From a Tk 2,000 stool order to 50 kinds of furniture; about Tk 3 lakh a month and work for 20 people
A woman entrepreneur in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj, makes beds, stools, sofas and cradles from babla-wood frames woven with rope. Starting from a Facebook photo of one stool, she now earns about Tk 3 lakh a month from online and direct orders.
In Shibganj, Chapainawabganj, a woman entrepreneur runs a workshop called Ayeshi, where babla-wood frames woven with tissue rope become rope beds, stools, cradles, sofas and study tables and chairs, about 50 kinds of furniture and handicraft in all. After a BBA and MBA she worked at an IT firm in Dhaka; moving to Chapainawabganj after marriage stopped that life. In 2018 she began selling mangoes online, but that is seasonal and she wanted work that ran all year. When she posted a photo of a stool on Facebook, many expressed interest in buying. Her husband learned stool-making from artisans at Monakosha and taught her. The first order was a Tk 2,000 stool, then a Tk 5,000 bed. Prices now run from Tk 1,500 to Tk 15-16 thousand depending on size and design. A large part of sales is online, with direct orders too, and hotels and restaurants buy as well. According to the report she earns about Tk 3 lakh a month and has given work to 20 men and women. Her advice is not to start big: keep quality good at a small scale and buyers' trust builds gradually.
Lessons
- 1.Adding a year-round product beside a seasonal business steadies income; furniture did this after the mango business.
- 2.Testing buyer interest with photos before scaling lowers risk; the first order was just Tk 2,000.
- 3.Offering products from Tk 1,500 to Tk 15-16 thousand lets one workshop reach small and large buyers alike.
We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.
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