What running a handmade jewellery brand taught me about business

I started Elegant Threads & Beads in 2023 with a hobby and a hope. Two years later it has taught me more about ownership than any class.

I make and sell handmade crochet products and beaded jewellery, and I handle the whole business: product, pricing, marketing, and customers. Revenue grew from about Rs 15,000 in the first year to roughly Rs 1.5 lakh by the third, across more than twenty-five collections.

Marketing on a student budget meant Instagram, college events, exhibitions, and campus roadshows rather than ad spend. The slow months taught persistence; the busy ones taught me to plan ahead.

Running a small business has quietly made me a better engineer. It made me care about the user, respect deadlines, and ship something real instead of waiting for perfect.

Written by Khushi Bansal, a final-year Computer Science student at Chitkara University and the founder of Elegant Threads & Beads.