ERNAKULAM: From being broke to running a successful real estate business, Dhanya Vishnu — a divorcee and a single mom of a three-year-old boy — has come a long way. In fact, foraying into the male bastion of real estate worked in her favour, says Dhanya, who had earlier worked as an assistant manager with a well-known builder in Kochi. The 38-year-old says a call from a divorcee and a mother of two broke her cycle of misfortune.
“The lady asked me to help her find a safe and secure rented house. She didn’t trust male brokers. She felt it was unsafe since she was a single mother and living alone in the city,” Dhanya says.Thus started her venture favoured mostly by women, and she began receiving more enquiries.“That prompted me to start Aadhmiya Realtors in December 2020, with the help of my friend and business partner Denny. Now I’m a full-time real estate agent, which is a challenging task,” she says.She began her career in 2006, with an event management company.
“Then I shifted to Dubai and worked there for 13 years. My marriage and the birth of my son happened during that period,” she recounts. Family issues forced her to return to Ernakulam in 2019. Her son had turned one year old, and her bank balance was zero.
“A single mom, with a baby and no bank balance! That’s a nightmare. I had to find a job, and landed one with a builder,” she says. But the pandemic forced her to come out of her comfort zone. With the support of friends, she started making pickles and dishes like fresh prawns, biriyani, chicken fry and chapatis. Just as the business took off, came the second lockdown.
“An entrepreneur’s life is full of ups and downs. Most of the apartments restricted food from outside and hostels were forced to shut down. That affected my sales badly,” Dhanya says. She says it is not bad to ask for help, and give too. “A little support can go a long way in someone’s life,” she adds.