When I was just a little girl, I was always fascinated by ribbons, balloons and gifts. Like all little girls, I believed in Santa Claus,
the tooth fairy and the Ginger Bread man. As I grew older, my dream was to visit Walt Disney… and travel…
and SHOP… and EAT… and, well, SUGGEST… and I wondered: what if I could actually
shop for a living? That would be my ideal dream job! Because, yes, I love to
dream.
THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA STEMMED FROM BOREDOM AND DEBTS:
A bachelor's degree in Business Management from one of the
best institutes in the country. A Master’s
in Creative Business from the “Queen’s Land” and yet unemployed for 8
months! This is what drove Naadia Mirza to become OCD and learn about every
single brand in town. All she dreamed about was spas, holidays and decorating
her room in new and funky ways.
One fine morning, Mommy dearest sat her down and told Naadia
she couldn’t continue to live like this. It was best for her to get "married".
OUCH!!! Mommy had used the “M” word! Naadia was totally freaked out. Driven by
the sheer fear of being married off and subsequently completely bored, Naadia
launched The Suitcase Shop.
What was The Suitcase Shop?
It's simple. On one of my many holidays, I picked up an
entire set of knick-knacks using borrowed money. This included nasty stickers,
funky one-liners, raunchy bachelorette party stuff as well as a really
expensive laptop (which was a completely impulsive buy and I'm still paying off
the installments on it - eesh).
On arrival in India, 50 sms'es were promptly sent to friends
and family. The Suitcase seemed to be filled with insulting nasty things and,
guess what!? It was a big hit! Everyone seemed to love the quirky and
unpredictable things in it. But however much I enjoyed selling all of these
things, I learnt two crucial lessons from this experience:
- I made NO profit.
- I seemed to LOVE the stuff so much that I chose whom I should sell it to! (this was pretty weird twisted logic)
Post the experience of The Suitcase shop, I did a SWOT
analysis of possible business opportunities. I listed what I knew about myself.
- I loved creating new things
- I have an obsessive need for perfection
- I wanted to go out of the way to make people’s day
- I wanted to share my experience of gourmet food and places in the city
- I hated accounting and always needed my calculator while billing.
The "findings" of my analysis led to the birth
of a one-stop creative firm: the “Dotted
I".
Why Dotted I?!
I’m constantly asked, why “Dotted I”?! As much as it seems
like a lot of thought has gone into the name, truth be told, I have always
loved scribbling in books and loved the activity book “Join the Dots”. It
always gave me a sense of accomplishment that I had joined the dots! Of course
a more mature and corporate way of saying things is “Always cross your t’s and
dot the i's”. It describes perfection!
How are we different?
Well... we are a tight team with an uncanny knack for making
you happy. It's all about our clients. We listen, we create. We love to put
your ideas into action. No two days are ever the same at office.
Our cakes are a super hit because I taste each (yes, lots of
calories is an occupational hazard). Our surprises have saved marriages! (ahem, I cannot
mention names). The balloons have
matching ribbons and the bachelor parties seem to be loved by all.
Don’t you run out of surprises Naadia?!
Well, I'd love to say I DON’T, but I’m only human. There are
days when I can’t seem to please a client, or days when I cannot think of
something new. Those are the days that I spend shopping or redecorating office
and making lemon chai with an Iranian Twist!
Signing off and hoping to give lots of updates to our fans,
Miss Mirza
P.S: Dear Readers,
thank you for reading till the end. I'm sure in today's day and age, we LOVE to
read!
P.P.S: To all my friends and family who have stood by me
through trying times... hate to say this, but it was kind of your duty!
No comments:
Post a Comment