My Journey
“Ordinary people do extraordinary things”
I’VE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THIS QUOTE IN LIFE, AND EVERY TIME I BEGIN SOMETHING NEW, I AM REMINDED OF MY YOUNGER SELF, THE FEARLESS SMALL-TOWN GIRL WHO CONQUERED BIG DREAMS.
Growing up, I lived more out of a suitcase than a wardrobe. My dad – my role model – worked closely with the government and was transferred nine times in twelve years. For me, this meant nine different schools, nine opportunities to start over, and nine different sets of friends. But my heart still wanted to wander. While my childhood friends were picking out wedding dresses and getting ready to move into their husbands’ homes, I packed my bags for the final time and booked a one-way ticket to Dubai.
Like most Indian parents, my mum and dad were worried about my future. I’d been enrolled in a prestigious college in the UK, and the fees for the first semester had been paid; but instead, much to their dismay (and threat to my matrimonial prospects) I took a promotional job at L’Oreal. It was a temporary gig that paid me by the hour, but I loved it! Days later, I bagged myself a full-time role in L’Oreal and a year later in real estate.
A girl who was so sheltered she didn’t even know how to operate an ATM machine or use public transport was now handling a sales team of 12 from different nationalities. I was only 20, and I had big dreams.
Here’s a funny story; it took a wallet for me to realise my dreams were within reach. There was this red Louis Vuitton wallet in the store window, and it became a ritual for me to stop and stare at it every time I visited the mall. 16 years later, I still use this wallet. It’s a daily reminder that the world is mine for the taking – all I need to do is dream it, and work hard to achieve it.
It’s easy to get carried away by the glitz and glamour of Dubai and get caught in the rat race, but that wasn’t a path I wanted to follow. I truly believe practising business with empathy is what has taken me forward, and I make it a point to consciously ask myself “How can I first help someone, and how then can I help myself”.
People respect honest people, and it’s this mantra that’s kept me on the straight and narrow; bringing good opportunities, good clients and good business my way. And when the people I’ve nurtured at my organizations move on, I’m excited – that’s one more amazing person I can collaborate with in the future!
Society puts so much pressure on you to have a career by a certain age, earn a certain amount of money by a certain age. It’s okay to lose time and money – it doesn’t define you. Society doesn’t define you. I promise. It took me a long time to find my calling, and it took a pandemic to give me the courage to foray into three new businesses. I know I have my own journey and my own successes, and I don’t need the front page of a magazine to reassure me of my accomplishments.
From extended maternity leaves, to flexible and hybrid work environment, I make sure my team feels empowered and ready to take on the world.
2023 made me a mom of two daughters, I believe it is my responsibility now more than ever to change and improve the lives of working mothers. That is how Rejoin came into existence – a passion project that help mums who have had career breaks re-enter the workforce.
Believe in your journey, and you’ll get there.
This is probably a very different story to what you’d expect to find on my website. But this is me. Honest, baring my soul and my pen, and writing from the heart. I hope this inspires you, and ignites you. Journey on.
Get To Know barot
Favorite Travel Spot:
Italy
Can’t Live Without:
MY PHONE. I am more relaxed if I am in the know of what’s happening with my companies
Must Have Accessory:
MY HANDBAG. I am known as the bag lady always have lots to carry from my lunch to laptop to change of clothes if I need to rush to an event
Best Advice:
Cliché but trust your gut its never wrong
Describe yourself in one Word:
Happy
Secret Talent:
Stand up comedy
The mantra I live by
“Defy the odds”