Our Hand at Being Social Entrepreneurs (small S, big E for those in the know)

Developing social entrepreneurs is one of the big buzz words in the development sector. At a recent party we all wondered together at what enterprise isn’t social to some degree. Probably one that takes grants and just puts it in a bank account was Adam’s apt reply! :)

This story has some history....flashback....Adam’s mom had a business selling beaded jewellery, which she then sold off. However, before she sold it I was imparted with some rad skills on how to make cool necklaces and earrings ;)

Back to the present..... These skills were used just as a hobby. I would make random gifts during moments of inspiration. I did bring my toolkit and some beads to India, thinking I’d be hit with inspiration on seeing all the beautiful beads that are available here.

Context....My mom volunteers for a non-profit called the Spastics Society of Karnataka and they were having a Christmas Bazaar, and my mom wondered if I would be interested in having a jewellery stall. I probably would have said no if I was on my own, but Adam was really excited because it would be our attempt at being entrepreneurs. As a teenager he was experienced in accounting and pricing for his mom’s business. So with my mom’s help we were able to source all the supplies were needed from an old market in Bangalore. Buying everything was an experience in itself as most of the names in the US don’t apply here. Needless to say the shopping was highly descriptive with lots of jewellery-making sign language. Plus we learnt a lot in hindsight, like how important it was to have properly drilled beads, ufff! All in all it was really fun, and I can’t wait to go back to the market. BTW, all this transpired just a week before the sale.

Meat of the story.... So Adam, my mom, and I committed ourselves for a couple of hours each evening, designing earrings, and we were able to make about 80 pairs by the end of the week! It was a really fun experience. I also made a few necklaces that sorta added some variety to the table. I priced them really high though, cause I really liked them, and didn’t think it would sell to this target segment. My dad just watched us in amusement probably wondering why I wasn’t working on an economic or development related problem.

The day of the sale was nerve-racking as we had no clue if this experiment would work. We did get a good spot for our stall under the shade of a tree and right at a busy intersection of the sale. To our surprise, our sales where phenomenal! We had to make some earrings on the spot to keep our table stocked, and my mom really sealed the deal by convincing one of her the friends that the most expensive necklace really matched her sari. The day ended with us more than doubling our investment, being able to donate money to the Society, and with lots of encouragement and some orders!!!

We are not sure if this was beginners luck, or if it’s an idea we should pursue further. Ideally, we feel that with the low overheads here (assuming Adam and I are not physically making it ourselves), and the ability to charge higher prices in the west, there might be an opportunity. We could be more ‘socially’ oriented by working with women groups in India. However, we feel the bigger challenge will be marketing the distributing the product in the U.S. or any other country.

For me the best parts were having a creative outlet, and earning money in a very personal way. We were involved in every step of the process, and so you felt this intimate pleasure in then spending the dough; it felt hard earned! 

Here is a link to some of my older as well as latest designs