“Take time to do what makes your soul happy,” says Abha Dhital who is a young entrepreneur and owner of ‘Little Things’, an aesthetic store at Sanepa, Lalitpur. Little Thing is a creative retail outlet that makes cards with themes like “Just Because,” “Love,” “Family,” and “Inspired by Nepali Music.” It also sells customized gifts like handmade scrapbooks, calendars and quirky notes in jars. Recently, the store has started selling hand painted shoes and illustrated gifts. “We are now the makers and incubators of cool and quirky things,” says Abha. The company also provides a platform to those who are willing to sell their delightful designs.
“Cheeky cards with not-so-fancy doodles and not-so-heavy words” was the initial concept behind Little Things. Abha recalls, “I was a horrible student who kept on doodling all the time.” Her friend Sabin Bhandari managed to sneak out one of her designs got it printed on a card, and presented it to her on her birthday, saying: “Here, it’s time to start a business.” This, in short, is how Little Things was born. She cashed in on her hobby and eventually turned her love for doodles into a business. She finds utmost joy in producing those little things and wants to sell the coolest stuff one could ever see.
Abha believes “It takes a lot of courage to chase your dream and to do what you always wanted to do”. Her nascent one-year journey and the challenges and obstacles she faced during this time has made her more determined than ever. She overcame the initial challenges of finding the right vendor, the right paper quality, and printer, and deciding on the right selling price. Alongside, she had to keep on motivating herself to walk the next mile, and it had not been easy. “I’ve had to face situations where I did not have the confidence and motivation to carry on and felt completely broken. At times, I even compensated customers with freebies when I felt our products weren’t up to the mark. Whenever a new competitor showed up, I was getting dragged behind and it became difficult for me to take a stand for my idea and the business. Many a time, I felt like quitting. Yet somehow I managed to make it through.”She consoled herself saying that she needed to give this some time and that it was okay to take things slow.
When all this hadn’t started and was only in ideation phase, Abha actually tested the concept out by participating in Startup Weekend (SW) 2013. At that point, her idea was revolving around Noodles and Doodles, a noodle bar where people would go often and indulge in doodling artistic things. The idea was selected as the second best at SW. Abha acknowledges that a lot of the enthusiasm and support she received at the event had helped her along the way.
Besides her plans of working on Little Things, Abha also managed time to indulge her passion for writing. She wrote for ad agencies and magazines and currently works as sub-editor for The Kathmandu Post. She is the perfect example of how one can manage to balance a creative profession alongside a passion. “It is not always required to give one’s hundred percent to a sole venture – if one is truly passionate percentages do not matter. One finds ways, as I have”, Abha says. At Little Things, she employs three staff and is keen to provide internship opportunities to others that want to make a mark someday. She believes that true satisfaction is not only in creating but also in nurturing.
Abha’s journey has the potential to inspire us all, to create our own masterpieces borne out of passion and commitment – from pitching her idea at Startup Weekend to slowly learning the ins and outs of operating her very own retail store; she has been able to build her world of happiness with Little Things. More entrepreneurs like Abha are needed to build upon the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nepal.