VIRUDHUNAGAR: Time and tide didn’t wait for P Shylaja either. Yet, she managed to keep afloat the sands of time. By the age of 36, the resident of Sivakasi blazed a trail in her hometown to organise entrepreneurship development workshops and conduct social media marketing classes for college students. All for free.
Recently, the young entrepreneur signed a memorandum of understanding with a private arts and science college in Sivakasi to chalk out a social media marketing course syllabus. “About 17 years ago, when I opted for visual communication for my undergraduate, I was ridiculed since the course, before now, was relatively unknown,” says Shylaja. She went on to pursue a master's in business administration. “I didn’t have any particular aim then. I was just keen on learning. Today, my business flourished because of the strong foundation I acquired back in my college days,” Shylaja reflects.
Until 2017, Shylaja was engaged in quilling and chocolate making. Later, she ventured into manufacturing organic skin and hair care products under the brand name Yami Herbals. She was instrumental in bolstering organic farming in her hometown by spurring farmers to produce semi-finished value-added products from their harvest, which, later, were procured by herself for Yami Herbals.
“I realised that organic farmers were on the verge of calling it quits due to low market demand. I advised the farmers to make value-added products out of their harvest. We didn’t have to source raw harvest yield anymore to make our products,” Shylaja says.
Amidst the vying for a profitable bargain, Shylaja spearheaded an inadvertent campaign in Sivakasi to offer profit and more business for the farmers. “The farmers say more people have approached them to source semi-finished value-added products,” she says.
A Karthikeyan (35), who is engaged in organic farming, says Shylaja procures based on the price fixed by the farmers. He says such innovative methods would toss out the involvement of middlemen and reduce transportation costs.
Shylaja has been helping the farmers by providing them with equipment such as solar dryers to manufacture the value-added products. It was an uphill climb that was worthwhile, recalls Shylaja. “Many students are unaware of the entrepreneur opportunities awaiting them. I wanted to extend support by introducing them to the various career paths available,” she says.
“Her (Shylaja) career has been phenomenal. We have been inviting her to our college so that she could shed light on various topics, including career and entrepreneurship development,” says S Gayathri, assistant professor of a private arts and science college in Sivakasi.
(Edited by Jacob B Jacob)