With each setback that I faced on my way towards achieving my goal, I kept going with a belief that it is teaching me to change my ways rather than changing my goal. It is essential to understand that when you are forging your path ahead, you should move with a growth mindset and a stern determination to overcome challenges. I kept moving ahead, it is like—if I am walking and see a wall, I don’t turn back. I break the wall and walk through, and let the world fall into place. With this mindset, I have achieved my dream and managed to create an empire with fifty years of excellence and counting.
How I Defied the Stereotypes?
Back in the 70s, the norm was that of gender-defined roles, where a woman was only expected to be a homemaker and the man a breadwinner. Coming from a prestigious background of legal luminaries, my mind was constantly shaped with the influence of my father, Chief Justice Nasirullah Beg, who always questioned me about my life path. He constantly inspired me to achieve something valuable in my life and reinforced the ideology of being in servitude to humanity at large. This is where I began questioning my own role and my impact on society at large.
Choosing a different path for myself, I began my journey as a cosmetologist, gaining education after my marriage. But then I discovered the detrimental effects of synthetic chemicals on human health. The moment I witnessed the first-hand effect of chemical eyeliner rendering a model blind, my quest to seek natural solutions began, thus discovering Ayurveda. Breaking the stereotypical norms of being a housewife, I began formulating natural products based on the principles of Ayurveda using botanical extracts, essential oils, and precious metals. I bottled 5000-year-old civilization in a jar.
I established my very first home-based salon in the verandah of my house, where clients began seeking me for natural solutions, as my formulations are based on ‘Care & Cure,’ addressing the root cause of skin and hair ailments. From there on, there was no looking back as I began my journey with Ayurveda that would be a breakthrough into the chemical cosmetic industry.
Vital Career Pivots that Defined My Success
Using Ayurveda formulations with pure natural ingredients, I was fighting for a cause that went against the chemical-based synthetic industry without the use of traditional means of advertisement. All this was due to the brand authenticity, purity of ingredients, and results tested by time itself, where word-of-mouth began working for me. Harvard School of Business invited me as their honorary guest lecturer to explain how I managed to achieve it, which later on became an addition in their curriculum of ‘Emerging Markets.’
Being constantly invited to lecture extensively at prestigious global institutions, focusing on Ayurveda, Brand India, and my journey as a woman entrepreneur, my efforts, passion, and dedication to Ayurveda gained me countless national and international awards—being awarded the Padma Shri and getting recognised by Success magazine (USA) as the World’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur. That too, becoming the only woman in 104 years to ever get this award, speaks volumes on how far I have come.
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