When you’re co-running a business and you discover that you and your business partner are mismatched, it’s make or break, right? Such was the narrative of my Page 1 Woman. However, she walked away from this challenging experience, scared but with her head held high. And with some coaching from me, in the first few months, she drew on her inner resources and set up another business in Goa in 2016.
Meet Sapna Shahani, bold, determined, resilient and tenacious, she’s now the director of ‘Blurb’ a social media marketing business that has cornered the Goan hospitality market. And all that in just 3 years! But how did she do it? How did she navigate the challenges that afflict single women in a country with entrenched traditions – many of which work against women? Take a read and find out.
What do you do for a living?
Sapna: I’m the director of ‘Blurb’, a marketing agency, here in India. We specialize in social media, graphic design, photography, videography. We’re also getting into digital marketing, and search engine optimization. And we've been doing more specialised advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
We cater to the hospitality industry – hotels, restaurants and cafes - here in Goa, which is a tourist destination. But now we're branching out into other businesses, e.g. retail, wellness and events in India. Although, I'm quite happy serving the local market sometimes it becomes small and we look abroad, e.g to the USA. We are three and a half years old. But I've been doing this work for just over five years, the first two years with a partner under a different name.
Sapna Shahani
What essential steps did you take to get to where you are?
Sapna: For the most part we've grown organically. I've followed my instinct about what we need to do. My business training helped me to understand that you have to create an effective model. So, I put a plan together. And when I came back and looked at the plan a while later, I found that things went according to my plan. Because things are dynamic, you have to constantly feel your way through and make decisions that build step by step to create a company.
One essential step was choosing to cater for the hospitality industry. I spotted a market and a need, which made us the first company in Goa to specialise in marketing for restaurants primarily. It provided a clear vision of solving the problems of one industry and specialising guaranteed us work. It worked well for a while but now I feel we're at a crossroads. But that's the reality of business. You can't take things for granted.
Another smart thing was branding the name, ‘Blurb’ and logo, which caught on because they’re meaningful and spoke to people.
What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome?
Sapna: My biggest challenge was the traumatic breakdown of the relationship with my previous business partner. Despite not knowing each other well, we got together, and gave each other the strength to start something. Her fortes complimented mine. So, I don't regret that. But after a while it was more than clear that we were very different and didn’t share some key values, which affected our work.
My frustration with the situation and the on-going tensions in our relationship led me to quit and set up ‘Blurb’. It was scary but I knew I had the confidence to go it alone and what I was missing I could learn. Her reaction confirmed I was making the right decision. On the bright side, I discovered that the market was big enough to accommodate both companies. And when ‘Blurb’ began doing better, I was proud.
Another challenge is when our revenue falls. We work in a seasonal market; there’s good weather and tourism for six months, followed by six months of monsoon when there’s little work. For the last few years we’ve survived by working harder on business development and marketing ourselves more. I’ve hired a business developer now.
What was your greatest light bulb moment?
Sapna: Once you've done something for a long time, there comes a point when things become routine. I was recently re-inspired to work towards setting up an online tourist magazine under ‘Blurb’, focusing on cultural issues. Journalism and publishing have always excited me. But I’ve been unable to do it because of the cost. The light bulb moment came when I saw it as part of my marketing budget. Once we break even, I could spend on the magazine and reignite my passion.
What resource has been crucial to your success?
Sapna: My team. We’re open and flexible and feel comfortable with each other. We like each other and work well together. But I’ve had to let go a former team member. He didn’t get on with the others and his work wasn’t good. Both are required when you work for ‘Blurb’.
Team members play their part well, which makes everything work. Creating that environment, setting expectations and being clear on what’s acceptable and unacceptable develops mutual respect and understanding and work is easier.
What do you understand by leadership?
Sapna: As a leader, I give direction according to my vision. The team can’t work well if I don't set the agenda. Whenever I’m looking for another direction, I explore it, and once I understand where we're going and what we're doing then I clearly communicate that to my team.
