‘Your Community’ is a series that hopes to bring recognition and business to the amazing entrepreneurs of
our country, to appreciate the wealth of talent and sheer resilience of spirit that exists among our people. When spoken to, the majority of the SME’s indicate that their challenges are similar. They are struggling with access to market and access to finance. They need guidance and support to overcome such obstacles. This Column “Your Community” addresses the need to create awareness, by sharing their compelling stories so that potential customers out there can connect with them. WCIC along with many partner organisations conduct continuous capacity building programmes for SMEs to gain knowledge in all aspects of business development.

Your Community provides exposure to inspirational women entrepreneurs by sharing their story and making the world know how these courageous ladies are forging ahead. We invite you to interact and engage with these entrepreneurs and support local businesses. We feature this week an entrepreneur who has been supported by the WCIC in her journey.

Q         Tell us about your family background?

I was born into a family of entrepreneurs and grew up in a very positive and supportive environment. There is a common myth that growing up amongst business professionals can be tough especially for a young child, but my story is different. My childhood was rich with wonderful memories of love, support, admiration and encouragement shared and showered by my parents, my grandparents and extended family.  Everyone offered help when it came to making sure all of us had a balanced, happy life and we are a living example of a closely knit family unit.

Showering support and encouragement didn’t really mean that we lived in the lap of luxury. My sister and I were made to understand the reality of life and were taught to be responsible, my father being the leader in this domain. When you are young it is hard to see the positive side of one parent playing the role of the bad cop, but today I am grateful for my father’s exemplary influence. My mother on the other hand showed us the lighter side of life especially when it came to fashion and modern trends driven by her desire to spoil us a little bit.  The greatest wealth one could inherit from one’s parents is a childhood filled with love, laughter and a set of rich values and I am privileged to have grown up that way.

Q         Talk to us about your professional background?

 I am a product of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya and have great respect for my alma mater for the grounding received. Securing a solid education was always promoted at home and at school. I always knew within me that someday, I will follow my parents’ footsteps and commence a business venture of my own, I had my mind set on investing in a solid foundation for tomorrow. Today, I hold a Bachelor of Arts from Staffordshire University in the UK and moved on to complete my HR degree at The Institute of Professional Management in 2018.

Professional qualifications backed by hands on work experience are the two greatest assets for an entrepreneur in the making which led me to embrace the learnings of the private sector during my tenure at MAS Kreeda and Amsafe International.

Q         How did you start your business?

Being an entrepreneur was always on the cards and my first awakening was in 2018, as I set out with the challenge to source alternative options to expand my mother’s business, ‘The Wedding Flowers’. 

At the time, The Wedding Flowers focused on floral decorations for weddings, parties and other functions. A gift of a bouquet of flowers is a very personal gift which is usually hand-picked and personalised to suit one’s taste, preference and the emotional feeling at that moment, an experience offered by ‘The Wedding Flowers’.  But I had a different school of thought and kept questioning myself on why personalisation cannot still happen remotely to cater to those millennial customers who seek convenience at the touch of a key.  That was the birth of Flowerdale – The online flower delivery platform with the luxury of customising your bouquet of flowers.

Flowerdale offers the customer the best of both worlds – the ability to personalise their flower bouquets based on the type of flower, colour and design shape along with a message that communicates one’s feelings, without leaving your comfort zone. I saw potential in my idea but the concept was new to the market in 2018. However, the way the world does business changed with the outbreak of the pandemic, which led to many businesses relocating from traditional brick and mortar stores to virtual online marketing platforms.

Flowerdale changed gear and took a different turn in May 2020, complemented with our special Mother’s Day promotion. Re- energised with the recent market activity and enthusiasm, I was on a high to explore creative avenues to differentiate Flowerdale, against others offering similar services. Flowerdale is authentic because you can express your emotions and feelings through our beautiful flower bouquets. Designing a flower bouquet is an art blending colour, fragrances, shape and design. But flower decoration is also a science which is perhaps a foreign concept to many. However, I had easy access to a professional in this space, my mother Samitha, a flower designer accredited by the International Flower Designers Association who has the technical knowhow to create a bouquet focusing on maintaining the freshness of the flowers, the weight of the bouquet ensuring ease of carrying and of course perfecting the blend of colours and flowers. So, I have her on my team and probably the reason for customer testimonials such as “My bridal bouquet of flowers was not only beautiful but easy to carry for the entire wedding day –I couldn’t part with it” by Millen Joey. The flowers we use are beautiful, fresh and fragrant because of the love rendered by our humble hardworking local suppliers based in Hatton, Nuwaraeliya and Haputale – a key ingredient in Flowerdales success.

Empowering local communities through business is a learning inherited by my parents. I further extended our contribution to local communities by designing local authentic packaging that is eco-friendly and can be re-used by the end consumer. Today, we package our flower bouquets in palmyarah or handloom boxes that can be easily reused by the consumer and used for storage of memorabilia.   Flowerdale is just the start of my journey and as I didn’t want to wait for the perfect opportunity to start my next venture, I took yet another step into the future.

Q         So, talk to us about your next venture?

My next venture, Events and Company, took off ground in May 2019 post easter attacks, not the best timing to start an Event Management business amidst security threats but, I had a gut feeling it was the right time, the time to test, fail and fall. I wanted to work against the odds and pushed myself to achieve what I had set my mind on. Events & Company, seeks to provide a seamless experience from start to end when hosting a function leaving behind joyful and memorable experiences and memories for everyone.

I started with planning and managing weddings and parties for close family and friends. Understanding and appreciating the financial constraints driven by the current economic landscape, I ventured into offering Event Management services at a price accessible to everyone.

