Balancing the mechanical aspects of running a small business in a small town with simple solutions is what helped Nisha in growing her business. Read on to explore more of her story.
Imagine you are walking by a cosmetic shop in a small village, and decide to go in to buy a few things because you want to support a small business. All things seem normal, but the shop owner pulls out her mobile to give you a breakdown of your purchase, a digital receipt, and carries out the final payment with an app. Seems too far-fetched? Well, Nisha has been doing it for two years now!
For Nisha, this is nothing out of the ordinary. She is the owner and has been running Kartik & Kirath Cosmetic Store in Chandol village in Jhajjar, Haryana, for over 3 years now. Her husband runs a perfume shop in town, and she takes care of this one. One thing that sets her apart from the nearby shops though is she enjoys the benefits of simple solutions brought forth by apps like Khatabook.
Apprehensive to Appreciative – An Insightful Journey
Being in a small town comes with some setbacks for many people. Nisha was no different a couple of years ago when she used to be a bit apprehensive about using apps to execute her business. Her old-school methods of maintaining a diary were serving her more troubles than benefits though, which urged her to give some apps a shot to help her through.
“Maine 2-3 apps try kie the shuru me, par Khatabook sabse aasaan tha seekhne aur use karne me. Mujhe shuru se hi jis cheez ke lie ye app chaiye tha, wo saare features maine bohot asaani se seekh lie”
Having no access to computers, an app was the only go-to option for Nisha. Her journey started off roughly with some apps seeming too complicated to use. But she came across Khatabook soon enough and found it quite easy to understand and use.
“Mai aur mere pati jyada features to use nahi karte the, par jitne bhi karte hai sab bohot asaani se chalaana seekh lia tha aur ab kaafi achhe se use karte hai”
From the moment she started using the app, she said goodbye to those old-school bookkeeping techniques. It became a blessing for her to keep all the transaction records, business details, and much more on a centralized digital space that she could access from anywhere, anytime.
While Nisha and her husband use the same bank account, they both use Khatabook on their own device with separate accounts. The couple finds it quite easy to use and tally the required data of the business they conduct without missing a beat.
The Gift That Kept on Giving
Nisha was off to a great start with Khatabook, and quite happy with how convenient it made things for her.
“Hum to apne personal finances ka bhi record isi app pe rakhte hai. Agar kisi se loan lia hai, kisi ko paise die hai, ya koi calculations karne hai mahine ke kharcho pe, hum isi pe karte hai”
She was unaware of the plethora of features in this app in the beginning, which she slowly started to discover as time went along. Now, she also uses the app to generate receipts for her customers, send them payment confirmations via SMS, and much more with the app.
“Pehle to suppliers ke saath kabhi kabhi confusion hojaata tha payment ke lie. Ab sab kuch recorded rehta hai app pe to kaafi asaan ho gaya hai business chalaana”
But it wasn’t just the suppliers or customers that Nisha found her convenience multiply with the app. This was just the batter. The topping of the cake is how she has grown her business’s reach over the last year.
In the last year, Nisha has started taking online orders and getting them delivered to nearby cities with the help of the Khatabook app. She says that people in nearby cities requiring cosmetic items that cost a lot get them for much cheaper rates from providers like her. An added delivery charge still helps them save over 40% on the price, which has helped her significantly grow her number of orders, and subsequently, her business.
“Bahar badi cities me jo cheez 2000 rupay ki milti hai humare idhar wo 600-700 me mil jaati hai. Thoda sa additional delivery charge lag ke bhi humare city waale customers 50% saving karlete hai”
Having the convenience of conducting online transactions seamlessly via Khatabook played in Nisha’s favor tremendously. And she saw this opportunity and grabbed on to it quickly. Now, Nisha has a significantly higher revenue than she did just 2 years ago, and is elated with the outcome encouraged by using a simple app!
Simple Really is The Best
While Nisha and her husband have tried other similar applications, one common takeaway for them was that while the features were mostly similar, they were not as easy to use as with Khatabook.
“Humne to kaafi apps try kie dekhne ke lie ki kuch alag milega to. Par features seekhne me humaare paseene nikal rahe the. Khatabook ka kaafi easy tha. Hindi me guide mil gayi app pe hi, aur directions bhi bohot achhe se samajh me aye jab naye features ka use kia”
In the course of our interview with Nisha, we also gained some insights into how convenience can overpower multiple features. And the dynamic combination of multiple features and convenience can make for a blast for small-time users such as Nisha.
We also told her about the other features that she might not have used and how they can help her even further in making her business and personal life more convenient. Her response?
“Hum to apne kaam ke lie use karte the shuru me. Fir personal finances ke lie bhi karne lage. Ab tak to bohot help kia hai is app ne. Ab aapne jo naye features bataye hai, unka bhi bharpoor istemaal karenge dekhne ke lie ki humare lie suitable hai ya nahi. Ab tak to Khatabook ke har feature se achhe results hi mile hai, aage bhi koi doubt nhi ki achhe hi milenge”