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 Kamal Patel for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Soft Skills and Etiquette Trainer, Parenting Coach and Founder Director of Stepping Stones Solutions. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Kamal:
Can you tell us something about your background and your journey?
After completing my post-graduation in Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, I had a five-year stint abroad in the US and Doha. I returned to India with a six-month-old baby and established one of the first stand-alone preschools in Vadodara in 1984.
As founder-principal of Stepping Stones Preschool, I was an early educator for over thirty-six years. During this time, in the year 2000, I pivoted very naturally to becoming a parenting coach and a child behaviour guide.
My role as a parenting coach involves conducting workshops for small & large groups. I also offer individual counselling sessions to parents. Since 2005, I have been a freelance soft skills trainer & have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with several prestigious corporate and educational institutions. I am now the Founder Director of the platform, Stepping Stones Solutions.
How did you discover your passion?
It would be fair to say that my passion discovered me. When I returned to India with my baby daughter, I was looking to explore avenues that would allow me to work part-time and have a flexible schedule.
One thing became clear that I had to be self-employed. I also did not want to take on the liability of a huge investment and long-time commitment. I realised that my city did not have any stand-alone preschools and all the research was pointing towards the benefits of early brain enrichment and exposure.
So the decision was made to offer quality early education. It was the best decision I ever made because it kept me happy, fulfilled, and relevant for over three decades. It offered me ever-increasing returns in terms of work-satisfaction and the ability to positively impact parents and children.
In 2005, when I diversified into the field of soft skills and etiquette training, it was as if I had come home. This was an area that was an intrinsic part of my core personality. It allowed me to play to my strengths and I have never looked back. It is a privilege and joy to influence and enrich students and professionals alike.
What is your vision for your platform Stepping Stones Solutions?
Through our soft skills and etiquette sessions, we aspire to equip professionals and students with the skills and confidence required to achieve personal growth and success. We strive to give them the tools needed to behave appropriately with people and situations transcending cultural and other barriers.
Through personalized parenting skills consultations and workshops, we aim to positively impact numerous young parents, helping them develop effective parenting practices, and make informed decisions concerning their children.
Can you walk us through the services you offer on your platform Stepping Stones Solutions?
Stepping Stones Solutions is a platform that provides the following services:
> Parenting Skills Coaching
> Soft Skills & Etiquette Training for Teachers, Students and Professionals.
> Content Writing and Editing
The key areas covered under soft skills training are:
– Communication Skills Training.
– Business and Social Etiquette Training.
– Personality Development and Grooming.
– English Language Enrichment.
What are the most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Life has taught me three important lessons:
1) Be ethical and honest – In my experience, these two qualities allow you to navigate life easily and successfully, with minimum stress.
It helps forge long-lasting, healthy relationships based on mutual trust.
2) Always respect deadlines and deliver. This has to hold good at both a professional level and at a personal level.
3) When someone behaves badly, do not take it personally. Recognise that it is their problem. You can’t reciprocate the bad behaviour because if you are a decent person, it will stress you out and you will not be able to live with yourself.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
My mantra for success is Quality! Consistency! Reliability!
No matter what you offer, if people can depend on the quality, count on the consistency and bank on your reliability, they will look no further.
The other important ingredient is to be able take constructive feedback on board and accept, reflect and make a course correction if required.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
To anyone who is starting out and wants to be successful, I will say, you first have to figure out what your idea of success is. Success can be measured in tangibles as well as intangibles. So figure out what your priority is.
For example, when I ran the school, I measured my success in terms of how well my kids progressed, how satisfied their parents were, the goodwill I generated and the immense satisfaction and joy I got from what I was doing.
Money was a factor but it was not THE defining yardstick for my success.
The second cornerstone is to believe in yourself and play to your strengths.
The third key is to constantly be open to upscaling and upgrading your skills.
What makes your journey so satisfying?
The love, respect and appreciation that I receive constantly and consistently is my biggest reward. I am grateful for the faith and confidence reposed in me by parents, corporates and institutions like Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya (NVV), Navrachana Higher Secondary School (NHSS), Cygnus World School, Harni, Navrachana International School Vadodara (NISV), D. R. Amin School, Vadodara, and Mayoor Private School (MPS), Abudhabi, Navrachana University, Navrachana International School, Air Hostess Academy, Inner I Consultants, and Infuse Management Consultants
My journey as an early educator, parenting coach, and soft skills trainer has allowed me to directly touch and impact so many lives that I am thankful that the path chose me.
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.
