As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world, we invited Shilpy Saxena for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. She is an Influencer and Digital Marketer. Let’s read more about her inspiring journey, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shilpy:
We are aware of your contributions to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I’m a Digital Marketer by Profession and Blogger by Passion.
I did Bachelors in Information Technology (BIT) from IGNOU, BTech (Information Technology) from Edxcel University, London and MBA from Symbiosis, India.
I have more than 15 years of work experience in the IT, HR and travel sectors. I started my career as a Faculty member in NIIT in 1999. Later I joined an IT company as a Software Developer. During maternity break, I did my MBA in HR and joined an IT Consultancy firm as an HR manager.
Now, I am working as a Digital Marketer (Web Designer and Social Media Manager or Virtual Assistant ) for Brands in different industries – Parenting Consultant, Graphic Design and Printing Services Company, Travel Agency, Bakery, Make-up Artist, Restaurants, Authors, Construction Company, Transport Services Company and Digital marketing agency.
Growing their online community, managing social media profiles, content curation and managing online reputation.
How did you discover your passion?
Without a passionate love for whatever you do for a living, it just becomes a mundane day to day frustrating job. I have a passion for what I do and love my job to make it enjoyable and successful.
Marketing is one of the best professions where creativity is really valued and required in each and every step. From knowing your audience properly to designing the strategy and content targeted at them, without being creative it just won’t work.
I am passionate about marketing and love my work.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
There are a lot of challenges in the digital marketing field. I keep myself motivated by coming up with creative ideas to improve something or make something new.
I set my daily routine, meeting deadlines, targets or goals. I enjoy mentoring and coaching others. I train interns for free giving them values based sessions.
Learning new things, latest trends keeps me updated and confident. While working on a project, spotting flaws and errors so as to make sure the end result of a project is as good as possible.
I believe in finding a way to solve a problem or overcome a challenge.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My Life runs around coffee/tea, my children hugs, and my parent’s blessings. My Husband always supports me with my work, replying to clients’ emails, attending meetings with me, guiding me at every step.
He is the only one who wanted me to quit my job and restart my career in Digital Marketing.
Appreciation from clients and their satisfaction with my work gives me a high dose of motivation. I always work hard to keep my clients happy.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
To grow as a professional it’s very important to develop personal development skills.
1) First and foremost, set goals and clear objectives.
2) Write it down, make a to-do list.
3) Start small with achievable goals
4) Upgrade skills, never stop learning.
5) Prioritize necessary work.
6) Time, health, family management
Please share with us a unique challenge you faced in your early career?
The only challenge I faced in my Digital marketing career is not getting paid.
Not only me, but many marketers also face this issue at the beginning of their careers.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
In Digital Marketing, not all days are sweet; there are times when problems occur, suffocating and destroying my hope. When that happens, I accept it as a way of life.
While I can’t always control what happens, I can surely control how I respond to it. I create a positive environment for myself and become more motivated to achieve goals.
Be positive. You will get what you expect. Expect something great to happen every day and it will.
– Read and listen to positive information.
– Avoid negative and toxic people.
– Speak and write positive affirmations.
– Learn from mistakes, instead of repeating them.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Everyone wants to be successful. So, what is the secret sauce of success?
During my working experience, I learned the following keys to success, which I am sharing here with you.
(a) It’s okay to say I don’t know!! Ask questions.
(b) Clear Communication. Clear Thinking
(c) Be honest
(d) Keep it simple, don’t fake
(e) Accept responsibility
(f) Listen more. Speak Less
(g) Take initiative
(h) Be consistent.
(i) Learn how to say ‘NO’
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
When embarking on a digital marketing career, you will realize just how fast and unrelenting the industry can be. In order to thrive in the digital marketing world, your skills need to evolve continuously.
In marketing, it’s important to develop your hard skills and your soft skills. The hard skill is the technical knowledge to demonstrate a return on investments for clients. You need to utilize the data to help others understand the benefits of marketing.
The higher the return is the better chance you have of making real money from this industry. Then, there are the soft skills. These skills range from creativity to innovation, collaboration, and power of influence by using copy-writing and story writing styles.
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.
