We recently connected with Kaviya Ravi and have shared our conversation below.

Kaviya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think the most important is to realize that the definition of the word success is different for each and everyone one of us. So define what that looks like to you and work towards it. Remember that you don’t not have to fit into anyones else’s definition.

The second most important is to figure out a way to work smarter and not harder.

And the last to learn from mistakes and never being afraid to start again.

Never ever give up on your ideas or dreams and to be gentle with yourself especially when things do not go according to plan.

Kaviya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an artist, designer, maker and small business owner. Even though I was always drawn to the creative side of things my path was not a straight forward one. My parents pushed me towards a more traditional field and saw anything in the arts as more of a hobby. I became a biochemist and biotechnologist, but I was so unhappy with what I was doing. The pull to work with my hands and create beautiful things was extremely strong. It got so strong that I dropped out of graduate school and enrolled for my BFA. I have not looked back since.

I own an online shop called Khromophilia, where our motto is “Unapologetically Colorful”. Right now we mostly sell jewelry, hair accessories and a small assortment of home goods for all the fellow color loving humans out there. Eventually we would like to grow into a life style brand, a one stop shop for all things colorful and fun.

Khromophilia is a 2 person 1 pup team. Everything we carry is designed and made in our little studio in Louisville. Every single thing in our store goes through our hands and they are all made with a lot of love, passion and dreams. We have also been doing craft markets for the past 1 1/2 years around the midwest region and we are always the most colorful booth around. We love to see peoples faces light up when they see our quirky wares. Everything has a story and all we want to do is create art and product that brings a smile to someones face.

In a world where neutral is king, we are trying to carve a little place for ourself. We are on a mission to add as much color as we can to this wonderful world.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I always wanted to own a business and work for myself. But I also was very risk averse and liked the idea of a steady pay check. I was selling weavings, custom art installation for homes and business and jewelry as a side hustle. It was an outlet from my full time job working for Anthropologie.Even though I had a little voice in my head asking me to start a business, I did not have the confidence to do so. I tried quitting my job multiple times but i always ended up going back after a few week. In 2020 two things happened that changed everything. First the pandemic, shut downs happened the next day after I put in my notice for the final time and I no longer had a job to go back too. Second, I was cast on a TV show called “Making It”, on NBC hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. There is nothing like being thrust in front of a camera with all your vulnerabilities for millions to see. It boost my confidence and When I came back home from the show I realized that I was no longer afraid to invest in myself. Even though I had registered my LLC 3 years prior, 2020 was the year that Khromophilia was truly born. It is everything I thought it was going to be and more. We have been able to steadily double our sales every year. So many mistakes have been made and we have learnt and gotten better from every single one of them. Yes my paycheck varies from month to month but the pleasure of getting to work for myself outweighs it by a lot. I feel truly honored and privileged to nourish and grow this brand . It is such pleasure to see it flourish with success, failure and everything in between.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

In our case one of the most important aspect has been to understand that our offering is niche and it is not for everyone.But there are also a lot of people out there that relate to your aesthetics and message Understanding that is so prudent and that helps you to tailor a way for your products and services to reach them. One example for our business has been Craft shows. We are picky about the ones we apply to and choosing the right markets brings to us a clientele that already appreciates everything hand made, something a little different and quirky from what is out there. It also gives us an opportunity to make genuine one on one connections which then has translated into traffic to our online store. Build a business around what brings you the joy and then share it with the world. Remain consistent with you message, branding and social media and your people will find you. This may take a little time, so it is important especially in the initial months to not give up and keep showing up every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khromophila.com
• Instagram: @khromophilia
• Facebook: khromophilia
• Twitter: @khromophilia

Image Credits
Leslie Rodriguez Photography ( Photo of me with chair and photo with baskets) Rest is me.