Creating LittBag: CEO Hardeep Melamed’s Steps to Success

This is something we have never done yet on the PurseN blog. However, it was time for you all to hear from our Founder and CEO Hardeep Melamed!

Have you ever felt stuck in trying to make your dreams come true? It could be because you are overwhelmed, or perhaps because someone told you your dreams are impossible. Don’t let it stop you. Hardeep discusses the 3 most important things to remember while working to make your dreams come true, and relates them to her experiences of reinventing her original handbag organizer this year, and creating our Litt Bag coming soon.

Establishing the Destination

Once you finally get where you need to be to start making things happen, take a moment to breathe and believe in yourself.

It's amazing, really amazing. We began this journey almost 10 years ago. Today, I landed in Shanghai and thought to myself, "I am going to create 1000 handbag organizers..."

"Am I crazy?!" 

Traveling to the factory where they will be made, not knowing who I'm supposed to meet, I remember the chance meeting of how this came about. A brief invitation to visit a factory from a stranger and I am on my way to the Chinese factory where these handbag organizers will be produced. "Why in the world am I doing this? Do I know what I am doing?"

I get off the plane and still do not remember who I am supposed to meet. But I hear a voice deep inside saying "This is it!" In that moment I knew this was the beginning of LittBag, and I was all in.

 "A dream is created with passion and love."

A Journey on Faith

It is important to not only set a destination, but also listen to your heart along the journey.

On the way to the factory, I asked for a detour to the temple along the side of the road. There, I prayed while I basked in the beauty and calm of this temple. I thought to myself "If I am meant to do this, I know that you will guide me."

I could say that the passion that drives this dream was born out of my father's determination to thrive. As a family, we had to leave our home in Uganda to reside in Canada as refugees. We left with nothing. My father left his business and friends to ensure his family was safe and had every opportunity available to have a bright future. From that, my father began rebuilding that bright future for himself and his family in Canada. 

 I soon followed in his footsteps...creating the PurseN brand from nothing but love & passion.

Determination, Passion & Love

You have to love what you do to be successful. Put 100% into what you’re doing if it is what you really want! 

What inspires me? Solutions to everyday problems. My mind just wonders what can I do to solve that or improve upon that. It's about simplifying lives with innovation, beauty and organization.

I love handbags - the shapes, sizes and colors. We carry handbags as extensions of ourselves - like part of our bodies. To be prepared, everything we could possibly need goes in our handbag. Yet, we only use a handful of these items. After my children were born, the amount of items in my bag grew. I was THAT mom with lipsticks, perfumes, diapers, bottles, and cookies in her handbag! What games, when I needed to find something at the bottom of my bag. It resembled an erupting volcano.

My inspiration for the next big idea came one day watching Oprah as I escaped my Mommy Duties for an hour. That show's topic asked do you have the next big invention? My husband turned to me, "you MUST have an idea?" I laughed but thought "do I?" And I did!

For one year, I woke at 3AM every night and began sketching & sewing, pinning & glueing. I had NO idea what I was doing, but I made it happen. Listening to your intuition in silence, made me present, making my dream happen. I trusted the process.

Never let hurdles stop you from following your dreams. As I travel through China, I've encountered many annoying setbacks, but the LittBag dream still presses on. I am reinventing the PurseN brand as I go. Sample approvals, product design and branding. It's a lot of work, but you know what? Let's make it happen!

 In the comments below, tell us about your dreams and goals! Get out there and make it happen!