They quit jobs, started own biz and hired needy women

When Jyothi, quit her job a few years ago to work as a teacher in Bangalore, she hadn’t imagined that it would be too easy-going. The MBA graduate quit her HR job to focus on the home front.

But besides working in a school, she wanted to do something more challenging. Thus she started the Little Achievers’ pre-school and day care. “It gives me flexible work hours,” says Jyothi, who, from a one-woman army, now has four women working for her.

Similarly,  Hema Shekar and Chaya Umesh Chandra too have started their own ventures, creating jobs for other women.

“I couldn’t work full-time as I have kids. Being interested in handicrafts, I started designing terracotta jewellery, key chains and pen holders at home,” says Shekar whose venture now has five women selling terracotta knick-knacks.

Shekar’s friend, Chandra, too started making perfumed candles at home and has five women working with her. Chaya Candle Craft World, her venture in Bangalore, supplies candles to corporates, wedding planners and interior decorators. “We also get orders for weddings and birthdays,” she says.

Starting their own ventures has not just made these women independent but has also helped other women get jobs.

“Had I worked for some company, I would be earning a monthly package only for myself and my family. But by starting my own enterprise, I’ve also hired needy women,” says Shekar.

Dhanavanti Jaiin, president of Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (Awake), says their own ventures not only gives women flexible work hours but also makes them bolder. “She has to handle everything from finance to her manpower to marketing her business,” says Jaiin.

@priya3014