Brown Girl Works

Hi ladies and thanks for stopping by. This week's episode is just a quick thank you to all of Season 2's guests and an update on what's going on. By the time this episode airs, I will be preparing or (may have already) given birth to my second child. Because of that, I had to cut the season short by a few episodes unfortunately. That was not something I was willing to do but the timing worked out that way. So once I get myself to the other side of this "working mom of 2" thing, I will be back with new episodes, inspiration and interviews with ladies that will motivate you to go for your goals. But in the meanwhile, find me on IG @browngirlworks. Thanks for your support this season as always! xo, Sam

Deciding to go to business school or even grad school is a HUGE step in a person's career. Often times (but not always), the decision to go back to school happens after you've already starting working. To go from being gainfully employed (aka making that money) to student life with ramen noodles is not easy. But there comes a point in a person's career where school IS the next step. And for Saniya Waghray, business school was where she was destined to go after a few years working in corporate America. Saniya shares her business school application journey on this episode of the BGW podcast. From making the decision to back to school to studying tips and more, we dive into this overwhelming process. And I'll share my own experience of trying to go back to school but ultimately deciding it wasn't for me and why that turned out the be the right choice. Tune into Episode 16 to hear her share her perspective on the entire process and tips she came across along the way that helped. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: How Saniya decided to apply to business school.Deciding between full time and part time programs.How she prepared ahead of time for the GMAT, networking and the application process.Tips and resources that helped her along the way.Her 3 biggest lessons learned. Saniya was so kind enough to pull together her tips in this downloadable PDF. Download it now to get access to resources to help you in your b-school journey. Applying to Business School: A Step-by-Step Guide by Saniya WaghrayDownload Saniya also did a detailed post about the process on her Linked page: Saniya's Linkedin post I am so excited to share this resource-packed episode with Saniya. She shares her perspective that I know you will be able to relate to. I'm so glad I was able to connect with her for this episode. She's such a intelligent and driven person that I know is destined for greatness and I can't wait for you to hear her story. Tune in now on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. xo, Sam

This week's episode is a replay of one of the most popular episodes from Season 1. Dr. Cardamom aka Bea Malik is a family physician slash Instagram influencer. As two working moms who've been friends since age 8, we dive into this new world we're navigating as professional working moms. From the guilt to the life hacks to how to manage home and work life, Bea gives us a glimpse how she manages it all. Tune in to hear two old friends chat about this challenging, rewarding and not to mention, exhausting phase of life! WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: -How she’s managed various hospital and inpatient schedules and motherhood-Her experiences dealing with working mom guilt-How she manages life stuff like getting dinner on the table after a hectic work day (secret: food bloggers aren’t cooking new meals each night as you may think so feel free to order in as well!)-Her tips and hacks for making life a little easier during the work week and learning to get help when you need it CONNECT WITH BEA -Instagram -Her Website When you're finished listening, check out today's IG post asking about your best working mom hacks to share with the BGW community. xo, Sam

This week on the podcast I am honored to have Mansi Somani, a full-time makeup artist sharing her journey from a more traditional career path to becoming a business owner in a creative space. Mansi Somani I first discovered Mansi on Instagram and the first thing I noticed was how NICE she was to EVERYONE. After we connected and started chatting, I realized it wasn't a front. She truly is a genuine sweetheart. There's no doubt she's a talented makeup artist, but it's her personality that is probably what's helping her grow even more. She has a knack for connecting with people even after knowing you for a short period of time. This special skill combined with her passion and talent for the beauty industry has helped her grow a successful business as a makeup artist. On the podcast she shares her experience in transitioning from her professional career to entrepreneurship. If you are someone who's been dabbling in makeup on the side and are too afraid to make the leap of faith, this is the episode for you. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: How she made the transition to entrepreneurship.How important it is to network with other makeup artists and vendors in the wedding business.The importance of relationship building in this business.What kind of training is necessary and is formal training even required?The challenges and process of actually starting a full-fledged business.Her recommendations for products every brown girl needs in her repertoire. As someone who had no insight to the world of beauty, I learned so much from Mansi. I hope you enjoy this episode and find value in her knowledge because I sure did. Tune in now to Episode 14 on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. xo, Sam

