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1. Tell us about your background and journey.
Coming from a Business family has its own pros and cons. While you are blessed with entrepreneurial mindset and grooming on business mechanisms, you also face challenges.
Traditional Businesses have always been patriarchal, the women often being spectators and support acts for the male family members. Growing up, it seemed Women in traditional Business families had a set plan to study till graduation, and then get married.
And I learnt, that to make my way, I will have to influence the people around me to gain the support, to build my career. And thus began my career as an influencer, 20 years back.
Convincing my family for a better education was my first venture. Be it studying in a Co-ed, going to BIT Mesra and later MBA away from home to carve out professional success. These are things people today consider unremarkable, but for my world, it was a Micro-revolution reaping sweet success.
With my family’s blessings, I got into a banking job, married according to my choice, left a successful banking career to build my business. At one time, I left work to handle pregnancy issues and later on, my young baby.
But I came back again, with all the blessings of people around, to grow Today, I am close to building my own mark as an entrepreneur. All because I could influence people.
Today I can relate with traditional and the Modern, the SME and the celebrity, Because they influenced me throughout the journey.
2. What led you to start your page on Instagram and what is it about?
The women in Urban Traditional families come through a different conditioning process. Sometimes you can’t study higher because that reduces your marriage options, as the men in the business might not have done an MBA.
It means women are often under skilled, dependent on other’s choices and traditional boundaries, they might be knowing the answers but still have a fear of failure.
Even in a Modern city of Mumbai. Hence I started as Urbamom, my expression of the real urban moms. I wanted to speak to women like me, that yes, you could be a fabulous mom, housewife, working woman, all at the same time.
I wanted to help them evolve into super smart experts across parenting or other walks of life.
3. How would you distinguish the term blogger from an influencer?
A blogger is expression of yourself, while influencers carry a bit more responsibility as they are speaking to their followers all the time. All bloggers are not influencers and vice versa.
I just wanted to express myself. So I started as a blogger. But then I realized that a lot of people had started following me because they could relate to me.
Here was the time I felt that I had to take up the mantle where, by sharing my experiences, I could influence the way my followers thought about the
mom life.
4. Is it financially sustainable to be an influencer today?
When I started my page https://www.instagram.com/urba_mom, I had no Idea about the possibilities of making money from it. But when I started connecting with more people, I felt it could be a financial play, but it’s a very hard path.
In India, Influencer is very unorganized industry, without any rules for minimum pay. Gaining followers is not easy and also consumes time and investment. Many people are not aware about ways to monetize it.
Many are not aware about the agencies involved. There is hell lot of competition, plagiarism and lack of information. Influencers are not aware about, how much they should charge.
So, the financial sustainability depends on influencers, how they build their network and negotiate to charge with brands and agencies and have confidence in their right kind of followers.
5. What do you think influences consumer behavior?
Word of mouth, trust in the product and the relatability of the influencer with the end user. It is very important that the influencer believes in the products they endorse, as their credibility and reach adds to the product.
6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?
Never Let the confidence drop while chasing excellence in what you do. Success will happen someday, but the experience you gain will be your biggest ally in life.
7. How can someone become a successful social media influencer?
A person should have dedication to learn, evolve and invest to grow in any field of life. One should constantly be innovative in terms of engaging their audience with all possible techniques.
Should be upgraded with latest trend and news related to their industry and niche and be consistent in their performance.
8. Which is your favorite book and why?
“The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. Because it asks the reader to build positive belief. And that’s what matters the most in life.
Interviewed by - Vayun Sahni
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