Three Home Sellers on Moving Off WhatsApp: What Changed for Them
From a group chat to a storefront, in their own words.
Almost every home food or craft business starts the same way: a phone, a WhatsApp group and a few neighbours who like what you make. It works, until it doesn't. We asked three MyPadosi sellers what it was like on the other side of that. These are their own words, shared with us, not a case study with numbers.
Aakarshika: a lawyer who cooks
Aakarshika is a lawyer and a home chef. MyPadosi's video about her describes how she turned her passion for cooking into a business, found that managing it all on WhatsApp was a hassle, and now manages orders, payments and deliveries in one place with the app. You can watch her story on YouTube.
Priya Sharma: the menu that lived in WhatsApp
I went from struggling with WhatsApp orders to having a professional online store. The Smart Menu Importer helped me convert my WhatsApp menu to a professional online store in minutes.
— Priya Sharma, Home Baker, Kanakapura Road
Sakshi: restarting a hobby after moving cities
I wanted to restart but couldn't find the right platform to connect with local buyers. Then I found MyPadosi and setting up my store was a breeze. I could finally showcase my creations to people in my apartment and nearby communities.
— Sakshi, Craft Creator, Electronic City
What you can take from their stories
- Keep your menu in one place. Priya's problem was a menu that lived inside chats; a single current menu is the first thing a storefront fixes. We explain the limits of group chats in why WhatsApp groups are bad for selling homemade food.
- Let buyers discover you without a forward. Sakshi wanted to reach people in her apartment and nearby communities, not only the people already in a chat.
- Put orders, payments and deliveries in one place. That was Aakarshika's change, and it frees time for the cooking itself.
If you are ready to try it, you can start a store on MyPadosi for free.
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Keep reading
- MyPadosi vs WhatsApp vs NoBrokerHood for Selling Homemade Food
WhatsApp is free and familiar. NoBrokerHood, ADDA and MyGate already sit in your society. MyPadosi is built for home sellers. Here is where each one fits and where it stops.
- Why WhatsApp Groups Are Bad for Selling Homemade Food (and What to Use Instead)
In 2018, a woman in a Mumbai apartment complex started a WhatsApp group to help her neighbors buy and sell each other's home cooking. It worked so well the idea spread across India. Here's what happens after it outgrows the group chat.
- How to Price Homemade Food and Bakes in India: A Cost-Plus Worked Example
Most home sellers underprice because they forget their own time and the costs that never show up on a grocery bill. Here's a simple formula and a worked example.