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Monisha Gidwani: Pushing the Boundaries for Young Entrepreneurs

” I lament how women entrepreneurs in this country are not taken seriously and instead people think that women are only fit to cook, run a household, or raise kids. I think women can do all this and also run a successful business.”

96Victoria Flexner
By Victoria Flexner

This story is part of our 1,000+ Stories campaign. What’s your story?

Name: Monisha Gidwani

Business: Seduction Las Vegas

Location: Mumbai, India

Industry: Consumer Goods 

Reason for starting? My desire was to create an affordable cosmetic line which is safe and up to international standards. Everyone has the right to enhance their beauty. As our company believes in developing women and empowering them further we have also started working with various programs which enable women to start their own business with a small cash investment. We will be extensively rolling out the model all over India on 31st October 2016.

Starting a company at the age of 24 and developing a brand slowly has been a dream, and I will be persistent in my efforts to keep working on women’s empowerment and creating space for a company for women and by women.

Related: 5 Crowdfunders to Watch – Entrepreneurial Makers  

How do you define success? Success is simply defined as the perfect balance of your personal and professional life. It’s also important to give back to society, even if in a small way. 

Biggest success: When you create a company and a brand from the beginning, one of the most important aspects of managing the company is handling a team of close to 20 people with at least 15 of them of the age of 35 and above. Being young is always a challenge as it is difficult to make people value your opinion. In my case I have to let my staff know what would I do in a particular situation and then ask them to show me results in both – their own way of operation while also following my direction. This is how I have worked up the ladder by letting people grow and but also continuing to evaluate them. This also helps me learn how to develop a team who knows how to make decisions.

Related: Turning Camel Milk into Cosmetics

What is your top challenge and how you have addressed it? “You are very young, who is the boss?” This question was something I dealt with very regularly and though it bothered me initially, I decided to convert it into my strength. I lament how women entrepreneurs in this country are not taken seriously and instead people think that women are only fit to cook, run a household, or raise kids. I think women can do all this and also run a successful business.

Who is your most important role model? Mary Kay.

[box_light]Website   www.seductionlasvegas.com/
Twitter   @SeductionLVegas
Facebook   www.facebook.com/SeductionLasVegas
Instagram   www.instagram.com/seduction_las_vegas[/box_light]

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Edited by The Story Exchange