“Food, shelter and clothing are the basic necessities of life but think of a life without your footwear . Can you?”_____ Shaziya Qaiser , the founder & CEO , Revival Shoe Laundry
Pride Of Bihar, Shaziya,Qauser weaves an aura of charm , with her words, calm and composed and her eyes filled with the crystal clear confidence, she cheerfully agrees to lend her valuable time to us …No airs of arrogance , no tantrums, humble and honest, she speaks her heart out to Aarti Singh, our host this week on Koffee Konversations. Hours long research and surveys by our team to discover astute women runs on a daily basis. Shaziya topped the list as her innovative concept for Revival Shoe Laundry was the talk of the town. A Laundry for repair and maintenance of footwear ? Who thought of it ? We, bipedals, usually believe in either throwing away our old hightops or keeping them mildewed on highly prized shoe racks, more like the mummies, preserved in Egyptian pyramids .
“ But brand value is not a heap of garbage , people around me have always yearned to keep their high end shoes , well groomed "----- Shaziya Qaiser .
This brought the right angle twist to her career graph . A physiotherapist by profession, Shaziya felt that she was meant to be an entrepreneur . An urge to lend job opportunities to others, who were less privileged made her change road. A bias free self analysis , an intense SWOT study about her own self and a vigorous market survey led her to an inquisitive insight into WHAT , WHERE, HOW ?
“ When your very own people do not believe in your journey, you have to be by your own side”___ Shaziya Qaiser
Friends, relatives and most of her near and dear ones thought that she had made a wrong decision but from thid point ,an entirely unpredictable path began and gradually, she found herself driving on the expressway of success
“ I was not in a hurry . I was neither over confident. I just took a leap of faith and a high dose of self trust " she said .
Here's an excerpt from the interview .
Q . What made you switch from Physiotherapy to Business ?
Ans . Time …see …time management is something very crucial. If you can manage time for the best of your productivity, you can manage life . That's how I think. Time was a big question for me as being a married woman, my family was my top most priority. I couldn't work for snyone else as a physiotherapist as I couldn't tally my schedule with someone else's and if I practised my own skill , having my own centre, then it would have been totally one woman phenomenon. This wasn't suiting my time planning either. Hence business , by which I could deliver my potential to make others' lives better .
Q. Revival Shoe Laundry gives new life to footwear ? Why only shoes ?
Ans. Yeah, I want to answer this question. While I surveyed the market , I came across innumerable products and services. I concluded that almost all goods had service centres , except the footwear. This sector was taken care of by the Shoe cobblers . Their skills were not being upgraded, they stood there at the same point of understanding where they were 20 years ago. I wanted to utilise their potential to the latest technology. It was a 2 way development, where human resource got enriched too. Above all it was a niche, that I wanted to capture and be the pioneer in this sector.
Q. Did you get any discouraging word from anyone ?
Ans. Yeah , starting from my father to my friends and relatives, all had one notion that I was degrading myself by looking down to footwear . You have to come above such societal taboos . You have to stand by yourself I did. I always had a plan B . If it failed, I would be going back to my practice but for heavens sake .. we are a full fledged business enterprise and have a very unique brand positioning in the market.
Q. Do you have any message for the youngsters ?
Ans. See, you have to abide by three principles . Principle of Determination, consistent efforts and patience . Have mini dreams and once these mini dreams get fulfilled, you have a big dream completely accomished. You don't even know, how things fall in place . Don't be in a haste . Be patient and hardwork never goes futile . Be clear in your thoughts and always be ready with a plan B . Have in depth knowledge of the matter and with a lot of market study you can find your path getting smoother.
Shaziya's brilliant idea for her unique venture was selected amongst thousands of startup ideas under Narendra Modi's scheme in 2014- 15. She won the start up contest at the national level and then her idea was incubated by her mentoring team into a grand success . Today she is an intellectual, discerning and resourceful woman, leaving guiding footsteps to many of her kind.
Revival Shoe Laundry is situated in Patna . Now they have expanded, having many branches in and around the state capital
Link to our Podcast interview