A tragic incident forced Sheetal Bhadani to sit and ponder about how she has been toiling all the years.
Sheetal calls herself a fun loving, extrovert person, MBA graduate by qualification and ex-banker and active Marketing professional with an experience of 10 years. This is her #MakingItWork story where she has custom fit success according to her own liking.
“Corporate life was fun working/learning during my initial days of career. Later with 2 kids, it was getting really hectic to work and at the same time have a good family life.
Kids were hooked to a day care spending 8 hours there. A super hectic schedule and it was not easy to handle a team of 13, battling morning sync-ups, evening team meetings and chasing deadlines, among many other things. It was taking a toll on my health and family life.
That night which changed my outlook towards life and work
It was 13th December mid night when I felt suffocated while sleeping. I woke up to find smoke everywhere, and immediately rushed out of the house along with my two kids.
My husband was not in town. I managed to save my kids and me. Within fraction of seconds my entire house was on fire. Fire brigade was called and it took 2 hours to put off the fire. Nothing was left and I was standing helpless on the streets.
That day I realized, how important it is to being around family, and my kids. Our life is uncertain, I could have died that day. All these questions were swishing through my mind, about the safety of my kids and my fate. This triggered in me to stay around my kids, and I decided to create a setup where I could work from home. I wanted to employee other working moms , who can work from home and be around kids and family in their growing years.
Why Work from home though?
During my job I realized there are many mothers, who are highly qualified and experienced but have to take career break to take care of their kids (as we stay in nuclear family setup).
The business idea popped up. Why not to create a cottage industry. I will work from home , employee these stay at home talent pool and create a virtual place to work.
In this way I can still be employed, independent and create a work environment for struggling mothers.
Silverdot is a collaborative workplace. All employees associated with it enjoy a percentage share in the profits. The motivation level of all working with Silverdot is quite high because of our unique business model.
Setting up Silverdot, with no prior experience and understanding in business
Initially it was difficult, there were challenges motivating women to work at their career break. They were not sure if they will be able to do a justice to family life and work. Moreover , I have come across women who had lost their self confidence staying home for several years.
Motivating these resources, counselling them, accompanying them to every meeting was my major responsibility during my initial days. Identifying designers, content writers who can deliver given the strict time frame with less supervision was another challenge. We worked with my resources and finally now are able to identify the serious ones, who are all set to make a difference in their lives.
I am really enjoying my work. I am able to take care of my health, family at the same time, work for dedicated hours when kids are off to school. We often get referrals from our existing clients . I think I am more satisfied now.
Silverdot is gaining much popularity among women community . Most of our clients are women entrepreneurs. We also feel privileged to work for women run organizations.
#Futureofwork is women, as I feel they are more responsive and responsible. If these urban moms given a chance to have a better work life balance, they will prove their mettle. Future of work is not only working in a jazzy office cabin but also working from the comfort of your home."
The Mia SHEROES Summit is coming to the city near you! The theme this year is #FutureOfWork. Check out these links and register:
Mia SHEROES Summit BANGALORE (July 29, 2017)
Mia SHEROES Summit KOLKATA (August 5, 2017)
Mia SHEROES Summit CHENNAI (August 19, 2017)