This week's episode features Tina Singh, successful YouTuber who runs the channel, Mom Boss of 3. This episode is CHOCK FULL of nuggets and gems from Tina who runs her channel while managing a house full of kids and all the responsibilities that comes with raising a busy family. But she's a natural on the camera who draws you into her life and her family in a way that makes you feel like you're there. She's providing relatable family-friendly content and giving people a glimpse into what modern Canadian family looks like. It's no surprise she's built up a huge following but it's certainly not without hard work. And on today's show, she shares a little bit about what it takes to grow her channel and her business. I learned so much about being a YouTuber and I was a little more interested in the topic because I too once had dreams about starting my channel. Clearly, that didn't work out but let me share why. If you know me personally, you know I'm OBSESSED with YouTube vloggers. From travel to beauty to mommy vloggers, I watch it all. In fact, a few years back, I thought being a vlogger was my content creation calling. So I went out one winter day to film a day in the life of a then-pregnant New Yorker. I came home, I edited the video, and was bored to death when I watched it. I realized being a vlogger wasn't as easy as it seemed. I sent the file to the "Recycle" folder of my PC and realized audio content is more my thing. Tina gives an honest look about what it takes to make valuable content and growing an authentic following on YouTube and her related social platforms. She also shares what kind of time commitment you need to do this well and the equipment you need to get started. This episode is full of great advice if that's something you're looking to pursue. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How Tina got started on YouTubeTips on growing an audienceHow much time content creation, filming and editing really takesMonetizing a channel and her tips for making $$$Dealing with the negatives of YouTubeEquipment and tools you need to get started in this business LINKS MENTIONED Lily Singh aka SuperwomanThe Mamma DiariesSonia JhasReena Parekh EQUIPMENT USED Canon PowerShot Digital Camera [G7 X Mark II] Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR CameraRing lights for better lighting Check it out now live on the podcast. Afterwards, let me know on today's Instagram post what you thought of it. xo, Sam

This week’s episode features Pallavi Golla, entrepreneur and founder of Lark Adventurewear, a children’s activewear company. After becoming a mom and realizing infant clothing were making her son sweat a little too much, she decided to do something about it. But creating an apparel company isn’t exactly cheap. And that’s when Pallavi knew she was going to need some funds to make her vision come to life. Enter starting a Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter is a popular way to raise capital for anything from launching a business to putting out an album to writing a book. By marketing and promoting your campaign, you find backers or supporters who give financial contributions to your ideas in exchange for being the first to receive whatever it is you’re creating. Pallavi was able to successfully launch a Kickstarter but not without learning some very important lessons. She shares all her actionable tips for you to consider if you’re working on your own Kickstarter campaign. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN When should preparation begin before making your campaign live.Tips on necessary marketing tasks to create buzz and interest around your idea or goal. How her Kickstarter campaign launched and its resultsSome lessons learned for you to avoid in your campaign.Fun stuff: including how she works from home successfully and her favorite apps/tools that help her manage her business. LINKS MENTIONED ShopifyDoordashHoote SuiteModi Toys - Avani Modi SarkarFit Pinkey - Pinkey PatelMindy Kaling Tune in now on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher to learn some amazing advice from this brilliant entrepreneur that I respect in business today! xo, Sam

