Interview with Niraalee Shah | Author | International Trainer | Personal Branding Expert | Image Consultant | Founder at Image Building and Etiquette Mapping

At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Niraalee Shah for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Author, International Trainer, Personal Branding Expert, Image Consultant and Founder at Image Building and Etiquette Mapping. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!

Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Niraalee:

We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey, please;

I did my schooling at Green Lawns School Mumbai and further perused by under graduation from Jai Hind College Mumbai. My early college days were faced with a few financial challenges in my life.

I was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the youngest achievers by imparting training and development to contribute to Skill India. My professional journey started in the Mumbai Local Trains as a Bindi and Mehendi Cone Seller.

I started perusing various professional diploma courses in Mumbai to add the various skillsets to my resume. I invest my time in perusing my Diploma Event Management Course from Event Management Development Institute and my Diploma in Marketing from Wellingkar College.

I am certified by The Indian School of Image Management (Mumbai) and The International Image Counselled (Canada). I further perused my international Masters in Training and Development from The British School of Etiquette United Kingdom, with a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) and ILM certifications (Leadership and Management).

What made you passionate about ‘Training’?

I always had an inner desire to help professionals embrace change and achieve breakthrough performance in their professional trajectory.

After reading 7 HABITS FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, I always wanted to share this deep-rooted knowledge with professionals from various industries to have a laser-cut focus on their goals and develop these 7 Habits.

These following habits who always made me passionate about training.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind

Habit 3: Put first things first

Habit 4: Think win-win

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the saw

‘Niraalee Shah – Image Building and Etiquette Mapping’ 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?

Image Building and Etiquette Mapping is the market leader in the training and development industry. The vision at our institute is to build an impactful brand with deep values, sharp focus and superlative recall is a complex task. A passionate brand builder, Niraalee Shah starts her work from the inside to create the big change for you, a change that is visible on the outside. Taking your vision, problem and goal as her own, she creates strategies that are viable, sustainable and profitable.

IMAGE BUILDING stands for helping professionals craft their personal brand. ETIQUETTE MAPPING stands for working with professionals from all sectors of the industry on their appearance, behaviour, communication, digital presence and etiquette.

Image Building and Etiquette Mapping is a company whereby Ms Niraalee Shah is one of the few BSCIC ISO certified trainers across India, an industry pioneer and visionary professional. I am a member of the India Chapter of AICI (Association of Image Consultants International, USA), with a global presence.

I specialize in the complex process to identify the core of a business and create its unique appeal via training, visual identity, enterprise image structure and quality training audits. I join the dots to create a final picture of brand value, credibility and productivity for my client’s company.

My training and consulting work is highly customized and designed to help my clients address specific challenges and increase the company’s business growth, brand reputation and market share by delivering world-class customer service to their clients via my training and learning for their team.

My training is supported by appropriate discovery sessions and module definitions with an emphasis on results.

My training plans for companies initiates and maintains superlative brand building via:

> Training

> Workshops

> Consultations

> Evaluation

> Panel & Group Discussions

> Internal & External Audits

I work with corporate houses and professionals to address specific challenges and help them grow in their professional trajectory. I highly customized consultations deliver opportunities for consistent and concrete change within the corporate house or institution.

My work provides continued mentoring and monitoring of brands I foster, not as an outsider but as an integral team force.

How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?

My mission is to help you to achieve your business goals by turning your managers into great leaders and your staff into value-adding assets.

With a qualified, trained and enthusiastic team, any brand can achieve market dominance. This mission drives me always and keep me going.

Following 2 quotes from Sadhguru Ji who also always drive me and keep me going despite the challenges.

QUOTE 1 – “In challenging times, it is important that above all, we have balance within ourselves” – Sadhguru Ji

QUOTE 2 – “Incredible things can be done simply if we are committed to making them happen.” – Sadhguru Ji

Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?

My biggest motivation is my father Mr. Rajesh Shah and Sadguru Ji. They are my biggest source of inspiration and my strongest supporters as well. When I see my father and Sadguru Ji working, it gives me the drive to be like them. Their dedication to working is what motivates me to be like them.

They are self-motivated individuals. Hence, I try to imbibe their positivity into my life. I have learned from my father how to not give up in life, failures are the steps to success. This excites me to take up greater challenges and risks without the fear of failure.

Sadguru Ji is the source of calm and confidence, knowing exactly where to push hard and where to slow down is something I have imbibed from him. They remain, my biggest source of motivation.

What are some of the strategies that you believe has helped you grow as a person?

TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY! IF IT’S WORTH DOING. DO IT NOW!

Following are some strategies that I believed has helped me to grow as a person and I also recommend them to all youngsters.

