Meet Harneet & Kokil – The two sisters behind Dream Catcher business

Gone are those days when women were taken for granted and less powerful than men. However, the women of the modern generation have crossed all the barriers. The country is blessed with some of the famous women entrepreneurs. Today, we would be interacting with two such female entrepreneurs – Harneet and Kokil. Both run a joint business through their official Instagram account named ” Paper n Thread “, which is meant exclusively for handcrafted products such as Dream Catchers, posters, picture frames and many more. The products that they sell are prepared using ‘papers and threads’.

Both the sisters are young and dynamic, who are completely devoted to their work. Harneet, who was always obsessed with art and crafts, however her corporate life kept her busy in the beginning. Having said that she tried to balance both her professional life as well as her hobbies. While Koklil is pursuing CA (Chartered Accountant) and she thought to help her sister, with financial work as well as social media promotions of their business.

Also Read: An exclusive interview with a creative doodler – Ms. Gurmeet Kaur

As per Harneet, right now Instagram is the only thing which had inspired her the most. She said “the secret of their success behind the businesses is Instagram where they can showcase their talent”. The main reason behind making the eye-catchy dream catcher is its positive vibes which add colors to the lives.

The most used elements in making such beautiful dream catchers are papers as well as threads. Hence, they decided to name their official Instagram Business Account Paper n Thread. 

When we asked them about the marketing technique of a micro-industry, they said that there are lots of marketing techniques. They can let their family know about their start-up business through social media promotions. It can also be in the form of paid online ads where they can reach their potential customers.

Managing official social media account is the primary thing for any successful business they said. However, they do not have many followers right now, so it’s very easy to get in touch with them whenever any customer tries to reach them out. They always make sure to share the high-quality pictures of their products in their Instagram handle. High-quality photos attract the customers and they focus more on this strategy.

Unlike other businesses, they do not have many haters but in case they get any negative comments they always take it positively and improve those because customer satisfaction is the only thing for any successful business. There are lots of future plans for their business but unfortunately, they didn’t reveal as of now.

When we asked them about the best adventure of their business, they said about their very first bulk order which they got. Not only this but also they expressed their happiness when they successfully completed the entire order in just two days along with their full-time office work. We were surprised when we came to know-how within just two sleepless nights they completed the entire order and shipped them. How cool is that!

They didn’t tell us whether they will be quitting their full time job in the near future but they just gave a hint that whenever they reached their milestone they are planning to quit their corporate job and will completely focus on their start-up business. Having said that they are also planning to launch their website after introducing the bulk of products.

Both the sisters are working hard and they are smartly managing both their office works as well as their business. They spend many sleepless nights just for managing their business efficiently. The good thing about them is they are getting immense support from their family and friends which really motivates them to work even more harder. They also appreciated our support during our interview by saying, “Suan you are one of them and we can’t thank you enough.”

 They also have some plans to do something good for the environment and animals after getting success in their start-up business. Nature is very close to them they will be really happy to contribute something for it. Not only this but they also want to let other women from rural areas earn some money with the help of crafting. Women empowerment is what they are focusing on.

When we asked them about the five facts of their lives, they said both of them are very closed to each other. They do not love to spend much time on smart devices by watching Netflix. Instead, they feel like spending those times doing more productive things. Harneet is a travel lover and she just wants to explore new places. On the other hand, the younger sister is an introvert and would love to spend her quality time at home. Both of them are so close that they got matching tattoos. The fifth fact about them is that they are chai lovers.

To our readers, they just want to convey a message about the importance of nature. We need to contribute as much as we can for the environment. Everything is not yet vanished if we start working for our nature from now on, everything will be in favor of us. Also, we need to stop using plastic and save ourselves from environmental degradation. Recycling is the thing we can do to save the nature.

Both the sisters gave us a strong message. They are the inspirations for today’s generation on how they are successfully managing their business life as well as professional life. And at the same time, they are also thinking to work for the environment. We hope both of them get more success very soon because hard work never goes in vain.

Read the original copy of the email Interview

What inspired you to start this business?

Like everyone else, we too wanted to do something of our own – Together. Harneet was always into arts and crafts. But eventually, she went into the corporate world. When she needed a break from the monotonous chain, she found her old companion again and a week into it, she knew this is what she wants to do. She tries to maintain a balance between her passion and her professional life. Kokil, pursuing CA, likes to manage stuff and thought it would be awesome to help her sister manage financial stuff and social media work.

