This Entrepreneur From Tura Started Her Own Multi-Store Startup Offering Amazing Wedding Décor & Flowers For Events

Baishali ThapaJanuary 11, 2022

Chonkame R Marak, a forest officer turned entrepreneur is now a full-time event planner and a florist. Having a keen interest in wedding decors and planning events, she started her multi-store startup, where she provides flower decors ranging from bridal bouquets to everyday bouquets.

Since Tura is a small town with limited resources for good event decors, Chonkame decided to start City Flora to meet the décor needs for the events that took place in the town.

Our business mainly offered only bouquets and basket flowers until people started approaching me for wedding stage decorations so turns out when I was helping with stage décor I realized there were very limited items given by tent house to do decent stage decoration, after much thought I started making my own decorations items and started renting out. Chonkame R Marak

In her entrepreneurial journey, she came across many challenges, one of which was making people understand the concept of wedding planning and event rentals. Since, these concepts were new to the people, handling rentals and the repairing costs were difficult to manage. 

However, with sheer determination and passion to try something new, Chonkame, gradually made her way as an event planner.

Proudly to say almost all the weddings that happened thereafter started renting out my rentals and taking us for wedding decorations that drove me to do better and made my visions much more clear that this is my passion and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.. to be an event planner. And since I’ve always been a florist at heart, my arranged flowers are widely used for all local events and dried flowers are being ordered from different parts of India. She added

As Chonkame’s business started getting recognition, she started mapping out certain plans. She wishes to expand her floral cum rental shop to at least two districts within two years timeline in Meghalaya. She also wants to expand her business outside Meghalaya and open a separate branch for dried flowers

As a last message to the future entrepreneurs, Chonkame said,

The best gift you can give to yourself is self-confidence. Self-doubts have killed zillions of inventions that could have made the world a better place to live in.

I quit my job as a forest officer because I had a dream and passion to be an event planner and a florist and I had the confidence to let go of a secure job and pursue my passion, the joy of working for what you love hits you differently! Every sweat, every sleepless night pays off.. you just need to trust yourself and work hard, I mean work really really hard and don’t give up!