Designing Woman: An Indian Entrepreneur Spreads Her Knowledge from the City to the Rural Towns
Sandhya Volety is president of
Wonders, an interior and exterior design business in Hyderabad, India. She
traveled to the U.S. in May 2010 to participate in the Vital Voices
Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Mentoring Program, during which she was
mentored by five Goldman Sachs women executives. Volety spoke with
Knowledge@Wharton about her business growth strategies following her graduation
from the 10,000 Women certificate program at the Indian School of Business and
discussed her broader mission to educate and empower other women around India.
Knowledge@Wharton: When did you start your design business, Wonders?
Volety: I started Wonders five years ago. Prior to that, I had
worked as a teacher and [helped develop] multimedia and special effects for the
Hindi movie industry. [This work] didn't give me satisfaction. I come from a
country where there is a high rate of unemployment, especially among women. My
biggest ambition in life has been to create employment opportunity for one and
all. So I started Wonders.
I didn't know much about running my
own business, nor did I know anything about Indian architecture. I learned a
lot from books and talking with friends. The first few years of my business
were smooth sailing and [I experienced] natural growth. Then I reached a point
where I couldn't take my business to the next level of growth, [couldn't] make
it bigger. I started looking at different management programs and came across
the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. A friend told me that the 10,000
Women program would be perfect for me.
Knowledge@Wharton: And was it?
Volety: The course was an eye-opener. We had to make a business
plan, and I became committed to that long-term vision. It is a good tool [for
providing] a bigger picture and a long-term goal. My business has grown.
Previously I had 15 contractors I would hire; now it is more than double -- I
hire 35 or 40. Since the course, I have collaborated with a builder who is
constructing 20 apartments and my business is doing interiors for all 20
apartments. I now have economies of scale. Otherwise I was running about from
project to project.
When you associate yourself with
people who have a brand name, like this company I'm collaborating with in
Hyderabad, then you work toward your own branding effort. We are working on a
concept called "ready to occupy" with these 20 apartments, and we are
doing up everything from the furnishings to finishings to flooring and
fixtures. The customer just walks in and his apartment is all fixed up. Selling
our services as a package is a fairly new concept in Hyderabad, and it is
attractive for the buyers.
Knowledge@Wharton: Do you feel like your gender is a disadvantage in forging
such partnerships?
Volety: Absolutely not. There are more than 250 Indian design
firms in Hyderabad alone, and most of them are owned and run by women. We
haven't run into any discrimination.
Knowledge@Wharton: With so much competition, what marketing strategies do you
use to stand out in your industry?
Volety: I initiated an exposition called Ativa in 2008, even
before I was a graduate of 10,000 Women in 2009. With Ativa, I travel to the district
towns in my area and put on expositions where I invite and expose women to
modern living concepts. I bring products that are available in the cities and
not the district towns, such as carpets, paintings, cushions and other interior
designs for their houses. I also involve local women -- who make hand-made
products, like bags, designer candles and paintings -- in the expos. I give
them a platform to showcase and exhibit their own products. I also help them
create employment for women.
Knowledge@Wharton: Do you consider Ativa a success?
Volety: I know for sure that there is a lot of potential in the
district areas. Nobody has tapped those markets. Once I go there, people are
aware that Wonders is a company that does interiors. It is a marketing tool. Many
of them have called me to do interiors for them. Also, women who are living in
those areas have the talent, but they don't have the exposure to what is
happening in the outside world. They don't know how to market or how to
advertise. This is a way of bridging the gap between cities and towns. This
helps them to come out in the open and talk about their own products. Once I
leave, the women who have participated in the exposition have the chance to be
known in their own community. An example is women I met who make homemade
foods, like pickles and sweets. They are now looking, following my expo, to set
up a store in one of these towns.
Knowledge@Wharton: Do you believe it is your role to help other women
entrepreneurs?
Volety: After the Goldman Sachs program, I started Anuva, a
knowledge-sharing forum. We had our first forum on March 8, 2010, International
Women's Day. I invited women in Hyderabad in different businesses and told them
about the 10,000 Women program and how it has helped me scale up my business.
This is a knowledge-sharing forum where I talk to women and train them on
management, leadership and business skills.
I started mentoring 10 of these
women very closely after the forum; five of them have started their own
businesses since March 8. The other five are waiting for me to get back and
help them. I personally feel that it is our responsibility to give back to our
community. The vision of 10,000 Women is to benefit and train women, benefit
families and also to benefit the economy of the entire country because you set
up your own business, create employment and help people grow. If Goldman Sachs
trains 10,000 women in the world, the chain should not stop there. If they can
do 10,000, why can't I do 10?
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/10000women/article.cfm?articleid=6161
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