"Women's status in India has been changing since the ancient times. There were a lot of ups and downs in their status. There are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions in the society, this gives rise to misogyny in the society. Women are often considered as the weaker sex. They are considered to be emotional and fragile. A lot of people think that certain jobs should be only done by men. Even today, a lot of daily soaps, TV shows, movies, showcase that a woman is a weak and vulnerable and who can easily be harassed. Many women are made to think that they only belong in the kitchen and hence they need not pursue education."

Today, the myth of men being the best natural leaders ­ the old alpha male story ­ has long been blown asunder. Women are not only stepping up, they are also breaking such stereotypes and outperforming men in both public as well as private sector. Banu Lakshman, Managing Director, LUCZOTIQ is one such woman leader who is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to driving changes in the Industry. She has created strong waves in business community laying a solid base of limitless creativity. She has chartered unknown territories unabashedly and fearlessly. "Hailing from a middle class family, I had lost my father when I was hardly eight years old. While my mother was not very educated, she managed to bring us up with great difficulties. Considering our condition, I had to quit school while I was in the middle of 10th standard and I also got married at the young age of 19. However, this did not stop me. I managed to finish my BA English Literature and later pursued MBA international business, all by myself. From my unsupportive in-laws and failed marriage, I was left with a daughter, who I had to raise being a single parent. Although, the challenges didn't end there, I was thrown with more uncertainties and determined to do something and make it big and thus that same drive made me excel at  my work front!", speaks Banu.

Recently, Banu engaged in a one on one interaction with Women Entrepreneur magazine where she highlights upon her professional journey and how she is making constant efforts towards making a change as a women leader in the industry. Given below are some valuable nuggets from the interaction.

Tell Us About Luczotiq. Throw Some Light On Your Important Features As A Business Leader That Have Helped You Through Your Corporate Career?

A brand conceived and created for all categories of people, LUCZOTIQ is a name that has left an indelible mark in the industry in a span of one year. Perfumes, mostly the `imported' ones cost a fortune; however, a lot of people in India still believe that Perfume is a luxury that only the rich can afford. With over 15 years of experience in the perfume industry, my keen interest was soon inclined towards the launch of my own brand which would not only be a premium one but would also be affordable and smell good. My aim is to make luczotiq one of the leading and most premium brands in India and one among the other top brands and would be happier if this brand gets globally accepted.

Highlight Upon Your Early Educational Journey And Prior Industry Experience That You Bring To The Table. What Motivated You To Create Luczotiq?

From being a receptionist to heading procurement team, vendor management, design and development, communication & marketing, I have had the experience of working across various domains and this gave me a good experience and expertise of learning everything being the quick learner that I was. My core strength lies in the global networking. We have all top notch people as of our Business contacts. However, I wasn't happy working for others and this further created a desire to do something of my own. I strongly believe - Nothing is late to start, and thus, I took charge and started my business at the age of 42. Initially we started a designing company called Artboard in Dubai which was a partnership firm. I jointly started with the present Co-Founder,  Jaijoe Jaisingh who is the creative director of the company. We worked on A-Z solutions, right from Concept to Designing and procurement of packaging items and supplying the end products to our clients in the field of perfumes and other fragrance items and more. Dubai being a highly competitive market for a start up like us ended in trouble, despite putting all our savings and funds at stake to keep the company going, it was getting financially difficult for our survival and make ends meet.

After incurring a huge loss of amount nearly about $4 million in just three years, we were at a position where a decision was to be made. Still, I wasn't ready to give up on the business, hence, we decided to relocate to India and continue the business. In 2017, we began a fresh chapter. However there was no support from anyone, Artboard was still making gradual progress in supplying 60 SKUs Day to day basis. However, this was not even close to making any mark as we were left with nothing of our own to showcase. The year 2019 became the turning point of my career; I decided to launch our own brand and products. We were very happy to get our trade mark registered for LUCZOTIQ. By the time, we made our first range of products and were ready to get into the market in 2020; the whole nation was amid the pandemic. Again our business came to a sudden halt and survival became even more challenging; the thought of business and operations was beyond anyone's understanding. Still, we did not give up and decided to keep an optimistic outlook. We continued creating more new designs for products and were waiting for the situation to change. In 2021, we formed our new company LUCZOTIQ Pvt Ltd and from team of three we have turned to team of 50 odd people, we have an excellent Sales team & Back office staffs that are instrumental for all the massive growth luczotiq has made! It has been an incredible journey. My daughter; Samudra masters in Human resources with global exposure heads the human resources and holds a vision to start the exports.

