Women are born with Management Skills

Source: Google

By, Itishree Mishra

Supreety Mishra, Director of ECP Industries

Women are born with management skills of today’s generation are unstoppable in chasing their dreams. Be it education, travel, fashion, fitness, business or entrepreneurship, women are treading on unknown territories unabashedly and fearlessly. They are surging ahead propelled by an urge to change the world around them.

For such doughty women, nothing is impossible and no obstacle insurmountable. Each day, we stumble on stories of gallant women breaking free from patriarchal set up to create their own identity, combat diseases, contest social norms and helm successful ventures, spawning employment for many.

‘Interview Times‘ brings to you the journey of a young, dynamic woman entrepreneur, who has set benchmarks in her chosen field.

“I love to work for women and see a young girl go out and achieve all success”, believes Supreety Mishra.

This entrepreneur, 27, is Director of Balasore-based ECP Industries Ltd. After completing her studies from Cardiff Business School, she did a job in London.

However, the yearning to do something for her land impelled Supreety(Women are born with Management Skills) to join her father’s business in 2009. She is wedded to the cause of uplifting marginalized farmers and has strived to ensure a sustainable livelihood for them, women farmers especially.

Supreety holds the esteemed position of the President of the North Odisha Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative Ltd. (NOFMCL).

Supreety Mishra(Women are born with Management Skills) invests effort into ensuring self-sufficiency for women by providing opportunities in handicrafts, agriculture, horticulture et al.

The dairy farming venture- Go Vikash offering less privileged women cows to generate livelihood, is her brainchild.

She is also engaged with many social works like Swachh Bharat, sanitation project, plantation drive, organ donation programs, etc.

Supreety(Women are born with Management Skills) is the embodiment of an empowered entrepreneur who has diligently played her part in giving back to society.

A member of premier industry bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), she has been feted with prestigious awards- “Best Entrepreneur” by iwomen global award 2018-19, “Youngest upcoming Entrepreneur” by Odia Mumbai Society, Mumbai, Young Indians, Women of courage 2018, Innovative Idea 2018, Corporate Odisha Awards and so on.

Q- How do you start your entrepreneurship journey?

I got the inspiration from my father, who is a successful businessman, of starting something on my own. According to him, Britishers ruled us for a longer period and there’s no reason why we should still work for them.

Being a daughter of this land why have you opted for a job in the foreign land, instead you should come back and do something for our country, he suggested.

She(Women are born with Management Skills) believed that even a puny contribution will help in getting something back for the economy. Heeding his counsel, I took over the family business of manufacturing LPG cylinders and regulators in 2009.

I got an opportunity to enter the automobile sector- an area where women generally hesitate to enter. I always love to face challenges and want to reach the sector where women have not ventured to reach. I owned the EMRP Automobiles successfully just three years back.

I(Women are born with Management Skills) am happy to share that I move into the hospitality sector, three-star facilities hotel and restaurant- The Glaze in Nabrangpur in the KBK region with the hope of generating employment and development of tourism.

We have also diversified into media and entertainment by obtaining franchisees Balaji Telefilms, ICE Balaji Telefilms in Bhubaneswar. Many students can get placements in Bollywood serials, web series and other media lines. In all, we have directly employed 500 people.

Q-What motivates you to do something for women empowerment?

While dealing with responsibilities, I came into contact of a lot of my employees who are ladies. There, I found women are facing taboos, which I want those women should come out from the social norms and make their own identity.

I want to make them understand ‘We are not studying for marriage we are studying for ourselves. From my very childhood, I also wanted to empower rural women in the process of establishing myself and started the firm that would serve a dual purpose.

I am dedicatedly working for making women from villages in Balasore district self-sufficient. One of the women started a co-operative firm last year that provides sustainable livelihood opportunities to women by involving them in sectors such as handicrafts, agriculture, and horticulture.

Q- Go Vikash venture gives you a distinct identity; would you like to share something about it?

Go Vikash venture, a dairy-farming program is one of my dream projects where destitute women are provided with cows to generate livelihood opportunities.

The women also make lacquer crafts that are sold to various online shopping portals. Go Vikash not only caters to the needs of rural people but also has a wide customer base online.

Q- Being a successful women entrepreneur what skills and qualities are needed?

Patience, Involvement, and love for your work are the keys to success. Patience is a beautiful term in the field of business – One entrepreneur should accept the failure.

Keep patience, there will be a day when you will go through them with every success. If you are into this field, you will struggle more and the result will come out after that only. What counts is your involvement in the business. I love your work with dedication.

Q- What messages you have for the young women entrepreneur?

You are so lucky that your forefather who struggled for your education and betterment, fought against social norms and taboos, and gave all the facilities for your freedom- you no longer need to struggle for it.

We are enjoying the freedom that they built for us, so let’s take the full opportunity for it. Family responsibility, education, and many others are needed in life but that will not stop your entrepreneurship skill.

If you have those skills then come out from all the limitations and show it to the world. Women are born with management skills, we don’t need any professional degree to manage, we can take care of everything wisely.

Q- To be fair enough, it is obvious that you have to pull up your socks in business to succeed. How do you achieve it?

There was a time when I also faced failure. My motto is to freak out of the situation. A good family and friends are much needed to overcome such a difficult area. Fortunately, I am blessed to have these two precious gifts in my life.

Q- Being a woman you have many responsibilities. How did you manage your business and household chores?

That’s the reason we are women and we are God gifted. We are equipped with that type of quality. Time management is very much important for fulfilling your responsibilities smoothly. Problems and difficulties are part of our lifestyle, we are here to find out the solution.

Q- Do you think the Odisha government ought to offer a special package in encouraging women into Entrepreneurship?

No doubt, being an entrepreneur, I am happy to say that the State Government is introducing many schemes for women empowerment but there is a lack of awareness on its implementation. It is a matter of concern and the government should be careful of that.

Q- Where do you want to see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?

To achieve more and more. There are lots of things I would like to add on in my business. Always say yes to a new adventure as life is a journey, not a destination.