Arpita Dharmadhikari GarudFounder & MD of Gift Wala Published On: Thursday, December 03, 2015 Views 2901
"Stop managing your time, start managing your focus."
Arpita is an enthusiastic woman with very good communication skills. With a bachelor’s in business administration and a diploma in digital marketing, she has become highly skilled in handling multiple divisions marketing & communications needs. She has detailed insight & expertise on Tools for Marketing and channels of communications and advertisements.
She started her career by launching her own startup called Arpita entertainments where she developed brand strategy and statistics systems. However, after a stint of two years she moved on to gain some expertise in the marketing strategizing. Few years down the line and she came back with her second startup Giftwala. A full-service agency provides comprehensive solutions to all the corporate needs. They deal with corporate gifts and have expertise in Theme party, Celebrity Events, and Exhibition display. Arpita is a very systematic and enthusiastic person and maintains very open and cohesive environment around her. She has great grip on her work and executes the same very efficiently.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
Giftwala was set up in July 2014, with an aim to provide the best services in its class. We are a full-service agency that provides comprehensive solutions to all your needs. We deal with corporate gifts and we have expertise in Theme party, Celebrity Events, and Exhibition Display. In addition, Giftwala takes care of all your branding solution, be it digital marketing or corporate events. With a passion of working in events, a team of dedicated young professional help with all the innovation and creativity to make any event attractive and grand success. Since its inception, Giftwala has built up a very good client network with our hard work and customer satisfaction approach. We provide the best value for the money and hassle free work. Having worked on the client side also helps the team to understand company’s expectations. We offer perfect services for all kind of occasions with a consistent track record and a strong focus on delivery, we strive to give to our clients what they seek the most – Peace of mind.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
I had been working in various MNCs for 16 years. And also I have experience in managing events and all. So, being on the both side, I know what agencies’ limitation are and what client’s expectations are. I realized there is need of a company which can satisfy all our requirement. There should be a one-stop shop over which we can rely on all our marketing campaigns. This thought inspired me to open up my company Giftwala, where we look for all the corporate requirements.
What is your life mantra?
See, we have got only one life to prove ourselves. And there’re a lot of things to do in this only. We need to look after our professional life, personal and social life too. Therefore, we just need to maintain a proper balance between these all and the life rocks.
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
Established players in the market of course. Giftwala is a company where we have different portfolios for our company. But the market is like there are companies which look into one thing only. This gives us the edge over those companies. We want to give our clients a place where they can rely on everything. We want to reduce their effort of searching what they require in the market. We are here for them.
How did you overcome those challenges?
As I said, we have a bigger no in our portfolio, this attracts our customers more. Apart from that, I had been to client side too. And that too for around 16 years. I understand what the clients require and when they require. With the experience I have, I am able to fulfill their requirements.
How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain?
Yeah, in every business there comes a time when you don’t know what to do. There are multiple options to decide and each option lead to different routes. And also you are not sure which route to take. When this happens to me, I prefer taking a break. Try to spend more time with my family and friends. They give such weird solutions to your problems that you actually forget what your problem was. Just kidding !!spending time with them really helps to soothe your mind and think properly. And help in getting the perfect solution. At least courage to face the wrong option.
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
Vision, Aim, and Focus. Any person should possess these three things. Not only in professional life but in personal life too. If a person is clear about what he wants, plan accordingly and stick to it, I don’t think so he’ll ever regret his choices made. If these three things are seriously followed, success will go nowhere.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
There’s no need of asking this question. It is obviously Facebook and LinkedIn. I have been getting new clients through these social Medias as well. It’s a great platform to promote your startup. With these, you can reach to a huge mass. In addition, WhatsApp has made running my business smoother. You can have quick updates of everything, be in regular touch with your clients and vendors, anytime, anywhere. These have really helped me in managing and promoting my business
well.
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
Have you ever tried making the palace of sand? Did you felt satisfied if you were unable to make that? No, right? Don’t know how this attitude is still intact in me since childhood. It feels so restless if my work is left undone. I never leave my work undone. However the time it takes, how much of efforts it requires, I just need to complete the task started. I really don’t feel relaxed until it’s done. And once all the things are done you yourself can feel the peace and calm you get.
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
As I said, I don’t feel relaxed until I get the job done. I really feel impatient in completing the things done soon. This sometimes makes me irritating and annoying. This is one thing I need to control in me.
Answer in less than 50 words
• One tip to success:
Dreams won’t work unless you do. Follow this. God is not so great that he will serve your wish in a golden plate. It is us who need to earn that golden plate and serve us with whatever we want with our hard work and success. But the first thing you need to do is just get up from the bed.
• One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:
Overconfidence. The people with overconfidence feel they are alone enough to complete the things. They never accept their mistake. But unless you learn, you can never progress. Keep doing mistakes, keep learning, and keep going.
• One most important lesson that you have learned till now:
Don’t take permanent decisions over your temporary emotions. You never know what life could lead you to. So be flexible, handle everything with ease. And have fun. Be cheerful.
What are your plans for next 3 years?
There’re a lot of plans going on every day on my mind. Firstly, the purpose of starting the business was to make a one stop shop for all the corporate needs. So I want to increase my portfolio like adding market research, marketing analytics etc. Secondly, as of now we have presence only in India. But I have started receiving inquiries from abroad too. Since we lack vendors outside India, we’re unable to fulfill their requirement. I want to expand my business all over the world. I want to reach out to a global mass to offer our services. Lastly, want to go with the flow of personal and professional requirements that is changing day by day and moment by moment.
Well, I have one wish too. For the fresher’s, who are highly enthusiastic, who want to make their career in event management, but are vision-less, I want to give them a platform, a place where I can nurture their skills and talents and guide them to become a successful person in their approach.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
To tell the truth, I really don’t want to change anything so far happened. The life so far has been perfect. It’s going the way I want. Maybe if I had done anything different or this thing differently it would not have been the way it’s going on today. And today it’s just perfect. So I’m happy.
What are your top three getaway destinations?
Paris, Manali, and Ladakh. I just love those places. Feel like going there whenever am stressed. Such a beautiful and refreshing places.
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
“Stop managing your time, start managing your focus.”
Connect:
- Business Website http://giftwala.co.in/
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/giftwala
- Twitter https://twitter.com/giftwala
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