“Find a Job You Enjoy Doing, and You Will Never Have to Work a Day in Your Life” says Rachita Sharma in an interview with Eatmy.news
1. Tell us more about your company and the journey.
Girl Power Talk strives to inspire the world’s most capable young leaders with persistence, empathy, and confidence. We empower young women (and men) with merit-based opportunities to grow and achieve their full potential.
We aim to develop young people in India to become global leaders. Our team is relentlessly committed to education, gender equality, and integrating the strengths of specially abled communities.
Girl Power Talk celebrates the diversity and creative potential of the brightest young minds. We provide a nurturing culture of learning and mentorship that endows young people with exceptional soft skills, technical knowledge, and purpose in life. Further, Girl Power Talk is an emerging media platform that broadcasts the opinions and narratives of young women across the country.
As a technology company, we steward how companies and individuals represent their true identity on the Internet. We create and promote top digital assets that accelerate the growth of brand equity. Our agile team consults on digital transformation and provides comprehensive reputation management services.
When a high-profile individual or an organization faces a crisis, legal problems, or PR issues on the Internet, Girl Power Talk specializes in mitigating the impact of the defamatory content and transforming it into a positive narrative.
2. How did you come up with this idea and go about executing it?
My passion in life is to create a community that supports and uplifts young women. I have always been determined to serve as a voice for those who don’t have one. My life’s mission is to be an agent of change by providing young women more opportunities and a better path for achieving their full potential. Girl Power Talk is my vision in action:
- Building an organization that has a reliable framework for having a positive impact on disadvantaged communities
- Catalyzing a culture committed to nurturing all young adults
- Offering women an outlet for celebrating their successes and amplifying their voices.
- Leading education that inspires innovation and eradicates stereotypes.
- Growing an innovative technology company into a case study for digital transformation.
We recognize the importance of gender equality and actively recruit individuals with extraordinary potential. India has a disproportionately large adolescent and youth population, which is often referred to as the demographic dividend.
Naturally, there are both benefits and drawbacks to this reality, including a dearth of opportunities for young adults seeking meaningful employment. Through my conversations with young professionals and students, I learned that a minuscule proportion of college graduates receive offers from employers that are committed to investing in their personal development.
The reality of the demographics is that the vast majority of companies view young Indians as replaceable and expendable. We launched Girl Power Talk with a vision to hire and nurture young people and to help them build confidence and interpersonal skills. We facilitate an environment that celebrates creative ideas from young minds.
The innovative culture encourages debate amongst all team members, regardless of age, to determine which ideas are the most promising for implementation. The real mission of Girl Power Talk is to change lives, one person at a time. We put our energy where it matters the most—into creating a strong vision for how to develop leaders and achieving true harmony amongst our patiently growing global family.
3. What do you consider a big challenge and how do you overcome that?
Gender roles. It’s frustrating how much these cultural norms have truly limited our capacity to grow and learn. We also need more women supporting other women to become a synergistic force that uplifts us all. We must have a conscious proclivity for identifying women leaders, mentors, and mentees.
One double standard that I seek to eradicate is how successful men and women are viewed. An aggressive and successful man is an alpha male who is often celebrated. A woman with the same ambition and drive is oftentimes considered difficult or aggressive. At Girl Power Talk, we are creating a culture of strong voices that band together to accomplish more. We openly seek to become a model case study for the very same.
“Every woman I know, particularly the senior ones, has been called too aggressive at work. We know in gender blind studies that men are more aggressive in their offices than women. We know that. Yet we’re busy telling all the women that they’re too aggressive. That’s the issue.” – Sheryl Sandberg
4. What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur?
Success is a journey, not a destination. Failures help you to channel your persistence towards achieving a desired goal. Failure also affords us perspective on the value of accomplishments. When we fail, a seed for success is planted. But those seeds only grow if they are given water and sunlight. Failure is part of that process.
Although one can lay the foundation for success through persistence and perseverance, success can never be achieved single-handedly. A successful entrepreneur is empowered by a team of goal-oriented individuals that collaborate as one.
Together with open dialogue, more informed organizational decisions are made. They also act as cheerleaders to elevate your self-confidence when facing challenges or setback. Effective communication with team members can facilitate a healthy work culture. Invest the time necessary to build relationships with your employees, earn their trust, and understand what truly drives them.
A leader should lead by example. I oftentimes explain to new team members that before you can lead other people, you must lead yourself. One must practice what she preaches, and at the same time inspire team members to be the best versions of themselves.
