My Story: 'I Chose To Venture Outside My Comfort Zone And Was Open To Learn From My Experiences'

I was born and brought up in the northern industrial town of Kanpur in a family where women were content playing household roles. However, I was always driven by a passion for exploring new avenues. Early on in life, I learnt the basics of entrepreneurship and skills of conducting and expanding business by keenly observing my father.

We are three sisters, and I am the youngest and most pampered, protected one. We lost our father at a tender age, and despite being the youngest, I took up the responsibility of our family and business along with my mother. That was a blessing in disguise as it prepared me to face the challenges head-on and instilled many life skills that helped me make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, and empathize with others.

Journey From Journalism To Public Relations

Initially, I studied Mass Communication to become a journalist, and I shifted base to New Delhi and built a career for myself in this field. I initially worked in a leading media house briefly before switching to a career in Public Relations. I realized my true calling lies there. As I come from a business family, starting my own company was always a dream. So I decided to turn entrepreneur and co-founded Teamwork Communications Group, a 360-degree communications solution providing agency.

When I started the firm, I didn't inform anyone in my family. I wasn't ready to hear opinions and suggestions. I knew my decision was correct, and I wasn't interested in creating doubts in my mind. It was purely our call. After getting my first client, I disclosed this to my family. Everyone was quite supportive after that, especially my mother. She has been very supportive throughout my journey and my pillar of strength. She always believed in me and gave wings to my dreams through her constant encouragement.

No Going Back

Since then, there has been no going back. Our experience in media helped us gauge a major void in the communications business -- lack of specialist healthcare agencies. Healthcare communication has been a vital part of the PR business, yet a lack of specialist expertise in the field was pointedly felt by both the health industry and the media. This shared our decision to establish a healthcare specialist communications advisory.

Our dynamic expertise helped us grab several prestigious clients and projects over the years. Over the years, we worked with different state governments, including Delhi, Jharkhand, and Kerala, to devise communication strategies for these governments' cultural, tourism and environment-related initiatives. In 2017 when India launched a new tax regime in the form of GST, Teamwork was chosen as the official partner of GSTN, the technological backbone of the GST regime.

By 2019 when we hit our tenth year, we had grown into a formidable force in the industry with a wide presence across the country. We have established offices in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Affiliates-network in Pan India. We made rapid strides, particularly in healthcare, thanks to highly positive word of mouth. Accolades started accumulating.

I come from a business family, so some part of it was always there if you believe in genes. Probably that pushed me hard enough to become the first woman in my household to set up and successfully run a business of my own. I describe myself as a modern, confident, successful, and responsible entrepreneur -- I do not think gender has any role in defining one's suitability for a job. The fact that, unlike many other women of my family before me, I chose to venture outside the comfort and was always open to learning from my experiences as well as that of others contributed a lot to my confidence.

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com