Reflections On Running A (Startup) Corporate Gifting Business

Starting a business has been a completely new experience for me; for my husband, Rahul it is a path well-trodden. When we first talked of starting a corporate gifting business together, I wondered how it would affect our relationship; in many ways we are polar opposites in terms of how we work and take decisions and i was concerned that we would end up irritating each other or having loads of arguments.

I'm a careful, considered decision maker, I work at a steady pace, meticulous to every detail and am somewhat risk averse. Rahul, on the other hand is over-enthusiastic, always full of new ideas, excitable and impulsive and a risk taker.

He'll jump from task to task at speed but will often overlook the fine print.

I need not have worried (so far!), starting a business has brought us even closer and allowed us to learn from each other, adapt to each other and grow together.

In some ways, this is one of the most challenging times to start a business, with the financial impact that the Coronavirus has had on so many people's lives. Rahul and I have been crazy busy with preparing for numerous job interviews that I have had, Rahul's other business has been affected by the pandemic and he is putting in longer hours to take it in a new direction and we've had various other challenges to deal with over the last year.

But despite all that, we have a great idea that fills a unique gap in the corporate gifting market. We'd got to a point where we'd talked about it for months and it just felt right to press the start button.

One of the things that Rahul has always told me when we've faced any kind of uncertainty in our lives is Lord Krishna's teachings from the Bhagavad Geeta where he explains the path of divine action to Arjuna. "Do your Karma, aligned with your principles and to the best of your abilities, offer it to me as your act of worship and surrender the fruits of your action to me."

Starting a corporate gifting business is going to allow us to really live that and be a test of that wisdom. There are so many obstacles we will no doubt encounter on the path to success, all we can do is our best and leave the rest to him."