At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Aman Kaur for an exclusive interview with us. Aman is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Behavioural Coach, Mentor, Trainer and Image Consultant. She is the Co-Founder of RAH Consultants. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Aman:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I am an Internationally Certified Image Enhancer & a Soft Skills Trainer, Behavioural coach and Co-founder of RAH Consultants. I would like to introduce myself as a “People’s Person” and a girl with dreams and passion who is pleased to make a difference in others’ lives.
I come from a defence background, so schooling was in different parts of the country travelling with my parents, where Virtues like discipline, hard work, punctuality and respecting all especially elders were ingrained since early childhood.”
I completed my post-graduation in Mathematics from Mumbai University and started working in the field of Education. Responsibilities at home and kids made me voluntarily quit my job and when they were capable of doing things on their own, I decided to have my Independence too and went back to my old profession. I realized that many kids in spite of being well educated, intelligent and smart, lacked in other very important skills like basic etiquette, communication and presentation which hinders them to be their best version.
I always had a passion about dressing, grooming and training, so I took up my passion as my new profession and successfully completed my International Certification from Image Consulting Business Institute along with Train The Trainer programme certification by NABET. While doing my course I came across my partners who shared the same vision as mine, and RAH consultants were founded, with a dream to guide people to enhance their self-presentation and behavioural skills.”
The journey of evolving into an Image Consultant and a Soft Skills Trainer from being an educationist has been gratifying, humbling and fascinating so far….still a long way to go.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Entrepreneurship for me is more attractive than a traditional career path as I always wanted to have pride of building and creating something all by myself with no boundaries and succeeding with hard work, determination, passion, honesty and creativity.
Also, here you run the show by setting your own working hours and creating an ideal work/ life/family balance. It also gives me, financial independence which I firmly believe that every woman should have and it boosts confidence and gives satisfaction as I can play all my roles and carryout responsibilities along with pursuing my dreams.”
Entrepreneurship has changed my life and has given me an identity that I was always looking for.
‘RAH Consultants’ 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?
RAH Consultants was founded along with my partners with a vision to train and guide individuals & groups by enhancing their appearance(presentation) and help them to achieve a winning Social and Professional image. The customised solutions that we provide help them to excel and BRING OUT the BEST IN them and create a lasting impression.
We, at RAH, work together to get a positive change in each of our clients, be it young adults, freshers, working professionals or homemakers/ladies who have taken a sabbatical and yearn to revive their professional life or self-confidence.”
Working with diversified people we make them realise the importance of skill development and are always there helping and guiding them bridge the gap between where they stand today and where they dream to be in future, by enhancing their appearance, communication skills, body language, etiquettes and other soft skills. In these years we have been fortunate to make a special bond with our clients which is much beyond the professional front.
We strongly believe that “Only by giving, you are able to receive more than you already have” and thus we try and give it back to the society in whichever way possible. We really feel blessed & humbled to be associated with NGOs working for women and girls.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
The ‘Outbreak of COVID-19 ’ was indeed a challenging time where complete lockdown and social distancing were sudden hard changes which caused global, social and economic disruptions which no one had anticipated. From conducting physical training and personal interactions with our clients to suddenly facing hurdles of no movement, definitely slowed us down initially, but then “Obstacles are there to strengthen us as we continue our journey”.
We embraced change with a positive attitude and adapted to the new virtual training platforms, learnt new skills and upgraded ourselves to give in our best, stayed connected and helped each other whichever way possible. The results were gratifying – we could reach out to larger audience across the globe, saved on travelling time which helped us create a right home/professional balance and gave us flexible working hours making more individuals benefit from us at their convenience. Thus, we learnt, adapted and evolved for a better future.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
With roots firmly embedded in my defence background, time management and discipline are an integral part of me since childhood. This has helped me manage all my roles efficiently without realising it as a challenge.
I am a firm believer of “All work no play makes Jill a dull girl” and therefore I plan my day and prioritise my work/home commitments making management smoother. This has also helped me take out time for myself, be it my fitness routine or exploring my hobbies. Thus I schedule every aspect of my life so that I don’t miss out on any beautiful moments.
My passion for fulfilling my dream to make a difference in people’s lives by guiding them to explore their hidden potential and be a better person, keeps me going. Seeing our learners benefitting from us and souring high boosts my energy motivates me and drives me further.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
Ideally, if you ask me – for a successful start-up both are important in equal measures, a great idea and a good team are two sides of the same coin. A perfect balance of both is essential for the start-up to be successful. Great ideas cannot be executed without the help and support of a good team.
Basically, an idea should be the one that motivates the team to perform with passion and give in their best to cross all obstacles and execute the idea perfectly. So, for the start-up to be successful we need a great idea to be executed with passion and dedication by a highly motivated team having the same goal/vision.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
Having cultivated an Attitude of Gratitude always keeps me positive. It reduces the stress and negative energy, improves my mood and makes me happier. I take out time every day and be grateful for all the things that I am privileged to have and focus only on the positives.
I have learnt from my parents that any situation, could be a bad one would also have a positive side too and therefore I always look for an optimistic viewpoint in any given situation. This attitude has helped me sail through all the challenging times and evolve as a better human being.
Having a profession as my passion, I’ve never worked a single day, I JUST LIVE MY PASSION!!
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
To all those aspiring women entrepreneurs starting out there, I would like to say BELIEVE in YOURSELF and YOUR DREAMS because if you won’t, no one else will!! Most of the time we underestimate ourselves but believe me “You are much more than you think you are”.
Trust yourself, dream big, come out of your comfort zone, plan your day in advance, maintain the right professional/personal balance and above all be a good human being. There might be times when you will make mistakes, learn from them and keep going, don’t forget to celebrate your success no matter how small or big it may be….and you will surely be there where you always aspired to be.
Love yourself. Believe in yourself. Be kind. Be YOU because there is no better version.
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.
