Young Turk: Priya Keswani.
Jaipur born and raised Economics graduate Priya Keswani’s penchant for designing was evident from a very young age when she would design her own clothes and be complimented for it. She was pursuing C.S as a career but her dream of starting an online designer store, passion for designing and love for preserving the rich heritage of Rajasthan steered her to start her online couturier “Alaya, The Storehouse” two years ago. She wanted to take her love forward and started her own unit in Jaipur where she even does customisation. Priya shares “Basically Alaya is all about hand block print mul mul fabrics which is the specialty here in Jaipur. I wanted to combine the textile heritage of Rajasthan with contemporary as well as Indian wear. While we retain the traditional prints, each of our pieces is given a new twist”.
Challenges.
“The most difficult part of being an entrepreneur is that you have to make sure everyone is happy and satisfied. Be it your customers, your team or your employees.Balancing and juggling their contentment is my prime focus”, she smiles.
Priya feels that the biggest challenge of selling online is gaining the trust of people. She remarks “Gaining trust is the biggest challenge while selling products online. But if you are doing something good and people are loving your work, then it is the best platform to showcase your products to the world. It is tough to convince people when they do online shopping. But from the beginning itself, we got a wondrous response. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that it would go this far”.
Regarding being a woman in the business and challenges thereof, she opines “The vision is changing now. I see people around me are quite happy with this fact. Glad that women are being treated at par”.
Inspiration and Future Plans.
Priya has watched her father being an ethical businessman all his life and she has imbibed these virtues from him and says that these are critical and essential to doing any business.
Regarding her future plans, Priya says “ Expansion across India through flagship stores is most definitely intended. We use pure fabrics and create unique designs; we intend continuing the same”. She aspires to see her brand amongst the top in the world.
Her Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs.
Priya advises “Always be ethical and transparent in your dealings and there is no shortcut to success. Deliver what you promise and never fail to lose the trust of even a single customer. When a customer is satisfied, it is the best feeling ever. Trust me!”.
