Elizabeth Jacob (Priya) is the owner & artist at Liz Jacob Designs. Here is her interesting entrepreneurial journey. Thankyou so much Priya for doing this for us 
I began my entrepreneurial journey with ‘Liz Jacob Designs’ after 11 years of corporate life. When motherhood came along, the need for work-life balance became more important than ever and I finally took the plunge on a dream I always had. I wanted to design and create my own product line but I was not sure what the core idea would be. While shopping for my new born son, I felt there was a nascent need for more variety in children’s clothing, especially in the pure cotton range. Denims and tees flooded the market and everything looked like it was manufactured for mass appeal. I felt convinced I wanted to create a niche for myself in this space, and it was perfect as I love both children and designing.
Liz Jacob initially started as an exclusive hand-painted range of clothes and home décor. Today, the brand sources unique fabric prints and embellishments from across the world and creates products that stand for good quality, comfortable fits and extremely chic designs. I always try to understand the market need gap and develop products that are unique in some way or the other. For instance, I realized there were mostly mass manufactured designs available in the night clothes section for kids here in India. My hand-painted nightwear range tries to bring in some freshness to the category. I have created similar other exciting categories such as jacket-dresses, hand-painted crib sheets and jablas, which have all been well received by parents.
With a young child and a sick mother at home, there was very little spare time left for me to devote to the business, especially in the initial days. However, I told myself that even if it meant that I could take only baby steps everyday towards this goal, it would all amount to something substantial very soon. There have been significant challenges such as finding professional tailors who would provide a readymade finish and would adhere to timelines given, but I pressed on despite multiple disappointments. Also, as an entrepreneur, whatever money you make goes back into the business and you will miss having that spare cash or your corporate salary to indulge a bit.
Sacrifices have to be made in the beginning but once the business gains momentum, you will enjoy the ride. Today, I have many repeat customers and the journey has been very satisfying. When Moms write back to me with encouraging feedback after every purchase, I feel so happy that I chose this path. What’s more, I also get to spend a lot of time with my son. Do visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LizJacobDesigns to browse through my range.
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