International Women’s Day: Shivika Goenka of The Gift Studio pens a short but extremely enlightening letter to all women entrepreneurs

International WOmen’s Day special: RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s (RPSG) retail arm, Spencers Retail acquired Godrej’s Nature’s Basket in July 2019 for ₹300 crore. And in October 2020, Shashwat Goenka, sector head of RPSG’s retail and FMCG business, along with his wife Shivika, vice president of Kolkata’s Quest Mall, has made the premium food store the launchpad of their new online and offline gifting platform, The Gift Studio.

Starting a new venture in the pandemic was no joke, but Shivika believes in persistence, a quality she strongly advocates in her open letter to all women entrepreneurs out there.

The charm Bag by The Gift Studio

Dear women entrepreneur,

On this International Women’s Day, I wish that each one of you realise and embrace the power and zeal within you. I wish all of you achieve whatever you aim for, however small or big of a milestone it may be.

With an influx of people entering the Indian lifestyle space, there are essentially two questions that an entrepreneur should have answers to, does it solve a problem? And What’s the differentiating factor about your product that sets you apart in the given market? These answers coupled with persistence will take you a long way. I was always inclined towards the retail sector and had an affinity for it. With the effort and support of other women entrepreneurs, I have established 2 successful ventures- Quest Mall and The Gift Studio.

The pandemic has resulted to be an accelerator to push more and more women to start something of their own and take a leap of faith. Entrepreneurship among women not only bolsters the economy through increased job creation but also paves the way for a paradigm shift in social and personal outcomes for women.

Moreover, a women entrepreneur can get immense empathy to the table, helping them to understand their stakeholders’ needs.

The way you deal with problems is what makes or breaks you as an entrepreneur. My advice to all entrepreneurs, at whatever level they may be, is to tackle their problems with agility and to not panic because there is always a solution somewhere in all that clutter.

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