Non-Athletic Careers in Sports

Meena Bindra got married when she was 20 years old. She then had two sons and got busy taking care of kids and family.

She was creative, though and took up dress designing as a hobby. Then it became a source of pocket money for her. Starting a business was never her plan, though.

She says, "When I started designing clothes as a hobby to earn some pocket money, I never dreamt of becoming a businesswoman!"

However, she had courage and passion. "If you have the passion for something, just do it," she says. And that's exactly what she did!

She took up a loan of Rs 8000 and launched the brand BIBA, a brand specializing in salwar kameez and kurtas.

In 2004, Biba opened its first outlet in a Mumbai mall. In March 2012, BIBA's annual revenues stood at Rs 300 crore. And by 2020, BIBA was a 600-crore business venture!

On her way to become a successful businesswoman, there were so many myths that Meera proved wrong.....

• **A woman cannot have a career as well as a family: Meena was married and a mum to two sons when she started her business. She has her husband's support. He helped her get her first loan to start the business. **Her sons later joined her business and helped her run it.

• One needs to be young and start early to be successful in business:** **Meena was almost 40 when she decided to launch BIBA.

• **Creativity doesn't pay. One needs a business degree to start a business: **Meena had no earlier experience of running a business or working in a corporate set-up when she started designing clothes.

  In fact, Meena was a self-taught designer. She had no formal degree in either dress designing or business. It was her determination, passion, hard work and creativity all the way.

• You need to be wealthy to start your own business or be a part of a business family:** **Meena's husband was in the Navy. She took a loan to start her business.

25-year-old Anushka is an MBA in HR. She is also a social media influencer who is into make-up and beauty. She shares her journey and everything you need to know before taking up a career as an influencer. So let's get some influencing done!

Hello Anushka! It's very nice of you to speak with us. Please tell us about yourself.

Hi, I am Anushka; I completed my MBA in Human resources in 2020. I am currently doing a corporate job and simultaneously working as a social media influencer.

How did you start your career as a social media influencer?

I had got very interested in makeup and beauty some five-six years ago. Even during my MBA, I often used to think whether I should start my makeup vlog on social media, but I was pretty much uncertain about it.

When the covid pandemic happened, I could not get placed at any job. I was very stressed, and at that point, I decided to step into social media influencing.

At first researched video editing, presentation, etc., and then uploaded just 2-3 videos. I had fun doing them. And was happy with the way they turned out.

Surprisingly I got a good response from the people. I got motivated by the people's support and appreciation. So I continued doing it and gradually became known as a beauty influencer.

Very interesting! Anushka, if someone did not know about this field, how would you educate them?

If you want to start a career as an influencer, proper research and practice are essential.

For example, if you are a girl who does not know anything about makeup, you must watch YouTube videos and start practising. Makeup is an art. And you master it by practising. Even I was terrible at makeup earlier. But I practised a lot.

You don't need to enrol for expensive courses or training

If you are determined to do, you can also train yourself at your home! Consistency and patience are required; that's it!

You have a full-time corporate job as an HR professional. And now you also work as a social media influencer. So tell me, how do you manage and organise your day?

On the weekdays I am busy with my office work.

But on the weekends, I shoot and edit my vlogs. This way, my weekends are all about shooting and content creation which, of course, I love!

Tell us more about being a social influencer as a career opportunity

Being an influencer is like a dream job! You can work from anywhere and at any time. There are no restrictions.

Also, many people support and praise us, which pushes us to work harder.

In fact, you get paid for what you love, and you need not take any particular degree or course to get into this career.

You need to make a bare minimum investment while starting as an influencer. A ring light, an android phone, or a camera if you have and you are done!

I have always wanted to work with big brands. This dream of mine is accomplished by being an influencer! I have collaborated with the brands like Nykaa, Purplle Mac cosmetics, etc.

Also, the support of my social media followers is immense! So these are the things I will never forget.

In my view, being an influencer is not always very happy-go-lucky!

There will be hatred; there will be negative comments flowing out in the comment section of your page. A courageous person who can take all this more realistically can choose this career.

Also, if you only love doing something and start your vlog page and then stop when you get bored, it will not help. Continuation and the will to inspire people should be there inside you.

Moreover, you need to learn skills like editing, presentation, shooting, etc. You should have that spark to learn things. Even I handle all the things by myself. In the end, people will watch you for 2-3 mins, and you should stand out and stick to their attention!

What is your message to the young girls out there?

I see a lot of girls getting confused about their careers. I would say that go slow, analyse what you love.