An Everyday Bag That Gives Back to Women in India

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

Hello and welcome to Side Hustle School. This is your host, Chris Guillebeau. Today on the show, we're gonna talk about a social enterprise project that is also a for-profit business. A woman turns her need for a solid everyday bag into a project that employs women at risk of human trafficking in West Bengal, India. We'll feature a resource called Common Objective, which is kinda like the Alibaba of sustainable fashion suppliers around the world.

So if you're interested in starting a fashion project, this is a resource that could help you. And a quick reminder about these kinds of projects, we don't feature charities on the show, not because we don't like charities, but because it's not really within our scope or mission. But when someone uses the form of a business to perform a social good, which is exactly what's happening here, well, that is essentially two good things in one. Because she is empowering vulnerable people in one part of the world while she's also improving her own well-being. So stay tuned for an everyday bag that gives back to women in India.

According to the International Labour Organization, roughly 4.5 million people are trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally. Staggering statistics like this are why today's side hustler, Vaishali Umrikor, decided to start a side hustle to help make a difference. From a young age, Vaishali recognized the suffering of others. She was born in India, a country where human trafficking is still a major problem. Her interest followed her to the U.S., where she founded and led an anti-human trafficking task force.

But still, she wanted to do more. When she graduated and found a job in distribution fulfilling customer orders, this desire to help others left her feeling that something was missing. Yes, she was helping people, but not in a way that she felt was truly impactful. What she really wanted to do was find a way to incorporate her previous work and experience with the problem that bothered her most. But the trouble was she didn't know exactly how to accomplish this.

Around this time, Vaishali also realized she was in dire need of a new bag. Many of the bags she found were nice enough. She found options that were really affordable and some that would keep up with her busy lifestyle. But what troubled her was that it was challenging to find something that was affordable, sustainable, and ethically made. One night while researching, she had a light bulb moment.

What if this was how she could make a difference? What if she could learn to manufacture a bag that met her criteria and supported women at risk at the same time? After all, everyone from CEOs to students carries a bag. This is how the empowerment bag was born. Her first step was to find a supplier that supported her goals.

She came across a site called Common Objective, which matches members with ethical and sustainable fashion suppliers around the world. It's similar to Alibaba, but specifically for social impact suppliers. Through Common Objective, she was able to locate a supplier in West Bengal, India that employs women at risk of exploitation. These women are given employment with fair wages and learn an alternative to the sex trade through sewing and literacy skills. This was important to Vaishali because she didn't want to just donate money.

She wanted to help support a company that was giving these women the tools to help themselves and make a better life. Vaishali worked directly with the manufacturer to develop three styles of bags. These bags would be both practical and eco-friendly. A duffel bag, a messenger bag, and a satchel. Although she was aiming for a 50% profit margin, it was important to her that the materials came from sustainable farming practices that don't rely on damaging chemicals, hormones, or preservatives.

Ultimately, she was able to secure those profit margins by pricing her bags between $40 and $75. Since she was launching a product from scratch, she had to consider her upfront costs. She would need a website, logo, and money for an initial order of 150 bags. Vaishali launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund those initial startup costs, and she set her goal at $3700. When it came time to pound the pavement to drum up interest in her campaign, she turned to social media marketing with Facebook and Instagram, and also hung up posters at local coffee shops, and anywhere with an interest in social impact projects.

Although she wasn't sure there would be anyone willing to support her campaign, she ended up exceeding her goal and had some additional inventory left over. Now, as with many things in life, not everything goes as smoothly or as planned. Her partner facility did a great job of making the bags, but when it came time to ship orders to her to fulfill, there was an unforeseen issue. The local government in India stopped all shipping and transportation for a few days due to congestion from the Hindu festival of Diwali. When the supplier was finally able to ship, it got stopped and ended up in Dubai.

Vaishali was luckily able to catch this and, with many phone calls, have the shipment rerouted to her in the US. Despite all the chaos, she was still able to distribute all orders before Christmas. Since the start of her campaign in August 2018, Vaishali has sold almost 100 of her 150 bags and has earned over $4000. And since that initial campaign goal covered the cost of her startup, everything else that comes in now is pure profit. She's planning a trip to see family in India and tour the facility where her bags are produced.

She looks forward to meeting the women she's helping face-to-face. Not only that, but she wishes that more people would consider adding social entrepreneurship elements to their business. And doing it as a side hustle means you can make a difference without much risk. As she puts it, a lot of people have a social cause they feel strongly about, but the problem is that so many of us get caught up in corporate jobs. A side hustle can be a great way to start making a difference and produce a new source of income.

So, once again, that resource I mentioned is Common Objective, which is, again, essentially the Alibaba of sustainable fashion practice. So, if you're interested in making something, some kind of fashion item, whatever it is, whether accessory or item of clothing, you might want to check that out. And we will link that up, of course, in the show notes. Now, here's a fun fact or a lesson from Vaishali that I didn't mention. During the crowdfunding campaign, she used the old-fashioned marketing tactic of hanging posters.

Or I think I mentioned she did that at coffee shops, but she also did it around her office. And the morning after her campaign launch, she received an email from her HR manager saying that the posters were considered solicitation and had to be removed. Now, to her surprise, one of her co-workers had already seen the poster and purchased six bags, which was her biggest one-time sale to date. So, she says, and I agree, the lesson there is ask for forgiveness, not permission. Congratulations to Vaishali.

I love how she has combined social entrepreneurship with this tremendous problem in the world. Made what seems to be a great product and learned some lessons along the way. All good things. And listeners, I hope that you are learning. I hope you are also taking action.

That is my greatest hope that the stories you hear will not only inspire you, but will also motivate you to do something. I want to hear about your story at some point, preferably in 2019. Let's make this a big year together. Today's show notes are at sidehustleschool.com/748. That is for episode 748.

I'll be back tomorrow. Make sure you're subscribed. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.