At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another Passionate Womenpreneur Ameenah Neha Shiraz for an exclusive interview with us. Ameenah is the Founder of Skinvibes Naturals. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ameenah:
We are aware of your contribution to the organic skincare business, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I did my schooling from Chinmaya Vidyalaya and further pursued B.Com from Rajagiri College, Ernakulam. I am currently pursuing law from Sree Narayana Law College. I was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the youngest achievers by delivering high performance in all walks of life. While pursuing B.Com, I was very active in all cultural activities and hosting business and management fests.
Hailing from a well-known business family in Kerala, I have always been very passionate about building something on my own. I did a lot of research on the herbal skincare industry in India.”
After my two years of research in this field, I decided to launch my own organic skincare brand that could be affordable to everyone yet provided the best quality.
So as soon as I graduated from college, I successfully established my own skincare line ‘Skinvibes Naturals’.The company manufactures skin and hair care products from herbs freshly handpicked from the fields of Kerala. Our company employs only less privileged women in our team.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I always wanted to work on my own dream rather than working on someone else’s dream. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read the success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs.
You see – It’s fascinating how you build something from scratch to build an empire around it. It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
I make sure that I grab whatever opportunity I get. To get that opportunity, I present myself as a brand. I prepare myself to give in my best shot at each and every opportunity that comes my way.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always try to make sure that I empower the right people for the right work. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress. In my free time, I try to spend time with my family and friends and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible.
I am also super passionate about my work and that keeps me moving. I would say that I get motivated seeing my parents work tirelessly in their respective fields and that drives me to go on despite all the challenges.
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
In my opinion, it should be a mix of both. You just cannot go ahead with an idea jotted down on a piece of paper without like-minded people working on it. I have seen companies with very innovative ideas with niche market segment fail just because they lacked proper team spirit in them.”
To be successful, you should team up with people, who share your vision behind the idea and you also need to hire the right people for the right position so that it gets implemented in a proper way.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I love my work. Anything you do in life you have to have a passion for and should not feel like work.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Well there are many roadblocks in a women’s entrepreneurial journey, make sure these roadblocks never stop you from achieving your goals in life.No matter what keep going and keep chasing your goals.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