Thanks so much for tuning into Season 2 of the Brown Girl Works Podcast! I'm really excited to share what's in store for this season and get into what I've been up to since the first season wrapped up earlier this year. Season 2 of the BGW Podcast will feature interviews with women that have personally inspired me as a working professional. During my podcasting "break", I got the opportunity to record with a number of successful and supportive South Asian career professionals and entrepreneurs who are working in a variety of fields. From working the corporate grind of a 9-5 to starting their own business, I got to hear from new perspectives on topics on new to the show. We'll chat about everything from launching a successful Kickstarter for your startup to launching a profitable YouTube channel. I'm so pumped share the stories of these inspirational women! During this break, I focused a lot of ME. Needless to say, Season 1 left me a little burned out. I felt a lot of pressure to always "be on" especially on social media. Being a content creator is NO JOKE. And I have enormous admiration who do this for a living. To constantly be creating content that resonates on a daily basis is so hard. Even thought I only release new episodes every other week, the pressure was definitely on. After finding myself expecting with my second child, I knew I needed to slow down and physically, I kind of didn't have a choice. Season 1 concluded right around the time my pregnancy nausea and exhaustion hit. So the timing of my break couldn't have been perfect. I worked on recording and editing episodes slowly but surely. And I'm finally getting to release them today! First up on the show is the founder of Lark Adventurewear, Pallavi Golla. She's built a high-quality children's activewear company from the ground up. And not to mention, while juggling two small kids. It's women like her that motivate me to not quit my job so I was so happy to hear her share the story of her business and her advice for launching a Kickstarter. I hope you enjoy the episode so please go check it out now! I have a post going up on Instagram, so leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of it! xo, Sam

Season 1 is officially complete! Thanks to everyone for their support as I kicked off this new show last year. I'll be taking a short break but don't fret because I'm putting the final touches on Season 2 to be released later this year. I was able to record the bulk of my interviews for Season 2 a couple months ago so this break is coming in handy as I get over a small health hiccup. So as I get on the mend, I hope to slowly work on editing new episodes and getting ready to go HAM for Season 2. So I may be on a "break", I'm still working behind the scenes to ramp up the content I'm creating based on feedback from my listeners. In the meanwhile, I plan on being more active on social sharing relevant content related to work and business. This season couldn't have been possible without a few new friends I've made throughout this journey: Akansha, Trina, Madhu, Bea, Iqra, Krittika, Farah and Avani, you ladies are my inspiration. (And yes, I think we're now on a first name basis:) Thank you for taking the time to share your stories and allow me and my listeners to learn from you! Tune in to hear more about what I'm looking to improve in the next season and what you can expect. I'm pumped about some of the interviews I've recorded so far and can't wait to share it with the world! xo, Sam

This week’s episode features my girl crush Avani Modi Sarkar, co-founder of Modi Toys. Modi Toys is a fast-growing toy company doing their part to spread Indian culture across homes with their plush Baby Ganesh toy product. I’ve been following Modi Toys for a while now and reached out to Avani over the summer about being on this podcast which didn’t even exist at the time! She was so generous with her time to share the story of how Modi Toys came to be and the mission behind the company that’s driving Avani and her brother to drive it towards success. We recorded this over the fall and so much has changed for Modi Toys since that’s been super exciting to watch. They’re growing tremendously and it’s clear this company is going places. I feel honored to have her on the show and serve up some needed inspiration. Tune in to hear from someone I highly admire and respect in the online space today and hear how a genuine mission can help build a brand that’s loved worldwide. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How Modi Toys got it’s start thanks to two little girls being born in the Modi-Sarkar familyBreaking into the toy business and everything they learned along the wayConnecting with an audience and growing the company by sharing Indian values Other South Asian owned businesses and brown girl bosses that inspire Avani PS: Once you're done listening to this episode, check out Avani's interview on the AmiTuckeredOut Podcast from last week to give you a little more insight on Avani's background , more on Modi Toys and what makes this trailblazer the bawse that she is. LINKS MENTIONED Modi Toys: https://moditoys.comBrown Girl Works Blog Post: http://www.browngirlworks.com/episodes/moditoys Brown Girl Works Instagram: https://instagram.com/browngirlworksRanavat Botanics: https://www.ranavatbotanics.com/ Teal Firefly: http://www.tealfirefly.com/Sanskar Teaching: https://www.sanskarteaching.com/Mindy Kaling: http://instagram.com/mindykaling

