Making strides in the beauty business

Saka Shailaja runs a successful "Roja's Industries" dabbling with providing beauty solutions for the past 25 years. What started as a beauty parlour, expanded into a full-fledged training facility and is currently gearing up to include manufacturing of beauty products.

Undeterred by the logistical limitation of being from Karimnagar, a small not so well-developed town back, she made her venture count through hard work.

Today she has two centres, one each in Karimnagar and Sircilla. She is going to pump in Rs 5 crore to increase the production of beauty products such as handwash liquid, soaps, creams, etc.

The journey began with challenges, "Getting a place on rent for my beauty parlour was a problem. Nobody wants to let out to a Dalit woman. We face that discrimination even today.

I didn't want to bluff and take place on rent. I struggled a lot," relates the 45-year-old successful beautician turned entrepreneur. That is not all. She has trained 30,000 rural women in beautician course and made them small entrepreneurs on their own.

"The reason why I chose this line of business was because my family didn't want me to go outdoors and work. This is being an indoor job, there was no objection.

I am grateful to DICCI--Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which extended a helping hand."

She narrates her story, "I am a qualified business graduate from Osmania university in Telangana. My zeal to exist, and the need to have the livelihood, and a small thought to provide beauty services at reasonable cost and create a career for the ill-fated women and poor girls so as to increase their moral confidence were the reasons behind starting 'Rojas'.

The journey from a little town place 150 Sft premises to 3000sft beauty school with world class facilities, a beauty clinic, 100% natural beauty products Shoppe, placements wing, training wing, all equipped with latest machinery and highly qualified faculties and awarding the certifications for 90 candidates every one month and providing a career to them which enables the needy girls to earn 10K plus incentives in various corporates – Shailaja has come a long way.

Today, Rojas Beauty School for Men & Women offers part-time and full-time diploma courses, Certificate and government-framed courses.

"We are proud to announce that our Rojas is the first regional institution to offer these government courses and we have trained about 7000 girls under CDTP Program and 600 girls under PMKVY program; these beauty courses are designed for every segment of people and they give a life-time career to every woman, who joined our institute. It is also one and only institute, which is offering the basic beauty course free of cost to men & women since last 15 years."

Shailaja had initiated the thought of making beauty products available to everyone, which will fit to everyone's pocket. "After a wide research and knowledge acquisition for a period of 2 years this idea of manufacturing and packing has taken shape. "

"Our forward vision is to strive to become an entity in cosmetology and beauty products manufacturing. We also believe that for our scope of improvisation – sky is the limit and we are always ready to take our achievements to the next level.

We are growing and would always like to remain with the growing streak," she adds.

"If I take up anything, I won't rest until and unless I see its logical end. I am a totally goal oriented person. And, I am a big risk taker. Where there is no pain, there I no gain," she elaborates the secrets behind her success.