If you all know me since a few years, you must have heard me talk about coffee, stationery and Ninegram! My beloved first venture into the world of business and more, a good ride from 2019-2022.
I simply took a chance on myself and put savings in with my biz partner and took this leap of faith where we got to work with awesome brands. and fulfilled so many orders. I got to illustrate on every product from scratch and to see that come alive was wonderful. Not only the joy to see others use that stationery but to have a team, build that business and feel thrilled being your own boss is a joy that I will always cherish.
Running a business is far from difficult, it's exhausting and involves a lot of struggle, from having a vision shared with your biz partner to aligning the team with your goals to being affirmative that this is all worth it to missing so many home moments, everything is part and parcel. The amount of self doubt and confusion comes in another heavy package. Ofcourse, there is no doubt that this is all worth the high's you feel and the energy within you that you can use as fuel for life is the reason, this side of the world thrives on business life!
Very early, I decided that I wanted to have a flexible life, I wanted to take breaks and chill when I wanted without having to ask someone so I did freelance projects and worked with lovely brands to establish my own. I now know the joy to work by yourself because you've to truly strive for the goal and not keep checking if your partner is also eager to score that goal with you. Being a team and having the same long-term vision is key to finding that partner.
I learnt a lot, thanks to my journey with Ninegram and all that I've done during the 3 years, I'm sharing all the frequently asked questions here :) If there's any advice or I can consult your business in anyway, feel free to drop an email from the connect page!
1. Why did you decide to close Ninegram?
The decision to close Ninegram came because we both wanted different things and it didn't align with the shared goal we started with initially. We believe we would love to move to bigger better futuristic goals for us, individually. I love paper and stationery and have my forte of designing and using that onto projects and products, so it was time I did my own thing and started a new adventure :)
2. Can you share key resources for running Ninegram?
We had a basic Shopify website, which we made and edited from scratch ourselves. We used Shiprocket to send orders across India. We had a lovely CA and Accountant who helped us with finances. Our team consisted of photographers on a freelance basis, a few interns who helped build with us beautifully. Instagram was number one for us in terms of connecting to the audience and newsletters + website came second. We made sure our quality was perfect and everything was made in India which gave many karigars to profit from our production process.
3. Advice for anyone starting a business ?
Do your market research and make a business plan, even if it's a very casual one. Go for it if you truly truly believe in it. Only requirement is you've to be open to taking risks, otherwise it's not fun/growth oriented!
4. Future plans for you?
I already work for myself on design projects, I illustrate and design for packaging, branding and do social media strategies and content for brands. I also run an AirBnb venture called The Forbidden Forest, which is mainly aimed to provide a forest-stay experience, just 2.5 hours outside of Mumbai.
I am working to build my own company (*.* neeed your support ) and also would love to open+run a cafe , a place that would have coffee, stationery and good music, aka heaven!
5. At Ninegram, what are some of the lessons you learnt ?
1. Enjoy your journey and take risks
2. Do your research and plan ahead
3. Surround yourself with good people, don’t build something with those who don’t believe in it!
4. Embrace challenges and learning’s but stick to your core
5. Do it for the customer and treat everyone with kindness!
6. You can do anything!