At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the startup ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited a passionate entrepreneur – Surabhi Kedia for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Passionate Writer, Entrepreneur, Freelancer, and Consultant. Let’s learn more about her exciting journey, her background and her advice for our growing community.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Surabhi:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I am just an average girl from a middle-class family in Kolkata! My parents were extremely supportive right from the beginning – never told me what I “must” do. I remember my father would always say, “It’s your life… do whatever you wish to, but when you stand in front of the mirror, you must be proud of what you see.”
My mother, who is also my best friend, my confidante, my secret sharer, my cheerleader, basically my everything always told me how I can achieve the world – but even if I can’t, she will still be there to love me like she always has.
Even though I was a good student, my parents never pressured me to gain marks. They celebrated equally; it doesn’t matter whether I score 50 or 90.
How did you discover your passion for ‘Writing’? Despite securing better placement opportunities, why did you choose writing as a profession?
Well, I always loved writing. But, to keep it short, I found my passion for writing while writing long birthday notes for my best friends. I know it’s a bit absurd but it is what it is.
Later during my Event Management Course, my teacher (can’t ever thank him enough!) recognized my ability in one of my assignments. I owe a major part of my journey to him as he was also my first client. Until then I was just one of those who believed only CA & MBAs, Engineers and Doctors can earn money and respect!
Commerce was a natural choice when I was choosing subjects in class 11, mainly because of a “Marwari” family upbringing. Plus then I was also unaware of the opportunities that the other two fields of studies might have offered. Now, how I wish I would have chosen English!
Time in Higher secondary school passed in a blink of an eye. I scored “brilliant” (sorry for bragging, but it is what it is). I secured a seat in the greatest college for Commerce in Kolkata but DIDN’T go for it.
Most of my relatives dismissed this choice and told me that it’s a shame, but I had different dreams, and with my parents by my side, I was sure I wanted to pursue it. I wanted to spread smiles and be a part of celebrations. I am an over-the-top kind of person – I love celebrating even the tiniest endeavours, achievements, or occasions. “
Hence, I pursued a diploma in Event Management and topped my batch. I secured the highest paying job, but my family didn’t want me to do a 9-5 job – so I HAD to LET GO of it. But no regrets there because it was during my event management journey, I realized that “writing” is a profession. Yes, I didn’t even know that!
What did you aspire to be in your childhood? What’s your way forward now?
My mission and vision are both the same: I want my words to make sense. That’s all. 20 years from today, when I look back, I want to be able to tell myself, “My words created a change,” and I want to be proud of that change.
Honestly, my aspirations changed overnight until my higher secondary. Someday, I wanted to be a Pilot, the others a doctor. However, when I reached higher secondary, I was determined I wanted to do C.A. (credits to the traditional Marwari family). Later knowing the number of unwanted applicants pursuing CA, I completely dried out.
After that, when I started to reflect on myself, I discovered that celebrations and the happy faces in them make me eternally happy and so this time I knew what I wanted to be: Event Manager (well, sadly it was still not a “writer”).
What does your daily routine look like?
Ah, a bit boring that way on weekdays – I wake up, do some reading, probably some industrial blogs, identify the tasks for the day, get to work, gossip with my Mom & sister in between breaks, read a few pages of a good book during bedtime and hop to sleep.
But on weekends, I am one of those who never stops talking and jumping around (well, I don’t even stop on weekdays! :P)
What do you think are your biggest achievements?
I have been asked this question so many times, but I believe my biggest achievement is the trust that I have earned from my clients.
Most of my clients who were there from the start of my career are still there today, 3 years later and for the very few who departed are still on a very healthy ground.
Even though I have been listed as one of the “Top 100 content writers in India” and have also won some awards for my think-pieces, the trust of my clients are still the best thing I have earned so far.
How difficult was it to follow your dreams? Tell us about the hustle.
Oh, YES. Of course. It is always difficult to follow your dreams, whether it is me or you but I think the joy of following your “dreams” makes it all part of the process.