Episode 8 of the Brown Girl Works Podcast features co-founder of One Stripe Chai, Farah Jesani. Farah shares how she set out to start one business (starting a coffe eshop) but ended up in a totally different direction and developed an authentic chai concentrate for coffeeshops to sell. Farah shares her unique story of how she found herself starting this company and how she managed some of the set-backs she experienced when she first ramped up her beverage company. What’s one of my most favorite parts about this episode? THE CHAI HISTORY!Farah shares some amazing background info about chai, it’s rich history in India and how chai came to be the drink we all know and love in desi households across the world. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How she came to love coffee and originally thought that the coffee world was her real calling. In case you haven’t figured it out: it wasn’t!Farah’s journey to discovering her entrepreneurial dreams through a road trip to PortlandHow she soon thereafter realized that perhaps coffee wasn't her thing but something about bad chai being served in coffee shops was.Some of the setbacks and difficulties of starting a business from scratch.The rich history of tea in India and how chai became so popular (or should I say, forced upon us brown folks). LINKS MENTIONED One Stripe Chai: http://www.onestripechai.com/ One Stripe Chai Instagram: http://instagram.com/onestripechaico Brown Girl Works Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/browngirlworks/ Book: For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History https://www.amazon.com/All-Tea-China-England-Favorite/dp/0143118749

How many of you are currently stuck in your career or business? You’re at a crossroad and you don’t know if you should go left or right. Maybe you’ve been waiting for that promotion but got passed up on it ONCE AGAIN. Or maybe you launched a business but it’s not quite growing the way you planned on. Whatever your story is, you need to decide on your next move. And that is so daunting and stressful!That’s why I asked entrepreneur and follow podcaster Krittika Khandelwal, founder of Soothi to share her unique story of pivoting from a corporate career to staring a business. And she pivoted TWICE when she switched directions with her business. Recognizing when to move on is one thing, but actually figuring out how to is so challenging. I was so impressed by Krittika’s story of resilience and determination to build the kind of brand she’s been dreaming of her entire professional career. This episode is especially inspirational for me because I AM KRITTIKA before she made the leap of faith of entrepreneurship. On the episode she shares her gripes with corporate America and how it wasn’t fulfilling her inner-entrepreneur. That is the EXACT stage in my career I’m personally in so to hear her come out on top on the other is SO MOTIVATING to me! And because us brown girl podcasters need to stick together, please check our her show The Modern Indian Podcast. I hope you find the inspiration you need to pivot past your roadblocks and build a career or business that fulfills you. Tune in at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or Spotify now. And don’t forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought of the episode! WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Why office politics in corporate America drove Krittika to reconsider her career pathHow she went about creating her first company with social commerce in mindThe struggles and pitfalls she experienced during her journeyWhen she realized that it was time to move on and pivot to something elseHow she switched gears and build the brand Soothi is todayWhat a day in the life looks like for KrittikaSome of Krittika’s hacks to increase productivity and maximize how she manages her day as an entrepreneur LINKS MENTIONED SoothiThe Modern Indian PodcastA Touch of Modern – men’s fashion websiteTrello – project management tool/visual way to plan your businessSimple Notes – note taking app that syncs across all devicesZoho CRM System -organizing customer data and sales

Listen up brown girl bosses who are looking to build their personal influence or grow a brand following through social media. I invited Iqra Azhar onto the show to share her expertise in digital marketing and social media. Iqra is an entrepreneur and founder of Slay Collective, a marketing agency for Muslim women entrepreneurs and influencers. She works with clients on developing a social media strategy, branding, paid advertising, events marketing and so much more. So this boss girl definitely knows a thing or two about growing on Instagram and the do’s and don’ts of this highly competitive and kind of misunderstood career path. She dropped a number of gems with her advice, all in the effort to inspire you in this fun episode. As another marketer in on the conversation, I nerded out a lot while we recorded this so I hope you find it fun and useful for your own Instagram game. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: -how the micro-influencer is where it’s at and how you can make money even if you don’t have 100k+ followers -hashtags: what is the best way to use them? -how to grow an influence and can anyone do it? -what it takes to build a loyal following and how important it is to be genuine -content creation and how much time should you spend on curating “the perfect feed” -some of the “mistakes” influencers are making and should move away from -how much time should you spend engaging with others on social media CONNECT WITH IQRA Slay Collective Website: https://www.slaycollective.com Slay Collective Instagram: @slaycollective Iqra’s Personal Instagram for some more realness: @iqramehrin Brown Girl Works Instagram: @browngirlworks LINKS MENTIONED -Fohr U: Continuing Influencer Education