Laser Cut Focus – Laser-cut Focus is so important because it is the gateway to all thinking: perception, memory, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision making. Without good focus, all aspects of your ability to think will suffer.

Risk-Taking – Risk-taking enables and encourages innovation, which can be an important product/service differentiator. Failed risks aren’t always negative. Sometimes, they provide the most valuable business lessons an entrepreneur can learn. Failure helps shape future business strategies and can eventually lead to business growth.

Hard Work – Hard Work is the Foundation of Successful Businesses. Hard work is a requirement to start and keep a business going. Working hard for your goals keeps you focused. Only once you start putting in the effort will you get results.

Persistence – Persistence in leadership helps to keep up the work. It is a trait a good leader should always remember and never give up on anything. Additionally, persistence makes it much easier to face challenges and improves work.

Perseverance – The power of perseverance shows the willingness to keep moving forward despite the obstacles that stand in the way. This is how perseverance builds character.

Consistency – Keeping with a regular strategy not only helps create a better customer experience but also helps build credibility, reputation and brand trust. Consistency can also impact your bottom line.

Our audience would like to know more about your book ‘THE INTERNATIONAL BOOK INDIAN ETIQUETTE’, could you please share with us, why every reader should read this book?

India is a land of staggering diversity where ethnicity, culture, religion and language come together in a dazzling kaleidoscope of humanity. The North, South and East, West have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved its own cultural niche.

If you are an Indian or are travelling to India, it is important that you take note of certain things. This book takes you on a magical journey of celebrating the vibrant cultural diversity of India.

The Indian Etiquette Book shares detailed insights into INDIAN ETIQUETTE – A Glimpse into India’s Culture and throws light on the culture, customs, language, society, manners and values, helping you to understand the people and the vibrant country of India!

Welcome to our helpful guide for India. Should you be looking to travel, live, relocate or do business in the sovereign state, we will give you a helpful head start on understanding the country and its culture, practices and etiquette in India.

It is my pleasure to extend my warm welcome to all of you who have a burning desire to enhance your knowledge and experience the magic of India and celebrate its Cultural Diversity.

You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?

Success is the best element that motivates me to do a good job and always keeps me going. The fact that my hard work and perseverance will help me achieve greater professional success is what keeps me going.

I feel that aligning the company’s vision and values with my own is one way to achieve that. When I know that my efforts are following the correct path, it encourages me to put in more effort in trying to achieve my goals.

Hence, for me, success is important both at a personal as well as at an organizational level. Motivation is seeing the organization grow which ultimately leads to personal achievement and success. There might be instances of failure or stagnation but it does not demotivate me anyhow.

On the other hand, I feel re-invigorated to perform even more. The taste of success after a failure is what keeps the fire going within me no matter what the circumstance.

My motivation comes from work because I am passionate about what I do. The motivation to work hard, practice and stay disciplined comes from the desire to master my skill to keep learning something new, and my genuine enjoyment for my purpose.

In your opinion what are the keys to success?

I would like to mention six of the main keys to achieving success and getting positive results.

First key to success – A Clear-Cut Goal

Second key to success – Studying Your Goal

Third key to success – Patience

Fourth key to success – Persistence

Fifth key to success – Motivation

Sixth key to success – Confidence and Faith in Yourself

What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?

I would to give the following 6 Important pieces of advice to students and young professionals who want to have a successful career.

Challenge yourself – My biggest motivation is to keep challenging myself. I treats life like one long university education, where I can learn more every day. You can too!

Do work you care about – There’s no doubt that running a business takes a lot of time. noted that the only way to be satisfied in your life is to do work that you truly believe in.

Take the risk – We never know the outcome of our efforts unless we actually do it. it helped to know that he wouldn’t regret failure, but he would regret not trying.

Believe in yourself – “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” Believe that you can succeed, and you’ll find ways through different obstacles. If you don’t, you’ll just find excuses.

Have a vision – An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a desire to create it. Keep your vision clear at all times.

Find good people – The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.

Last but not least, could you please share with us a little more information about your new ‘ULTIMATE PERSONAL BRANDING CONTENT COURSE’?

Personal Branding empowers you to stand out in your chosen field, whether you are an employee looking to rise up and climb the corporate ladder or a professional building your own entrepreneurial venture, personal branding brings you credibility and attention.

‘ULTIMATE PERSONAL BRANDING CONTENT COURSE’ you’ll learn how to implement a strategic self-marketing plan for your career, create strategies to help manage your professional reputation, develop personal branding statements and much more. Each module ends with checklists, worksheets and e-books to ensure that you’re ready to move on to the next level.