My Story: From Unemployed To CEO…

The past year has oddly been the best year of my life considering I have earnt no money and loved every moment of it. However, in that time I was fortunate enough to travel a little and was also proposed to! That may also be why having no income was compensated.

I had never been unemployed before - that was until I decided to leave a career in marketing to work on an idea and vision and turn that into a business and brand. I guess the saying is true “working for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion”.

My career began once I graduated from university in 2008, having studied Business Management; I jumped into the Big Blue corporate world of IBM, thanks to a wonderful mentor, manager and friend – Sue Takhar. I then progressed at two of the best and award winning B2B Marketing agencies around. I soon realised there was something else I was destined to do and made a hard decision to leave my (what some would describe as a dream) job.

My CEO at the time, Maeve McDonald from McDonald Butler gave me some wise words; “always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think” and “an expert in anything was once a beginner”, which I am forever grateful for.

When I first began to think about the business, I thought about what I want to change in the world. In my opinion, beauty from a media or even cultural standard often doesn’t in the slightest reflect real beauty. Far too often people I know are body shamed and I have also had similar attacks on myself. In the Indian culture (and others) it is often the norm to talk openly about how fat people are to their face or suggest their skin tone is very dark as a negative remark. I want to change this, shape the perception of real beauty and inspire women.  To achieve this goal it would make me happy and many others happier. Who were the others? I thought about whom I would be able to impact and act as a purpose for. I realised these others were in fact consumers, the community and collaboration with complimentary brands and individuals.

My next step was to write a business plan and develop a business strategy in an industry I love – Indian Fashion, where I thought I could make a significant and positive impact to inspire and shape perceptions of real beauty.

I then created a brand, logo, strapline and story. I pondered on the name. The one person I immediately could think of was Savita – my grandmother. Savita has been an inspirational role model in my life - teaching me values and guiding principles. She has taken the steps from a very young age to adapt and shine through life’s moments and make choices to put herself and her family first. I feel I am the person today because of my grandmother’s traits of an independent, courageous and confident woman. 

In the same way Savita has inspired me, I hope to inspire other women with my Indian fashion jewellery boutique - Style Savita. I have searched across India for the best artisans to showcase and hand-select items to stock in my boutique, whilst ensuring they are ethically sourced I wanted to also be sure of ethical pricing and affordability for my consumers.

The business gained the backing of the Prince’s Trust and their Enterprise Programme. I managed to meet some inspirational forward-thinking organisations and individuals who have given me some great advice and guidance throughout my journey from conception to launch of the brand. The Prince’s Trust have organised some really valuable workshops with leading brands and opened the doors to experts and a mentor.

I was fortunate enough to attend a business and branding workshop with Andy Rubin, Chairman of Pentland Brands (through the Prince’s Trust). Andy’s story was remarkable; his grandparents started the business in 1932 as a shoe shop in Liverpool and today they turnover $3bn across 200 countries through a number of sports, outdoor and fashion brands including Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Speedo, Boxfresh, Ellesse, KangaROOS, Mitre, Prostar and Red or Dead.

I have worked in marketing for over 8 years with some of the world’s leading technology brands; I knew what was topical in the world for mobile, digital and eCommerce. I developed a website with some technical help from website developers from Digital Minds Inc using an OpenCart website template as well as a brilliant local UK website developer I found on People By The Hour; however, I was keen to do most of the website myself, including the design and content. I developed the marketing strategy and plan with particular focus on social media and search marketing. I knew the importance of the customer user experience and journey, which was something I learnt about whilst managing marketing campaigns for a client, a leading global eCommerce provider – Salmon. I gained expertise in taking product photos from my Uncle (a retired wedding photographer), and uploaded them to the website through a Content Management System (CMS). I also developed skills in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and learnt what it takes to build a successful online business from a fantastic workshop delivered by SEO Consultant and Digital Expert Danny Richman (again through the Prince’s Trust).

Here I am today and I couldn’t be more excited about the launch of Style Savita, an online boutique for exclusive and affordable handmade Indian jewellery, inspiring you to feel beautiful and Love The Way You Look. Our Stand With Savita initiative pledges 5% of profits to a number of organisations who support vulnerable women and children and give them a voice to stop trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

I am yet to have a real baby, but I feel like I have spent what seems over a year in labour and have given birth to one of my proudest moments. I hope my story has inspired anyone currently unemployed or even those employed who have a vision or idea and want to make it a business reality. That’s exactly what I am doing and I can’t wait to share my future stories as the CEO & Founder of Style Savita.