“A brand conceived and created to reach all categories of people, luczotiq is a name that has left a mark in the industry”

Tell Us About The Range Products That Luczotiq Is Known For. What Is It That Gives You An Edge In The Industry?

Derived from the words Luxury and Exotic, Luczotiq is built to showcase the same. If you look at our range of products, each one has been curated to have a story to connect. Our Elements deodorants for men are to conceptualize our five elements basic to life Air, Water, Fire, Sky and Earth. On the other hand, our Navarasa series include the nine emotions of every human character. We have already launched three Rasa's or emotions, while the other six are in the pipeline. If you see our Emoji's range, it is a very unique concept for gifting or carrying them from the comfort your handbags. We took the smileys as an inspiration used from today's modern digital communication to express through the social media; our smiley range will come out with more and more emotions to express in the near future. Similarly, if you see our Element EDP for women, it is again a story to connect. We are bringing interesting products for teens as well. We can proudly say, at LUCZOTIQ, we have product designed for all age groups beginning from 13 to 60. Luczotiq aims at being the one stop shop to anyone's fragrance requirements as we have Perfumes, Deodorants, Body sprays, travel perfumes, perfumes candles, Room Freshener's, Fragrance diffusers and we are also entering the organic skin and hair care shortly.

What Are Some Of The Most Challenging Aspects Of Your Role As The MD? How Do You Overcome Them? What Do You Do To Keep Yourself Well Aligned With The Advancements In Your Industry?

I handle the entire commercial side, right from Marketing, Handling Sales Team, Vendor Team, Planning for New Product Developments and more. The most challenging part of my work is arranging funds, and planning finances. Since we are a young firm, and we are yet to build any support from Government or bank and hence there is a tremendous pressure to pay salaries, our vendor and other marketing expenses. However, by God's grace we have been able to handle situation well and without any hassles. We are taking a step by step approach and yes I can see a visible growth. We are looking at expansion this year and we are on the lookout for the investors who can sync with our vision. `Perfumery' or perfumes itself is a very interesting field and we keep looking for big launches taking place across the world with new innovations in packaging and more. Cosmoproof is the exhibition that happens across the world which showcases the latest items every year. We do participate in such exhibitions.

What Have Been The Most Significant Milestones In Your Professional Journey? What Is Your Guiding Leadership Philosophy? What Would Be Your Message To Future Women Leaders?

Within just one year of company's incorporation, we have nearly about 10 range of products with more than 40 SKUs which is huge. Along with our 50 odd employees, we have reached more than thousands of retailers through hundreds of distributors PAN India. This is a big milestone. We get very good orders online too on a monthly basis and we are selling via many e commerce platforms. The good news is that we have been getting excellent reviews for our products from the end users which we consider as the best support so far. Indeed we were awarded for being the `Most innovative Perfume and fragrance items - 2021'. Hard work certainly pays off well.

This year we are aiming to grow our team close to 100 and there are more interesting products in the R & D Organic skin care and hair care range. Since I have been a learner, I always and believe in self-improvement, I would like that to be the guiding philosophy as well to many like me. There should never be a point of stagnation in one's life. Even a small goal at a time is good. But relentlessly practicing what you are good at gives you a good chance to make a win in life.

To all women and girls out there, do not limit your thinking. If you want to do something, persist, persist and persist and believe it is possible. Prioritize your wants and this will take you close to your dreams. Mastering entrepreneurship can cost you endless efforts, constant determination and a positive outlook!

Educational Qualification - MBA in international business

Services provided by firm - We are marketing our own brand of products like Perfumes, Deodorants, Travel Perfumes, Air freshener's, Perfumed candles and more. Our products are already launched across the country

Awards of Recognitions won so far - Within one year of incorporation, we have been recognized as 'Most innovative perfume company' 2021

Headquarter & Other Office Locations - Head office at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.