I simply believe in waking up every morning and reinventing myself. It has become a part of my daily regime. If my team has met the sales target for the week, the next morning I will be itching to do something new. I cannot be tied to my work desk.
1. Tell us about your background and journey. How did your formative and training years help you to become the person you are today?
I am a true blue third-generation Mumbai girl. It was in 2008, like any other young graduate I was completely raw and unaware since Plan A and Plan B never really happened for me career-wise. To be honest, I wasn’t confused but rather heartbroken, as whatever I thought of becoming as I was growing up, blew up right in my face. So at age 21, I was a fresh graduate, with no idea what I wanted to do but to be financially independent.
So, I took up a job with an IT company for a few months, continued switching jobs for the next year, and finally settled for a decently paid job with an event company. Here again, I was hired for space selling for events but eventually ended up doing a myriad of roles in the coming years. From conference production to onsite operations and branding to marketing strategy and PR.
I did it all. At the age of 23, I was managing a team of 15, most of them with an MBA degree. But my true calling was something else. Coming from a business family, being an entrepreneur was always in my DNA. Growing up my father always believed that I would make a fantastic entrepreneur, according to him I had all that it takes to make a successful businesswoman, I always laughed it off.
People management skills, corporate jazz, and strategizing are something that I have learned from the various job opportunities that came my way, but being a leader and managing a business and having an acumen for it is not something that you learn but are born with. So before becoming Amrita Singh, the entrepreneur, I was Amrita Singh the brand manager, the event manager, the conference producer, the marketing specialist, the PR, and the media manager. All these roles have cumulatively shaped me into the person I am today.
2. Over the years, you have gained expertise in marketing, event planning, brand development, business strategy, and consultancy. Which management field among these do you enjoy working in the most and why?
I simply believe in waking up every morning and reinventing myself. It has become a part of my daily regime. If my team has met the sales target for the week, the next morning I will be itching to do something new. I cannot be tied to my work desk.
I am out and about all day meeting either my clients or business associates over a cup of coffee or lunch and constantly learning from them. So my roles vary as per the person I am meeting for the day. But if you think of it, whatever role I play for the day, it all boils down to business strategy.
3. What are the biggest challenges you had to face in your journey? How did you overcome them?
Towards the end of 2016, I took a break from work. I had been married for over a year and I wanted to step back and analyze where my career was heading. This was actually the first time in about 8 years when I was not working. The moment I quit, I knew I wanted the family to grow so I was home for the next 18 months. Then in March 2018, I decided I wanted to get back in the game, so I called up my consultant and he was so excited that he lined up several interviews at top firms immediately.
I do not want to name them, but although I was the perfect candidate for the job, I was purely rejected on the basis that I had just delivered a baby and they did not see me fit for such an important role! So being a mother made me an unfavorable candidate for the same profile which I was handling a couple of years ago so very efficiently.
That is not the sad part, some organizations were polite with their rejections with reasons like we can't afford the package you are asking for or the work timings may not align with your new role as a mother, but one, in particular, was so shameless that they had the audacity to bluntly state that they don’t hire married women and especially new mothers! I was fuming with rage and with each rejection, I was all the more determined to get back to being the independent woman I always was.
If the package was attractive, the work environment seemed hostile. Having shared this, I am glad that those rejections came my way. The entrepreneur in me was waiting to explode. It motivated me to start my own firm and be my own boss. I am extremely thankful, that I did accept any of those despicable offers that came my way, just because I was desperate to get back to business.
In fact, it fueled ideas in my head and here I am today! It may sound like I am blowing my own trumpet but trust me I deserve to! MTF the firm is my labor of love and the sacrifices that I made in the last 3 years as a mother and a wife to become a brand in my own right! We are now a one-stop solution for all your cladding needs – interior or exterior!
4. If you could go back in time and advise your younger self to do something differently, what would it be?
If I backtrack, I wouldn’t change a thing about how my career has shaped, but on a personal level I would love to tell my twenty-three-year-old self - To be more patient with people, to be more resilient, to be kinder, and to be humbler.
5. Management roles and working dynamics incorporate have been changing rapidly over the past few years. What changes have you observed since you started your career?
The last year has brought about a much bigger change in people’s attitudes and work dynamics than the last decade. In a career spanning a little over 12 years, I have made some fantastic connections in my industry. Every individual has a different story to share with little anecdotes that contribute to who they are. I have met some very progressive professionals as well as had some bitter experiences that form the core of who I am today.
The corporate world is as brutal as it was in 2010. It totally depends on an individual’s mettle and personal experiences. To summarize, it’s survival of the fittest! Evolve, adapt and run and chase your dreams!
6. Who are your business role models? Why?
My role model is not one particular individual. I don’t idolize business tycoons, because I don’t know them on a personal level. I feel, who you are as a person in the various roles that you play in your life defines the kind of achiever you are. I was lucky to have a fantastic equation with each of my bosses in every organization that I have worked at. Being so closely associated with them helped me understand them on a personal level.
Though each of them was the complete opposite of the other, there is one thing that was common which also makes them extremely successful leaders. It is the discipline and dedication towards their work. Consistency is the key. I have always had one very motivating pillar of strength in my life. Someone who has always believed in me supported me unconditionally, and never gave up on me even when I didn't believe in myself. He is not only my support system but a dear friend and a great adviser. My husband, Vikrant.
And I am not saying this because, I am married to him, apart from having a fabulous business sense, he is a fantastic human being. From business insights to identifying my strengths, he has been a huge factor in me becoming who I am today.
7. What books would you recommend for budding entrepreneurs and managers?
I would be lying if I said I read a lot of books on business management and other relevant subjects. I have been a voracious reader growing up. But again, I haven’t read anything in a while as juggling family and work can be very daunting.
But I do read the newspapers every morning, to keep myself informed and updated as watching the news gives me a headache. Also never ever stop meeting people, even if it means virtually in today’s scenario. Nothing can beat the satisfaction of an intellectually stimulating conversation.
Amrita Singh - Director - Morash Trade Functions
Interviewed By: Nishad Kinhikar
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