We invited Payal Irani, Founder and CEO at BLOOM A Core Transformer for an interview with Most Popular Stories. Let’s know about her entrepreneurial journey.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an
entrepreneur
I am a Mumbaikar, having had my schooling and college education in Mumbai. For higher education, my parents sent me to Switzerland and England. I need to thank my parents for having bestowed me with the opportunity to study abroad.
On my part, I was enterprising while studying in London. Whenever opportunities arose to do part-time jobs, I was game to accept it. It gave me additional pocket money and also necessary work experience in varied fields. This stint helped me widen my horizons. This also gave me rich perspectives on various facets of life.
After coming back to the motherland, I was consumed with a burning desire to continue upgrading myself. First, I did a 250 hours Master Diploma in Training and Development. Then I have got myself enrolled in high-end courses from Speakers Institute, which is based in Australia. I am finding a lot of value in these courses. In between, I did a complete course in Psycho-Geometrics. This is an exciting study that is helping me analyze people. The ability to predict probable behavior in a given set of circumstances is a great take away from this course.
While doing these courses, I revived my dream of giving birth to something different. So, in collaboration with hand-picked people I met during these courses, Bloom was born. This is a venture that started in September 2020. After taking baby steps in the initial months, we are ready for take-off.
2. Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I never felt I was cut for a nine to five job. Doing a job means you sacrifice your freedom and independence to help someone else’s dreams. I never fancied myself being straight-jacketed in such a role. I wanted to be a free bird to live my dreams and aspirations. The whole wide world is my canvas, providing me with the tools to create my future. The incubation of Bloom is the fulfillment of that dream.
3. What was the vision behind it?
The vision is to create something different and distinctly Indian. Utilizing the services of hand-picked like-minded individuals who are thought leaders in their spheres of influence to curate an experience that will have a lasting impact on society.
4. Describe the services that you offer to your customers and in what way they are unique?
We are positioning Bloom as a centre for Excellence in Education, Training, Development.
From September 2020, Bloom started with a series of Talk Shows. Domain experts and thought leaders worldwide have shared their experiences and viewpoints on a wide range of topics. At present, these sessions are pro bono. These sessions are providing a tangible takeaway for participants. These talk shows anchored by Premraj V Kalapadan and co-hosted by Deepak R Khemani has become very popular. We are seeing a dedicated band of followers for this talk show.
From February, we are introducing sessions on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Our in-house teams will take these sessions with each day dedicated to a specific theme.
In the future, we plan to start coaching sessions to teach the skills of Writing and Speaking to pre-teens and teenagers.
Our future planning will be a foray into Market Surveys, Research etc.
5. What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?
I am a self-driven person. If I make up my mind on accomplishing anything, I work towards it with single-minded devotion. For Bloom, I had to pick a team to assist me in my dream. It was after a great deal of thought I zeroed in on the team. Once I had hand-picked the team, I approached them. It was a pleasant surprise all of them agreed to team up without asking any questions. This gave me the confidence I needed to do something that could become big. I am the youngest of the lot. But that has not made any difference as we have gelled and collaborated beautifully.
I empower the right people for excellent work according to their aptitude. This way, I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress. To see these senior members of the team without having to be given directions fascinates me.
I am learning a lot from these senior professionals and they have ensured we do not face much teething problems.
We are now looking forward to seeing more and more participants in the Sunday talk show.
6. How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Being saddled with pressure is a way of life with us. To achieve anything in life, a lot of obstacles have to be surmounted. I have had my share of pressures when incubating my venture, Bloom. Before the venture was incubated, I had to shortlist the people I felt would fit. I debated the pros and cons of each of them and how they would gel into the team. After the Core team and Advisors were approached and got on board, I have had to handle pressure from friends and acquaintances who wanted to be part of the team.
Politely declining to entertain them was a delicate exercise as I did not want to spoil my relationship with them. I had to drop having them as part of the team, as I did not feel the need for more members, and whatever strengths these people would bring to the table were already being provided by the team that we had cobbled together.
Stress, I believe, happens when one’s ability to handle pressure boils over. I feel I have been able to withstand and handle pressure well, due to which I have not been overwhelmed by stress.
7. How do you market your business?
It is early days with Bloom. We are in the nascent stage of marketing ourselves. Our Website is up and running. The Talk shows we have been running every Sunday without a break since September has a loyal following. This dedicated group is expected to rope in their friends and acquaintances to enlarge the pool of people coming into our contact.
Plans are afoot to take the help of a professional agency in our marketing efforts to become visible.
8. How many hours a day do you work on average & can you
describe/outline your typical day?
I start my day with prayers, end my day with prayers. There is no fixed time, a particular time table I follow, or the number of hours I work. I prioritize my work, which I complete as soon as possible.
I keep connected with my Core TEAM of Bloom daily where I explore ideas, delegate work, and spend constructive time for Bloom to blossom.
Whenever and whichever way I work and connect, I do it with all my heart, hard work, and soul. Whether it’s my peers, colleagues, mentors, family, friends, I connect with love and from my heart. Being honest and transparent is the key.
9. In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
- Competent Leadership
- Consistency.
- Creativity.
- Collaboration rather than competition.
- Crisis Management
10. What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring
entrepreneur?
My advice to an aspiring entrepreneur would be to do a SWOT analysis of oneself. This will make you aware of your strengths. Capitalize on your strengths. As for the weaknesses, seek help or outsource the work. When one tries to capitalize on strengths, the focus on the job at hand will be laser-sharp. Moreover, one will be doing something which one likes or loves. This will sow the seeds of the venture becoming successful.
Connect Here,
Website: https://bloom-world.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payal-irani-116799183/
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