A brief tale of my journey from 'thinking' to a 'thriving' business

Hello women entrepreneurs,

1. I often get asked, "How did you do it?" Many expect a simple answer, but my journey has been messy and unpredictable. After years since 2013, I've transformed from "Can I do it?" to "How I did it?"

2. I started with nothing but an idea and a fire in my belly. There was no inheritance, no fancy network, and no one to hand me the keys. The early days were a blur of late nights and early mornings. My first office was my kitchen table. My first employees were my two hands. My first investor was my savings account, which, let's just say, was not very big.

3. I remember one night, I was sitting at that table, surrounded by piles of ideas, feeling completely defeated. I looked at the business plan I had so meticulously written and thought, "This is impossible." The easy thing to do would have been to quit. To pack it all up, go back to the role of house wife, and tell myself I had a good try. But then I try to follow the catchphrase "The opposite of success isn't failure; it's quitting."

4. I must say that the myth of the perfect launch, the perfect website, or the perfect product/business is one of the biggest traps you can fall into. Perfectionism is often just a sophisticated form of procrastination. It convinces you to wait, to polish, to overthink, all while your competitors are already in the market. Your first product won't be perfect. Your first pitch won't be flawless. And that is okay. The market, your customers, and your team will provide the feedback you need to iterate and improve. The most important thing you can do right now is to take that first, imperfect step. Momentum is a powerful force, and it starts with action.

5. Your journey is a testament to your courage. Don't let anyone—especially the voice in your own head—tell you otherwise. You've got this.

6. I suggest to the start up women entrepreneurs to avoid the voice in your head that whispers, "Who do you think you are?" It is a liar. It's the same voice that has kept countless people from taking a leap. But you shall not listen to it. If you're looking at a problem, then you're seeing an opportunity. So, you look at the "impossible" and say, "Watch me."

The following are the outputs of my hard work despite taking care of family. So, nothing is impossible.

So, women entrepreneurs, don't loose hope.

Thank you for reading my story.

yours,

Kiruthika Arumugam

Founder & CEO of PAPERPAGE Internet Services.

Get in touch

paperpageindia@gmail.com