At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of entrepreneurs, investors, management students and aspiring entrepreneurs. This week we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Namita Sayani for an interview with us. She is a leader, coach, speaker, change enabler, trainer and founder of Namita Sayani Image Consulting. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Namita:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey from a Homemaker to an Imagemaker, please;
From a HOMEMAKER to an IMAGEMAKER, I am on a mission to transform lives one home at a time. I am no different from other women who have various roles to play in life as of a daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, mother and a friend. I believe that life is all about learning and I view life as a learning experience.
After graduating in Commerce I wanted to specialise in something which can bring positive change in a person’s life, but then life has different plans for you when you think you have all the control. Born and brought up in Hyderabad, destiny bought me to Chennai.”
After marriage life changes drastically as you adapt to the new role you are into and want to do everything possible for your family and children and eventually your dreams and passions take a back seat. Making life and nurturing your family you make so many sacrifices but everything looks worth it when you see happy faces at home.
There are days when you feel that you are enough and you have done enough but still you feel the void inside you which echoes back that there is more to you and you have it in you to make it big. And so I started giving direction to my passion by becoming an image enhancer and a personal brand coach.
Being a homemaker I can say I have no work experience but life experience. My experience of life comes from the lifestyle I lead and the values I possess. Being from an Indian family, our culture, tradition and values have taught me a lot and that has given me the best life lessons. I believe that there is no age to start a new chapter in once life. As an ambitious and hardworking individual, with my experience from different walks of life, taking a course on Image management was a life-changing experience for me.
I am a very optimistic and passionate person who loves life and aspires to change the lives of people by shaping the way they are perceived. I firmly believe that when you do what you love, you inspire yourself and awaken the hearts of others. I love bringing out the best in others by helping them create a positive first impression and help build their personal brand by visually designing their life. Because your personal brand is what differentiates you from others.
As women and homemakers, we are already image-makers for our home and family. We are stylist and brand managers of our house and children. We have leadership qualities in us, we know how to manage time and delegate our work. So yes, Image Consulting came naturally to me when I first got to know about it.”
I was always aware of how one’s self-image can affect the way they think, feel, act and behave and how others respond or react to them. When you are passionate and have the ambition of making it big the whole universe conspires in making it happen for you. I started to write this new chapter of my life of being an Image Consultant and a Soft Skills Facilitator and I must say there was no looking back.
‘Namita Sayani Image Consulting’ 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 with the help of your startup?
I am a firm believer of this quote “A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Any startup is an idea which starts from a dream and to achieve that dream one needs to nurture it every day with passion, patience and perseverance. As a passionate individual starting an entrepreneurial journey was not an easy decision to make.
As a brand ambassador for my company, Namita Sayani Image Consulting was the right choice as we are known for our personal brand and how we create impact through our services. I am on a mission to transform peoples lives and bring out the best version of them by helping them create a visual impact in whatever profession they are.”
People perceive us and judge us by what meets their eyes. In order to create right first impressions, one needs to work on building their image and personal brand as your image is what stays back when a personal, social and a professional meeting gets over.
In any profession, the key to success is the way you present yourself to the world. If you want people to remember you for the right reasons you need to work on your Appearance, Behaviour, Communication and Digital presence the ABCD of Image management. Anyone can walk out of the door looking great, but the trick is to know how to put the right pieces together.
At Namita Sayani Image Consulting we guide you to discover your right image by providing individual solutions as there is no one size fit all approach. Each individual is unique and has their own set of values, beliefs and attributes which make them what they are. As an Image Consultant, we offer to customise solutions on how to project authentic, appropriate, attractive and affordable image for various roles, goals and occasions.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
It’s not easy to manage everything on our own however as women we are multitaskers and we know how to balance our life and juggle things. There’s a quote I love: “It’s hard to score if you don’t know where the goal is”. You need to have a goal plan and aim to achieve that goal in a time frame.
Many people think they are productive by doing a lot of things in a day striking off the to-do list but still reach nowhere. The trick here is to plan your day in such a way that you are reaching towards your goal even if it looks like a small step. Eventually one day you will make it there.”
My passion towards my profession drives me to give my best in whatever I do. My mission of transforming peoples lives keeps me motivated in spite of the challenges that come my way.
When you are self-motivated you don’t need any external factor to keep you going. Of course, there are times when you feel that everything is falling apart, that’s when you need to remind yourself that nothing comes easy and you need to dress up, show up but never give up.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Successful leaders have an edge over others as they try to work on their strengths rather than weakness. Long before you become a leader, you must look, act, behave and communicate like a leader. You might have all the hard skills that you learnt by educating yourself but it might not be enough to get you a job or get you a promotion or get you on top of your game.
