Najeeba Banu is 26 years old and from Muddenahalli village in Periyapatna Taluk, Mysore District. She is a single parent to a 13-year-old daughter and a 11-year-old son, both of whom are studying.
Najeeba said that she attended a MOVE training session on how to start a small business and the angles to cover before starting. After attending the MOVE training one of the important things she learnt was pricing and purchase and sales price of products. She learnt that items can be bought at a very cheap price from the right retailer, and finding the correct location to sell from, would help gain more profits. Najeeba said, “I have attended various trainings and workshop but MOVE was different, it was simple to understand and it was fun. The two activities that I really liked and learnt from is the Marketing activity and the Invitation and Greeting card making activity. I learnt about the importance of customers, their mind set, exposure to new ideas and how to do surveys to identify what items are in demand in the village.
After the MOVE training Najeeba started a vegetable business, where her mother supports her in the selling, because, to add to her income, she also works in an Anganwadi. The reason why she chose vegetable business was because the profit earned here was high, even though the risk was also high, because vegetables are perishable items and have to be fresh when sold.
Najeeba said that she taught her mother what she had learnt in her MOVE training, in order to run the vegetable business. Her daughter and son lend a helping hand after completing their homework. Once she returns from her work at the Anganwadi, she takes over from them. Najeeba opens the shop at 6:00AM and takes care of the business till she leaves for the Anganwadi. Then her mother takes over.