Women Entrepreneurs have come a long way from being mocked at to being admired today. The transition has been long and tiring and at the same time exciting too. Women entrepreneurs are now making a foray into niche areas, highly competitive markets and meeting customer expectations with their unique ideas. All this while, juggling and balancing their personal life.
This story features one such Woman of Mettle who takes multitasking seriously and does it with elan.
Meet Harpreet Kaur, an E-commerce expert, social media strategist, entrepreneur, consultant, and the founder of Eksifar Technologies and Consultancy (ETC). With her in-depth expertise at E-commerce and social media, Harpreet helps Online Entrepreneurs & social media agencies build teams and a network of processes for their ventures.
Here’s Harpreet’s story, in her words.
Kindly describe in brief about Eksifar Technologies & Consultancy and its services/products.
I always wanted to own a Digital Agency to provide multiple services for ecommerce starters. Since founding ETC, I have transformed many local offline businesses into their online stores that have presence all over the world. Without business experience before starting ETC, I credit much of my hardearned success to my inability to accept failure as an option. “The people who told me no were the people who eventually told me yes,” I also give training & consultancy about how to manage & grow your online business and market it globally. I wanted to leverage my corporate experience to help small business owners build their sales processes online, and develop winning digital space that could stand the test of time.”
The idea behind ETC is to be the go-to destination for everything related to the Ecommerce Industry. After all, for all of your needs, you’ll have one real-life person who’s your go-to for all your technical project requirements. Whether it’s creating a custom website, making your site look better on mobile devices, or adding custom features or code or Online Branding.
Services: ETC focused on building dynamic custom websites / E-commerce web stores all over the world. Eksifar helps with everything from existing website analysis to brand new website design & development from scratch, Online Marketing services and much more. The services include but are not limited to Expert Business Strategy Guidance, Social Media Marketing Guidance, Visual Content and Branding,3D model Creation Content Writing, E-commerce Website Policies Content, Web Application Development, Mobile Application Development and Digital Marketing360 Digital Marketing
How do you keep yourself motivated? Please tell us about your idols and inspiration.
Being an entrepreneur is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. We have to deal with challenges every step of the way and sometimes motivation is difficult to come by. I keep myself motivated by taking regular breaks from it all. I set aside a few minutes each day so I can just be alone to reflect, whether it’s through exercising, playing with kids, or taking a hot cup of coffee and reading a good article before bedtime. Also, I take a vacation, even if it’s for two weeks out of the year, just to recharge and recalibrate. Taking short breaks like this always fuel my inner drive and motivates me while helping me to avoid burnout
“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterwards.” –Spanish Proverb.
Also, networking with Like-Minded People always motivates me. Meeting all sorts of small/big business owners, who have been at it for a few years. Honestly, I get motivated and admire all of them for grinding it out and never giving up, because it’s really hard to keep putting yourself out there, time after time. I know how entrepreneurs including me often refer to their businesses as their children? Well, it takes a lot of people to build a good business. So, meeting people/mentor is very important, because I learn a lot from someone who’s been there and done it. The important thing is to create a support system of people who’re willing to lend an ear or offer valuable advice whenever you need it. There is a beautiful saying by Jim Rohn “You become like the five people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully.”!
I am inspired a lot by Sarah Kauss, the founder of S’well. I am so happy to watch her succeed and loved her social mission. Also, I’ve been doing a ton of networking recently as I mentioned above.
What’s the best and the worst thing about being an entrepreneur, as a woman?
The best thing is that you get to build amazing things and break the stereotypes and status quo of what women have long been boxed into, to inspire other women to do amazing things, to leverage technology, to be bold and gritty and to ignore those who make you feel that you cannot do something. The worst thing is always feeling like you need to overcompensate or prove yourself or crawl out of a hole that the male-dominated business/entrepreneurial/tech world has subtly dug you into. You have to be relentless and share your store more than your male counterparts. I am also associated with many woman-oriented groups.
Tell us about your passions, aims and goals.
Passion: Fashion, interior design, architecture… I love all of it. What an amazing thing it is to be creative and can showcase expression through all of these different a venues-that is what I passionate about. I think it is so intriguing the way that all of these things also play off of each other. Trends in colours, lines, styles and patterns, come through in each facet and complement one another so beautifully. Considering my passion for fashion, my second venture is coming soon.