Organising an event is a mammoth task and usually the host ends up being the organiser, liaison and the administrator and is denied the opportunity to mingle with everyone or enjoy the event and certainly no window to create a memory other than the stress.

Events & Company’s client engagement platform seeks to understand the client in great detail including their feelings, culture, life style and what sort of experience they would like be part of. The management function is not limited to ticking the boxes and ensuring that everything goes according to plan but to offer the experience visualised by the client on their special day whether it be a wedding, party or corporate function.  Our themed functions have been a hit including the roaring success of the New Year’s Eve party for Shangri – La Hambantota which adopted a Cuban/ Latin American style atmosphere. We are in the entertainment business and creativity is an essential ingredient to success. Expanding our horizons by adapting new trends, fashions and concepts should be a continuous investment if success is to be sustained and I am confident that Event & Company will reach great heights.

The pandemic is just a temporary setback and perhaps the best time to invest in resources to enhance competencies and unique features. Our growth strategy is fancy and elaborate but it cannot be secured single handedly – we need to inculcate a team culture inviting partners in specialised fields such as lighting, music, creative directors and entertainment professionals to join Events & Company.

Sri Lankans are fun loving and being self- contained during the pandemic was frustrating but it’s only a matter of time and we will be living our life with music, dance, light and laughter.  Events & Company will take up the challenge to pleasantly surprise you at your next event and create a wonderful memory compensating for the lost two years. Our doors are open to you.

Q         As a young business personality how have you contributed towards society?

I was taught to be a responsible citizen and my parents were both living examples of it.

I took a page off their book, especially when it came to recruiting and expanding my team across all businesses. Rather than employing people to sustain the function of the business, I ear marked candidates whom I can help. Many youth lost their jobs due to the economic pressure driven by the pandemic and I offered them a placement at  Flowerdale and Events & Company.

My latest venture, Seru Ceylon specializing in the manufacture of designer ware sarees & sarongs and homeware accessories such as cushion covers & placements, is one such business that is thriving utilising young professional talent that was once made redundant. Today there are creative designers taking charge of the unique styles and patterns which are illuminated through six yards of cloth. Venturing out into creating sarees using handloom fabric is nothing new to me as my father is the owner and manager of Madushi Tex, specializing in the manufacture of handloom fabric for the local and export market.

Seru Ceylon further extends its support to the community by employing local folk from Kurunegala and Batticaloa engaging in weaving the fabric and stitching the end garment. Despite the financial pressure caused by the pandemic, Seru Ceylon continues to manufacture sarees and sarongs and preparing for market activity once business resumes, whilst employing everyone on a full-time basis and continuing to remunerate them in full. The prep work will allow us to continue to supply steadily to the local market as well as to the international markets in USA, Australia and Europe when the time is right.

I have watched my teams across all businesses enhance their life standards and their children taking up university education and moving onto higher professional jobs which makes me not only proud but, makes my efforts worthwhile.

Q         What is your core business value across all units?

The business values that I advocate are spread across all my specialty businesses and are dominated by two main values namely a quality product/service and ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Quality is not a one-time attribute. Quality can be guaranteed if you have the right processes in place from planning up until closing the sale. Many businesses guarantee quality but sustaining it over the business lifetime is the challenge. Sustaining quality for a startup business means low margins, but maintaining standards will lead to a boom in the market among your loyal customer base along with the willingness to pay even higher. I am yet to experience this across my ventures but I have witnessed the benefits of the quality pledge made by my parents’ businesses over the years.

Delivering a seamless experience from start to end is critical across all my businesses. I aspire to deliver the WOW feeling, not just a product to my client, hence client engagement, understanding, customization and creativity are essential ingredients. Having the right team with the right talent, attitude and persona to crystalize these values is what I am working on currently. 

I am just getting started and I am prepping myself, my team and my business to deliver a product of our value testament.

Q         How do you manage these businesses?

Setting up a team culture is the way forward to manage the business. My philosophy is to get the job done, so I offer flexibility to my team by way of part-time work and remote working opportunities which have made delegating easier. At present, my team consists of 20 young personalities and stay at home moms who desire a career that is rewarding yet accommodating and I warmly welcome such personalities to partner in my progress. 

Q         Who is your role model?

I didn’t have to go looking for a role model. I was born into them- My parents, my inspiration. My father’s business personality of meticulous planning is something that I embraced and quickly adapted when I set out to own my enterprises.

Growing up as a young girl, I always felt I wanted to be an iron lady like my mother. Soft, sweet and caring by nature with the mindset of a lioness, one who has achieved great success in managing a successful business, investing in a successful marriage and nurturing two daughters who think of their mother as their best friend. What an achievement for one person and a true inspiration. It will probably take me a life time for to embrace these characteristics but it’s a journey I want to tale.

Q         What is the support you have received from WCIC?

To me, The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce is not just an association but my extended family. I have grown up being associated with WCIC as my mother was a member for many years. I have been part of the WCIC support network throughout those years, embracing the love and encouragement doled out by these esteemed professional ladies. It's not all business at WCIC but it’s a network that helps you nurture a better life including developing your inner self and mental peace.  A network worth being part of, if you desire to elevate your personality.

Q         As a young personality what is your message to future entrepreneurs?

Never lose yourself when trying to achieve success. You cannot run this race alone, you need people around you to support you, to guide you and perhaps even criticize you.

So start young. Invest your time wisely – build your support network, someone to empower you if you fall. You will stand up stronger.

Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) is the premier organisation supporting entrepreneurs and professional business-women. The membership is open to women who believe they can contribute to society as well as benefit from the many facilities the organisation creates.

By Anusha David