When you think of the word ‘entrepreneur’ usually the image of a young 20 or something person would form in your head. At most, it can go to someone who is in their 30s, but the startup world is still seen as a young person’s game.
But that does not mean that there is a certain age limit till which you can launch your own startup and earn the tag of being an entrepreneur. There are many examples of people who started their own company or organisation at a much later age too.
One of them would certainly be Harbhajan Kaur a 94-year-old Chandigarh resident who started up her own business at a pretty senior age. However, she did not let her age be a roadblock to her and instead used her years as experience in giving out some pretty good products.
Who Is Harbhajan Kaur?
Harbhajan Kaur is a 94 year old woman who lives in Chandigarh and has her own business called “Harbhajan’s Made with Love” that she started in 2016, just a mere five years ago.
Apparently, in 2016, Kaur expressed to her daughter Raveena Suri about not having earned anything on her own in her life. As per The Indian Express, Suri said “Though she has been making barfi for ages, it was only for the members of the house. However, when she expressed that she has never earned on her own, I decided to give her a push.”
As per another report her daughter reveals that “She is so talented in cooking, in our childhood we never went out to eat. She made everything at home – sweets, chocolates, sharbat, etc. Every winter, she used to make besan ki barfi for the entire family – our dining table used to be filled with barfi.”
This eventually led the daughter to urge her mother to sell them and make an earning out of them. Thus the signature ‘besan ki barfi’ item was launched and now Kaur has various other products on sale too like badam sharbat, pickle and chutneys.
Last year her efforts were also noticed by Mahindra Group’s Chairman Anand Mahindra, who even gave her the title of ‘entrepreneur of the year’.
When you hear the word ‘start-up’ it brings to mind images of millennials in Silicon Valley or Bengaluru trying to build billion dollar ‘unicorns.’ From now on let’s also include a 94 yr old woman who doesn’t think it’s too late to do a start-up. She’s my entrepreneur of the year https://t.co/N75BxK18z4
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 7, 2020
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Soon after Kaur and her daughter would visit the local Sector-18 market and sell their homemade sweets there. Raveena stated that “She first set shop at a local organic market on her own, She sat there, interacted with the customers, and came home with Rs 2,000 which was her first ‘own’ earnings.”
Initially, this venture was just a weekend thing but slowly it got to “on-orders-only” and then forming in a thriving business.
Kaur received applause from the Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh too when he posted on his Twitter that “The word Start-Up can no longer be associated with millennials alone because 94-year-old Harbhajan Kaur…is becoming an inspiration for all.”
The word Start-Up can no longer be associated with millennials alone because 94 year-old Harbhajan Kaur of Chandigarh is becoming an inspiration for all. I agree with @AnandMahindra on recognising her as the entrepreneur of the year. Waiting to taste your signature Besan Burfi. pic.twitter.com/jppe6QDtSe
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) January 9, 2020
Over the last five years of operations, Kaur has made over 500 kg of barfi that are sold at Rs. 805/kg and the venture is mostly run by family members only, however, there are plans to employ one or two people from outside since the orders only keep increasing in numbers.
Raveen explains how the business more than being a source of income has brought her mother confidence unlike anything. She said “More than the monetary aspect, the fact that mom [Harbhajan] is so much more confident now is what I see as growth. The same lady who wouldn’t sit in a group because she was shy, has been giving interviews, and speaking to her clients about feedback etc., which in turn, has transformed her life.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, TOI, CNBC TV18
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
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