Shahnaz Husain - A Successful Indian Woman Entrepreneur

The Making of an Entrepreneur Contd...

She thus had the advantage of growing up in a traditional family and receiving a modern education. She was married at the age of 15 and was a mother by the next year. When her husband was posted in Teheran, Iran, she developed an interest in beauty treatments and decided to study cosmetology. To support the expenses of the training financially, she wrote articles for the Iran Tribune on various topics under different names.

In the course of her studies, she learnt of the harmful effects of chemicals on the human body. Consequently, she turned her attention to Ayurveda (Refer Exhibit III), which she believed was the ideal alternative to chemical cosmetics, which not only harmed the human system but also led to the deterioration of the environment in the long run.

After leaving Teheran, she trained extensively in cosmetic therapy for 10 years in some of the leading institutes of London, Paris, New York and Copenhagen. On her return to India in 1977 she set up her own salon at her house in Delhi with an initial investment of Rs 35000. In contrast to salons offering chemical treatments, Shahnaz offered Ayurvedic products.

Entrepreneurship-The Shahnaz Husain Way

Shahnaz Husain uses the Ayurvedic method of treatment, which uses natural formulations to cure ailments. She is the pioneer and leader of Ayurvedic beauty products in the world offering "Natural Care and Cure". The Shahnaz Husain Group offers exclusive salon treatments geared to individual needs as well as a number of commercial formulations for the treatment of specific problems like acne, pimples, pigmentation, dehydration, alopecia (hair loss), etc.

According to the Group, ayurvedic products are well suited to human skin and hair as they are non-toxic and have no harmful side effects. The human body adapts well to the natural treatments of Ayurveda while it has an inbuilt resistance toward chemical treatments. This makes the system all the more effective.

The Group's sophisticated R&D units develop the products and put them through stringent quality control tests. These products are environment friendly and no testing is done on animals. All the products offered by the group are entirely natural and carry the guarantee of purity and safety. Shahnaz offers a wide variety of over 400 products for all age groups and for a variety of problems (Refer Exhibit IV).

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Case Details

Case Code : LDEN012
Themes: Corporate Social Responsibility, Woman Entrepreneurs
Case Length : 11 Pages
Period : 1980-2003
Organization : Shahnaz Husain Herbals
Pub Date : 2003
Teaching Note : Not Available
Countries : India
Industry : Cosmetics and Skin Care

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