I’m Vandhana Ramanathan, Co-Founder of WSquare, and this is how I Lead from Within
Vandhana Ramanathan co-founded WSquare – India’s first co-working and incubation centre for women – on the footing of her personal experience of joining the workforce after a 3-year break. Her keen understanding of the problems women face and the opportunities they miss when working from home led WSquare to cater to working women’s unique needs – from daycare to coaching in business finance and everything in between. Confident and self-motivated, Ramanathan shares valuable opinion on the skills a women entrepreneur must possess, and the role of women leaders in other women’s lives.
The Decision to Start Up
I took a three year break from my full-time IT career when I had my children. And while every job that I applied for post the break was fun and taught me a lot, there were aspects of those jobs that were extremely challenging – especially for a new mother who was returning to the workforce after a break. Either the commute was too long or the work hours were not suitable or something else. I was unable to give my 100% to work and I constantly felt that I was not spending enough time with my children. I had the work-from-home option but that involves its own downsides – there are distractions at home, chores you think you should be getting to instead of working, and general lethargy – which lead to inefficiency. Working that way was quite unfulfilling for me. I felt like post the break, I was failing at having a work-life balance.
That’s when I decided that I wanted to start something of my own. A venture where I’m able to relate to the problems women face when they return to work after a break. Especially mothers who have to raise children but who also want to follow, professionally, what they are passionate about.
On Founding WSquare
My co-founder, Jinal Patel, and I initially started a digital marketing agency where we worked with women across the globe who had high-profile jobs but had taken a 3-4 year professional break for various reasons. We worked with them on contractual basis, often giving them social media projects that involved writing content, designing graphics, managing social media for different brands and analysing Facebook ads. Over a period of two years we realised that although there were a lot of women who wanted to get back to work after their break, and even wanted to work from home, the consistency was missing. There was always some guilt that came in the way of them performing their best. And working from home was definitely impairing their productivity.
This realisation led to us wanting to create an ecosystem that supports women with not just infrastructure and services that suit their needs but also a community that they can fall back on for emotional support. We launched WSquare, India’s first co-working space for women, in 2017 on women’s day. At Wsquare women are provided facilities ranging from daycare to on-site grocery delivery and on-call beauty and medical services. We have coaching sessions, workshops and talks that cover all aspects of being a women entrepreneur, no matter how small the business model. This opens for them a network of trusted mentors and exposure to knowledge, which they may not have access to if they work from home. We also have an incubation programme for women-led startups and are now training women in the latest technology – artificial intelligence, block chain, machine learning – so that when they get back to work after their break they are in tune with what is currently happening in the industry.
With WSquare we essentially wanted women to step out of their comfort zone. To work from a place that feels like an office but where their home chores can also be taken care of on the side. I can safely say that what started as a co-working space has transformed into something that supports women entrepreneurs through every step of their entrepreneurial journey.
My Core Values
> Self-motivation: I motivate myself every day when I get up to do something new, something for the women, something for the society. Practising acts of self-motivation keeps me going.
> Confidence: a great way for me to boost my confidence is to upskill myself. I learn continuously and add what I learn to my repertoire of skills.
> Staying true to self: personal honesty and integrity are key to a fulfilling entrepreneurial journey. For me, an idea shouldn’t just be good business – it has to be something I value and am passionate enough to follow.
Critical Skills for Women Entrepreneurs
> Networking: the more networking events you attend and people you speak to, the more contacts you will build. This will help you find partners, collaborators and investors, which will in turn help you grow your business.
> Self-motivation: women need to stop questioning themselves and instead take practical steps to self-motivate every single day, irrespective of the challenges. Keep your own morale high. One way of doing that is to take every day as a learning experience whether you fail or succeed.
> Financial acumen: women entrepreneurs must be astute about how they can financially plan their entrepreneurial journey. You need to have a 3-4 year projection and a clear idea of how to fund it. It helps immensely to be aware of the types of financial institutions you can reach out to – investors, government institutions, seed funding, Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and more.
> Awareness of industry trends: it is imperative to cue yourself in on the industry trends especially when rejoining the workforce after a break. This will boost your confidence by boosting your employability.
> Mentoring: finding a mentor is extremely important to build confidence and learn the nuances of business. Someone you can look up to and with whom you can relate. Someone who will tell you how they found solutions to the challenges they faced, so you can find the motivation to do the same. I firmly believe that a good mentor can help take your business forward.
The Role of a Woman Leader for Other Women
> Be a mentor: as a women leader you must mentor as many women as possible and share your stories with them – not just stories of success but also of the personal and professional challenges that you faced to get where you are.
> Partake in women-centric research: especially research on what is hindering women from joining back the workforce after a break, and why are fewer women who’ve been on a break being hired. It is important that you be a part of this data analysis and contribute your experiences and findings, to ensure efficiency of back-to-work initiatives at your workplace.
> Invest in women entrepreneurs: if you are looking to invest, look for women-led or women-founded companies. Consciously encourage and offer opportunities to women entrepreneurs by investing financially in their venture.
Advice to Young Working Women
> Take risks: shed your inhibitions and self-doubt; take a few risks. And remember to take whatever comes from them as a learning – not as success and failure.
> Do what you’re passionate about: whether it is an entrepreneurial idea or the decision to go back to work after a break, make sure it is backed by passion. Passion will motivate you every day to do your best, and that will take you forward. Passion is also what will guide you. It truly doesn’t matter if you have money or support; if you have passion, you will find a way.
> Ask for help: take small steps when you start out and ask for help at every step if you need. Take help from your mentors, collaborators, family and friends. It is okay to ask for help. It is important to move forward and grow.
