Brief profile of Sonam Shah
Sonam is the Founder and CEO of Treize Communications, a well-established Communications Consultancy and Public Relations firm based out of Mumbai. She holds more than a decade of experience in the PR and Communications field and has worked with more than 150 clients in the field of advertising & marketing, digital and social media, health, technology, gaming start-ups, retail, FMCG and e-commerce.She established Treize Communications in 2015 with the aim to provide innovative and strategic communications and public relations services in the ever-expanding media cosmos. As a PR expert, Sonam ideates, discusses, and co-works with her business associates and clients to offer a timely media presence, with a tactical focus on content. With her decade full of experience in providing clients with communications strategies and programs, Sonam has a proven executive management track record and holds strong entrepreneurial ambitions and a futuristic vision for the PR industry in India.
Passionate in Marketing caught up with Sonam Shah to discuss about
1. Growth of women-led startups/businesses in the last 5 years. What has motivated this phenomenal change?
2. Advice to the GenZ who want to join the PR industry
3. The balancing act a woman has to play
4. Has the pandemic changed the reality of women in India?
1. How has woman entrepreneurship evolved in the past few years?
The pandemic and the lockdown have bought out great opportunities for women to explore businesses on their own. Women entrepreneurship has taken up a storm in India, especially in small and medium-sized business models. A lot of this is attributed to the Work-from-Home and Hybrid work model which is widely accepted in India now. This has given women a chance to balance work and home, which was not the case earlier.
Also, remote working is still going on, which gives women in small towns and cities an opportunity to explore business options and collaborate with associates in metro and large cities. Women no longer need to be physically present to build their businesses and brand, they are incorporating social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. to reach out to customers and new clients.
Overall, women’s entrepreneurship is evolving to become more diverse, inclusive, and impactful.
2. How welcoming is the PR industry for women?
Oh, the PR industry is a very welcoming industry for women! Be it freshers or experienced individuals, women in PR are always welcome, as they have good communication skills which is the key to any kind of communication profile.
Young women who start with Public Relations have a great scope of growth to grow in the field of Corporate Communications today. With the high demand for PR services in India, this sector is going to have massive opportunities for women in the coming years.
Also, PR is a good career option for journalists and content writers to explore, as it gives them similar job satisfaction along with exploring the other side of media and marketing.
3. Has the role of women evolved over the years?
Yes, the role of women has undergone a massive shift in the past few years. This shift had already begun before the pandemic and will continue to remain an evolving phase for the next few decades. With more and more women, becoming financially independent and using their education to the best of use, there has been an increase in workforce participation.
Women in leadership roles are now welcomed, respected and looked up to. They are involved in making key decisions and organisations are offering policies keeping them in mind, which was not the case earlier. This highlights that women have a great future when it comes to building a career along with balancing their personal life.
4. What does it mean to be a women entrepreneur and leader?
Being an entrepreneur means finding a road when there is none. And being a women entrepreneur also remains the same, it’s just added with a different set of challenges, which otherwise do not exist.
Being a leader means taking responsibility for owning and operating a business, along with holding the long-term vision. The game here is balancing and one must work on that in all aspects of life. Be it work, family, friends, health, or mental health, in all parts of life the act of balance is a must. This is one of the most important skills any entrepreneur should have.
5. Can you share a few tips for budding women entrepreneurs?
The youth of today knows more than enough and have enough exposure to take well-informed decisions. They know whether to take the road of entrepreneurship or not. I would just like to say Be yourself, have dreams and never give up on them in the journey of life. Also, don’t expect everything to happen too soon, it will take away the joy the path brings.
Patience is the biggest virtue of all times and will remain so.
6. Any tips for women to manage their mental health?
For any woman it’s important to have her set of friends other than at work. I would suggest you meet them once in two months and have a good time, preferably without your mobile phone.
Have a weekly self-care routine and try to follow it. It could be anything like yoga, exercise, aerobics, meditation etc. Managing mental health is an important aspect of overall health and well-being, especially for women who may face unique challenges related to gender roles.
Do not feel shy or embarrassed to seek support when needed and try to manage your time in a way you have at least 30 minutes to yourself daily. These few things can help you in the long run.
