Ex-Army Officer's 'Vibhushita' Brings Rustic Charm To City Homes

“I saw this advertisement in the newspaper where the Army was calling for young men and women to join the Armed Forces with a punch line “Do You Have It In You?” Well, that is all that took me to accept the challenge,” Anuradha Talwar tells SheThePeople.Tv about how she got into the army. The Delhi University alumna served in the army for ten years before moving to the corporate sector and eventually turning entrepreneur.

Birth of Vibhushita

“Family commitments and my two young children took priority over my ambitions and I decided to take a break for a brief period,” the Dehradun-based woman shares. In April 2016, Talwar turned entrepreneur with Vibhushita, which specialises in making different types of cowbells.

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“I was exploring different options when PM Narendra Modi announced the 'Make in India' campaign. This set me thinking of starting something of my own with the help of women of the nearby hills. We started with designing and painting simple cowbells,” she shares.

Since she had spent a major part of her life in small cities, she had always felt very close to nature. It was the idea of getting the rustic feel and charm of cowbells to city homes that intrigued her.

“Focus and commitment towards your goals is very important. Study the market and always have a 'Plan B' ready. Hard work goes a long way,” - Anuradha Talwar

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Entrepreneurial journey

“So we started with single cowbells, and eventually started experimenting with various colours and designs, shapes and sizes, explored the idea of chimes and realised that the opportunity was endless. Slowly, we also thought of exploring cowbells as memorabilia and customised them for a few leading military schools and institutions,” Talwar says.

“The sound of a simple cowbell is a dream to hear in the cacophonous city life.”

Vibhushita is primarily into hand painted and etched cowbells of different varieties. It currently has a product range of 150 plus items. They range from simple antique finish cowbells with jute rope hanging or leather belt to hand painted cowbells, strings of cowbells painted or in gold finish, bells of different sizes in a bunch or bells hung as torans.

Anuradha organizes exhibitions across cities with an objective to know the customer and their expectations of the product that she was introducing them to.

Vibhushita products

Rewarding moments of the journey

“There have been instances when customers have been able to recollect the name of my brand after almost a year of buying from me or have seen the bells at a friend's place or online and immediately associated it with my brand which are complete motivators for me,” she says on some rewarding moments of her entrepreneurial journey.

Anuradha Talwar

Hurdles

Since she is a first-time entrepreneur, she has grappled with identifying and setting up a consistent market. Government rules, taxation policies, funding etc have been some other hurdles she faced.

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Contribution of army background in entrepreneurial journey

She shares that her stint in army played a pivotal role in her entrepreneurship journey as it made her mentally and physically strong. It also helped her see every challenge as the next opportunity. Discipline and confidence allowed her to take calculated risks. “Along with this, I was also able to market my products in army-run establishments. They were immediately taken because of the variety, quality and product pricing I offered."

She also cites multitasking as an important ability for women entrepreneurs.

Vibhushita products

Aspirations with Vibhushita

“I have always felt that customer is king and to know the pulse of the customer is the one most important thing in business,” she says. Leaving the customer with a ‘WOW experience’ is her ultimate desire.

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

“Focus and commitment towards your goals is very important. Study the market and always have a 'Plan B' ready. Hard work goes a long way,” is her piece of advice for budding women entrepreneurs.

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