Who has been your inspiration throughout this journey?

Instagram. Lol. But in a way it’s true. If you don’t get intimidated by the pressure of social media, you can find a whole different world there. Each and every artist we came to know on Instagram are full of inspiration. It has proved to be an amazing path for us.

How did you come up with the name Paper n Thread?

We were juggling with the name of the stuff we make and products used. In the end, the two most used products by us were Paper and Thread. So that’s how it came to Paper n Thread. It has got a holding towards it. It doesn’t feel forced. It just goes. ?

Do you believe in the aura of a dreamcatcher?

We believe in the positivity of it. The process of making it gives us such positive vibes it’s hard to explain. It’s true that wherever it is hanging it brings a sense of happiness and positivity. The beauty and the colors add to the aura of it.

How important is marketing for a micro-industry like this?

It’s very important. Everything for the micro-industry depends on promotion. It doesn’t matter what kind of promotion. It can be either through friends or family or via social media, it’s just very important. If the promotion is done right and if the product reaches to the interested customers, then it’s very good for the business.

How do you manage your social media platform?

We try to post regularly and we reply to everyone. It’s easy right now as we don’t have many followers but we try to personally reply to whoever is interested. Also, we share the posts and stories through our personal accounts as well for spreading it even further. In addition to this, we are very specific towards the quality of the pictures which we are posting. We really put a lot towards making the picture look adorable.

Do you get negative comments? How do you manage them?

Thankfully by God’s grace, we have been lucky enough to not receive any negative comments till now. In the future, if we get any negative review, we will take it as feedback and will definitely try to improve ourselves. It’s easy to feel bad for what someone is saying but we really hope that we can understand the requirement and work towards it.

Do you have any plans to expand in other art and hobby areas?

Yeah. We won’t tell here much but we have new products in the pipeline which will be introduced shortly. So, stay tuned. ?

What has been the best moment in this adventure?

Oh, this happened recently. We got our first bulk order. And we completed the entire order in 2 days with full-time office, which means just 2 nights for all the work. It was unbelievable but we did it and shipped it on time. This was our best moment yet.

Given a chance will you quit your full-time job to pursue this idea?

Haven’t thought about it yet but let’s see. It’s a long way for us to go. When and if we reach that position where we have this choice, we would love to give our full attention to Paper n Thread.

Do you have any plan to start a website and expand your visibility online

Of course. Once we introduce more products and click some kickass pics of them we will launch our website and will be overtaking the damn internet. (We know we know. We like to exaggerate. :P)

How do you manage your time doing this and your full-time job?

Oh, it’s very difficult. Not exaggerating really. There have been many sleepless nights and some crazy dark circles. But on the bright side, we get immense support from our family which makes it manageable. Also, it’s the passion that drives us because this is something we love with all our heart.

Do you get any supports from your family and friends? 

Yes. It’s because of them only that we are growing and working with all that we have. Their support means everything to us and we are so grateful that we are blessed with such amazing family and friends. (and Suan you are one of them and we can’t thank you enough). It’s so cute that few of our very first orders were by our friends only.

What will you do if you are successful in securing this start-up?

We would love to work for the betterment of Environment and a better living of animals. These two things are close to our heart and we would like to contribute towards it. Also, we would like to involve underprivileged women from small villages into our crafting so that they can earn for themselves and hopefully live a better life.

Could you tell us 5 fun facts about you?

In a nutshell, for that answer, we both sisters are Potter’s heads. We don’t belong to the Netflix and chill category because we hardly have time for that, so what we do it, we Netflix and Curate. {Wink Wink}. Third, the elder sister has got a Travel bug, she just can’t sit at home and the younger one avoids traveling until it’s super necessary, she likes it cozy at home. We both got matching tattoos. Last, we both are super Tea lovers. Chai is bae.

Do you have anything to say/advice for our readers?

Yes. Environment. We need to do our bit towards it. We have to understand that climate change is real. Some people might say that now nothing can be done about it, the saving phase is over and so on but guys do we give up before Dhoni is out? No. Then we should realize that everything is not lost and we can still do loads. We just need to start checking our behavior or nature might do it for us and we look into history, it won’t be in our favor for sure. So let’s change our ways while there is still time. We ourselves try to avoid plastic as far as possible and try to reuse and recycle stuff. Let’s do this, guys!

We would like to credit Geetali & Nidhi in helping us to draft the Interviewed questionnaire.