New Age Mompreneurs

                  Anuja was born and brought up in a business family in Delhi and did her Economics Hons. from Lady Shri Ram College, followed by an MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai. She did her CFA alongside the MBA, and got the opportunity to work with a very prestigious Wealth Management firm in Mumbai. Anuja got married within a year of starting work and relocated to an industrial town near Delhi; Panipat. Anuja’s husband’s family is into exports and manufacturing home textiles since 1968. Over a period of time, Anuja started observing how their friends and family were always reaching out to them for their products as their designs and quality were not available in India. Anuja saw this as an opportunity to start AVI Living (earlier called AVIRA HOME). The aim was to bring international designs, premium quality home linen, which were manufactured in-house and sustainably, to the doorsteps of Indian custo...

    Monica has been working in the field of jewellery restyling since over 10 years. As she witnessed trends changing rapidly, she felt that there was a need to keep redesigning precious jewellery which is often just lying unworn because it is considered out-of-fashion. Monica started experimenting with taking old jewellery and changing it into something modern.   Monica specialises in creating and re-designing pieces to get a trendier look which at the same time isn’t too expensive. What she loves about this sector is the satisfaction her clients get from seeing and using their old jewellery. Monica started out by spreading the word amongst her close network of family and friends and orders began coming in. In order to keep up with the latest trends Monica has also pursued a special diamond grading course. One of her main challenges was finding craftsmen who understood her vision and had the skills to carry it out. She personally met with each craftsman to determine...

           Books have always held a special place in Anuradha’s life. She recalls how as a pre-teen in 2002, holding a rented Harry Potter book in hand for the first time, she entered the wonderful world that would otherwise have been beyond her reach. Although she had a library in school, it didn't hold titles that interested her, namely fantasy. Anuradha had a hard time making friends; for the longest time she believed there was something about her face which made people feel unwelcome.    With time, she stopped reading. Partly because she didn't have money to buy books and also because she didn't have the time. Pursuing graduation, a job, and then marriage left little or no time for reading. With her husband, Anuradha realized she had found her soul mate; one who reignited her love affair with books. She started reading voraciously, kept track of what she was reading, and started blogging in 2017. To begin with Anuradha did a lot of professio...

                It was when Charu was pursuing her training in early education, after being a mom and taking a sabbatical because of Covid, that she was given tasks of making crafts and presenting the same every week. During this time, she came across many art forms which captured her interest. Charu started trying her hand at these creative tasks. A few days later, she posted some of her work on her Instagram page and there was no looking back. What started as a hobby from a fascination for handmade things, soon turned into a compact homegrown business. Charu wanted a name which would represent the joy she felt every time she created something. ‘The Bliss Quotient’ was inspired by the idea of 'following your bliss'; representing the tiny things we do out of passion and love which give us happiness.  The biggest challenge that Charu has faced and continues to face is that of time. With a toddler at home and the demands of a new growing b...

                               Priyal always had a deep love for ethnic wear. She would look forward to occasions where she could dress up and display various styles in ethnic fashion. She loved experimenting with new styles and patterns which could make Indian attires more stylish and in vogue with the latest fashion trends. This love translated into her deciding to launch her business dealing exclusively with Indian wear. The e ncouragement from family and friends were an added bonus and so Gulnaar was created. Gulnaar literally means flower and since most of Priyal’s collection has floral embroidery, the name seemed to be a fitting choice. One of the biggest challenges Priyal faced was the attention to detail this work required. From the right sourcing to product detailing to the final finish; it was a painstaking and time-consuming task. Having a young child to take care of made things even more chal...

        Shailja hails from a finance background and served in an MNC for 9 years as a Senior Financial Analyst. She had many health-related issues which were not being addressed successfully. Shailja always had a desire to help people and do something good. In 2013 she came across the concept of Yoga Prana Vidya (YPV) healing therapy. She pursued the courses and found that just in a period of 10 days her migraine healed completely; something which had been bothering her since over 10 years. This gave Shailja the impetus to leave her corporate job and venture into the field of healing. She started out by becoming an Associate Healer and Trainer. Her vision was and still is to have one healer in every household. Over the years Shailja has not just healed but also trained hundreds of people. Shailja took a break when her son was born and returned to actively healing when he was a year old. She always wanted to be a mompreneur and discovered that its something she t...

                      Divya believes that the story of her foray into education is an example of the power of the universe and the fact that when God has made one destined for something, that dream should be chased. It was at a friend’s birthday lunch at the India Habitat Centre, chatting with some friends, when Divya got to know that there was an opening in a playschool. Divya, at this time, was busy studying for her CA finals and wanted a break from her routine. The thought of being a substitute teacher in a playschool for a couple of days appealed to her. She had no idea that this one step was taking her towards her calling. A couple of days turned into a month and soon Divya was offered a contract for working in the school. She wanted to grab the opportunity! Her family couldn’t understand the drastic change in career but they supported her because it was evident that Divya felt passionately about this. After working in...