woman should take these into account as well while working on new business and product strategies.”
