46-year-old Florine DSouza stays in the bustling lanes of Nallasopara, Mumbai. Married and living with two kids, Florine’s nursing profession provides her family with a healthy income, but an unsteady one.
“Sometimes I get flooded with calls — from home nursing to babysitting, and other times I have nothing to do. I realised that a stable cash flow would manage household expenses better. It was then I decided to be an entrepreneur,” shares Florine.
After the entrepreneurial bug bit, Florine started to flesh out profitable business ideas. “Mumbai lives on local trains, so the travellers seemed accessible as customers. Due to time constraints and effective pricing, I witnessed a huge demand for earrings and many other accessories on the trains. Thus was born my business idea of selling earrings on local trains,” informs Florine.
Starting this business required an initial investment to purchase the products, and Florine did not have any.
She could not risk investing whatever she had saved all these years in her new venture. Hence in order to fulfil her business capital requirements, she approached Mahila Money for a loan to buy the necessary inventory to start her business. With all the documents in place, she got a loan of INR 30K.
The disbursed loan amount worked wonders for Florine.
She tells us, “I used the loan amount to purchase my first stock of earrings from the wholesale market. These earrings usually have a low purchase price, so it is a big hit among my customers. Less effort is required to preserve my stock due to its non-perishable nature, which reduces my burden of investing in stock protection. With a profit margin of almost 50 per cent, I tend to earn almost INR 1K-1.5K by investing a minimum of four hours of my day. Depending on the number of days my business is active in a month, my business earns around INR 30–45k per month.”
Florine expresses her delight, stating,
“Paying my EMIs from my business earnings and building healthy financial habits brings me immense joy. The loan amount has helped me realise my dream of venturing into the business sector.”
Moving ahead, Florine wants to add ladies’ garments to her business offerings.
“This loan has ignited enough self-confidence to apply for a top-up loan and keep diversifying my business. From being a Nurse to being an ENTREPRENEUR, my second profession is all set to match the speed of the Mumbai local trains,” says Florine excitedly.
With the #JiyoApneDumPe spark of Florine, we are sure her business will reach the heights she aims for. We salute her spirit and celebrate her remarkable entrepreneurial progress!
If you are a #JiyoApneDumPe woman entrepreneur who wants to take your business to new heights and needs working capital and entrepreneurship resources, speak to us on Mahila Money. Apply for a loan of up to 25 lakhs to fuel your business growth by downloading the Mahila Money App or visiting our website http://www.mahila.money.