I also rely on my team for feedback and advice because they know more than me in some areas and I value their input. India, like other developing countries, has a patriarchy, with a ‘listen to me or be punished’ attitude. It doesn’t work. So, I’ve a collaborative participatory approach - maybe because I started out working in the U.S. in Berkeley, a very liberal participatory non-profit environment. So, that was my natural tendency.
It's a breath of fresh air for the team, compared to their previous jobs and what they hear about other companies. There's fear in a lot of companies but there isn't fear here. There’s a sense of ‘this is my job and I choose to achieve these things’. Because when I ask for their input or advice, they give it because they want to and they’re valued, not because they’re afraid.
And, I pay more than other companies, I think. In India the attitude is that the boss exploits labour and takes a big pay check. But that doesn’t work long-term. Here, everybody is well compensated and appreciated, so they stay longer and we’re growing better as a company.
As a single woman running a business here, it's sometimes hard to know whether things happen because of my gender. I’ve had experiences that have made me wonder. It can be quite cutthroat. A number of ex-staff members have left and started their own businesses and weren't nice about it. It was like getting the middle finger.
Also, there were others who saw our success and started their own companies. They can be aggressive. The attitude isn’t ‘let's compete and do better’. It's ‘let's bring her down’. That, I would never do.
Maybe it’s about my gender. I'm gender equal, so, I don't disparage men. But I do think that they see it as ‘Who’s this girl from outside Goa who’s showing us how to do things?’. So, there’s this common attitude to prove me wrong.
You have to outwit people, buckle down, meditate, get inspiration and outsmart them. But certain female qualities have helped me. In India, I believe that women are more honest than men and we're better communicators worldwide. That's why there's more women in public relations and communications. That’s certainly helped me. But also, I think there's a sense of trust from some male clients of, ‘She's a girl, so she won't cheat us’. So, that works favourably.
I'm partial to women and I'm not embarrassed admitting that. So, my team comprises five women and one man. Kudos to that guy. In a patriarchal society like India, he's unthreatened by all these women colleagues. He's a nice guy too.
I'm passionate about women’s empowerment. And I'm so different from who I was in the USA where there were many opportunities. Being a single woman in a small part of India without many opportunities means I can't do whatever I like. I have to be careful and do what makes money and make my nest egg work. And now that things are difficult, I need faith that things will turn a corner and be great again. Maybe one day, I’ll have to up and do something completely different.
What are your top three tips for women who want to be leaders in their field?
Sapna: First, know your capabilities and your strengths well, then you’ll get insight into how best to contribute to the world. You’ll see gaps in the world and where you can plug in to fill them. When you spot a problem and you're there to solve it, there’s an opportunity. But you have to know yourself well. And insight from knowing yourself doesn't always come early in life. So, it's a struggle for some.
Second, start your business when you’re young and passionate. Now that I'm 41, the passion and the ideas don't flow as easily. And I used to get many epiphanies, when I was younger.
It can be hard leaving the comfort of a full-time job. And it was scary because no one in my family had run a business. So, I wasn’t supported in that way. But it was necessary because I chose to leave my job and move to Goa. The alternative was being miserable working on a full-time salary in Bombay.
Third be authentic with people in your business. You might ask, ‘Should I behave differently from what my instinct tells me? For example, like me, ‘Should I be more cut-throat?’ Should I raise my prices?’ There are arguments to all of that, but I've just followed my instinct. For me listening to what other people expect of me hasn’t worked. Make your own decisions. And rely on your instinct, because only you know what's going on and how best to deal with it. Being authentic lessens stress. Whilst acting inauthentically is stressful and uses so much energy.
And it always helps to have people around you who’re honest and will tell you where to improve because you can't have all the insight about yourself. A coach or mentor will provide objective opinions on where you’re going off track, where you’re inauthentic and you’ll be held accountable for achieving your goals.
To find out more about 'Blurb' click here.
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