As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from India and around the world, we invited Koyel Duttagupta for an interview with us to understand more about her inspiring entrepreneurial journey so far. She is an Entrepreneur, Trainer, Mentor, Communication Coach, and Founder of ‘Communication Horizon. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, her background and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Koyel:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please.
Born and bred in Kolkata, I completed my schooling from Bidya Bharati Girls’ High School and did my graduation from the prestigious Loreto College with Political Science Honors. My post-graduation is in Mass Communication from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
I have been very close to Communication as a subject and always had a keen interest to write and express myself.
I have written article pieces for Education Times and was a part of scriptwriting assignments in my college’s dramatic society and have written quite a few film reviews for Spectralhues.com.
When I got into the corporate world, I have been involved in content writing, content creation and content management. I have around 15 years plus experience working with giants in the field of Insurance, Supply Chain Management and lately Banking.”
What made you passionate about ‘Training’?
Being in the corporate world, I have been involved as a project trainer for various projects. So, training comes quite naturally to me. When a global pandemic hit us in 2020, I felt the need to do something of my own. Helping others with my knowledge and implementing my own creativity, was a clear call for me.
Based on this thought, I took a ‘leap of faith’, left my job and started taking training sessions under various industry stalwarts to understand this entire world of digital business setup.”
In the process, I understood how entrepreneurs like me are helping so many others to gain practical knowledge about concepts which are not taught in schools and colleges.
I believe we all are capable of making any change we desire for ourselves. Through my training, I understood my niche will be Communication and this skill set of supreme importance needs to be understood by all, without which the world can never become a desirable place to live in.
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‘Communication Horizon’ is such a unique name; let us know more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving.
Since my niche is Communication, I knew my brand name needs to have the word ‘Communication’. But for the next term, I had to do some research because TradeMark issues are also quite sensitive.
So, I zeroed down on the word Horizon because it means a line where both earth’s surface and sky meet.”
Communication Horizon depicts a zone or a space where a solution related to communication is available for anyone who wants to gain the knowledge needed to understand such concepts and implement this knowledge to practice.
When I understood my niche is Communication, I knew I have to bring those aspects of communication for my audience which they face in day to day life and that can be both within their families and also at their workplace. Hence, I thought of first starting working on creating online courses for personal communication and business communication.
In both these courses, complex concepts will be explained in a simple way with examples and loads of exercises to practice. My brand has also created 3 e-books on Public Speaking, Blog writing and Content Writing. These are mini-guides which can help any individual to start creating content or speak on any topic from the word go!
Communication Horizon will be coming up with many dynamic courses which are essential for the changing environment in every field to exist.
Please share with us, why is Communication Horizon different from other consulting services?
Communication Horizon is gaining visibility for mainly three reasons – clarity, confidence-building and customization. These three are the founding principles of Communication Horizon.
As a consulting service which caters to one on one consultation, group coaching and keynote speaker believes that communication is essential for everyone. So, clarity of concepts, confidence building to express and articulate thoughts and customization makes it stand out in the crowd.”
Communication Horizon wants to associate with individuals who want to improve their personalities as confident communicators and take strides to achieve their goals through their own capabilities.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Being a working mom and now an entrepreneur, life is not smooth sailing. Plus, online schools have made everyday life very difficult for mothers especially. Plus I have two rescued dogs Rockso and Goldie in the bandwagon! Phew!
So, you can imagine with a 7-year-old daughter and 2 dogs and all the household work, running a business is definitely not an easy task.”
My husband is really supportive and does his best to keep my life sorted. Plus my family gives importance to my work and that is what makes the whole difference.
My driving force is my vision and the ‘kick’ which I get every morning to make a difference in everyone’s life and moving from known to unknown. Simon Sinek’s bestseller ‘Start with Why’ gave me a lot of clarity in my thoughts and my vision to create my brand and that’s what keeps me going.
What are some of the strategies/habits that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
I will not deny the fact that to grow as an individual in any field, there has to be a change in habits or strategies for him/her.
From an employee to a founder, I have seen quite a lot of changes in myself which I feel has been progressive, healthy and organic.
These are a few of them:
1) Being mindful
2) Having a learner mindset
3) Ability to unlearn and relearn
4) Being consistent
5) Taking full ownership and responsibilities
6) Ability to take calculated risks and venture into unknown territories with proper knowledge
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Growing myself as a personal brand with relevant values and giving space for creating communities.
I prepare myself as my brand Communication horizon to give my best shot at each and every opportunity that comes my way.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
The term ‘Success’ is quite subjective. For Communication Horizon, success will be to set it up as the one-stop solution for any queries related to effective communication and miscommunication and related concepts.
To me, being successful means achieving my goals in a given time period. The key steps to achieve the same are:
(a) Accepting and loving myself
(b) Responsibility for my actions
(c) Consistency in whatever I do
(d) Growing my visibility
(e) Positive Attitude
(f) Building collaborations/networks
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What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
We are already living in a digital world, and times are changing very rapidly. So, it’s essential that we all keep ourselves aware of our surroundings and build up our knowledge accordingly. In whatever field you are, you need to identify the key skills and personality traits required to succeed.
Career decisions require a good understanding and analysis of your personal skills and ambitions. Make informed choices and build a professional life that empowers your lifestyle.
