F -COMMERCE

Humaira Shams is The Crazy Bag Lady. Usually this would imply that she is a senile old woman who owns multiple cats and beats up passing strangers with a fearsome handbag. Much to the disappointment of our imagination, Humaira is an A-level student, who makes and sells handbags. She is part of a growing number of creative young people who are using Facebook as a platform to sell their goods and services: 'f-businesses' engaging in 'f-commerce'. 

Humaira made her first bag in 2011 as a birthday gift for her sister. “The first time I tried sewing properly, it didn't turn out bad. I liked the process. I kept making more until I started getting better and friends suggested I should start selling them.” Starting out with just two or three designs, she steadily turned her hobby into a healthy business. While she had problems with publicity at first, the decision to use Facebook as a marketplace allowed The Crazy Bag Lady to slowly gain her pace. Without the cost of a store or employees, she managed to turn a decent profit, with her sister as co-owner and accountant. Exams keep knocking on her door, and she sometimes suffers a fall in sales by declaring an official hiatus until her exams end. Nonetheless, she has plans to return 'bigger and better', with more helping-hands, whom she calls her 'elves'.

While The Crazy Bag Lady may be unique in employing elves, she is not alone in seeing Facebook as a boon to enterprising young people. Mehedee Zaman Sonnet, a student of BRAC University, started the t-shirt company PuZzLE last September along with four of his friends. Among Bangladeshi f-businesses, t-shirt companies are the most prolific, and Sonnet explains why. Without having to bear the costs of an actual shop, PuZzLE has been able to invest money in producing better quality t-shirts than a comparable traditional store. “Our first preference was quality. If you keep prices low and sell cheap, it might not work all the time. Nowadays people are very conscious about quality and are willing to spend more for good quality.” The formula of better quality products at reasonable prices (on average BDT 350-400) has so far worked well for PuZzle, and it doesn't take them long to sell their stocks. “Facebook is a thriving market of young people, and with more likes, we get more customers.”
Bushra Muhsanat Khan, owner of Bushra's Closet further elaborated on the merits of f-commerce. She opened her clothing store in July 2012 because she wanted to earn some money on her own. “My family wouldn't necessarily allow me to go out and start a business, but with Facebook, I could pursue my ambition nonetheless, while sitting at home. I didn't need to waste time looking for investors or stores, I simply created a page and started selling -- saving huge amounts of time and energy.” She mentioned how Facebook has opened new avenues for those who wouldn't be able to start a business otherwise and has become not only a place of interaction, but also a place for showcasing creativity. “It provides an option for girls like me who would have ended up in a marriage before they could start their own ventures. With Facebook, I no longer have to wait.”

Fifteen-year old Arman Musa is a maestro when it comes to baking cupcakes. His brand, Cupcakes & Co. is a hit when it comes to special occasions and Valentine's Day. “I started baking since I was 10 and by the time I was 14, I began to get inspired by businesses like Silver Lining and Des'ree on Facebook. I got the push from the hit TV series 2 Broke Girls, and here we are now.” While Arman struggles to balance between school hours and growing customers, he dreams of studying at a culinary school and eventually wants to open up his own bakery and restaurant. 
Since none of our f-entrepreneurs own a shop, they each had to decide how they would get their products to the customer. Humaira, Arman and Bushra both arranged for the customers to pick up their wares at their homes, while PuZzLE has a number of delivery points at various locations in the city. Sonnet explains how PuZzLE's future profits could be used to enter into an agreement with a courier service to deliver the shirts for them. “For small businesses, Facebook is a very good platform, since we don't have to spend much on communication and managing people. We only need an active internet connection, and the business thrives."