Letters By Shraddha

Ever since my childhood, I have used all editions of the Vikas Cursive Copywriting only to finally 'read' out what I had written because…… well you know by now.

But today, I want to talk about someone who has used the special talent of that ‘pearl-like’ handwriting into a business model. Shraddha Mishra

If you pay a visit to her Instagram account, I am sure, sooner or later you will end up making an order. Her products are a marriage of Instagrammability and Pinterest . She was sweet enough to have a call and I tell you such friendliness and sweetness she had, I can see that exact emotion in her products, which is clearly shown to her 16.2k followers. Following are some excerpts from our call.

‘Letters By Shraddha’ is an online small business that provides letters that can be written for you, or by you, hand-written in very attractive packaging that emanates the entire experience of receiving a letter.

Shraddha says that it was on one fine day when she was reading a book ‘100 Essays’ wherein she came across an essay on a family vacation which felt very unrelatable. Being uncomfortable with just accepting what was written, that was the day that she put her pen down and decided that if she were to write, it should be relatable. She then moved into writing poetry, journaling, Haikus and so on. That was how her interest in writing emerged. In the year 2020, she was in her final year of her BBA (Hons.), HR at Christ University, Bangalore and when the pandemic struck the world, an idea struck her head. For her, writing has always been her ‘thing’ and with good handwriting, she knew that if there was something to come out of it, it had to be a very physical product that people could feel and experience.

The covid baby: LettersByShraddha

Date of Birth: 5th July 2020

Since its launch, she says it has not been very straining in her daily life. Her full-time HR role at? Think Tree Media House ?doesn’t stretch her a lot. After she is home, she has just enough time for herself. She mainly uses the time in the morning before leaving for work and on the weekends, for LBS. So yes, unlike us folks, she is a morning bird. One interesting thing she goes on to add is that along with making time for LBS, it also comes with the understanding that if there’s a need for a break, there is one. That the customers need to and do understand that the promised dates will be met regardless.

Talking about the competition she faces, she says she is not planning to diversify into other offerings but instead focus on the USP of what LBS has to offer. She in fact also plans to file for a patent next year. She says that capitalizing on the skill of writing and that too very pleasingly is something that should not be diverted from. She adds that when a customer comes to her page, they must feel that they have come to the one-stop destination for what they want and have a smooth experience with the entire process. She observes that many people get myopic in developing the product as much as possible, and go blind in terms of customer service which is almost as important as the product. Nevertheless, if customers get rude and feel a sense of authority, she says it is absolutely okay to let them know that just because they serve you, it doesn’t mean they are your servants.

In terms of her finances, she maintains the business through Excel and has a separate bank account which is integrated with Dukaan? and Cashfree Payments .?

She says that the business started as a jolly good hobby but has slowly also become a viable source of revenue generation. She consciously saves from there to help finance some other potential fantasy in the future.?

Finally, I asked her that if I were to start my own small business, what would be the three tips she would ‘gift’ me with?

1. Price: Make sure you do not under-estimate nor do you over-estimate your pricing. But also keep in mind that your prices should gradually climb along the trail of inflation and account growth.
2. 100%: Do not do the work half-heartedly. It is okay to reschedule it for another time rather than putting in lower standards of effort. Doing this will give you the mental satisfaction of having done something material that day.
3. Uniqueness: Make sure that you find such a niche that people don’t think twice to keep their monies rollin’.

While concluding, she made it a point to assure me that it is fine to feel like one is in a grey area. For what is meant to be, will be!

That was my 30 minutes with Shraddha Mishra or, LettersByShraddha .

#instagrambusiness #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #gifting #smallbusinessowner #success