Interview with Sonu Singh | Career and Personal Development Coach | Image Consultant | Corporate Trainer | Public Speaker | Author | Co-Founder and Chief Image Consultant at Soulful Impressions
At Brilliant Read Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. This week we invited yet another passionate womanpreneur Sonu Singh for an interview with us. Sonu is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Coach, Public Speaker, Mentor and Image Consultant. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Image Consultant of Soulful Impressions. Let’s read more about her incredible journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Sonu:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur/coach, please;
I did my schooling from GD Birla Center for Education, one of the best girl’s convent School in Kolkata and further pursued Bachelors in Sciences from Calcutta University and an MBA in Marketing &Human Resource from Ahmedabad. I was a shy kid throughout my early childhood however MBA changed me, and it did for the better.
I was always passionate about doing something different & beyond my capabilities however lack of Confidence and poor Self Esteem always pulled me back. However, I overcame this limiting belief of mine soon and now there is nothing that can stop me from being the ME who I am today.”
To add to my skills and knowledge, I also completed a course in Image Management and Soft Skills Development from ICBI – the only institute focusing on world-class education in the field of Image Building which is now very necessary in all fields of work.
I started working post my MBA and Learning & Development have been my inner strength. Apart from L&D I have also worked as an HR Generalist and understood the entire portfolio of HR form Recruitments to Statutory Compliances.
I always enjoyed teaching fellow students, or facilitated them when in need, or helped them with notes so it was pretty much natural to be sharing my knowledge. I never had the guts to come in the forefront and play. L&D gave me that wings to be able to stand in front of 50-100 people and speak. Initially, it was tough but when you love something you have that natural ability to speak you pick up fast and that is what happened with me too.”
When I had to choose between full-time employment or my passion, I choose my Passion and invested my time, effort & money in building myself up and become an established Solopreneur or better Mompreneur in the field of Training and Development
Image Consulting came hand in hand along with Soft Skills training. However, Polished you become in all the aspects of Soft Skills if your IMAGE doesn’t speak the same language then it is a major faux pas. We all need to work INSIDE OUT and develop our inner and outer beauty equally to be able to manage things in a better way and become the BEST VERSION Of SELF
I launched my in the year 2019 and today I have delivered more than 100 plus online and offline workshops, seminars, webinars, speeches. I have mentored more than 50 individuals in developing their Personal and Career Branding. I have delivered more than 600 training hours of content. I have also co-authored 5 anthologies and coming up with my own solo book soon by this year.”
Public Speaking has been my weakest area which I have developed and enhanced during the lockdown and today I have won 5 awards in the domain of Public Speaking, I have delivered Keynote speeches and been part of many panel discussions with Corporates, Institutions and Colleges.
Life is all about learning and I am a Lifelong Learner.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Entrepreneurship is a Mindset. Doing a Corporate Job or a service is again a Mindset. It is the freedom that sets everything apart.”
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read the success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs.
You see – It is fascinating how you build something from scratch to build an empire around it and not everyone can do it. You must have a complete mindset change before you venture into the world of Entrepreneurship. With a job mindset, you cannot become an entrepreneur, especially not a mompreneur.
It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills. I have learnt all this, and I am still learning from my experience and daily implementation. When you want to make a difference in your life and others take up Entrepreneurship.
‘SOULFUL IMPRESSIONS’ 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?
Soulful Impressions was born out of the blue. We are two partners in the business Sonu Singh and Ishpreet Kaur. Once in one of our ICBI session, we were asked to introduce ourselves by adding an adjective to our name which starts with the first letter of our name.
I introduced myself as Soulful Sonu – as I believe in doing anything and everything with my heart and soul. I give my everything when it comes to work or personal commitments.
Ishpreet introduced herself as Impressive Ishpreet as she is an Interior Designer, she always impressed her clients with her skills and talent.
Since we two individuals were coming together and starting off after a lot of brainstorming, we picked up this name SOULFUL IMPRESSIONS – Be the BEST YOU because we believe in working with our heart and soul to bring in an Impressive change in our clients life. This makes them the best version of themselves and they change not only externally but internally too.
