Meet Inspiring Homemakers Who Turned Their Passion into Businesses as Entrepreneurs
Her day begins at the break of dawn—when everything is quiet, and everyone is asleep.
From making the morning tea, cooking and packing personalised dabbas for the kids and her husband, to sorting through the groceries and making the shopping list, every single chore is completed single-handedly in a perfect symphony.
This is a standard template across many households in India, and drawing on this very power of managing it all with unyielding ease is what makes Lalita Patil, a super successful entrepreneur.
According to her family members, Lalita is adept at planning, managing and multi-tasking and works extremely hard to get the job done.
When asked to comment on this, she laughs and says, “All women might or might not be able to start a business, but every homemaker has the capabilities of being a good entrepreneur.”
Lalita runs a food venture called Gharachi Aathvan, in Thane. The name of the restaurant means ‘remembering home’, and it specialises in cooking delicious traditional home-cooked delicacies that fill not only your belly but also your heart with sweet nostalgia.
But the road to this destination was difficult.
“They say, the path to every dream is always full of obstacles, and that was true for me. I used to run the house while my husband ran his business. But, when it shut down, we were staring at the face of a huge crisis. To make ends meet, he even started to ride auto-rickshaws around the city. It was then that I decided to start something of my own,” she shares.
In what can only be described as a serendipitous moment, Lalita chanced upon a commercial by Britannia Marie Gold during the same time last year. The commercial was about the company’s campaign named ‘My Startup Contest’ which gave a platform to homemakers from all across the country to pitch their business ideas. The shortlisted individuals were then to compete and present their ideas and action plans.
This was the first edition of the campaign that was launched in December 2018, to champion homemakers who aspire to ‘do more and be more’.
And to nurture this ambition, #BritanniaMarieGold rewarded the top winners of last year’s contest with Rs.10 lakh to start their own businesses. Lalita was one of the many applicants, and to her great joy, Gharachi Aathvan was one of the ideas that were recognised and rewarded.
Like Lalita, Vijayeeni Sahoo was also thrilled when she won the contest last year. She used the prize money to start her own fashion venture called Shree Boutique and is also empowering many other women through training programs in tailoring.
“I come from a village where people believed that women are only supposed to stay indoors and take care of the household. While I enjoyed my work as a homemaker, I never agreed to the limitation of that idea. I wanted to do something more, something on my own and after a lot of struggle, I did it,” shares Vijayeeni.
“Tailoring for me, is not just needle and thread; it is my independence. And when I see my students come and tell me that my independence inspires them and gives them hope to be more, I am overwhelmed with joy. Britannia gave me a golden opportunity, and now I want to help more women find wings to their dreams by taking Shree Boutique and training programs to villages and the interior parts of the state,” she concludes.
Britannia Marie Gold My Start Up Season 2 is slated to be bigger and better, because of not just the monetary gratification to top ideas but also the provision of a Government of India certified skill development and entrepreneurship course for 10000 women.
