Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves India ltd (VLCC)

2. Mrs. Vandana Luthra is the founder of VLCC. • India's best known wellness brand. • Established in 1989, VLCC is currently present across over 315locations in 140 cities and has operations in 11 countries - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and India. • With her nationwide chain taking beauty and fitness to Indians as few others, Mrs. Luthra was among the earliest in contemporary India to realise the potential of the wellness sector.

3. After a degree from Delhi University, Mrs. Luthra did courses in nutrition, cosmetology, beauty care, fitness and skin care in Germany, London and Paris. • She made her entrepreneurial debut in 1989 by opening India's first Transformation Center with weight management programs with cutting-edge skin and hair treatments. • Her VLCC basically aims at providing several services related to beauty and body toning, which includes bleaches, manicures, receding hairline solutions, hair removal, permanent scar confiscation and several other beauty related knick knacks and cosmetics.

4. Having served over a million customers since its inception, VLCC, today, has achieved an iconic status across the world and is India’s largest and most preferred Slimming, Beauty & Health brand. • VLCC Group serves as an umbrella for all its other brands’ VLCC Health Care Ltd., VLCC Personal Care, VLCC Spa, VLCC Institute and The VLCC Foundation. • VLCC Personal Care leverages the group’s strong research capability to manufacture over 100 solution-oriented skin-care, hair-care and body care products retailed through a nation-wide distribution network of over 150 distributors and 10,000 retail outlets. • VLCC Spa offers various luxurious therapy options that are drawn from the wisdom of ancient cultures (from traditional Balinese therapies to blissful Thai massages) and is dedicated to the wellness of the mind, body and soul. • VLCC Institute of Beauty Health and Management is India’s first comprehensive vocational training academy of its kind that offers professional and vocational courses in health, nutrition and management. Affiliated to the prestigious City & Guilds of UK, the Institute offers three broad categories of diploma courses Health & Nutrition / Management.

5. The Wall Street Journal(Interview)

6. Entrepreneurship • ‘To my mind, entrepreneurship is about people, their choices and actions in starting, taking over or running a business, or their involvement in a firm’s strategic decision-making • Entrepreneurs are a heterogeneous group and come from all walks of life. Yet there are certain common characteristics of entrepreneurial behavior, including a readiness to take risk and a taste for independence and self-realization.

7. The Wall Street Journal(Interview) • Vandana Luthra, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur, says attitudes toward women in India haven’t changed in the last decade. Most Indian men, still prefer women to be homemakers. • Ms. Luthra, who has two daughters, took the plunge into business after marrying into a relatively conservative Indian household. In 1989, when her younger daughter was a toddler, she set up a small health and beauty salon in her neighborhood. • This business has become VLCC Healthcare Ltd., with outlets in 16 countries.

8. The Wall Street Journal(Interview) Q. What was the attitude toward women when you first started out as an entrepreneur? People actually looked down on women. They probably thought women had no business being entrepreneurs. But people on the whole felt, ‘Why should women work? They should be at home cooking, cleaning, raising children.’ Q. What challenges did you face in your early days as an entrepreneur? My first challenge was obviously arranging funds. It took very long to convince people, even banks. I didn’t want to start with my father giving money and my husband giving me money. Then, every day was a challenge. From a young bubbly teenager, to a wife, to a mother, to a daughter-in-law, to being a good daughter, you’ve always got to prove a point.

9. Q. Is it tougher for women to set up a business in India? Or are attitudes to women the same worldwide? Definitely more women are working. But if you look at the business class, men still want women staying at home and raising their kids. They are not given enough opportunity to work. Q. What prevents Indian women from starting their own business? The ambition is there, the passion is there, but somewhere they are restricted. I think it could be finance, because they are not able to arrange that kind of money. Or they are scared they are under lot of pressure because of family.

10. Q. What should women do to break the barriers to success? Women should never restrict themselves. They must be grounded and level-headed. It is important to have a balance between the head and the heart. If there is a balance between the home and the workplace, there’s a balance in the head and the heart. And an organization can’t be run completely with the heart, or completely with the head. Q. Is this a quality women have and perhaps men don’t? Women have qualities that men would take a while to adapt to. Men work from their head, while women work more from their heart, and they have a balance. In business, that balance is important.

11. THANK YOU…  http://www.vlccwellness.com/India/