I began only with some pocket money and an undying love to write. But never passed any opportunity on the way and today, three years later, I can proudly say that I can earn myself a good living (and some vacations! :P)
Oh, my hustle journey was one hell of a ride! Somedays, I was so high on my passion that I thought this was the best that could happen to me and some days I was so low on motivation that I thought, what worse can happen to me.
After learning Event Management, I topped my batch, secured the highest-paying job but left it because my parents didn’t want me to pursue a 9-5. At that time, I didn’t know God had some other plans for me and so grieved the loss for a long time.
Next, I also earned a diploma in Graphic designing in lieu of helping my dad with designing needs in his business but here I am, writing every day and loving every word of it!
What are some of the challenges you deal with even today? And, how do you overcome them?
The biggest challenge I still deal with about my profession is to make people believe freelancing is real work. Most people (at least in India) think that since I am at home, I am always free. To overcome that, I try to define my work hours and be very strict about it.
Another challenge that I always face while dealing with some new leads (fortunately, not my clients) is dealing with the attitude “I can write better than you, I just don’t don’t have the time for it”.
Well, here’s my message to all of them: if you can, take the time and do it yourself. Don’t despise the writer’s work.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person/entrepreneur/writer?
I transformed from a writer to an entrepreneur about a year back, and to be honest, the shift was as difficult as it can get. I doubted myself at every step but the joy of building something of my own kept me going.
As a writer, I was free to write when I want, wherever I want but as an entrepreneur, I am accountable for a team and several other people in the company – which requires for discipline, certain standard operations, and so much more.
I think one thing that helped me through this was my power girls aka my team. The love and understanding that I got from my team is immaculate, and I want to accredit a big part of my success as an entrepreneur to them.
I haven’t been a person to follow a “particular strategy” to the way up ever. All I knew and still know was that writing really makes me happy and I will do everything I can to keep doing it.
How do you keep yourself motivated? What keeps you going?
I have always believed, success and failures are the two sides of the same coin – and so if one comes, the next is bound to come.
But yes, like every other human, failures do put me off. On those grey days, I take a day off with my mom, remind myself of all the good things that I have done and restart the next day.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
> Passion
> Commitment
> Consistency
That has been my mantra to success.
What’s your mantra or motto for life?
My motto is a bit absurd as it’s self-made but it’s been the centre of my life. So here it goes: Believe in miracles and when life gives you the opportunity, be a miracle.
What are the most important lessons you have learned in your life?
(1) You can do nothing without people. Absolutely NOTHING
Yes, as an entrepreneur, my biggest learning was that a business can ONLY thrive on good people inside the company.
(2) Do not care about your competition and fear online success stories.
There was a time when all the 6-digit and 7-digit paycheck stories made me feel I wasn’t good enough.
It got to me so much that I lost all the will to keep moving. When one fine day, my client said, and I quote, “Surabhi, you’re not just a writer, you’re a partner for our company who ensures growth!”
This day on I reminded myself how far I’ve come and compared myself ONLY with myself. As long as I am better than what I was yesterday, I know I am moving ahead.
What’s your advice for our readers and for those aspiring to do something similar?
Just one line “Do what your heart says, and don’t stop, no matter what. God Plans for you are far larger than your own!”
For anyone who wants to be a writer, I would say start with writing. Yep, basic but somethings just don’t change.
Write anything that comes in your mind – emotions, daily incidents or even rant. It can be anything – just write and don’t take any assignment lightly. Give your heart to it and it will come back to you in various ways.
To give you a tiny dose of motivation: I bagged my first client on my dissertation project! I am sure you now get the idea of what I meant by “Don’t take any assignment lightly” – not, even your journal page!
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
My journey has two aspects to it – as a writer and as an entrepreneur.
As a writer – the joy of knowing that someone, somewhere is learning something new is unmatched.…and As an entrepreneur – the fact that I am building some new lives alongside mine is eternally satisfying.
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.
