Tanishaa, the entrepreneurial artist making waves globally

Source: A&T Cunha website

👇 Get connected with Tanishaa & her business

• Follow her on LinkedIn

• Check out A&T Cunha and Plane Crazy Studios

💡Some ‘A-ha’ moments from the podcast

1. Bootstrapping a business is about being frugal and making smart decisions - use resources at your disposal (e.g. WfH) and as you invest more, think about leveraging higher pricing

“We were learning on the job…first we were using locally available materials and personal savings, but it was more the time and the effort vs the actual production cost. When we got [serious] and got the cutters, that’s when it got expensive. But working from home helped - we redid our back garden to build a studio for ourselves. over to,e. we realised our rates had to go higher as well to justify the costs etc.”

2. When building a team, pick what you want to do (because it’s your unique point) vs what you can outsource

“We had to keep trying out people, and see if they kept at the aesthetic and the work. Now we have a team but we do the designing - it is an artist’s work, so we can’t outsource the whole thing, but it was an unsustainable lifestyle [without any outsourcing]”

3. Working with family in your business can be a blessing - they might be able to help with with their expertise

“Now it’s a full family business…my mum is involved as the Kris Jenner of the business, my dad is involved - he has such good technical advice and financial knowledge. Working with family is interesting! There is no one else I fight with more, but there is no one else I could do it with either”

4. Social media doesn’t just have to be a purchasing channel, it can also be a great portfolio of your work especially if you’re in the artistic field

“It has been a lot of word of mouth still…we do have a social media presence, but people haven’t really purchased through it, as it is not an affordable service and all our pieces are bespoke. We have a digital storefront on instagram, but it’s more like a portfolio”

5. To scale a business, you may need to expand your product range (different levels of complexity/purity) to reach a wider audience

“We’ve also introduced hand painting and mixed mosaic works. Sometimes having a full mosaic wall isn’t sustainable (or affordable) for everyone, so we’ve changed it up. People keep challenging us…we’ve been exploring with a lot of different materials to match what people need”

💬 Tanishaa’s advice to women who want to build businesses on their own terms

“Just have confidence in your ideas, there will be a lot of people who will ask you are you sure about this, but if you are convinced about it, you have to go for it. If you don’t take that first step, you’ll spend your whole life thinking about it”