Being a leader of learning is a common tenet shared by many successful people from all walks of life. You need to be aware of how much you don’t know and always be working to learn more. Inquisitiveness is a mind-set that builds character. Also, you must never put the brakes on your growth and development.
Keep yourself updated on everything. Be both humble and relentless in the pursuit of knowledge.
At Girl Power Talk, we actively study and apply the best practices of successful workplace cultures. We are highly selective in adding new Girl Power Talk team members. Each member of our global community is precious.
5. What are some of the most important factors for running a successful business?
Being a business owner is an attractive prospect in theory. Sure, having the freedom to make your own decisions and do something you love, plus the opportunity to achieve financial success, is tempting.
However, in practice, it is a relentless commitment and roller coaster ride not for the faint of heart. The work and effort required are usually more than one could ever anticipate, even with high expectations.
A core team working cohesively is foundational to any business’s success. Employees typically spend a significant amount of time at work. They benefit most when they feel a genuine sense of purpose there. This cultural nuance is a cornerstone of your organization’s achieving its full potential. Wise employers look to hire individuals with talent and skills that raise the bar for future hires.
Only when the personal values and interests of the individual align with those of the company is real harmony possible. When such congruence is achieved, employees experience job satisfaction—and this in turn leads to that desired sense of well-being and happiness. This is only possible when a company has a collaborative and open culture, one in which the opinions, potential, and needs of each individual are valued.
The logic is clear. When people are happy and heard at work, they tend to be more productive. Although employers might have little control over many factors that affect happiness in their employees’ personal lives, they can certainly make concerted efforts to provide a pleasant and enriching workplace environment.
I pride myself on overcommunicating and ensuring that there is ongoing dialogue across all functions at Girl Power Talk. The fastest way to disrupt a business is through miscommunication. When an individual doesn’t understand an initiative or responsibility, they can waste days, weeks, or months of their own time (and of those they collaborate with).
Miscommunication costs global businesses billions of dollars in lost revenue and measuring this opportunity cost is almost impossible. Since there are no strict rules to communication, experimentation and ongoing evaluation of what works and what doesn’t are essential for long-term success.
I make a point of ensuring that everyone understands why they are doing something. They are then empowered to lead in their own right. This helps foster a natural affinity to communicate because people feel included, and their minds are at peace with the purpose behind their efforts. Don’t be intimidated by extraordinary dreams. Believe in your strengths, and work towards achieving your goal.
The renowned psychologist B. F. Skinner said, “A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.” Failure is the first step to success. I often remind myself that it is a necessary and natural part of business.
But the decision you make after a failure is what defines your resilience. Whether you choose to give up or stay persistent about attaining your goal ultimately defines the course of your life.
6. What are your tips for first-time and aspiring entrepreneurs?
Life is too short to learn all of its lessons ourselves. Successful people use what they know to improve who they know, and then continue the feedback loop in perpetuity. Mentors play a significant role because they can offer their perspective at key career and life inflection points. Mentorships nurture both the mentee’s and mentor’s professional skill set.
Find someone with skills and strengths that you admire, and list the common experiences or characteristics that you value. You can admire the C-level executives at a diverse group of companies, learn from mid-career professionals, and follow your own process for becoming a true disciple of the leaders you respect.
Dreams, Desire, and Determination are the three Ds of success. But most importantly, you should always evaluate transactional or momentary pleasures that may not fit with your priorities. For example, in college, I spent significant time interning at multiple companies rather than “partying” with friends.
The knowledge and experience I gained from those Saturdays and Sundays compounded. That time I invested in myself afforded me clarity on how to think like an entrepreneur and identify opportunities. In hindsight, that discipline to not follow what others are doing and follow my heart is why I am here today.
I often remind myself of the author Napoleon Hill’s words “No [wo]man is ever whipped until [s]he quits their own mind.” Always believe in your intentions and capabilities to bring your dreams into reality.
Keep the child in you alive because that child is more curious than most adults you will ever meet. I am always trying to harness the creative power of those around me. This open-mindedness to others’ opinions and ideas drives how we innovate together at Girl Power Talk. I believe this philosophy is beneficial to all aspiring entrepreneurs.
Remember the aphorism, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Mark Twain
So, make sacrifices and work hard today so that you can live a life that you love tomorrow. And don’t forget to remind yourself to smile and enjoy the journey. The journey is where we live.