Meet Nischita Miskin the founder of Personalize Me which is handmade personalized gifts, cards and home decor pieces company. See how she switched her and dedicated herself to this creative profession.
“Every crafter out there is a competition. Every mother who has a child is too. Crafting is a vast field with space for every newbie. I would say that my training and experience in my profession gives me an edge”, says Nischita.
We got an opportunity to talk with Nischita, the founder of Personalize Me and I am sure; her story will inspire you. Let’s look at her journey as an entrepreneur and see how she is working hard to achieve her dreams.
Give a brief info about your startup?
I make handmade personalized gifts, cards and home decor pieces. I try to recycle the junk lying around. Boxes, Bottles, Lids, Pieces of scrap or papers.. all of them can be revived to live a new life with a new purpose. I try my best not to repeat any of my designs and that just adds the additional customization to all my work.
What made you start and what problem did is solve?
I am an Architect and an Interior Designer by education and worked for close to 5 years with my father, who was also an Architect. When he passed away the day after my wedding, I was left with quite a bit on my plate. A few months down the line, my pregnancy required me to cut down on the scale of work I undertook and delivery meant that I took some time off from work itself. The gap from my profession and my daughters interest in the crafts, made me revive my long lost passion for crafts. I started slowly with just personal gifts for family and friends and when the interest in my work grew I launched Personalize Me.
Design being my main field of interest always nagged at me in the interiors of my Architecture work. Every time I wanted to add a personal touch to a project I felt a lack of skill or resources to get what I needed. The problem was that interior spaces, especially in residences call for that warmth that only a Handmade or Handcrafted product or design could provide. The crafts have given me access to that, and my projects make the best of the knowledge, skill and contacts that I have acquired over the years. The ability to transform waste to art or art with utility/purpose is an extremely wide field to explore, and this venture gives me access to that.
Tell us about yourself, your previous jobs/ventures? What were you doing before this startup?
I am a mother of a lovely 4-year-old, a practising Architect and Interior Designer and a passionate crafter.
I have previously trained and worked for an Architecture firm called Kukke Architects during and just after my college years, after which I joined my father at our firm named Miskin and Associates. Post delivery, to get back into the field and gain some experience I worked at Trivision Architects. I quit within 3 months to reopen my firm and successively my startup.
Just before the startup I was a fulltime mother spending some quality time with my daughter, the vital reason for which my startup even exists.
As a startup founder, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?
I would say, the finances. The investment to returns equation was a tough challenge. Learning to manage or keep a check on expenses was the biggest learning curve.
I enjoy my sleep way too much. Nothing keeps me awake at night.
Who are your competitions and how are you better than them?
Every crafter out there is a competition. Every mother who has a child is too. Crafting is a vast field with space for every newbie.
I would say that my training and experience in my profession gives me an edge.
How hard is it to have a work-life balance as a startup founder and how do you manage it?
I am a one person army and do all my work myself. Being an Architect, a small business owner and a mother is quite a juggle, but I manage to slot my work. I do spend a lot of nights working late but am still learning to space and organize my work and life better with every passing day.
Have you raise funding? If yes, then we would like to know the details. If no then please tell us if you are looking to raise.
I have not raised any funding and do not intend to in the near future.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about you? Why do they have that? What’s the reality?
Most people think that I am very organized.
They probably think that because I used to be that way before life happened.
The truth is that I am all over the place and learning and getting there everyday inch by inch.
What gets you excited about the company?
My clients!! I get some of the most interesting and unique queries that challenge what I know and nudge my out of my comfort zone.
Tell us how a day in your life looks like? Your schedule for a day right from the time you get up till you hit the bed at night.
I wake up by 6:15 am, finish my morning duties, iron clothes and get my daughter’s bag and box ready. Next, I wake her up for milk, post which I give her a bath and dress her up. We have breakfast together, after which I drop her off at school. I then hit the gym and 2 hours later, I’m back home to finish up any odd jobs that need to be caught up on/ or head out for a site visit. I have my lunch and then head out to pick up my daughter from school. Once she is dropped at home, I enter the office and finish up with work. I’m back home by 7:00 pm, that’s when we have dinner. I then put my daughter to bed and head back to the office on most days to wrap the day up by 10:00 if I haven’t managed to fall asleep next to my daughter.
Tell us about your team and how did you meet each other?
I’m a one-person army at the moment.
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Bhumikka Yaadav
Hi, I am Bhumikka Yaadav. I did my post-graduation in marketing. I hold a total of 7.5 years of experience. I currently work with BangaloreInsider. I used to work in an e-commerce company before working on my current profession. I love being associated with BangaloreInsider because I enjoy connecting and interacting with a whole bunch of talented people. And these startups keep me motivated as well.
