Women Lines

Womenlines presents women of substance Ms Malini
Srivastava, entrepreneur who loves to fill colours in everything related to her
life

1.Please share with our readers little bit about you?

I am an artist of varied interest right from making creative handicrafts, to canvas paintings, wooden creations, Tanjore paintings, glass paintings, clay work, fabric painting, candle making, flower making and arrangements. I was a science graduate but had a natural flair in arts & crafts. One of the professors at Agra university who was very much impressed by my paintings offered me a seat in MA fine arts course directly from science stream. I was selected as a member by Sanskar Bharti at state level for arts and crafts. In addition to my MA in fine arts I did a lot of short term courses in textile designing, computer programming, Interior decoration, beauty culture, fashion designing, arts & crafts and also passed the Government of Maharashta’s intermediate grade drawing examination. Later I taught pro-bono at Shri Varshney College Aligarh degree college as a arts teacher as a part of social service for my community.In addiion to handicrafts I have the finest collection of various brass statues and collectibles including Nandi, cow with baby, God Ganesh, Lord Krishna, Radha Krishna in a Jhoola, Buddha faces, Fine Bell with figurines of various Hindu gods , Pots with engravings, Brass Shankhs with gods embossed.

2.So when did you venture into this business? What conspired or motivated you to take a plunge into this venture ?

After marriage when I moved to Mumbai I started on my entrepreneurial journey by creating handmade Ganesha statues from coconut shells which proved to a big hit in Mumbai with the local community who kept it in their houses for auspicious reasons .Later I started my own corporate gifting company in Mumbai by the name of Anushka Gifts and Accessories and in a short span of six months it proved to a big hit with the corporate world in Mumbai. I provided a variety of gift items from key chains, T-shirts, Ties, Pens- Stands, Watches, clocks, brass figures, and leather organizers to various local and multinational companies like Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson. Pillsbury, Godrej, Kodak etc for their corporate gifting needs. Having relocated to Singapore in 2008 I have now set up my base in Singapore to cater to the Singapore market I started small from my house, then set up a registered company AnishAnuska Gifts & Accessories and have started by taking part in exhibitions at community centres, fashion events etc where I primarily display my range of artistic creations and brass works

3.Can you share with us, some of the challenges you faced during your initial days?

Some of the challenges which I faced in my early days were to give a commitment based on somebody else’s commitment and in India I found that there were a lot
of times when I faced panic situations as people did not honour their commitments especially if you were a small company. I had to pay advance upfront and when I sold to companies they would have 60 or 90 day payment terms and lot of time even after that I had to run to get my money. The lesson I learnt is always keep a sufficient margin before you commit anything because in India there can be a variety of reasons why your delivery could not be made on time or your consignment got stuck, Also you need to have deep pockets for your working capital otherwise you just cannot operate.

4.So how do you balance your personal and professional life?

Since I mostly operate from my house I am able to balance both my personal life and professional life. Most of my intricate work like Tanjore paintings or glass
creations is done at night after my little one is put to sleep. I try to keep my weekends free for my family and do most of my work on weekdays when children are in school and husband in office.

5.What would you suggest to other aspiring women who want to venture out on their own?

My advice to other women who want to start something is first and foremost it should be your passion and hobby and not another job, secondly start small keep it simple and only take on what you can with your resources. Never overstep beyond your capacity both financial and physical. Lastly enjoy what you do.

7.What do you have in the pipeline for your company’s/business future development?

In future I see my company AnishAnuska Gifts & Accessories and items website www.anishanushka.com become the first choice of Singapore Indian community for all their art, crafts, gifting, brass statues & artefacts. Finally I would love to see my items treasured in every Indian home in Singapore.

8.How do you feel being part of Udaan?

I feel proud to be a part of UDAAN team as I feel that it is a tremendous learning opportunity to meet each other, learn from one another, get new ideas and thought process and develop contacts from networking. UDAAN gives me a platform to showcase my skills and be among like minded people which acts to
motivate me whenever I feel slightly down.

Visit www.anishanushka.com

to have a look at Malini’s work.

Necessity is the mother of invention and it holds true for our entrepreneur of the month, Renuka Arora Bhagat, who co-established our ONLY Hindi radio station Masti 96.3 FM in Singapore!    

