From a Facebook page to an e-commerce portal – CupikDesign

I was a work-from-home mom, doing freelance design, content, web and marketing services for clients while caring for my 6-year old. The Cupik Design stationery business started literally by accident

Sheetal Goel once helped a friend with corporate design work for her jewelry business. “She loved the creatives and asked me to design the invitation card for her son’s birthday. I took up the work for fun, but the end result was amazing and everyone loved it,” says Sheetal. Sheetal went on to take a couple of more interesting things to do, and realized the opportunity in personalized stationery market. “I spent the next 4 weeks just designing things and putting it up on my Facebook page for friends and family to share. It worked, and Cupik Design was in business!” says the founder.

The initial days had me looking like a dishrag with raccoon eyes. My family was worried and they warned me about neglecting my established design business

But when they saw the amazing response Sheetal received from her first exhibition, they realized the opportunity too and supported her in the startup. “I was so driven towards the work that I would wake up in the middle of the night to design, simply because designs would be swimming in front of my eyes while I tried to sleep,” says Goel. While these phases of extreme design are exhausting, Sheetal says that they are extremely rewarding when she looks back at them. CupikDesign today is a premier destination for personalized stationery and gifts. What started in 2011, on Facebook with 3 products has over 40 options to choose from.

The toughest part of being a work-from-home parent is making your child understand that ‘mommy is working and cannot play’, even though it sometimes looks like I’m lounging around and playing on my phone.

Sheetal begins her day as soon as her 6 year old daughter leaves for school. While her evenings are filled with managing the printings and playing with her daughter, the founder gets back to serious design work at night after the preschooler sleeps. “My husband has been immensely supportive in the journey. I randomly spaced out during conversations/dinners/movies because a new idea has popped into my head, but he understands it all,” she says. Sheetal’s dad advises her in the startup and her mother handles the logistics.

My whole family is together in this, and this pushes me to do better

Sometimes I wish I could chill and relax more often, but I rarely get the time

Sheetal believes that the most important thing in a business is delegation! “You can’t be scaling up if you’re doing all the work yourself, can you?” Through the journey, the founder has worked on design, packaging, printing, accounting, and customer service to keep Cupik Designs going. To future womenpreneurs, Sheetal says, “Don’t get bogged down by mother duties. A child with an independent mother is likely to be far more independent himself, and respect you more for it when s/he grows up. And you’re far more capable than you realize!”

Feministaa wishes Sheetal best in her journey of creating wonderful designs.

Website Link : www.cupikdesign.com

Follow CupikDesign on facebook or you can follow Sheetal on facebook