A handful of leadership traits might come naturally to you but you will have to keep upgrading yourself by learning the soft skills which will help you to reach where you can be seen as a successful leader. They are the role models for people who follow them and know how to lead from the front. They are known for their work and not for what they are. They inspire, motivate and instils a genuine sense of mission and purpose. Leaders are great communicators and know the importance of team building. A successful leader believes in his or her ability to take charge of the situation when needed and provides a solution for the problem rather than pointing at the problem itself.
In your opinion what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
An idea without a plan is just a dream. If you have a great idea you need to execute it with a master plan in mind. Your idea may be very good but if you fail to execute, don’t have a team set, have not worked on the process, don’t have a vision and a mission then you need to be worried about your startup.
In my opinion, it should be a mix of both. You just cannot go ahead with an idea jotted down on a piece of paper without like-minded people working on it.”
Any business or a project to be successful you need to have clarity in mind and a great team behind that idea which is capable of managing your startup. Your startup business is nothing if you don’t have an outstanding team to put your ideas into action. Having the right team in place is considered an asset for your business and it is something that shouldn’t be overlooked at any time.
While the entrepreneur may have big dreams, it is ultimately the team that help him or her to realise the goals. Many businesses fail to grow and realise their goals because they simply lack the right people and the strong team in place to achieve this. How well and soon you are able to progress and achieve the milestones along the way is dependent on the quality of the team – their knowledge, skills, competence, attitude and aptitude.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
My business mantra is don’t wait for the opportunities, create them. When you get that opportunity grab it and work towards it. You need to be ever ready to take that risk and try to give your best. You have to create a brand for yourself.
Be busy in building your brand which will help you get the opportunities to knock on your door. Work with passion in your heart and deliver with love. You need to believe in yourself and your abilities to make it large. Any business has to go through a lot of ups and downs before it becomes successful and the one who learns from their mistakes and takes charge of them writes its own story of success.
Albert Einstein is a well-known scientist and extraordinary genius personality known by almost all of us all over the world due to his great inventions and contributions towards science. He quoted that success is a failure in progress and someone who has never failed cannot truly be a successful person.”
When I started my journey as an entrepreneur I was not aware of the struggles and challenges I would be facing initially. Creating awareness about what Namita Sayani Image consulting is all about was not that easy. However, I have evolved as a person and have learnt that to be successful one needs to always look ahead and walk towards the path of achieving their goals.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
When passion meets work, work doesn’t seem like work, it becomes fun. Creating a positive atmosphere in the workplace goes a long way toward building better relationships, encouraging creativity, and boosting productivity.
There is a saying by Marc Anthony “If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life”. I am a very positive person and believe that whatever happens in life, happens for good and whatever is in your destiny no one can take that from you. In order to get what you want you to need to be mindful of your thoughts and actions.
The way you think is the way you feel, act and behave so think positive thoughts and see the sunny side of possibilities and make the most of it. Surround yourself with like-minded people who can contribute to your growth and motivates you to keep going no matter what.
Practice gratitude and positive affirmations, they have a huge impact on your life. Be open to learning and upgrading yourself it helps you to keep you grounded, competitive and motivated. Rewarding yourself when you accomplish something, your brain evokes positive emotions, which allows you to realise that your efforts resulted in a positive reward.”
If you do this on a regular basis, your brain will start to associate pleasure with accomplishing the desired task and move towards it in the future.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of courage, creativity, integrity and passion. You need to see opportunities and start working towards it with a creative mindset. Entrepreneurship involves innovating new ideas, putting them into action and persevering through challenges.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn. To increase motivation, you can start by setting small goals. Small goals can help you reach larger ones and encourage you to aim higher. Understand what your clients or customers are looking for and offer them a solution to their problems.
Network with people who can connect with you to your target audience and build relationships which will help in your growth. Be confident in whatever you are doing this will help you come across as a successful women entrepreneur and you will gain the trust of your clients. Entrepreneurs have a vision.”
They see a big picture they wish to accomplish, which fuels their efforts and pushes them to do more. To improve your entrepreneurship vision, you can implement a daily action plan. Prioritising your tasks can keep you from feeling overwhelmed and help you stick to your vision. Also, listen to or read uplifting content to fortify your mind and stay focused on your purpose.
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.