Renuka is a Delhiite and she’s always loved music. When she moved to Singapore she really missed her radio channels back home. She took a step and started exploring the media world around. That’s when Renuka was introduced to Rafiqul Haque,  who after successfully running 8 radio stations back in Bangladesh, was pursuing his interest in expanding his radio business in Spore. Together, they worked towards the establishment of Masti 96.3 FM, on AIR from 28 Nov 2009. Masti 96.3FM, the ONLY Bollywood radio station in Spore, broadcasts Hindi programmes LIVE daily from 5pm to 8pm.  A variety of programmes  catering to all age and interest groups, regular updates on weather in Singapore and the main cities of India, traffic, business, sports, all within the blanket of not only the latest bollywood music but also the golden music from yesteryears! Radio Masti 96.3FM has LIVE streaming (www.xfm963.sg) too. It is available on iPhone and selected HTC phones too, under the umbrella of the MeRadio app.

Like most other entrepreneurial ventures, Radio Masti also faced the initial challenges of establishing themselves and creating a “brand”. However, with focus, hard work and dedication of the team, things have certainly started working positively for them. Today, advertisers are happy to endorse for using Radio Masti as the medium to reach out to the large number of target audience out there. MediaCorp estimates Radio Masti’s listeners’ base to be approx 1.4mil, which includes not only the expat Indians but also a percentage of Sri-Lankans, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Malays, and local Singaporeans – all with a common passion for Bollywood music. 

The partners, Renuka and Rafiqul complement each other in many ways – be it managerial, technical, production, sales, strategy and much more! Of course, the team consisting of RJ Mehak, production lead, Dewan Hasan along with others – continue to be strong pillars in their own areas as well!  

Hats off to Renuka’s multi-faceted, entrepreneurship and hands-on managerial skills. Mind you, she is a high profile corporate lady, really proud of her current global position at a large MNC where she manages multi-million projects. A Business management degree from Delhi and an SAP certification to her credit, Renuka loves the voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the king of Sufi!  

Renuka loves challenges and aims to come out of them successfully with her sheer dedication, focus and determination to succeed…Masti is her foray into the media world and not only does she work hard towards managing the station but also towards establishing herself as an RJ! Her weekend program Hafta Wasool is quite popular with the listeners too!

While answering to the question of requirements to be a good RJ, Renuka answered: “Voice is no more the triumph card for winning listeners on radio”. The job of a radio jockey involves much more today. Ready wit, smiling voice, extempore ability, humor, knowledge, and, of all things, a genuine effort to closely associate yourself with the listeners – all this put together help play the perfect tune for radio jockeying. “Your personality must be portrayed through radio”.

Being the only Hindi radio station in Spore, theres a lot of personal touch and openness to interaction with the audience in each program. RJs become a part of many listeners’ lives and there is an unspoken emotional bond that binds audience with the RJs. 

Her corporate life satiates her intellectual competence and her media life helps in building social capital as she loves music. Being an HR professional, Renuka loves to interact with people too! 

Sky is the limit when you are determined, committed and have the support of your family! Who says it’s difficult to pursue your passion with your profession? Here is Renuka, who is successfully pursuing both – besides of course the personal commitments and challenges all women have! After all, she is a true face of an Indian woman, a successful multi tasker! Cheers for Indian superwomen!

Nidhi Mehta is the founder of BollyBeatz in Singapore and is a Professional Dancer/Performer/Teacher & Choreographer with over 10 years experience in the dance industry. Nidhi Mehta is an irresistibly energetic fitness personality and choreographer who has pioneered the introduction of BollyArobix dance to the forefront of fitness with her series of unique and intense workout’s. She has also successfully created dance routines for music videos, cultural festivals, corporate workshops and concerts utilizing her knowledge of Bollywood, Indian classical dance, salsa, hip-hop, and other dance forms.

Nidhi in action!

1. Please share about Bollybeatz?

Nidhi: BollyBeatz is a Bollywood Dance Instruction school. I started it in 2002 in Bay Area, California, USA. There I ran operations in the name of Stepz! Dance was always a passion since school days. But as most of us, I completed my MBA and got a job with McKinsey and started working in a corporate. Its only after I got married, I quit my job and then Dance happened to me. It was not planned or even a remote thought in my mind. It was all by chance and accident! I guess some things are just meant to be!

