VISAKHAPATNAM: The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown have had a huge impact on everyone’s daily life. And the lockdown certainly has given people ample time to think. While some plainly spent their day binge-watching movies or reading.
Here are a few women in Visakhapatnam city who have turned into entrepreneurs amid the pandemic.
Subhasree Ray (21), a home baker, began baking brownies in the pandemic and selling them via social media- on her Instagram page Bake and Roll.
“Initially I was unsure about starting a business. I thought no one would buy from me,” she says. But now, her brownies are one of the most craved for in the city.
Subha began selling her brownies in July and so far has delivered over 200 orders.
Recently, she and her friend Kritika Yadav have begun a one-of-a-kind ‘Period Box’ for women. The box is reasonably priced and contains a range of items such as facial sheet masks, chocolates, brownies, tea bags, etc.
“It’s like a comfort box for women in their periods,” she explains. The profits from these boxes will be kept aside and be used to donate sanitary napkins for girls in orphanages.
Poorva Parakh, a 22-year-old teacher, started an Instagram page- The Craft Affair, where she makes handmade gifts and curates one of the best hampers in the city. She orders all the craft material required online.
“I’ve always been fascinated with colourful things,” says the psychology graduate, “I love making handmade gifts and I always did for my friends and family. But during the lockdown, I had a lot of free time. Hence, I decided to turn my passion into a profession,” she adds.
Poorva is self-taught and has been crafting from a very young age. She spends around 3-4 hours a day on crafting and spends the first half of the day, teaching children. Another small-scale food business- Svadaniya is the brainchild of Anuhya Chandra Mohan (18), a journalism student from St. Joseph’s Women’s College. From minepa garelu to chicken curry and chocolate truffles to laddus, their menu is filled with heartwarming homemade dishes. Svadaniya is handled by Anuhya and her mother P Lakshmi Bai.
Lakshmi handles the cooking part while Anuhya handles the packaging and advertising. The mother-daughter duo has been at this for the last three months.
“We’ve taken close to a hundred orders- both big and small scale,” says Anuhya. “These three months have been the best. I am doing something I love and I am also earning. It’s a really big deal for me,” Lakshmi exclaimed.
They turn their ideas into reality
Subhasree Ray (21), a home baker and her friend Kritika Yadav with their unique initiative ‘Period Box’ for women, Poorva Parakh, a 22-year-old teacher with her handmade gifts and Anuhya Chandra Mohan, a journalism student, with her small-scale food business- Svadaniya convert their business ideas into a reality.