Womanpower on the web

The world of digital economy, which has made redundant the daily office commute and routine work-hours, is attracting a large number of women who have chosen to juggle home and family responsibilities.

The story of Hiral Shah, a 35-year old commerce graduate, is impressive in particular. Shah’s family was forced to shift from Canada to India last year when her husband -- the sole breadwinner of the family -- lost his job. After moving to India, Shah made a decision to sell Indian handicrafts – sourced from local craftsmen in Ahmedabad – to her Canadian friends and clients.

“I started with just Rs 5,000 worth of handicrafts but today I earn upwards of Rs 1 lakh. I also sell these products at other online marketplaces, including my own website,” she says, adding that her husband is now helping her source handicrafts from all over the country. To augment sales, Shah plans to monetise her customer base through web analytics, mystery shopping – a market research tool that helps gather information about products and services – and other analytical tools.

At eBay India, which has over two million registered users, women entrepreneurs comprise 15 to 20 per cent of the total sellers’ population. “Forty five million Internet subscribers in India not only get the option of avoiding slow brick-and-mortar service delivery, but also get a chance to pick up products at lovely bargain prices,” says eBay India Senior Manager (Pop Culture) Deepa Thomas.

Nagpur-based Gunjan Arora, another successful web entrepreneur, does not regret quitting a top job at a multinational company so she could see her twin daughters growing up. Arora embarked on her online venture – involving sales and purchase of silk garments on the e-commerce portal Alibaba.com -- last year.

Today she makes a neat Rs 1.5 lakh per month. “Everyone in my family has been helping me out with my business. My husband helps me with the order books as my clients are spread across Europe and the US,” she says.

According to AC Nielsen estimates, approximately 12,800 sellers use eBay India as primary or secondary source of income. Toral Saini, another online businesswoman, sells jewellery on platforms like Amazon and Alibaba, says, “E-commerce, by nature, is competitive and draws buyers looking for the lowest possible prices.” Saini sells fashion jewellery at a competitive margin of 4 per cent. She explains, “I manage an average deal size of $40 (Rs 2,000) per client. The sales volumes help me tide over cut-throat margins.”

From delivery to customer service, selling online helps these entrepreneurs keep a close eye on every little detail. Faizal Rani, a 29-year old young mother from Chennai turned an eBay entrepreneur three years ago and is counted now among top eBay sellers today. Rani sells LCD TVs, laptops, digital cameras, MP3 players, and DVD players.

Her customer service standards are considered best in league. Working from home and striving to maintain high delivery standards is not easy, she says. “In my business, there are no sick leaves, the money is unpredictable and you encounter lots of distractions when you are working from home,” she points out. To Rani, however, the returns more than make up for the pain.

When she started out, she made a humble profit of Rs 20 from her first sale. Today she earns more than Rs 50,000 per month. She has done over 1,200 deals on eBay so far with buyers from across India and plans to open three more online stores, giving other homemakers a chance to make moolah off the web.