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Executive Interviews: Interview with Shahnaz Hussain on Women Executives
July 2007
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By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary
Shahnaz Hussain Pioneer and Leader of herbal care in India She is also a pioneer of Vocational Training in Cosmetology in India. 
To be successful in the business
world, one needs to have a dream
and a burning desire to make those
dreams come true. An entrepreneur,
in the true sense of the word, is
someone with independence of
spirit. Along with that, there is total
faith and confidence in one's own
abilities. Foresight is also important,
because one has to think ahead and
be able to predict trends. This is
needed, to know what the market
demands will be. A sixth sense also
helps, to be able to feel the pulse of
the trend and themarket. In thatway,
when I started my career, the swing
towards nature had begun in the
West. I realized that it was not
something new, as far as we Indians
are concerned. Faith in the healing
powers of nature is part of our culture
and tradition. What
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is more
important is that I was motivated by
my faith in Ayurveda and my
assurance that we had a better
alternative. There was a sense of
pride too. This helped me to hold my
own, when I entered the
international market. It gave me the
courage of my convictions.
The desire to excel, relentless
determination to succeed and the
ability to work hard are qualities that
women certainly do not lack. The
woman's ability to adapt and adjust is
important in business, because one
has to adapt to the changing demands
of the market and trends. To evaluate
the worth of an idea, one has to have
a feel of market trends and changing
levels of awareness. I think women
have the sensitivity for this. You may
start in a small way, but you have to
think "big". You have to think that
nothing is beyond you. In fact, in
seizing opportunities and looking
forward to challenges lies the secret
of a successful entrepreneur. Quite early in my career, I began to
motivate women, who were
housewives, to start salons in their
own homes and venture into the
world of business. This way they
could have a career and financial
independence and yet, be close at
hand to take care of home and
family. That is how we started our
chain of herbal salons. I saw how
shy, submissive housewives
blossomed into confident entrepreneurs. How they came to
realize the importance of a
professional qualification and an
open mind. Having also employed
mainly women in my own
organizations, I have found that they
manage people better, with
understanding, diplomacy and tact. Although women have entered
every sphere, there are some areas
which can have more success in the
hands of a woman. Among these are
beauty, fashion, clothes, accessories,
catering, health and fitness centers,
health resorts, restaurants and so on.
There is an ever widening scope and
never ending opportunities as well.
Do you dream of being a successful
entrepreneur? Don't stop. It is
important to dream. Then have the
faith and courage to take the first
step towards realizing the magic of
your dreams. -
An ILO report on Women
Entrepreneurs revealed, "Women
have a proportionately greater
presence in the informal economy
and in micro enterprises; and they
are less represented in formal,
registered SMEs." Why is it so?
Some of the reasons for this are
detailed above. Women generally
have been going into the service
sectors. A larger and more organized
enterprise would require more
capital. When I started my
enterprise, it was in a very small
way. I invested only Rs. 35,000/- to
start my first herbal salon. Besides, I
used my innovativeness and ideas to
extend my business, adopting the
franchise system, in which I, as the
franchisor, do not share in the
investment, profit or loss of the
franchisee's business. However, the
franchise salons provided outlets for
my salon treatments and products.
Government agencies and NGOs
also provide support to
microenterprises, trying to develop cottage and small scale industries or
the rural sector.
1.
Women Executives/CEOs Case Studies
2. ICMR
Case Collection
3.
Case Study Volumes
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