I'm so excited to present this interview series for all you lovely readers of my blog. This series - "Women Who Inspire" features interviews of some lovely ladies that I know. I love what they do & I admire them a lot. I thought of passing some inspiration to all of you too! This interview series will give you a little sneak peek into the lives of these women.
Today, let us hear from Shrinithi Venkatesa Mohan (SVM) who is the founder of Shiksha Junior Preschools, Shiksha School For Teachers & Parents & Shiksha School For Autism.
Shrinithi Venkatesa Mohan, from Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu, graduated in Computer Science Engineering and started her career working as a software developer. But the entrepreneurial bug bit her real hard right after she graduated and she was looking at opportunities. She went abroad for her Masters in Computer Networking and living the American dream in NYC. But somewhere she was never satiated with what she was doing and thoughts of heading back to India and to her hometown to start something on her own were there. Her husband was in London during the time and they made a conscious decision to move back to Coimbatore. She was going the family way that time and tried different hats from tailoring to skill training to getting back to IT to what not. But being the mother of her newborn daughter made her choose a career that will accommodate her daughter and her limited work timings and that drew her to starting her career as an early childhood educator.
Shrinithi's ventures include -
Shiksha Juniors Preschools
Shiksha School for Teachers and Parents – A Montessori and early childhood training institute that skills teachers and parents enabling them to facilitate better learning experience for their children.
Shiksha School for Autism and other needs
K : Think back to five years ago. Did you envision this is where you would be?
SVM : Yes!
K : How did the idea for your business come about?
SVM : After becoming a mother.
SVM : I have setup businesses in such a way it functions even without me being involved in every day operations. I work from home more these days with my second born being 8 months old.
SVM : For me it is all integrated I can never segregate my work and family hours.
SVM : Be honest and open about what you can offer and what you cannot offer in your business. Never regret to say "no". Lot of times entrepreneurs are scared to say no in the fear of losing customers. I don’t believe in over promising and under delivering.
K : What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
SVM : When I realize the impact that we are making in so many peoples' lives as an entrepreneur.
SVM : I live in a joint family setup and regularly communicate with my in-laws, partner and kids about what I am going through, share my aspirations and ups and downs. I think it has helped me a lot in building my career.
K : What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
SVM : I wouldn’t call it a sacrifice but I have given up a lot of social life and other fancies to be diligent in my work :)
K : What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
SVM : I always have rushed into decision making in the early part of my career, now I am much more mature in decision making and do not act based on emotions in my venture.
K : Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
SVM : We want to impact a large number of parents-teachers-children.
K : In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur
SVM : Hyper!
Thank you so much Shrinithi for taking out time for this chit chat! It was a wonderful talk session and I wish you good health, peace, happiness & success in your venture!
You can check out all the interviews in this "Women Who Inspire" series HERE.
Do not forget to follow "The K Junction" on Facebook page & closed Facebook group, Twitter and Instagram for day to day updates that might not always find a place on this blog. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to know more about our early learning journey, DIY & Montessori & Waldorf inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!
Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!
