In this very fast transforming world, we have to make decision and move forward on the path of success. As in today’s interview based on same true life event. Archana Chaurasia Kapoor who was working as a banker but quit her job and continue her journey in blogging and writing world. She has the ability to vision transformative futures for your organization and create pragmatic routes to reach new horizons.
She has a proven track record in the BFSI industry creating frameworks for growth from the ground up.
Everyone should always have two books with him, one to read and one to write in. – R L Stevenson
Good Morning! Have a nice week ahead!#qotd
— Archana C Kapoor (@archanackapoor) July 27, 2015
As part of ModernLifeTimes Interview series, It is an honor to have Archana Chaurasia Kapoor, C.E.O and Managing Director or more well known as @archanackapoor on Twitter. I am extremely happy to interview with her and share her great insights.
Let’s begin the conversation :
Q1: Tell me more about yourself and why you started your career in creative writing?
I am a Mumbai girl now living in the United States. Have been a Banker and a Learning and Development Professional during my corporate stints for nearly 16 years, post which I quit my corporate career in 2013 to start a Human Resources Consulting Firm. The seed for starting something of my own was sown when I was a kid, as I come from a business background but the thought finally took shape when I completed my higher education at INSEAD in 2012.
Writing has always been part and parcel of my life throughout. Though I started blogging officially from January 2015, I have been into creative writing for a while.
Q2: How did your journey start and what difficulties you faced?
I was reluctant to start writing on a blog site, but my husband Desh Kapoor – who is a veteran blogger himself, cajoled me into writing as he believed I was good at expressing my thoughts. He made Drishti (our website) himself and gifted it to me to inveigle me into writing. That was his way of telling me how much he valued my written word, and that’s how my blogging journey began.
To be honest, I didn’t face any difficulty except the million dollar question – what should I write next? Desh was there to help me in every way on the technical side especially. Having been a social media enthusiast for the longest I did not really find it tough to spread the good word either.
Once I got into the grove, even the million dollar question disappeared as I started seeing a story in every aspect of life. Since then, there has been no looking back! Ofcourse, there are times when one does face the writer’s block once in a while, but luckily it hasn’t happened much to me.
Q3: How did you start with blogging and what ideas have you got to start working on?
I used to write on my Facebook page on the notes section for a few years whenever something touched a chord or I was unhappy about anything. I did get appreciated for my writing but I wasn’t sure I could become a full time blogger, because for me writing was more about narrating my travel stories, writing a poem once in a while, or sharing my experiences.
Initially, I wanted to start a travel blog. To be honest I thought I would never be able to sustain writing unless it was about my travels. However that changed dramatically and if you read my posts now, they are about any and every topic that one could possibly think of.
Q4: Tell us more about Drishtique and what services do you offer to your clients?
Drishtique Worlwide is a Human Resources Consulting Firm through which we offer development solutions to enhance Human Capital in businesses. We focus on growth and building skill-sets.
Q5: What strategies would you implement for helping generating leads (or conversions)?
We are a small firm and were lucky to get references through old contacts to begin with. Post the initial few months our clients started giving us references. In the Consulting business it is crucial to get testimonials for the good work and results that you have achieved for your clients, and that helps you get references as well as close deals on projects smoothly.
Our biggest and most valued strategy for lead generation is to maintain the quality of work and deliver as promised. That has been our success mantra so far.
We do use social media actively to promote the open house learning programs that we run. Recently, we conducted a program on Lego Serious Play and most of the clients who attended were either through word of mouth or through social media.
Q6: What’s your passion other than your business?
There are a lot of things that I love doing. Reading, writing, traveling, connecting with new people and dancing give me immense pleasure.
Q7: Suppose you got super power. Which ‘Super Power’ you wish to get and Why?
Wow! Now that’s a super question because I love super heroes. Guess you know that already. But on a serious note Amit, I don’t wish to get any super powers because increasingly one notices that it’s the people in power who mess many lives because they don’t know how to handle it.
If at all, I wish I always possess good sense and wisdom to do good to others as well as to myself. I will be happy with this much.
Q8: Which Social Media tools do you use & Why?
I use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, StumbleUpon and Google+
Phew! That’s some list I guess. I am particularly fond of using Twitter and Facebook, as it helps me in connecting with new people, like-minded people and people with completely different interests. These tools also help in promoting the blog and reaching a much wider audience.
Of late, I have started using Instagram – a bit late in the day though, but that is purely due to my interest in photography.
Q9: Do share some tips on how to become successful as a writer?
I love to write whatever I feel strongly about, and that, I think is a big plus point for any writer. People do talk about being passionate about the written word, but I feel when there’s logic and a strong belief about the subject you are writing on, the passion shows.
Also, I would like to stress upon the need for using good language and proof reading your articles. Many a people argue that one need not be great at the language to be able to communicate well, but I feel differently. Good language skills help you to emphasise your thoughts and communicate better with your audience. That also shows you are respectful towards your audience and value the time and effort that they put in, in reading your blog.
The third point that I would like to stress upon is research. If you are writing about non-personal topics, it is imperative to be well researched on the topic before writing about it. Your thoughts are important but so are the facts.
And lastly, please do not write for the sake of it. Write because you feel for it and because you want to.
Q10: Technology world is expanding rapidly. Which tech innovation you think is great and why?
Well, these days many technical innovations are impacting our lives. However, I would say that two major trends will change the way technology works and is addressed. One is Smartphones. Today’s smartphones will define tomorrow’s computing. The framework, the Operating systems and methods used today in smartphones will lay the foundation of how tomorrow’s everyday technology is shaped. Two is Open Source.
The concept itself has brought down the cost of many technologies tremendously. And not just brought the costs down but also taken innovation to a whole new level. Open Source arenas are not simply delivering new products but also training and breeding grounds for the best developers of future and technology entrepreneurs.
I believe these two things will change how we all live and interact with technology forever!
