VIA Lady Entrepreneurs Wing organised an e-session on ‘Women entrepreneurship during Covid : Reflect & Reinvent’ by Mrs Vijayalakshmi Rao, Mentor and Business Advisor, IIT Madras under the able leadership of the newly elected chairperson of Lady Entrepreneur Wing of VIA, Mrs. Manisha Bawankar. This e-session was conducted after the Installation of new team of  VIA, Lady Entrepreneur Wing.
The chief guest and the speaker Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Rao is an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad has over 35 years’ experience in industry, consulting and entrepreneurship. She has mentored women entrepreneurs for over 5 years at ISB and is currently associated as a Mentor with IIT Madras and TiE Chennai.
During the e-session Mrs. Rao said that by focusing on 3 ‘C’ s all the women entrepreneurs have the potential to face challenges of this pandemic and come out successful.
The 1st‘C’  she explained is ‘Connect with Customers’ . Mrs Rao asked the entrepreneurs to communicate with each and every customer, and reassure them about getting back to business. She stressed on the importance of Restart, Recover and Revive the old customers. Get feedback about purchasing patterns. She said, we need to understand the changing market. This is the best time to Diversify, collaborate. Check if your product, pricing, delivery, packaging needs change. Use Social media Extensively and keep your brand alive!
The 2nd‘C’ Mrs. Rao explained is – ‘Conserve CASH’. She suggested prioritising spending and cut down all the non-essential expenses. You may also need to Rationalise employee costs. She emphasised on strengthening Planning, Reviews, monitoring and control. Talk to the banks, MSME Office  and check  new Government schemes, concessions. They may prove very useful in this Pandemic.
Mrs. Rao explained the most important 3rd‘C’  which is ‘Change your Mindset’. She said, ‘The faster you adjust, the faster you will be comfortable with the New Normal.’ She added, in the New Normal Work from home(WFH), flexi-hours will become a norm. you need to finalise deals through webinars and Video conferencing. So you need a greater focus on Innovation, Technology adoption, Digitalisation, and Social media.
Mrs. Rao stressed on the importance of Learning new skills and upgrading yourself and your staff.
She introduced the audience to some websites like NSDC, Startup-India where the entrepreneurs can find many free skill development courses.
At the outset, Mrs. Reeta Lanjewar, Immediate Past President VIA LEW presented gist of her inventful 2 years tenure and gave best wishes to the newly elected team. Mr. Suresh Agrawal convenor of VIA LEW appreciated LEW’s consistency and efforts to organise useful e-sessions during lockdown period also.
Mrs. Manisha Bawankar, the newly elected Chairperson of LEW in her acceptance speech said, “with a positive outlook let’s think of the crises we faced today as an opportunity and With complete dedication and hardwork. Let’s take our ventures to new heights.â€
Mr. Suresh Rathi, President VIA gave best wishes to the newly elected team of LEW.
Mrs. Anita Rao, Past President VIA LEW introduced and the chief guest Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Rao. The Program was conducted by Mrs. Shikha Khare, Vice-president VIA LEW. The Vote of thanks was proposed by Mrs. Poonam Lala, newly elected Secretary, VIA LEW. Prominently present were VIA LEW Executive members namely Sarla Kamdar, Sarita Pawar, Prafullata Rode,  Madhubala Singh, Chitra Parate, Y. Ramani, Anjali Gupta, Neelam Bowade, Vandana Sharma, Shachi Malik, Indu Kshirsagar, Rashmi Kulkarni, Yogita Deshmukh and Poonam Gupta. The Program was attended by a large number of entrepreneurs.
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