Working Mom Hacks from Dr. Cardamom: Mother, Physican & Food Blogger Are you a working mom and struggling to keep your head afloat with all of your home and work responsibilities? Don't fret because I've got the episode for you to tune into and commiserate with us. In this week's episode, I'm chatting with Rabia "Bea" Malik, a practicing physician in Delaware, mom, home cook and food blogger. Rabia is also a working mom to toddler baby girl named Maya. I asked Rabia to come on the show to have a candid conversation around the challenges of being a working mom, how she manages mom guilt and tips and tricks she implements during her work week to manage home and work life. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How she's managed various hospital and inpatient schedules and motherhood Her experiences dealing with working mom guilt How she manages life stuff like getting dinner on the table after a hectic work day (secret: food bloggers aren't cooking new meals each night as you may think so feel free to order in as well!) Her tips and hacks for making life a little easier during the work week and learning to get help when you need it CONNECT WITH BEA Rabia's Instagram: @DrCardamom Rabia's Recipes: DrCardamom.com I hope you enjoyed this week's episode geared towards the modern working South Asian mom. I know how challenging it is to manage your career and motherhood. Hey, I'm trying to do the same thing! But by connecting with other mothers and sharing our experiences, we'll all get better at this whole working mom thing. Let me know how you balance your both worlds by taking a screenshot of the episode and tagging me on Instagram at @BrownGirlWorks. I love hearing from you guys so I'd love to know some of your hacks. As always, please subscribe to BGW and leave a review. Thanks for tuning in!

This episode is perfect inspiration for my fellow desi girls who has a business idea but let’s their fears and introverted side get in the way and prevents them from moving ahead with their ideas. Madhu Challa of Pretty Pokets, a diaper bag company shares how she went from being a successful engineer to an “accidental entrepreneur”. She’ll share how she overcame her own shyness, the personal fears of putting herself out there and her four-year journey from business idea to successful launch on Amazon. We’ll talk about the tactical steps of starting her company, some of the downsides of being a solo-preneur, and why it’s important to find your tribe of supportive women. DETAILED BLOG POST: http://www.browngirlworks.com/episodes/prettypokets TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM WHEN LISTENING: http://www.instagram.com/browngirlworks

For Episode 3, we’re chatting all things money with Trina Patel of Cash Bar Co., a personal finance consulting company for the modern millennial. MO’ MONEY, MO’ PROBLEMS? Maybe, if you’re not properly managing your funds the way you should. Here’s the thing, what’s the point of working so hard to build your career or business and earn a solid income if you’re not managing your money properly?! In this episode, Trina breaks down all the important money topics that should be front-of-mind as we head into the end of 2018 and start planning for 2019. This episode will cover what you should be doing as a full-time employee and what you should be doing if you’re working for yourself as an entrepreneur or business owner. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Making sure you earn the best possible moniez possible What benefits you need to be cashing in on if you’re a 9-5er What a business owner can do for retirement, taxes and savings Budgeting, savings, combining incomes with your partner, retirements oh my. Trina breaks down what you need to do for each. CONNECT WITH TRINA! Make sure you visit Cash Bar Bar and connect with Trina on Instagram @CashBarCo and her Facebook Group. And if you’re looking for more tips on having the money talk with your partner, sign up to receive Trina’s guide here. LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE Acorns: app that invests your rounded up spare change. Robin Hood: investing Mint: budgeting app (my fave!) Bloomberg: stay informed Check out Trina's tips live on the podcast now! As always, please subscribe to BGW and leave a review. Take a screenshot of the podcast and tag me on Instagram at @BrownGirlWorks.