By internal I mean – confidence, self-esteem, positivity, emotional balance, loving themselves and being happy from within so that it has an impact on their life and personal growth.
~ We are working to bring about a sea change in how people see, feel, act and behave about themselves and grow in life.
~ We are working to make people aware that each one of you is Brands on your own terms and what you need to do is not seek happiness and confidence from outside but generate it from within.
~ We are working to help future job seekers and young professionals in understanding that a Career is not developed only based on your had skills but also on your people managing skills.
~ We are working with Corporates and groups to make them understand that your employee is your brand utilize its potential to the fullest by improving their effectiveness and Image Enhancement.
We are trying to build a one-stop solution for Personal Growth and Development
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
As the business is born just a year before COVID, each measure is taken to ensure that the model aligns with challenges of the pandemic.
~ Our business model consists of a lean team which is not at all resource-heavy and has minimal overheads.
~ The freelancer model ensures each work can be handled remotely, where we do not need to do physical meetings.
~ Every aspect of the business is online and tech-enabled to ensure automation as much as possible.
~ Maintaining checks on the expenses also helps in long term sustainability and growth
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Getting the right opportunity and performing to the best of your capability when you get that opportunity.
To get that opportunity, I present myself as a brand. I prepare myself to give in my best shot at each and every opportunity that comes my way.
Network with the right set of people because Network is your only Net worth which would give you returns.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always ensure that I connect with the right kind of people who are in line with my vision. You cannot have a business running if your collaborations are not correct.
My co-founder is a great help and we share the load of work with each other based on our interest and potential. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress.
In my free time, I try to travel, spend time with my family, and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible. Travelling helps me clear my mind and focus on issues that need my attention.
Maintaining a journal also helps me stay in line with my thought process and aligned with my work.
I would say that I get motivated seeing my father work tirelessly in his respective fields and that drives me to go on despite all the challenges. My mother is great support for the entire family.
I have a supportive husband who has always encouraged me in all my decisions be it leaving a steady job to take care of my newborn or switching to solopreneurship. He is strength in times of need.
My inner drive to excel in my work and be able to benefit maximum people is what keeps me going.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
I’ve learned finally to not compare myself to other successful women who seem to have it all together. Invariably, things are not always as they seem, and no one has it all together.
I have also learned how important it is to embrace change because, at any given time, you will need to shift strategies due to circumstances beyond your control.
I have learned to be patient and consistent and give myself and my work the same amount of time, effort and respect for it to flourish.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Gig Economy and working from remote spaces is going to become part of our life. Leadership styles are changing fast. Ownership is going to be the talk of the town.
The ability to effectively lead is a crucial factor in the success, or lack thereof, in entrepreneurial ventures. By understanding and embodying what it takes to lead effectively, entrepreneurs can maximize their chances of success.
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful 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.
I have seen companies with very innovative ideas with niche market segment fail just because they lacked proper team spirit in them.”
To be successful, you should team up with co-founders who share your vision behind the idea and you also need to hire the right people for the right position so that it gets implemented in a proper way.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I love my work. Anything you do in life you have to have a passion for and should not feel like work. I enjoy being there among people and share my thoughts and ideas with all of them.
Positive feedforward and appreciation of my efforts keep me motivated. I am an optimistic person and I try to find the best in any given situation. I might be low at times however I shoot up my energy soon because I can’t allow anything to drain off my positivity and zeal from me.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
1 – Make Mistakes and Learn from them. Do not be afraid to make mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn.
2 – Business is a mindset game just change your perspective toward what you can potentially achieve, and you will see a sea change in your behaviours and thoughts and eventually in others too
3 – Respect and honour yourself because You had the guts to take this step. You are way above many already.
4 – Take advice from all just Do what you feel is right for YOU.
5 – The First few steps are tough but if you are consistent then you will definitely have a smooth road ahead.
6 – DON’T LOOSE HOPE…KEEP WALKING IN THIS JOURNEY YOU WILL ACHIEVE YOUR SHARE OF SUCCESS
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.
