Prerna Sinha
Explore, Experience, Hustle; and there begins my story of becoming an entrepreneur"
Prerna Sinha
#BOSSLADY DETAILS:
Name & Surname: Prerna Sinha
Strengths: HR, People, Content, and anything that she decides to pick in life
Country: India
Industry: Fashion/Clothing/ E-commerce
Favorite quote: Dare to Dream, and when you dream, Dream Big!
1. Please give us a bit of background on yourself
Graduated in history from one of the most prestigious colleges in India, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, and went over to attain an MBA in HR & Marketing. Post that, worked for over a decade in HR roles in top MNCs and some of the most agile organizations in the country. Worked across industries and enhanced productivity of teams by multiple folds. At different start-ups where I worked, I set up structures, processes and changed the way of work. Have the ability to handle multiple clients at one point in time, with more than 100% client satisfaction. Expert at HR processes, organizational development, writing content, crafting conferences, producing events, leading teams, making an impact on organization cultures.
In 2017, when I became a mother, I found myself struggling to balance motherhood and a very high-pressure job. The stressful non-ending working hours made it very hard for me to balance work and family. Every day was getting worse, trying to play the role of a mother & an ambitious professional. I was not feeling satisfied in any role, as balancing both was not so easy. I continued to work for 2 more years but in 2019 I realized that my health - both physical and mental-was dipping and that was the turning point of my life. This phase changed me as a person and helped me transition from HR to entrepreneurship. I went on to launch my own brand, my start-up - Urbane Essence and since then it's been a joyful ride.
I love traveling and have traveled widely across India and Europe. Also, I love learning languages, with knowledge of Spanish, German, English, and Hindi. Been a topper in the Spanish language at Delhi University.
I have always held social work very close to my heart. Been actively involved with organizations like Udayan, CRY, NSS, and other social groups that work for children and women. My start-up, Urbane Essence also aims to work for the economic empowerment of women weavers in India.
2. What are some of your biggest achievements throughout your journey?
The biggest achievement throughout the journey has been the synergy that the brand has been able to create. Just at the launch, we had people from all across the globe visiting us on the website - different parts of America, Europe, West Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the major part being that from India. We have received an enormous response from people keen on associating or even working for the brand in less than 15 days of the launch. A huge number of people from the saree community are reaching out to us to collaborate in any way possible. So the love and warmth the brand has received are overwhelming because the brand itself stands for making 'women fall in love with themselves, for helping them overcome body shaming and embrace their feminine self, to help them feel free in their bodies.
I also feel honored to have sourced collections that highlight the deft craftsmanship of tribal artists whose work usually goes unnoticed.
In my overall journey in life, I have always been the top performer in all the organizations where I have worked. While maternity leave had been extended to 6 months, I returned to work after 1.5 months of delivery and gave the best to my work, and got promotion & increment immediately after coming back from maternity. I have been leading teams since the early days of my career. I also received the 'Change Agent' Award in one of the early organizations for bringing change in the culture, working style, and structure of the organization.
3. What are 3 business principles that are of core value to you?
Always work towards a vision - Having a clear, ambitious vision is very important for a business because it helps me steer clear of the obstacles by keeping the 'vision' in mind. Vision springs from our dream to achieve something, and I feel dreaming big, daring to dream is super important and basing our vision on that dream brings success closer to a brand.
Value people over process - I value people the way I value my life, my family, and my friends. Giving respect, appreciating people, and helping them achieve their highest potential while achieving the business goals is my core business principle.
Relationships matter a lot - My relationships with my customers, vendors, employees, and peers are what I hold very close to my heart. I believe working on relationships is as important as sourcing, social media, or marketing strategies.
4. What is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur one has to go through many ups and downs, there is uncertainty, risk, and a fear of failure. The more you push yourself beyond these fears the more you succeed. No matter how passionate & romantic you are about your business idea, you have to keep a reality check. You have to be in charge of the business and focus on its financials and always keep working towards the bottom line. There is no single aspect of the business that can get out of your attention, one needs to very closely hold on to all the details, functions, processes, analytics, and people. For a woman, it is very similar to running a household where she has to be in charge of everything. Being aggressive when it comes to business, and letting the soft, pure feeling of love flowing as a mother, wife is something one needs to balance well.
Managing one's emotions while running a business is quite a challenge because it wavers from excitement, aggression to feeling low and lost at times. As the business moves through different phases, it also keeps affecting the entrepreneur's emotions. And in such situations, it's best to keep working on your inner self through meditation, yoga, reading, or any healing technique that one knows of. Balancing the inner and outer quest is a challenge when it comes to an entrepreneur but it's not an impossible task...it's simply a journey!
5. How do you stand out in this digital world?
The only way to stand out in the digital world is to utilize all the tools at our disposal in the best way we can. As a brand, we are trying to stand out of the clutter by ensuring that our message resonates with our target audience.
We believe in creating conversations, engaging with our audience, and providing excellent customer service throughout our customer journey. Selling the experience is more important than selling the product.
6. What was one of the biggest mistakes that you have made throughout your journey and what lesson did you learn from it?
I am a perfectionist and try to achieve that in whatever I do. In the initial days of the setting up of business, I tried to make everything perfect. I didn't realize that timing and perfectionism had to go hand in hand. I wanted the website, the product, the story, the photography, the model to be perfect. And I wasn't focussing as much on the sales. However, I learned that 'timing' is very important in business and business decisions must always be focussed on the bottom line.
7. What is your key to success?
Nothing beats the combination of hard work, determination, and a vision towards which you keep pushing yourself. Every day you strive to be better at the game, and learning lessons and overcoming them goes a long way in achieving success.
8. What does success mean to you?
A happy, joyful & peaceful life where I enjoy my work as well as my personal life.
9. what does the future hold for you?
This is about my start-up/brand - “Explore, Experience, Hustle; and there begins my story of becoming an entrepreneur! A decade in corporate flew away sooner than anticipated while I lived every day with a sense of something being missing! I switched jobs, took a sabbatical, traveled, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and then, finally quit my beloved organization & admirable bosses, but nothing changed. I was searching for a 'sense of achievement' every day and everywhere!
It was only in 2020, I realized there was a need to introspect, answer my inner quest, and create something new. Redirection was what I was being guided to do. With every door that didn't open for me, the universe gave me a sign to change. I finally rose to the challenge and picked up the hat of an 'entrepreneur'.
Urbane Essence represents my ‘leap of faith. With this venture, I have tried to combine my love of saree & passionate desire to start my own venture. My endeavor is a shout-out to all the women out there to love themselves and embrace their beauty. And there is no better way to love one than by draping oneself in the attire of their choice! This is the platform where a woman can choose what would make her fall in love with herself.
Prerna Sinha
GET IN TOUCH WITH SINCHANA GOWDA
Website: https://www.myurbane.com
Email address: urbane.essence@gmail.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Urbane-Essence-101012971979469