2.     Please share about your various performances and performances by your students. How many years you have spent in Singapore and how you feel about it? What are the main challenges you faced while opening your school? 

Nidhi: I started the dance school in USA, sold it in 2005 and moved to India. I started BollyBeatz in Chennai , India and it did very well till I moved to Singapore in November 2007. Since then I have been here. I don’t know where my next stop is – but I am looking forward to it! I love Singapore – the people are very health conscious and fitness freaks. They enjoy my style of teaching and are quite dedicated. We have performed at the Ms India-America Pageant in USA, at Stanford University, various competitive shows, shows for non-profits.. in Singapore we have been a part of the Dans Festival at Esplanade.

I have been fortunate that things worked out quite smoothly when I started my company. There have been hiccups like coming across some people you have trusted to be your instructor and who have copied your routines and tried to use it as their own. They put a bad taste in your mouth – but I personally feel – there are enough good people out there.

3.     Do you think you can dance for the sake of movement without any meaning or emotion in it?    

Nidhi: Yes – dance is about music and rhythm. You don’t have to understand the language of the music or its meaning to enjoy and dance to it.

4.     How would your life be if you weren’t a dancer?                                                         

Nidhi: I would be in a corporate – probably a management consultant or in marketing.

5.     If you had to choose one kind of dance, what would it be?

Nidhi: Bollywood coz it blends various forms of dance styles into it. What I do and teach is a fusion is Latin Dance, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Belly dance!

6.    What did you sacrifice to get where you are today? What do you think got you this far?(source of motivation) 

Nidhi: I didn’t sacrifice anything for what I have achieved. Yes, maybe my fulltime job in McKinsey, but I am happy about it! I am happy that I quit my job and recognized this opportunity that came my way and grabbed it. I also feel it was destined for me to do what I am doing today. I believe a lot in Karma, Destiny and Luck!

My work has helped me create the perfect work-personal life balance. I do all my admin work from home so I am around when kids need me.

What has got me so far is my perseverance, my husband’s support and my survival skills – coz I have moved 3 countries in 10 years and replicated the same model with success, franchised it and moved on! I don’t get afraid of change. I embrace it as a new opportunity for me to grow!

7.     How do you feel teaching dancing to students? Do you want to share something about your students or any other incidence related to Bollybeatz? 

Nidhi: I love teaching dance. It’s a very satisfying experience to see people who have very low confidence in their dancing skills come to me to learn and then I see them open up, absorb and their stamina increases, steps and flexibility improves and they become great movers & shakers.

 Someone in the USA had wanted to join my classes and had been in the waitlist for 4 months. Suddenly, one day a spot opened up and I called her to see if she wanted to join and she did! Later when we became good friends she wrote me a note saying that she had got laid off from her job after 10 years of working in that company. That’s the day I called her to join the class and she contemplated if she should join or not coz it was an expense she could avoid at this point. But she nevertheless said yes and signed up for the class and she said to me that it was the best decision she took. It helped her to stay out of depression and from being sad. It helped her find a new circle of friends whom she could connect with and dance made her happy!

8.    How do you dance: with your mind, with your soul, with your body or with your heart?

Nidhi:I dance with my heart, body and soul. There are times I have danced with a muscle pull and once the music comes I get so carried away that I forget the pain and dance and of course after class I am dying in pain! I have never missed a class. Even with 100 fever I have taken a painkiller and done my class coz it’s a commitment!

9.    What are your future plans and vision for Bollybeatz?

Nidhi: I plan to start various other forms of dance fitness modules under BollyBeatz and concentrate strongly on the dance fitness element that we provide. We plan to start partnerships and open franchises in various other cities to empower others who love to dance and enjoy teaching take this opportunity to do and create something big with their passion.

10. Message for womenlines readers and other women.

We are blessed that we are women. We have the capability fo multitasking. Some of us do have the luxury of staying home and pursuing our passion and make a career out of it. If that’s an option that you have been given and you are just staying at home . Take a look inside. Look at what you see yourself doing and try and start somewhere. Believe in yourself! I have recently launched a website www.supermompreneurs.com read some of the profiles – they are truly motivating and awe inspiring!

