The Journey of a Creative Entrepreneur - Part 2

It's hard to come by business sometimes, especially when people either don't know about you or trust how you can benefit them. Suspicion rules. I'm still to meet that one person/organisation which is willing to invest faith. Everybody is so scared to take a chance, especially with a newcomer. And I'm not sure how to receive that - with disappointment or sympathy. 

Investors are hard to come by too. And so is attention. If you can't zap them in a second, people are likely to shake their heads regretfully, reminding you of the way out. 

But there is one thing you are likely to get in abundance! Free advice. Everybody has something to say. Whether it's about how it should be run or what products ought to be sold, if a strong opinion exists, it has to be expressed. Most times I scan this advice for anything useful (like a sieve), since most of my ideas occur to me through conversations with people. I try not to miss an opportunity. However, most of it is simply gas. Uninformed, impractical and unreasonable. I don't let them know. Just nod my head pleasantly. 

If you follow it, you're screwed! Tried and tested. 

The Journey of a Creative Entrepreneur...and it begins!

Well, now that I have an up and running website, I wondered what to do with this space.
A friend came to my rescue. "Why don't you write about your experiences as a struggling entrepreneur? It could be like a diary, to which you can come back anytime for references."

And so here I am.

My name is Ragini Letitia Singh and I am the woman behind Rangini. Creativity came to me very young. I wrote my first novel at 12, had a large collection of pretty water colour paintings by 16 and presented a handmade greeting card to every family member, which was a masterpiece in itself. It came easily. When the sky was overcast and spelled rain, out came my paints, brushes and drawing book, and I was only to be found either on the terrace or in my garden, lost to everyone else. That ability to get engrossed in my work still lives. Sometimes I don't even know what day it is!

Rangini happened suddenly. It was probably my answer to a call that was bothering me within for years. As a communications professional, my job had some degree of creativity, but it was unsatisfactory for the moody artist within. I ignored myself for years, doing what everyone else does - have a job. Then followed misery, discontent and an inherent unhappiness that only festers when you deny yourself something that you badly want.

I knew what I had to do then. Armed with a capital of Rs. 0, I marched towards entrepreneurship, filled with positivity, pride and unfortunately, naivety.

Soon I realised that I don't know how to run a business. Business plans, marketing strategies, production capacity, taxes, blah blah blah.....A series of revelations followed, for example, my business sense is poor, I'm too emotional and kind to be a business woman, I take risks without thinking, etc. Everything took a plunge.

The creativity was roaring to go, but the business sense needed work. And the work has begun. The key word is 'smartness'. That's what the woman behind Rangini needs to be.
But smartness, with a heart and soul  :) 

Stained glass candle holders - this is the latest!

Visual Merchandising for the new Buzzaria store at Faridabad!

Buzzaria has something for everybody, be it a funky bag or an ethnic skirt. The new store at Faridabad (inaugurated on January 24, 2014) is beautiful and it was a pleasure do do some VM for it :)

The facade of the store

The ethnic look for the front window....

....with some interesting products on display

Bags, bags and more bags

Chumbak brightens up your day

Shelves laden with pretty things

The casual look for the side window

For more information on Buzzaria, please visit - https://www.facebook.com/Buzzaria

Bottle lamps