Small Business Spotlight: Bunny Winks

During this time (and always!) it is so important to support local and the small business in our communities. Plus it’s great for the economy too! We are constantly inspired by the ambition and resilience of small business founders. We feel that the risks that they take lead to innovation and help in moving the world forward.

Inspired by these entrepreneurs and their stories, we recently chatted with Sanaa Fareed Shah – owner of Bunny Winks, about being an entrepreneur, running a small business while also running a family, and how she’s adapted to the changes that Covid-19 has brought to her business.

What is your business about and why did you start it?

Bunny winks is an event planning company that focuses predominantly on children’s parties. We offer furniture rental for kids, as well as complete theme based setups done from design to execution.

I have two small kids and when I wanted to organize their birthdays, I felt that while there were many event planners around, all were very pricey. There was hardly anyone who would organize a party at an affordable price. That’s how Bunny Winks started.

What do you love about your business?

Since I was a little girl I remember looking forward to my birthday months in advance (I still do). My parents always made my day super special. They put in a lot of effort into designing and executing everything on their own, making my birthdays some of my most precious childhood memories. I have tried to uphold that tradition of building memories for my own kids and I love how with Bunny Winks, I can now make that happen for so many other families also.

How do you manage your time between running a business and a family?

I have two little ones aged 6 & 7. I realize how important these formative years are for them. So, I tend to schedule all the preparatory work for my parties around my kids school hours. This way I can ensure that I can give them my complete attention when I am with them. May it be designing custom art work, driving around town looking for that perfect object to complement the setup or the right color for the theme, I will try to do it while my kids are either at school or asleep. But honestly none of this would be possible without the support of my very understanding husband, who happily shares the burden and puts up with my odd hours ?

How has Covid-19 affected your business and how have you adapted?

Since my business is all about people getting together, it was pretty badly hit by Covid. I’d say the event planning industry on the whole has been deeply impacted. There have been so many months in lockdown with a complete shutdown of business. Even now with the lockdown lifted, life still hasn’t returned to normal. Gatherings are still far and few and limited to very small groups.

On my part, I have introduced new packages to cater for smaller gatherings. I have also reduced prices on all my offerings as I realize that everyone has taken a financial hit in the last year and deserves a little break.

Any piece of advice to other small businesses owners or anyone wanting to start their own business?

For anyone wanting to start their own business, I’d suggest look at your own life and come up with a list of things that you would be willing to pay for but either no one is currently offering in the market or if it is being offered in the market it’s not very affordable. Do an informal survey within your own social circle and figure out which of those ideas are most needed in the market and take it from there.

Be sure to check out Bunny Winks on Instagram for more information!

 

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