Meet The SHEROES: A QnA With Blogger And Entrepreneur Archana Kapoor
Archana Chaurasia Kapoor talks to us about her venture, her journey as an entrepreneur and passion for the written word today.
Tell us about yourself
A banker by profession, a trainer by passion and a writer by chance! I grew up in Mumbai and now live in the United States. I completed my education in Mumbai. I spent the first 16 years of my work life in Banking and Financial Services with special assignments in Human Resources and Learning & Development. My last assignment was with Citibank, after which I decided to work on my own terms.
In 2013 I quit my long standing corporate career and started a Human Resources Consulting firm – Drishtique Worldwide. It was time to fulfil an old dream. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride with a lot of learning and some great work done by the firm and my team.
They say when you feel lost you should visit a place which allows you to introspect and reflect on your life. That’s when I decided to get back to books and completed my higher education at INSEAD – France and Singapore, in 2012. That’s where my already brewing inspiration got a solid push to go the entrepreneur route.
I love traveling and people say I was born with wings on my shoulders and wheels on my feet. I have been globe-trotting for over a decade and a half and have had the good fortune of traveling on work extensively. My family and friends are very important for me and I value close relationships. I have a zest for life and live by my motto – “Love life and it will love you back!”
Can you tell us about your venture and the idea behind it?
Drishtique is my HR Consulting Firm. Coming from a business family I aspired to go the entrepreneurial route when I was ready for it. Though I was a Banker, my heart was in Learning & Development and other aspects of Human Resources. That’s when I decided to start an HR Consulting Firm.
Through Drishtique, we offer development solutions to our clients who are looking to enhance Human Capital in their businesses. Our focus is on growth and building skill-sets of the people we work with. We like giving personal attention to our clients and work very closely with them to understand their needs. We usually run a diagnostic and then come up with a result-oriented plan to ensure return on investment for our clients.
Drishti.co is our personal blog. My husband and I write on myriad themes and topics. It is our expression!
How long has it been since you started and so far, how has the journey been?
We started Drishti in January 2015 and it has been the most beautiful journey I have ever experienced. I generally write on personal issues, travel, poems, emotions & relationships and fiction. My husband writes on politics, current affairs and spirituality. So the blog gives the reader a complete experience.
The love and support that we have received from the blogging fraternity, friends and the world in general has been overwhelming.
Do you also have another career / professional job that you pursue along with running Drishti.co or is Drishti.co a full-time entrepreneurial role for you?
Currently, I am focusing on writing. So, Drishti is as good as a full-time venture for me. There are many things that have sprung out of Drishti and I am working on those too as of now.
Thanks to my wanderlust, I have recently also started Travel with Archie (TWA) – my personal travel blog. A lot of my time goes into developing TWA into a meaningful venture.
Drishtique does business in India currently and I handle the operations remotely.
What is a typical day at work like for you?
I spend a good 6 – 8 hours on writing each day, given that I am focusing on two websites full time. When I am finishing up chores around the house, I am thinking about writing, new ideas for the blog etc. So a typical work day for me consists of writing and thinking of new ways of developing creative themes and newer and more interesting topics. Sundays are also the same, unless we are traveling.
When starting an e-commerce platform related to news and media, what are the biggest challenges one faces?
The biggest challenge is how to spread the word without spending too much money. It is imperative to build a good audience base that understands and appreciates what you write and keeps coming back for more. It is almost like creating a battery of loyal followers and that it the most challenging bit. The only way to lure an audience is to write in such a way that it strikes a chord with people, and for that you have to constantly strive to improve and enhance your platform, content, ways of engaging with people etc.
Any thoughts you would like to leave our readers with?
I swear by this quote by Maya Angelou – “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
When I think of doing anything new, I do it with this kind of purpose, otherwise there is no fun in just doing things and being a ‘nobody.’ I strongly feel everyone should do the same and make a positive difference to everyone around!
