Shamitha is a new generation entrepreneur who opened a Clothing Boutique, with BYST’s support, just about a year and a half ago. While her foray into entrepreneurship has been recent, when it came to business sense and empathy for her employees, she has shown immense maturity and foresight. This was obvious the way she handled the crisis that erupted in the wake of the pandemic. After the lockdown was announced Shamitha started thinking about how the situation would affect her business and impact her ability to manage the outstanding loans. Being a Clothing Boutique, she felt that the flow of customers will be majorly affected even after the lockdown. Keeping this in mind, she quickly consulted her mentor who advised her to manufacture face masks with the available fabric. She was also connected with Sridevi (BYST Entrepreneur) who was already manufacturing masks. Shamitha started stitching masks using the fabric she had for her garments. These masks are naturally dyed and double-layered making it safe for all age groups to use and are non-allergic since there are no chemical dyes. Another important feature is that the masks are washable and hence, can be reused. She is currently selling the masks to her customers as well as in the neighborhood at the rate of Rs.105 for 3 masks combined. She also realized that her five employees, hailing from West Bengal, were an asset to her and she is obliged to take care of their accommodation & food expenses during the lockdown. In addition, she has also started looking after the needs of her husband’s employees – four of them who work in his salon. Shamitha lives in OMR, Chennai, and started off as a banker with Citi Bank. After about seven years, post her pregnancy, she quit her job. Thereafter, she completed her M.Sc. and M. Phil in Textile Science and Fashion Designing. She joined a Clothing store and her unique designs attracted many regular customers. It was during this period that Shamitha gained confidence in her work and wished to start a garments business of her own. She started her clothing boutique “Almithra” with an initial investment of 5 lakhs in December 2018. Since then she has been provided mentoring support from BYST. Currently, she is using social media platforms such as her Instagram handle (Shamitha_shiboo) to promote her products. Once the lockdown is over, she is planning to alter the business, according to the situation, so that it improves and thrives.