International Friendships in Business

Our founder and Managing Member Mia Scofield writes about her relationship with our primary factory owner, Sara.

Someone asked me once, “Who do I talk on the phone and email the most?”  The answer is Sara.  She is one of my partnersin India.  On the calls and emails, we are creating bags together.  We also chat like old friends.

She and I will always make business decisions from a business point of view. But, there is something there that has nothing to do with business. 

I met Sara at a trade show; we each had a booth.  We talked about how we both had two daughters about the same ages. Later we would learn that we were born in the same year. 

After that introduction, Sara invited me to India to see the factory she was starting up with her friend.  I was in my late 40’s looking for some new challenges.  I accepted her invitation.  That was over 14 years ago.

I remember one time early on when we were bumping down a dirt road at dusk in her little car slowly moving around cows on the road. Women in many-colored saris were finishing up their shopping from street vendors.  I  thought, “What am I doing here?  I am a grandmother!”  But, Sara made me feel safe.  We hit it off and we were creating something together.  We were friends having a good time.  Grandmothers can have adventures too.

When I call Sara on the phone and she often says, “I was just thinking of you”.  It is an amazing world.  Sara is exactly on the other side of it.  But, we can chat like we are in the same room. 

Sara is hardworking and driven; a single mother with an adult daughter with intellectual challenges.  That is part of what drives her. 

Sara is creative; she dreams handbag designs.

Sara is funny and kind.  She is meticulous about the quality of the bags her factory produces.  She considers the factory workers her family.  She is a person I am proud to work with on creating bags.  I am lucky to have a friend like Sara.

- Mia Scofield