To many, selling online means access to the entire Indian market. For a few others, it’s a way to break gender bias and take a firm step towards independence. In the second story of our #SellfMade series, read how Flipkart seller Monica Saini, owner of MP Mega Store in Delhi, quashed her family's age-old refrain that women should only take care of the home, by becoming an ace online entrepreneur on Flipkart.
Monica Saini, Flipkart Seller from Delhi
As told to Jishnu Murali
Starting a business was my first independent step. It was a big move for me. My husband’s friend runs an online business selling mobile phones and accessories. I wanted to earn my own living too, but I was discouraged from doing so. My family too was against me leaving the house to work.
I am from a small village called Madhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. Villages in India are still under the impression that girls shouldn’t be sent out to make a living. My husband is from Delhi but when I moved there, circumstances once again stood in the way of me getting a job. My mother-in-law wasn’t comfortable with me leaving the house to work, but she was okay with the idea of me working from home. That’s when I decided I’d start my own business.
There are many schools in my neighborhood. And the schools here use blackboards. So I came up with the idea of selling blackboards and whiteboards to schools. And bearing my customers in mind, I also decided to sell chalk and markers with the boards. I started selling on Flipkart in the year 2018. It was my husband’s suggestion — he too started to believe in what I was doing and thought Flipkart was the way to go.
I faced a few challenges when I started. I couldn’t decide where to procure the material from.
Initially, I sourced my products from different vendors. But now, I get them from one vendor. Selling online has taught me a lot about how a business runs.
I’ve learnt so much in my journey so far. I’ve become comfortable with technology — when I started out, I couldn’t do much with a computer and my husband had to help me. But now, I run almost the entire business on my own. And I’ve had to learn fast to keep up with the growth of my business. When I started selling online, I was receiving 1 or 2 orders every day, but now I have to meet requirements for almost 22 orders in a day! My growth has also inspired my mother-in-law. She now takes care of my baby while I work to grow the business.
Also read: #SellfMade – Flipkart helped this seller realize her dreams. Now, she’s helping other women like her
