During the era where everything has become fast-paced, making a mark has become tougher yet essential to survive in the fashion industry. Where time is the most discerning element, few prodigious designers are setting milestones with their extraordinary designs and operational efficiency. Masumi Mewawalla is one such pragmatic Designer and Founder of Pink Peacock Couture, who has strengthened her roots in the fashion industry by reviving rare embroidery techniques.
Masumi believes in staying true to one’s roots and her ethics and values strongly reflect in the company’s commitment to revive and sustain traditional Indian craftsmanship. Since its inception in 2014, Pink Peacock Couture, under Masumi’s ambitious and visionary leadership, has garnered recognition for curetting the most extraordinary and rare embroidery techniques from different parts of India and showcasing the craft on an international platform.“We dare to design the future and we are a team that’s empowered, diverse, and inclusive.” Masumi exclaims.
Read the following interview to know more about Masumi’s journey of being a successful entrepreneur and making her mark in the fashion industry.
Describe your professional journey as a business leader.
Entrepreneurship is synonymous with leadership. You are leading yourself or a group of individuals towards a shared goal. As the responsibilities do overlap at one point or another, it won’t be wrong to say that entrepreneurship goes hand in hand with leadership.
The hardest lesson for me about leadership was to step back. I had to learn to let go and allow the team to take care of the daily tasks so I could focus on more important goals to help my business grow and scale.
Who inspires you to wake up every day and keep making a difference in the respective industry you are catering to?
The love for what I do motivates me to wake up every morning and make an impact whether it is big or small. The responsibility of managing a large team and sustaining growth all the while delivering the best results for every client is an intense as well as demanding experience. The want of being consistent and accountable as a leader is also the major driving force for me.
As the leader of your company, what challenges have you faced while running the business?
Every new initiative faces a few teething problems. The problems I had to face were traditional infrastructures, human resources, keeping a track of product movement, logistics and marketing, lack of luxury malls, and unclear guidelines.
The ethnic wear market has been shifting to western wear and fashion styles have low shelf time and high freshness so that is a constant challenge that I faced at start. Creating a digital presence that should leave an ever-lasting impact was another important challenge since it had to eventually become if not the only but one of the most important catalysts to achieve the goals.
How has the current pandemic affected your business and what steps have you taken to safeguard your employees while catering to your clients?
The COVID-19 pandemic paused most of the shopping activities be it for travel, leisure, festivities, or family events for a foreseeable future. It also encouraged more people to shop online, especially those who have been avoiding it till now. Luxury slowly has begun to become more diverse and inclusive. Considering the current pandemic situation, moving further with an online store is now non-negotiable and hence is a priority for the businesses and customers. As for the employees’ safety and wellbeing we conduct minimal one-to-one interactions whilst upholding all the rules and providing essential equipment to ensure a safe work environment.
What creative ways have you employed to make the work environment of your company vibrant?
If you want a job done well, you must create the right environment for it. Everyone works differently and it all boils down to providing choice to boost one’s creative flow uniquely. We needed to involve our employees in the creation of our unique workplace catering to every individual’s creative space.
At work, we encourage our team to be vocal about what their needs to unlock their performance, to work better together, to become more creative to foster a productive, collaborative environment. We don’t follow the cliché meeting room culture; instead have adopted an open floor approach for a fruitful collision of ideas and an open-door policy to promote an approachable culture.
According to you, what are the essentials of being a responsible business leader?
I like to follow a path of purpose-driven leadership. I employ a hands-on approach by not only spotting a problem at work but by finding a solution to it as well. I also believe in the theory of “Delegate and Empower”. This not only helps me manage my time better but also creates a healthy bond at work where trust is nurtured at every step.
What would you like to share with the young generation of entrepreneurs who are looking to step foot in a leadership role in their respective businesses?
Learn through your actions, you won’t know how it’s done otherwise. That’s what my father once told me and advises me to this day when I’m about to venture into something new. The best way to hone your skills and be better at what you do is to practice. Challenge yourself, take risks, believe in yourself, have a vision, find good people, build a great team, act especially when things appeal to your fears.
Set your goals, ask for your customers’ inputs, and deliver more than what is expected of you. Entrepreneurs make decisions for themselves, recognize their creative visions, and develop lasting relationships with other entrepreneurs, customers, and vendors.
In terms of future growth, where do you see yourself and your company?
I have envisioned being on the cover of Forbes Magazine. I have a strong desire to build a legacy backed with a roadmap. You should always build a 10-year strategy and a three-year plan from there. Environment and market elements must be observed regularly. So, you can respond by adapting your business.
So, 10 years from now, my business will be steadily helping my clients materialize their thoughts, to find exactly what they are looking for. We are now in the process of expansion to double in size in the next 3 years. In the next decade, we aim to create India’s go-to fashion company servicing all aspects of a customer’s world and acting as a support mechanism for anyone who joins forces or collaborates with one of my companies. We will also have turned into a carbon-neutral company in 10 years.