Are you feeling stuck in your corporate career and are wishing you could make a transition to entrepreneurship? If going the traditional job route is not satisfying your inner bawse girl, then this episode is for you. For Episode 02 of Brown Girl Works, I chatted with Akansha Agarwal, wellness consultant and founder of Citrus and Gold, a digital marketing consultant for wellness entrepreneurs. Akansha talks at length about her journey to discovering what she’d much rather be doing with her time and transitioning from a big tech job with Linkedin to becoming a wellness marketing consultant and launching her own business. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How she slowly transitioned to online entrepreneurship The pluses and minuses of entrepreneurship How lucky we are as first-generation kids of immigrants who have more career choices than our parents did What it means to shift mindset and change the way we think about what we really want Not getting stuck in the comparison trap. When so many fellow brown girls seem like they may be getting further ahead than you, the real story is that may not be the case. CONNECT WITH AKANSHA! You can find her on the web at Citrus and Gold and on Instagram at @CitrusandGold. LINKS MENTIONED Brown Girl Works Instagram: @BrownGirlWorks Melanie Chandra’s Instagram: @MelanieChandra Diaspora Co. (sustainable spices company): Website and Instagram When to Jump: Website Check out Akansha’s story live on the podcast now. Her wisdom and insights will definitely get you second guessing yourself if you have a tiny voice in your head tempting you to branch out into the unknown. As always, please subscribe to BGW and leave a review. Take a screenshot of the podcast and tag me on Instagram at @BrownGirlWorks.

Thanks for checking out about the launch of Brown Girl Works (BGW)! What Is the Brown Girl Works Podcast? Each month I’ll interview successful South Asian women and chat about their experiences scaling their careers and business. Nothing will be left on the table. We’ll discuss the challenges, struggles and successes they’ve gone through to get to this stage of their careers. They’ll share their mistakes and strategies to inspire YOU in your journey towards success. From the pressures from society on what career paths to take to the actual tactical steps it takes to launch a business to the struggles of being a working mom and the auntie judgement that comes with returning to work, we are putting EVERYTHING out there to inspire YOU, the listener, to aim for more success and create the career you want that motivates you. Who Am I? My name is Sam and I’m a digital marketer with over a decade of experience in marketing strategy, content creation and SEO. My career has spanned across B2B and B2B companies with a focus on the startup space. I currently consult in the public sector while scaling my own entrepreneurial ventures. Oh, and I work full-time and create this podcast in my limited free time while being a first-time mom to my biggest motivator for success: my adorable baby boy. Why Do We Need This Show When I first started experimenting and discovering what it is that I really want to do with my daylight hours, I plunged into career and business focused podcasts. But as a Pakistani Muslim American, I noticed there was hardly any South Asian voices in this category on iTunes. Now, I know there are PLENTY of brown bawse ladies achieving success in their respective fields. But where are their stories? How did they grow their careers or business? What did they go through to get to the success they’re experiencing? I wanted to know and take some inspiration back to my own career and business. I realized us desi women needed a platform to inspire the next generation of impactful South Asian women. And this show’s aim is to create the inspiration needed to give brown girls the boost they need to keep pushing forward. When Brown Girls Get Together, the Results Are Powerful After thinking about creating this show for a good 3 years, I finally started the process in early 2018. A lot of fear got in the way of taking those initial scary steps. I was mostly afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand of the show. I don’t get paid to do this. It’s a hobby and passion project. But when you only have 1-2 hours a day to spare on everything life needs you to take care, it’s hard to find the motivation to do something as big as creating a podcast. But I couldn’t ignore this calling and started the process of reaching out to complete strangers about my idea. At the time, there was no podcast so to speak. There were no interviews for potential guests to listen to and get an idea of what I was trying to create. It was just me, a total stranger, reaching out into the void and hoping someone would notice and respond back. And wow, did my brown sisters come through! I’ve been completely humbled by support I’ve received from busy South Asian women I’ve never met. They’ve made the time to talk to me, in some cases more than once. They got on the record and shared their stories all in the shared mission of inspiring more desi women to push for professional success. And it wasn’t easy. We’re all busy working crazy hours, hustling on the side and/or taking care of children at the same time. So I want to offer my sincerest thanks to the women who took the chance and became of part of something from the ground up. You ladies will always be friends out in the digital space and your support means so much! I’ve got a bunch of new episodes waiting in the wings to be released with ladies I’m girl-crushing on. So make sure you SUBSCRIBE and review. The more of you who subscribe and review,