These days, anyone can become an entrepreneur. All you need is a plan, a product and a social media account. It is easy, yet difficult. Childhood friends, Fathima Afrin and Fathima Sameera, have always been passionate about designing clothes.
Their combined passion fuelled their creative spark and the duo joined hands to start their own apparel brand, ‘Label Afeera’. Today, the Chennai-based designers have over 7,800 followers on Instagram and the numbers keep climbing.
News Today reached them for a chat. Afrin is an IT graduate while Sameera has a degree in BBA. “We are more of Indo-Western, modest ethnic clothing,” they say.
“Our design is done from sketching the pattern to sourcing the fabric and getting them stitched. Our clothes are mostly unique in their cuts, flow of the attire, long anarkali with different patterns.”
The young entrepreneurs go on to add, “We do have heavy competition but what makes Label Afeera stand out is that all our attires are comfortable yet fashionable and our dresses portray elegance.”
Throughout the interview, Afrin and Sameera spoke about the opportunities entrepreneurs can tap through social media. “We are where we are today because of social media and it played a vital role in our growth,” they say. “We were only 17 years when we started this venture. If not for social media, Label Afeera wouldn’t have happened.”
Running a business that is entirely dependent upon social media and Internet juice definitely has its challenges. How do Afrin and Sameera battle the odds?
“Every day, there’s something new to learn, be it from customer service or business management,” they say. “We also keep learning the art of patience,” they chime together.
They were also generous to share tips for aspiring entrepreneurs. “Creativity, consistency, focus and hard work are the key,” they say. “You need not have a lot of money to start anything but these four attributes can make your business go anywhere.”
| BRICK AND MORTAR |
| Afrin and Sameera have big plans for their brand, hoping to make it big in the world of fashion. “We are working on our website and we will also be opening our store soon.” Label Afeera will soon bring out its bridal wear collection. “We are just waiting for the right time for things to fall into place,” they said. Reach them out on instagram at @label_afeera |