Aims: My aim in life to retire wealthy and healthy!! Generally, these two are opposite sides of a coin, hence, describes my aim.
Goals: One of the biggest goals for me is to achieve greater efficiency in all aspects of my business. Right from speeding up processes, quicker delivery of services, weaving in improvements in offerings with changing times, be updated with the latest technology, and pursuing excellence in every way.
State us your major achievements and your company’s achievements under your leadership.
I am a State Level Athlete. Received more than 10 Awards as an athlete. My recent accolades include being in the list of “Lifestyle Magazine Queenhood 2020”, among others. I was awarded as “India Achiever –Excellence Award as an Emerging Entrepreneur in Digital Marketing” by Kotler Awards at the World Marketing Summit 2020 held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Association with Korean Company: I was the only one who got selected for association with Korean Company. MOU Signing Ceremony 25th September 2019. I got felicitated as inspiring women entrepreneur 1st September 2019 in Entrepreneur Summit 2019. Felicitation from ICMEI (International Chamber of Media & Entertainment Industry) by Mr Sandeep Marwah. 13 July 2019. My Few Articles got selected to get published at Digital Earth for Tech World: http://digitalearth.in/author/Editor/page /2/
Kindly tell us about the challenges you faced to withstand the complexities your industry. Brief us about the industry scenario from your perspective.
A female entrepreneurial in the service industry is not something you run into a lot, and like any other thing that is different or not usual, it attracts attention for the good and the bad. For the business, I think it has more advantages than disadvantages. When a girl walks into a meeting full of guys something in the dynamics and tension changes. Entrepreneurs face many challenges in today’s ultra-competitive business world; fortunately, contemporary times have also blessed entrepreneurs with more resources for tackling those problems than ever before.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout and would like to share?
My early career mistake was fueling my business with too much personal time and energy. I created a paradigm where I was a single motor driving the ship. With this mindset, I quickly found myself working seven days a week, which was unsustainable and very difficult to duplicate. My businesses are now fueled by leadership, people, and systems. Infusing these three tenets into your business model can be game-changing for growth and lasting success.
Leadership means imparting the vision, being precise with your team ’s role, and cutting them loose to execute their objectives. Show your team you trust them (which starts by trusting yourself), and let them develop into key players in your organization. People means e very person who works for you is equal. I don’t let anyone call me “boss.” No matter how big you get, remember: you’re nothing without your team. I also learnt “Empower Empire Builders” – Create an environment where not only you but also everyone on your team can accomplish anything and everything they’ve ever wanted. As struggling entrepreneurs, we’re often insecure and fearful that others will “steal” our clients. Yet, you’ll never attract the best “empire builders” on the planet to work within your organization if you don’t create an environment where they can thrive alongside you. When you start running your company with confidence—in a way that serves your team and clients—you’ll be able to attract top talent and build a true empire that stands the test of time.
Where do you see yourself shortly? Tell us about your future goals.
I am already in the service industry and now as I am emerging into the retail industry also. Both industries are being turned upside down which creates both challenges and opportunities. As I am new and have NO background in the fashion/accessories business whatsoever, I’m hopeful I will think creatively and strategically enough to navigate this territory successfully. In a dream world, we will have a physical space but will more than likely use it more for activation e vents than traditional merchandising and retailing. Coming up next: “My ETC business has e volved significantly since then, but I’m so grateful for the way I started!” Now, in the coming year, my second venture is coming up of luxury handbags and much more under the label “Carry with Pride”. All products are 100% handmade
About the Leader:
After completing her Master’s in Business with International Management from Northumbria University, United Kingdom, Harpreet Kaur joined an IT firm as a Business Development Manager. Soon she realized that she desires to do something by herself and be her own boss. Thus, started her entrepreneurial journey. What makes Harpreet’s approach different is that she analyzes what the competitors are doing and what her company can do differently
“Even in highly competitive markets such as Web Development, I try to find niches and gaps in those niches and develop solutions/services people are looking for. I try to solve customer need and analyze what customers except from me.”
