Architect Swati Vaidya began her career as a Junior Architect in a consultancy firm. It was after 10 years of working on various architectural and interior projects, that she realised that her real passion was to become an entrepreneur. Pursuing her dreams, she incepted Pune based I Design Architects & Interior Designers in 2001 with a humble beginning of designing small apartments. It was with the unstinted support of her parents that Swati became a successful Architect.
She started her design and architecture studio at her Kothrud-based residence with just one employee and which has grown to the present count of 10 Architects and interior designers. "The salary I paid to my first employee was from the savings made during my first job. My uncle was an Architect and he inspired me to seek education in the field of architecture," Swati says.
With her confidence levels higher, Swati successfully applied for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Scholarship Programme with the Indian School of Business (ISB) in 2010. The Scholarship Programme's classroom sessions in Finance, Marketing, Communication Skills & Mentoring and the extended mentoring helped her grow her start-up. She says that her Mentor made her realise the importance of market visibility along with the creative and technical skills. In 2012, she also received mentoring with the Mentoring Programme of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in Business. She strongly believes that unlike men, women have to constantly prove themselves in the profession, especially in the field of architecture where women are a minority. She also encourages her students at a school of architecture, where she is a visiting faculty, to be self-motivated.
Creating eco-friendly and sustainable spaces is the latest focus of her firm, I Design. The firm has recently designed the interiors of an eco-friendly retail shop, Shrishti. Further, Swati's set-up has joined hands with city-based business houses to start an eco-tourism business in the Western Ghats.
Asked as to what could be the reason for starting a firm on her own..."to be financially independent and to be able to do what one knows and loves the most in one's own time." Her definition of success lies in completing a job wherein her clients are happy, being able to support her employees, creating wealth for herself and for others who work for her.
Being visible in the market and pitching for jobs is a top challenge which Swati faces. She constantly attends workshops and seminars to educate herself and her team to face these challenges. Steve Jobs is her inspiration as he too created products and designed them for success.
For more information on Swati's firm, please visit http://idesignarchitects.co.in
We tip our hat to entrepreneurs like Swati!
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