I was a single mother with a three-year-old son. After my separation in 2015, I did not have any support from any family members. I was desperate for a job. A company offered me one and suggested that I leave my place as they would give me residence facilities. I left my old place and shifted to a small one to cut expenses. Meanwhile, I kept my furniture at another place. Eventually, the job offer turned out to be a fraud. On top of that, all my furniture got stolen. I was on the streets with my son, with nowhere to go. Even thinking of those days makes me feel broken.
A few days later, one of my friends got me a job in a call centre and I finally rented a place to live. The job was hectic and there was nobody to look after my child. I had to leave him in a daycare centre but due to the hectic nature of the job, it was getting difficult to manage. I realized it was not working and I had to find some way in which I could earn and take care of my son simultaneously.
One of my friends used to do online business. Since she knew I was good at cooking, she suggested that I start selling frozen food items online. I told her I was broke. Selling frozen food would require a refrigerator, which I did not have. Let alone the fridge, I didn’t even have a stove to cook. She wanted to help me start the business anyway. At that time, I had only 50 taka with me. She lent me some money and with it, I bought a hen and 2 kgs of potatoes. I asked my neighbour to let me use their kitchen and made a few chicken items, french fries and potato balls. By the grace of Almighty, my page started getting good responses.
Slowly, I started getting more orders. Seeing this, my friend told me to cook in her place and use her fridge. I followed her advice since I had no better option. At that time, I used to deliver my orders by myself. After continuing like this for six months, I started using deliverymen. I borrowed some money from my friend and bought a deep refrigerator. I was finally able to sell my products from my place.
Things were looking up. From frozen foods, I began to sell homemade breakfast, lunch and dinner. I sold iftar in Ramadan as well. In 2017, I contacted a few of my relatives from Rajshahi and Dinajpur and brought mangoes and litchis directly from their gardens. At first, the mangoes I received turned out to be of poor quality. The eight maunds (1 maund= 40 kg) of mangoes I bought went to waste. I was extremely upset at this. After that, I found a different link and till now I have never received any negative reviews of my mangoes.
In this society, life for a single mother is already hard enough. On top of that, I did not have my family’s support. My father never liked the idea of me doing a food business. A lot of my relatives also passed harsh comments about my business. I never gave in to their negative criticism as I was providing service with all honesty. For this business, I was able to make time for my child and meet our needs at the same time. Why would I look down upon it?
My mother was the only one who had mentally supported me throughout my journey. She was a member of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and she dragged me there to become a member. Through them, I got to participate in different training programs. I was introduced to LightCastle Partners and I obtained new business knowledge from their training program. From that training, I also got some customers.
From my association with the SME Foundation, I found an opportunity to polish my cooking skills by joining an extensive course in 2017. There, I learned baking and different culinary arts. Shortly after this, I conducted a training program on cooking in Dinajpur, where I taught 15 women. Throughout my journey, I participated in different training sessions and simultaneously, shared my knowledge with others as a trainer.
As my business became stable, I focused on bringing a variety of products. I have been selling jaggery for two years now. Whenever I see something interesting I bring those and if my customers like them I continue to sell them. At the end of 2019, I partnered up with an acquaintance and started a mobile food cart in Shahbagh. Due to protests in Shahbagh, we had to pause our operations. Eventually, it did not work out as my partner broke faith with me. I continued to focus on my online business. During the pandemic, most businesses suffered severely. However, I have a different story to tell.
When lockdowns were imposed, hotels were closed. House help was not available in most of the houses. Hence, demand for homemade food increased significantly. Online food delivery options were being availed by everyone. For these reasons, I had a very good business in 2020. If I compare, this year my homemade food item sales are not that great. I’m compensating for the void with my organic food products.
My journey was full of ups and downs but I’ve never been more proud of myself. Starting from the bottom, now I’ve been running my business for more than five years with three employees. I definitely want to expand this business and shift to a physical shop. If I had my father’s support, it would not be such a big challenge. I hope every father supports his daughter’s honest efforts and helps their dream come true. For now, I’ll be waiting for the right opportunity. If things go well, I hope to sell my products from a physical shop and wish for a brighter future ahead.