Sadiya Naseem of Glamstudios.in Talks About Taking Her Venture Global!

Sadiya Naseem of Glam Studios always wanted to start her own venture. She tells us about her professional plans today and how she hopes to take her business across the globe!

Tell us about yourself. 

I come from a middle class family and a small city - Etah in UP.  Completed my schooling from UP board and then Joined AMU for further studies. I was passionate about creating new things and building my own stuff, that passion made me start my entrepreneurial journey at the age of 18 when I founded a small coaching centre named “ Sure Success Club” to train girls from middle class families to improve their communication skills and to focus on overall personality development. I trained 1000 girls in one year and that was really a turning point of my life. Since then I have been a part of the launch of five successful start-ups including The Sunday Juornal, RadioMaska.com, Martjack.com, Myguesthouse.com, Oyorooms.com and the Journey continues with Glam Studios where I am working along with the team to make GlamStudios, the largest chain of salons operating in the budget segment across the Globe. 

How did the idea of Glamstudios come about and what is your core service offering? Who is your target audience?

I always wanted to start my own venture and was keen to do something for the beauty and wellness industry. As a customer I always felt the need of quality services at affordable rates but unfortunately there was no brand operating in the budget segment even though the industry is growing at a rapid pace. As a result 85% of the salons are unorganized but with the concept of Glam studios we will be able to organise this segment and make standardised and quality services available at an affordable cost to the woman next door.

How long has it been since inception and how has your entrepreneurial journey been?

It’s too early to comment on it however we have been getting a great response both from customers and salons and as a result we have been able to acquire 30 salons in a span of three months only. The journey of entrepreneurs is always filled with thrills and tribulations but still they are driven to achieve what they have dreamt for. 

Can you tell us about some of the highs and some of the lows since starting-up?

Every entrepreneur faces challenges while making his/her dream a reality. The sense of achievement motivates them and the fire in the belly keeps them going in all the highs and lows.  For me the highest point was when we had acquired our first Studio...

When venturing into the e-commerce space, what 3 things should upcoming entrepreneurs keep in mind?

I believe that like every other industry, the eCommerce industry also has its challenges and overcoming them is a matter of talent, hard work and determination.. So entrepreneurs can be successful in any industry they  choose  if they follow their passion, chase their dreams and keep trying until they succeed. However in the e-Commerce industry we should focus on UI, customer analytics and processes with great amount of attention to detail. 

In terms of funding for the initial phases, how did you'll manage the costs and operations?

When we had decided to launch GlamStudios, we had no money with us. But we knew money should never stop us from chasing our dream and we started taking on a few consulting projects to fund the idea. However we were lucky enough to catch the investors attention in the very initial phase itself and closed our seed funding with Mr Anand Ladsariya (Angel Investor) and Mr Aqeel Ahmed (Ex COO Rategain). 

Tell us about your typical "day at work"   

That’s an interesting question. I love Mondays, mostly because the day flies by in a flash. On a given day, during the early hours you will find me speaking to the clients, finding out – pro-actively – what their priorities are for the week, meeting with team for half an hour to plan the actions and organizing the team schedules around the  priorities. Because its a startup my  day involves extensive management and execution responsibilities where staying organized is not an option...