 Visit http://www.bollybeatz.com to know more about Nidhi and Bollybeatz!

She is young, smart, bubbling with confidence and very entrepreneurial in nature!

Meet Ms Shradha Agarwal, 26 year old entrepreneur who loves to try her hands in something new or the other and is creating unique gifts-Diaper Cakes for kids in Singapore.

Bundle of creativity

I came across her while participating in one event where she had a stall for baby diapers cake!

Sounds interesting isn’t it. What are baby diaper cakes was the question when I first heard about it. Is it yummy? Well, not really but surely a feast for eyes. The main ingredient for the cake is baby diapers and the icing is done with baby accessories such as towels, blankets, toys, and other innovative baby usable products.

These diaper cakes completes a perfect baby shower and new arrival celebration. This exclusive and exquisite gift beautifully lends an authentic and personalized touch and makes the person gifted to feel special.  You can let her know the requirements such as having your cake personalize with baby’s name and picture, or would like to have minor changes in the cake design. And be sure that she is not duplicating the copy of your gift for any other customer. The one created for you will never be created for anyone else, that’s the charm. The price range starts from $50 for a single tier cake and can go up to anything between $100-$150 as per tier u require.

 So here is a gift that surely wouldn’t be lying around somewhere but would be totally used by the baby,and for once will be noticed by the baby too.

Shradha herself arrived in 2006  in Singapore and since then she is keeping herself busy in various creative activities.

Shradha came to know about Diaper Cakes while searching for unique gifts for kids on internet in 2008.

Mother of 2 year old boy Shradha is very innovative and fun loving women. Motherhood at an early age bought many transitions in her ,making her a lot more confident and responsible.

Right now she is enjoying her salsa lessons, has added one more portfolio to her resume i.e of being a make-up freelancer aas she has just finished her course from cosmoprof  makeup academy. She herself loves to dress in style and if you meet her she has lots of tips for you for your styling.There is no fullstop to her activities as she has started give her consultancy for innovative gifts which one can buy for their spouse or anybody they want to gift. You can call her and she if full of information whats the best suitable gift for your dear one as per her choices!

 Womenlines wishes her best luck for her efforts in making people more beautiful and her gift making endeavours!

Visit http://theinterpreter.multiply.com to know more about her.

Samantha Wong is the Chairman for Sengkang Woman Executive Committee, in Singapore.

Confident, pleasing, helpful, a woman with a big heart, Ms Wong has dedicated herself for the work for women in the neighbourhood Community Club.

Womenlines will love to report about Ms Wong who is dedicated to her job to do goodwill for womenfolk around, through various activities and support of the Community Club.

She is a Singaporean and whole heartedly she is putting up efforts to integrate immigrants in the local society by supporting various events like Dazzling Divas, new immigrants’ gathering,etc.    She is involved in community activities for last 20 years. She is very passionate about reaching out to new immigrants in Singapore and integrate them within the local society. Dazzling Divas , organized last year was one such event which was based on Bollywood songs and dance theme. Ms Wong relates very easily with women of different races, this was quite visible in Dazzling Divas as she dressed herself in Indian attire, which helped in bringing comfort level between her and Indian group. This event helped to bring various immigrants, basically Indians and Singaporean ladies on one platform and have fun together. She herself enjoys meeting women from different races and motivates them to explore their things of interest. Ms Wong has supported many ladies to start various interest groups like Dragon Boat group, book reading group, Fitness groups, Morning walk group and many others which help ladies to pursue and enjoy their hobbies with like minded people.

In her 20 years span of experience in the community she has seen various phases of its growth. She remembers, in early days it was difficult to outreach immigrants as they were very close knitted group. She is grateful to the Community Club for supporting her through various grants and other helps to organize different activities in the centre. Some activities like helping out in the MP’s meet-the-people session every week and helping residents with their problems is really fruitful.

Ms Wong wants to involve more women in the Community Club’s activities. She considers the Community Club as an excellent platform to carry out various activities of one’s interest. Ms Azeeza Jalaludeen, member of Sengkang WEC is a big fan of Ms Wong and she considers her to be a very good mentor who is very creative and innovative and who has different ideas for empowering women.

Hats off to Ms Samantha Wong for her endeavor in field of women empowerment and emancipation.