At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the World to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited B Shaheen for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Educator, Coach, Mentor and Change Enabler. She is the Founder and CEO at Skill2Earn. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with her:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I come from a very humble background and spent my entire schooling and college years in Anantapur. As a girl from a small town, I had many aspirations and dreams, and after completing my education, I moved to a metro city in search of my dreams because Anantapur offered me no opportunities or resources.
I was so enthralled by the city lifestyle that I entirely forgot why I had come. After a while, I recognised I wasn’t destined for what I was searching, aspiring, or dreaming for.”
But I have no idea what my life’s purpose is or what is seeking for me I was just wandering around mentally, reading every self-help book I could find in an attempt to clear up my perplexity.
Those are my most struggling years. I came home and locked myself away from social areas for a few years because I was afraid of being judged (although that didn’t stop others from judging me LOL). Also, I have no desire to return to a standard corporate job that saps your vitality to perform a repetitive task. I was just trying to figure out what else I could do.
My focus shifted to entrepreneurship, and I worked on a few ideas. Fortunately, I discovered the Atal Incubation Centre in SKU, where I had studied, and they assisted me in bringing those ideas to life, and that’s how I founded BlueBoon Pvt Ltd and the Skill2Earn venture, and I became an entrepreneur by choice.”
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
After education, I had two options in front of me-corporate jobs and preparing for civil.As I earlier said I was nit interested in a corporate job,I was forced to take coaching for civil/Upsc, because my family believes that it will give you the name ,fame,security and it will set my life.
As a result I prepared for civil for 3 years in Hyderabad and got through the prelims 2 times.
That’s when I realized it’s not my purpose
‘Skill2Earn’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
Skill2Earn, as the name resonates, is poised to provide upskilling courses in non-academic fields to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for all globally. What led me to this business idea was my own struggle to find an opportunity in a Tier3 city.
In small towns with meagre financial resources, people find it hard to make themselves employable. They don’t have options to skill themselves to create opportunities. That’s when I thought of solving this issue. Skill2Earn is an EdTech platform providing hundreds of non-academic skill-based courses, to help individuals up their skills based on their self-interest and passions and make that as a key differentiator to become employable or start their own business.
We are furthering the cause of micro-entrepreneurship and self-employment through our platform courses. Now anyone can skill up and create their desired career path through our platform.”
What does your company specialize in?
Skill2Earn is an EdTech platform providing thousands of non-academic skill-based courses, to help individuals up their skills based on their self-interest and passions and make that as a key differentiator to becoming employable or starting their own business.
We are furthering the cause of micro-entrepreneurship and self-employment through our platform courses.
The platform is based on a freemium model wherein the basic courses will be offered for free and the advanced courses, certifications, diplomas and degrees at a fee.”
Now anyone can skill up and create their desired career path through our platform
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
A lockdown was declared shortly after the company was incorporated. Nothing was ready at the moment, but it was an opportunity for me to reach out to professionals as well as others who wanted to learn new skills.
I’ve done Instagram sessions with people from various professional backgrounds to learn about career options in non-academic industries, as well as Zoom sessions on various skills to gauge customer interest.
That phase has been a great learning experience for me because it has provided me with a lot of information that will help me incorporate many things into that platform that will benefit the customer, one of which is professional consultancy.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Everyone’s life is filled with challenges; if you aren’t challenged, your life is linear. My difficulties are in the areas where I am operating from such as resources, and Funds.
I believe that with the appropriate mindset and commitment to adding value to others around you, problems may be turned into opportunities.
You won’t gain the same level of confidence and satisfaction after overcoming a difficulty, no matter how much money you spend or how much money you earn. This gives you the motivation to keep going and accomplish more.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Leaders must be able to listen in order to respond rather than react.
Only when one has followers can one become a leader, and the first lone nut is the one who creates the leader; if he or she does not believe and follow, one cannot become a leader.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
No matter what it takes, No matter what it looks like, Show up every day and use everything you have first.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
> Empathy
> Adaptability
> Responsibility
> Self-respect
> Gratitude
What are the most important lessons you have learned while building your startup?
– Learning and growing in the process
– Taking actions Change is inevitable
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
(1) Choosing what works for you, for your business, and your career
(2) Constantly learning and growing
(3) Consistency
(4) Optimism
(5) Accepting the change
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
The world has a lot to offer; just don’t have the conventional job-seeking mindset; instead, become a job creator or employer.
Everyone is unique; assess your unique set of abilities and use them to your advantage.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
