Here we have an insightful article written by Vidhi Modi, a student who has founded her own jewellery business, XVXII. Explore her story with entrepreneurship and learn about how you can achieve success with it too.

Starting a business has always been my childhood dream. Believe it or not, it actually runs in the family! I set up my first e-commerce store at the age of 16, called “Queen of Hearts.” Cringy? Yeah, I know. Well I was young, so it felt cool to me back then. I used to engage in dropshipping products to my customers (who were really just 10 of my friends) and that’s how it all started.

Just like any other teenager, I had zero finances. Hence, eventually, I was forced to shut down the store. The main problem was the website domain price; it was $40/month back in 2016, which I simply couldn’t afford. For the next 2 years, I kept having various business ideas but was never able to pursue any of them. I was also really low on cash, making it hard to invest in a business. It was towards the end of 2018 when I told myself to save up and venture into entrepreneurship again. I started working three jobs on a regular basis while also doing my A levels. Many people suggested simply taking money from my parents. True! I could have, but that would not have been “my work.” I wanted to build something I could have full claim over and be proud that it took blood, sweat, and tears to achieve it.

So fast forward to 2019, I successfully saved up enough to have my first jewellery collection out. It was a collection that was original and created by the team. I launched it on 15th March 2020, and it was sold out WITHIN A MONTH!! I honestly didn’t expect that people would like it but they did, and that was a very humbling experience. I get asked a lot “what inspired my first collection?” and my answer is really just – “my culture.” I am very proud of my culture and heritage, so I wanted a collection that was Indian themed, yet with a little bit of a twist in it so as to stand out from the crowd. Overall, the whole entrepreneurship experience is one of the most precious ones I’ve had, and I would strongly encourage everyone to try it out at least once in their life. A lot of people think it takes tons of money, but it really doesn’t. There are many cheaper and more convenient options available to start a business (e.g. reselling, dropshipping, etc.). All one really needs is the passion and the drive to do it. If you have a plan to open a business, start NOW. There is no age limit to when you can start one and a lot of people tend to forget that. Excuses like “I have no money”, “I don’t know how to start” or even “I don’t have time” are really not going to get us anywhere. We are in a very blessed era of technology, and we fail to make the best of it. I’ve never had any help or guidance from anyone on how to start or run a business. All I did was google, google, and google some more. It really isn’t rocket science.

As for looking forward in terms of the business, I do see plenty of exciting things happening. My ultimate goal is to build a proper brand that manufactures all original content which is new, unique, and exciting in its own way for the consumers. I hope that I can develop a better, more personal relationship with my customers as well, hoping that people are able to connect to my brand more. One thing I do want to sign off with is the question of how I feel my brand differentiates itself from others in the space. To that I would say; my brand is driven more by customer experience rather than sales. I do like to invest in customer experience through my marketing and packaging. I strongly believe in first impressions and that customer satisfaction is the key to a successful business. Every customer of mine should open their package and go “wow”, to bring out that whole experience alive. That is what I strive for, and I feel that is also a reason as to why people like to shop with us. They are given an experience where they get the product they want and on the top of it, something that is above their expectations, an experience that is memorable.

By Vidhi Modi