Tell us about yourself and your background
I was born and raised in Bengaluru and continue to live here. I run Sankalp Academy with my husband Amit and we became parents two years ago.
I was introduced to the coaching world in 2006, while I was still completing my education. Whilst still studying Business Communications, I chose to expand my skills to become better at coaching; becoming a certified learning skills coach/strategist.
After starting Sankalp Academy with Amit Punjabi in 2007-2008, I completed a post graduation course in creative teaching. Today, I continue to help in developing modules and sessions at Sankalp Academy that facilitate people, generate better results and grow in every area of life.
Tell us about the company you have set up – when did you set it up, what products or services do you provide, what is your target market?
We started Sankalp Academy in 2008. We conduct training and coaching programs and conferences that help people produce breakthrough results in every area of life. We have different program for different audiences but our main goal is to reach out to people who want to take action but don’t know what that is or how to do it. We facilitate them having realizations and have enough clarity to do what they want to do effectively.
Why did you set up the company? / What drove you to become an Entrepreneur?
I was introduced to the training and coaching world by Amit Punjabi and realized the value it can add to any individual’s growth. I understood that having the right mindset with the right tools, resources and skills could ensure people achieve the success they have always longed for. I was really lucky to find that clarity at the age of 19, which gave me the power and ability to do so much with my life. After being involved in a few sessions and workshops and bringing visible shifts in people by facilitating conversations that brought in a lot of transformation, I just knew that this is what I wanted to continue doing. It was then that I decided to start Sankalp Academy with Amit.
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?
My biggest challenge has been striking a balance – a balance between work and my personal life. After my daughter, it has become challenging to dedicate time to the academy and I have not been able to be part of every session or important discussion. However, I have been able to learn how to strike a balance and I continue to improve on the same. I am glad to say that it has reached a level where I’m able to add value at work from all that I learn while I am with my daughter.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
People spend a lot of money, time and resources in building a great team at work but they fail to do the same at home. After understanding the challenges of thousands of people, we understood that most could generate maximum support and power from their homes. While most organizations do a lot of programs for corporate teams, we designed a brilliant experiential learning program for people to build their home teams – simply called “Build the Home Team”. Designing and executing the module has brought a huge shift in how parents nurture there child’s leadership and strength and how individuals generate support from their homes for their growth and development. For me, this has been my greatest achievement so far.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
My husband and mentor, Amit Punjabi.
How do you balance your work life and home life?
I am continually to learning how to do things better. This has helped me immensely in balancing work and home. Another thing I do is to simply ask for support. When things get hectic, I just ask for help to make things more efficient and I have always been able to generate support to make things happen.
What advice do you have for women starting out on their own?
Whether it is women or men, when it comes to starting out on your own you need a lot of clarity to make sure that your energy, efforts and resources are channelized in the right direction. I believe that this can never be done without the right mentor. So make sure you have a mentor and continue to keep learning as you keep growing.
If you could ask for one thing to help propel your business what would it be?
If I could ask for one thing, I would definitely ask for parents and teachers, the guiding forces to our youth, to make them understand that life and learning is extremely limited when it is indoors. They need to step out, get skilled, get mentors and learn. Real growth happens outside.
What does the future hold for you?
The future seems extremely exciting since our organization conducted its first international conference just this month. With absolute growth for my organization, I am also looking forward to coach a lot of families to bond and support each other because that is where my passion lies.
About Kiahra A Punjabi –
Kiahra A Punjabi is a certified NLP Master Practitioner, Life Strategist and a Post Graduate in Creative Teaching. Kiahra has been with Sankalp Academy since its inception. With her ability to observe and innovate, she has designed experiential programs for individuals and families to utilize the true power of their leadership and also generate support and value from the people and other resources around them to grow the intent and effectiveness of their leadership.
Contacting Kiahra A Punjabi –
