My First Online Meet as a Listenerpreneur

The first “I’m a Listenerpreneur” online session was conducted today with just five participants. I went for a one-day Instagram promotion in my state last week. The turnout of the leads was less with respect to the view count. This non-profit initiative is a 3-month-long program where participants are new mothers and housewives, as I was particularly interested about these category of women. I admire all the new mothers who have given up their career choices for a while to take care of their kids. The next targeted category was the housewives. All of them are graduates.

I respect their choices to be at home to take care of their family. Two of them are helpless since their parents are abroad with their siblings, and nobody is home to take care of their kids. Most importantly, all five participants are hoping to make a comeback into their respective careers for which they have done their bachelors degree.

The energy was positive as everyone was eager for their ‘challenge’ in this three-month program. Apart from lending my ears to their small and big impact, I want them to make a small benefit out of my session. As is obvious, they are not able to go out and work, and cannot make a primary source of income. The new moms are in no way looking for a secondary source of income with remote opportunities in mind. I have defined it as a tertiary source of income – what a person makes, when and where they find time. The target I gave them was to make Rs 10,000/- as income, within three months.

I’m not aware of the various streams of income apart from my area of interest. So l decided to research one or two by myself. Last month, I came upon an Instagram ad for Local Sustainable Fest conducted in Ernakulam. It was a two-day flea market fest conducted on August 30th & 31st as part of the approaching Onam festival. Since I belong to a township, where not much exposure happens, I was a little sceptical about the stalls at the flea market. Here, the stall price starts at Rs 3000/-, depending on the size. I have so far visited exhibitions, but never bothered to get into detail as a participant. Most of the exhibitions I attended were conducted for a minimum of one week. I found this price affordable for any stall owner. It was more than a market. It’s not just stalls. It was a full experience with performing arts, workshops, talks, and hands-on sessions that inspired change. It was built for sustainability. Every corner of the fest was thoughtfully planned to reduce waste and environmental pollution. The fest was conducted in a 200-year-old “Tharavadu” with an eco-friendly setting, plastic-free practices, mindful materials, and choices that respect the planet. I connected them to get me a stall for my soya wax candles. Even though I didn’t find my way in, I told them I will visit your fest since this is my first attempt at a tangible product market. In between, I was planning to figure out a path for my “Listenerpreneur” buddies.

Today’s discussion also shifted to Content Writing as a career opportunity for my selected category of women. Content Writing is one opportunity to do on a remote basis. But nowadays, many of the companies have come out of the Work at Home concept and are looking forward to in-house content writers. I haven’t experimented with various areas of content writing, other than blogs. I told them I will come up with a few more inputs in my next session as I collect insights from various people on selective businesses - only those I can grasp, and I can get a first-hand knowledge, as I’ve done with the flea market exhibition. As they believe in me, I wanted to let them know what the real-life picture is about, other than the visuals and data that anybody gets from Google. As these new moms and housewives are bound up in a traditional setting, I can understand that their husbands won’t let them undertake a new venture until and unless the lady of the house feels confident about it. I am also excited about this journey of guiding women in various business opportunities and doing justice to my MBA. For me, so long it’s been all into the education sector – even the language learning platform I launched last year.

I am looking forward to inputs on guiding women in building micro businesses. Feel free to comment or DM me, wherever you reside, whatever your profession. I’m looking forward to providing them tips on a different business with a tangible product, with sustainable practices, next month.

Though this program participation was intended to my homestate women, anyone willing to take part from this platform is wholeheartedly welcome. I haven't created a WhatsApp group for the participants. But looking forward to it, as the program gains momentum.

Anyone looking forward to hearing from me on whatever inputs I can provide, feel free to contact me.