I want silk sari to be seen as an oft-wearable drape: Jeyasree Ravi of Sri Palam Silks

Her pedigree is famous. Jeyasree Ravi’s paternal family owns and runs the 85-year-old Chennai landmark, Nalli Silk Sarees; and through marriage, she is related to Kumaran Silks, which is into shirtings, suitings and sarees. When she got into the business of sarees with Sri Palam Silks (nothing surprising about it!), the 46-year-old Ravi wanted to allure the youth into wearing silk saris. It is usually college kids and office goers that troop into her stores on any given day. Ravi, Founder, Sri Palam Silks, says that this is the clientele she is looking forward to, for whom there are various versions of sarees: light weight, with matching accessories, new prints and designs, pastel shadeson traditional silks for the young, among others. Excerpts from the conversation: How did the Palam brand come about? Your father has Nalli Silks. Your husband runs Kumaran Silks. As a child I wanted to be like my father who is my hero. I got married into the Kumaran Silks family. However, I was not interested in their family business or my father’s. I was happy looking after my home and children. I got into the business quite late - I was 35 then. In 1987, I got into selling of pattu_or silk sarees, because my father mentioned in a casual conversation with me about how after a discount sale at Nalli’s there were many sarees lying around atthe store. I decided to pick the best from the lot and have a sale at home only for friends as I know how difficult it is to buy sarees from a sale. My only thought was to give a relaxed experience to the woman shopper by inviting her home. The show was a sellout and my friends requested me to put up two more shows. After the third one, my children asked me to take the ‘store’ out of the home. Who helped you with the capital to set up the store? [caption id=“attachment_2387444” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jeyasree Ravi, Founder, Sri Palam Silks[/caption] My husband, P J Ravi was confident about me after my first foray into entrepreneurship turned out a success. My brother- in-law lent me the family’s 250-300 sq feet store used to house computers at Pondy Bazar to start out on my own. My father, Kuppuswamy Chetty lent me Rs two lakhs. I was able to pay him back in a year’s time. I expanded gradually by first buying this store and then the stores nearby to now become a 1,500 square feet store. Your father and your husband have brand loyalty and are known names. What did you set out to do with Palam when you started off on your own? A bride usually prefers to wear a traditional silk saree for the nuptials, especially in the south. But after the ceremony, almost none of them wear those heavy silks again. I want a silk saree to be seen as an oft-wearable drape. So I stripped off the starch that gives the stiffness to the traditional silk saree making it softer to touch, easy to drape and handle even as it retained its purity. I wanted to offer a different colour palette from the deep maroons, reds, greens that are often seen on traditional silk sarees. In the Sri Palam range, besides traditional colours, I have introduced colours not seen on pattu sarees - lime green, pale yellow, fuschia and pastels. Also, apart from the common designs like temple, mango and paisley, there are designs like__patola, ikat_, etc. I am aware of the problems that women face regarding matching their expensive silks with accessories. So I have given them concepts like sarees with a pouch, matching mobile covers, etc. Where do you hope to take Palam in the future? One of my plans is to focus on my online store–which is already functioning–so that sarees can be accessed by anyone. Sarees ordered online are delivered within a week anywhere in India. We showcase20 new sarees every day online and I ensure there are 1,000 sarees from casual to the grand range so that the customer has a wide varietyto choose from. I want to put up 40,000 sarees on the website and make it a regular store. No sarees from the online store will be available offline. We also want to focus on the small retail format by establishing three new storesevery year. From the present Rs 55 crore turnover, I want to touch Rs 100 crore in 2016. What would you caution individuals who want to start off on their own? It is not difficult for a startup to break even. It is the journey after that which is difficult. If with Rs 100 you made 1 lakh, it is not necessary that withone lakh you will reap 10 lakhs. It’s possible when you make that kind of investments and are willing to spend on branding and advertising. You also have to establish a goodwill. I have built a goodwill and a legacy that I will pass on to my children. Another advice would be to not get inspired by people, but learn from their mistakes. Then, you will at least not repeat the same mistakes, though you may make new ones. What are the five things anyone starting out a venture should not do?

• Never get into something that you don’t believe in. If there is even an element of fear, doubt or worry, don’t do it.

• Don’t be blown away by any issue. Look at what you are risking, and if the risks are life-threatening, let them go. Else, tackle.

• Do not be complacent. Always look at how you can improve what you are doing.

• Keep money aside for all that is important: savings, holidays, social duties, etc.

• Never say, I do not have the time. The truth is everyone has the time to do what they want to do.

  What gets your goat in your line of work? I dislike people who do not put in 100 percent at work and shirk responsibility. Even if you don’t get recognized in your job, or overlooked for someone else, wait it out.The problem is we want immediate answers, solutions and retributions. How do you relax? I meditate regularly and through my meditations, I have come upon the Universal laws. I have written a book on it-Magical Scroll. There is more than just the law of attraction to be tapped into. My next book, __Happy New Year__will be released on the New Year with the film star Shah Rukh Khan. It discusses 365 topics, one each for every day of the year.