La Femme Privee: A Women Entrepreneur Networking Platform

BWDisrupt's Soumya Gupta interacted with Monica Garg, Founder & Chairperson, La Femme Privee and Director, International Luxury Academy (ILA), after creating Luxury Image Consultants in India, is aiming to empower women entrepreneurs to take their businesses and lives to next level by granting them, unique networking opportunities.

Excerpts from the Interview:

Tell us about your journey and transition from a working professional to an entrepreneur.
Monica Garg always had a passion for business. After completing her 12th Monica Garg went off to Switzerland in 2008 to specialize in image enhancement for women from Villa Perrifeu Montreaux and further did a course as a certified trainer from the Etiquette School of Manhattan (New York). Then in the year 2011, she got formally trained in fashion, style and color from Sterling Style Academy, New York and then trained in fashion style from Dublin. To keep on enhancing my knowledge about the industry, I further went to London in 2012 to become a certified trainer in Luxury Brand Management. She felt that India needed a finishing school and also her own love for fashion made her to establish International Luxury Academy.

Share with us some challenges you faced while establishing this venture as a woman entrepreneur.
I won't say there were challenges as such but there was a lot of effort involved in getting so many women entrepreneurs together on a single platform and making La Femme Privee a success.

What have been your biggest learning in setting up this business?
As new ideas keep floating, only when you like what you are doing, you are able to give your 100% to your work, instead of just following people and be run of the mill. The traits I would say is “follow your passion”.

Tell us about the people who have been supporting your business idea and how it took shape?
Family members have been very supportive and encouraging. My husband is my inspiration and a great guide to me. My in-laws have been very supportive, without them ventures would not have been possible.

How important is networking and meeting people in this phase of running a business?
Networking is the single most powerful marketing tactic to accelerate and sustain success be it an individual or an organization.It is all about making connections and building enduring, mutually beneficial relationships.

There are various advantages of networking some of them are listed below :-
- It helps learn dynamics within your industry.
- Establish your business contacts.
- Accelerate your professional development.
- Develop knowledge resources.
- Seek new career opportunities.

What are your marketing and future plans with the brand you dream to build?
As per marketing, we want to concentrate more on digital marketing. If good finances are available we would like to do lot of marketing promotions in newspaper, billboards and aggressive digital.