On Women Entrepreneurs Day, In this first episode of Living with Passion, Sadiya Naseem, CEO, Glam Studios is taking us through her entrepreneurial journey.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I'm Sadiya Naseem, founder and CEO of Glam Studios.
00:03 I belong to a city called Aita, I'm not sure whether you have heard about it or not.
00:07 It's a small city in the district of Uttar Pradesh.
00:10 I did my schooling from a UP board Hindi medium school
00:13 and post that I joined AMU wherein I did my graduation in communication
00:18 and also pursued mass communication.
00:20 So academically I'm a journalist but somehow my passion of entrepreneurship
00:24 took me towards the e-commerce space and tech startups.
00:28 At present I'm building India's fastest growing salon chain for a middle class customer.
00:34 So you know the journey of entrepreneurship started way back when I was only 16 years old
00:38 and I took admission in AMU for my graduation.
00:41 Being a student of a government school and that too from a Hindi medium segment
00:46 I was not very good at communicating in English.
00:48 So that was a big problem and I could feel that what other girls would be feeling
00:53 I mean in the similar situation.
00:55 So I started a small institute named the Shaw Success Club
01:00 and wherein I was giving free English speaking classes for any girl
01:04 who was from Hindi medium and UP board.
01:07 And I trained around 1000 girls in 3 years.
01:10 So that's where I started the journey of entrepreneurship
01:12 because gradually that startup also started making money.
01:16 But since I got admission in mass communication so I couldn't pursue that any further.
01:21 And then also when I was doing my journalism
01:24 I used to think that I'm going to start something of my own.
01:27 And in 2004 I started New Delhi's weekly newspaper
01:32 which was the Sunday Journal and the paper was focused only on positive news
01:37 and most of the content was driven by users only.
01:39 So and then I joined a company but you know that kira of entrepreneurship was always there in my mind.
01:45 I joined marjek.com that was again a startup.
01:50 Then I joined myguesthouse.com that was also a startup.
01:53 Then I also got an opportunity to lead Oyo Rooms acquisition team.
01:57 So that was also a startup but during these you know the tenure of these 3 startups
02:02 I always missed my own you know venture.
02:06 And you know glam studios happened because beauty as a space was always there in my mind.
02:11 And I could always see that you know this space is purely unorganized.
02:16 In India if you look at the market we have got more than 1.5 lakh salons
02:20 and if you look at the branded segment here
02:23 we have only 2500 branded salons and unfortunately there was no brand for a budget conscious customer.
02:29 So the idea of creating a brand for a budget conscious customer
02:33 at the same time helping these 1.5 lakh salons becoming a brand themselves
02:38 I conceptualized glam studios and today we are present across 20 cities with more than 150 salons.
02:45 See you know entrepreneurship is never easy and it's never difficult also.
02:49 It's just a passion that drives you.
02:51 Being a mother of a 9 years old daughter it was really difficult because you know
02:55 when you are doing a job it's a different kind of you know scenario.
02:58 When you are doing your own business it is entirely different.
03:01 So when I thought of starting this venture the first challenge was how am I going to
03:07 you know tackle my daughter who needs attention at this point of time she is growing.
03:12 So I asked my husband to leave his job and I was fortunate enough that he supported me
03:17 and he takes care of my daughter at home he manages all the households and manages her studies
03:22 so that I can focus on my dream of building glam studios as you know
03:26 the largest salon chain of the globe.
03:28 Entrepreneurship is a state of mind and you know you always feel high without drinking.
03:34 So that's that's how I feel you know every time you are just thinking of something new
03:39 you are trying to innovate you are trying to build strategies you are trying to
03:43 you know grow your business better and better better and better every day.
03:46 So it's it's purely a different you know state of mind I feel and it's definitely I feel I'm
03:54 fortunate that I kind of have taken a path of entrepreneurship.
03:59 You know I strongly believe that entrepreneurship is gender agnostic.
04:04 It does not really make a difference if you are a man or a woman.
04:07 It is driven by your passion.
04:10 Yes there are certain challenges for women entrepreneurship and one of them is that
04:14 people do not take you seriously.
04:16 They feel that you would be how would you manage things how would you manage your households
04:20 but I through this you know video I would like to convey to everyone that entrepreneurship
04:26 does not create any difference if you are a woman or a man.
04:29 I believe it's a state of mind and if you are an entrepreneur you find a solution for every
04:36 problem be it a problem because you are a woman you will find a solution.
04:40 So I never actually faced any problem because I'm a women entrepreneur.
04:44 Because I'm an entrepreneur I could always find solution.
04:47 I believe that women can definitely be better entrepreneurs because they can handle you
04:54 know multitasking very very well.
04:56 I would like you if you are a woman to encourage that if you have any idea do it just now because
05:03 the best time to execute this idea was yesterday.