-Rageeb Juhair Nur
Let us be honest, how many successful student entrepreneurs, if not run into, have we heard of in our life? We would say not more than a handful, cause let's face it, it must be gruesome to just handle the pressure of studies, with an impending doom clock ticking away till exams come. Then how do they manage to run a whole business while keeping up with studies? To answer that question, let us take a look at the story of one of the most notable student entrepreneurs in the country, who also happens to be one of our own.
Meet Nusrat Lubaba, an O level candidate from BISC. Her business, Charity Scrunchies Co. might be familiar to many, it ought to be. However there's more than fashionable scrunchies to this business. We are all familiar with the effect the pandemic had on the people. It was tough for many, with the people in poverty suffering heavily. Keeping this in mind, Nusrat Lubaba started Charity Scrunchies Co. with most of the profits getting donated to the people in need. One question arises, why scrunchies? When asked she replied, " It was an open market, with no other competitors." However there was more to it than that, as she added that she was fond of the whole VSCO girl aesthetic, in which scrunchies was a major part of the look, and wanted that look, but scrunchies were not available anywhere in the country at that time. That's when she decided she wanted to sell scrunchies. Talk about capitalising on a whole trend, with charity being its goal!
What makes the rise of Charity Scrunchies Co. a lot more interesting, is that Nusrat Lubaba started this business in the middle of the pandemic! There were a lot more barriers to overcome than a regular business start up, with health issues being a major issue. However she managed to pull through. She did mention that it was really hard for her at the beginning, when she had to simultaneously manage accounts, take orders, market her products and manage delivery, all on her own. She later on admitted that this whole experience helped her learn a wide array of skills, which helped her manage the business more efficiently. We did ask her the golden question, how did she balance her studies and her booming business altogether. She replied that it was hectic to say the least, with all focus being on the business. However, once the business took off, she did hire someone temporarily to help her run the business. Although, when exams neared, she did have to shut down the business for a while and suspend orders. She mentioned that even though it was hard for her, it was for the best. However once she was done with her exams, Charity Scrunchies Co. was back in full throttle.
Now let's hear what Nusrat Lubaba had to say to all students aspiring to start their own business, "Carry out a research on the product and the market, as well as start with a good amount of capital, and always be nice and helpful to the customers." Since June of 2020, Charity Scrunchies Co. has served over a thousand customers, with most of its profit being used for charity. To check out their products, you can visit their Facebook and Instagram page.
Interesting:
• She did not have any experience, or subjects in business and economics prior to starting her own.
• She is a one woman army, managing everything on her own.
• In her words, technological development, especially social media played a big role in advertising her business, and believes it is opening doors for a lot of small businesses.
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