“Dare to live your dream. Listen to your heart. Be brave.”
Please tell us something about Aspire Big. Aspire is a boutique consultancy firm that focuses on guiding students interested in studying overseas. The idea is to guide students through the experience gathered by its team members overseas during their own education.
What ignited the spark in you to start Aspire Big? Few years back, while I was contemplating to study in UK, I realized that not a lot of Consultants were adept with their knowledge or research about various courses or universities overseas, what they knew was simple marketing information. This realization became all the more firm once I went to UK to study and met other student there. Hence, I realized that there is a potential for a very niche, boutique consultancy firm where we give genuine advice to the students not only to educate them but so that they can make a career out of their education and that the Idea of Aspire Big was conceptualized with my friend and business partner Vaibhav.
Some words about your journey as an entrepreneur. It has been a wonderful journey so far. Aspire was conceptualized 7 years ago and we have handled more than 3000 students so far. It is immensely satisfying to see students studying, getting their degrees and eventually choosing the right path and the right career suiting them. We initially focused on UK only and have now broadened our horizons and entered into other business segments. Exploring new business possibilities is a really exciting part of being an entrepreneur.
Why does Aspire Big focus on UK Universities only? Both me and my business partner had studied in UK, stayed there for a considerable amount of time, understood the processes and geography better. So to start with, UK had to be the obvious choice. Also, the idea was to guide students through our own experiences. With time, we have expanded our team and hence our horizons and guide students for other parts of the world as well.
What piece of advice would you like to give to the aspiring youth who wish to pursue their dream of becoming an entrepreneur? Dare to live your dream. Listen to your heart. Be brave. Do not hear No. Its going to be tough initially but once you make it, it is going to be very satisfying. A lot of people think that doing business is easier and relate it to quick money. I would like to tell the youth that while doing business can give you flexibility, it is also a lot of responsibility.
According to you, what are the top three essential skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur? Perseverance, Focus and Resilience are three important skills required to be a successful entrepreneur.
How do you manage the work-life balance? For me maintaining a work-life balance is really important. It helps me function better at work and enjoy life at the same time. I try to do in through small things like, leaving from office on time, keeping official calls to a minimal while at home. When you run your own business, you get too attached and it is too easy to carry your work with you in thought and otherwise; but it is very important to define a line to maintain a work-life balance.
What are your views and opinions towards the ambiguous need to promote women entrepreneurship and women empowerment in India? I feel that men and women are equals. Though in India Women do not get as much exposure in comparison to their Male counterparts right from the Childhood. Also, Women are more forgiving and sacrificing and many women leave their career mid ways to take care of their families. Though things are changing in today’s modern times. However, before we talk about women empowerment, it’s quite important to make our country and its streets safer for women. We cannot expect our women to go and work with a concern about their safety and neither we can expect the families to be supportive in such a scenario.
