These Two Women are Breaking the Glass Ceiling by Heading Hard Core Businesses "I took the plunge to empower and educate the people and change their outlook."
By Baishali Mukherjee •
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With 'Women's Day' round the corner, here is the story of two women entrepreneurs who have carved a niche for themselves in industries that have largely been male dominated. Women entrepreneurs are usually stereotyped into businesses that are feminine in nature and most look at them as a misfit in other fields. Breaking this stereotype are Aakanksha Bhargava, CEO and President, PM Relocations, and Eshanya Karle, Director, Karle Group.
Breaking the glass ceiling
Gurgaon based Aakanksha Bhargava is the second generation entrepreneur and heads the three decade old PM Relocations, one of the leaders in the Indian packing and moving industry. Bhargava joined PM Relocations Pvt. Ltd. (PMR) when she was 21 years old. The first thing she began working on was organizing a largely unorganized sector. "When I joined PMR, I realised that the full potential of the industry wasn't being tapped properly. I took the plunge to empower and educate the people and change their outlook. The impact is there for everyone to see today," asserts Bhargava.
Under Bhargava's leadership PMR expanded its base to 14 offices across India, including Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru in just 9 years. A jump from INR 2 crores in 2010 to turnover of over INR 40 crores in 2015, orchestrated under her leadership, is another huge achievement by any standard.
Explore, learn and succeed on our own
"Women have an inherent potential to reach out and impact lives and situations. However, it is crucial for them to understand where their heart and soul lie, and once done, nothing should stop them. We should always remember to explore, learn and succeed on our own," shares Bhargava.
Young Bhargava didn't let the male-dominated industry's rigid ways keep her down. To commemorate her outstanding achievements in one of the most exciting and fast-growing businesses in India at such a young age, she was conferred with the very prestigious Best Woman Leader award at the Business Today SME Awards in 2015.
Be true to the inherent passion
Eshanya Karle is the third generation entrepreneur of Karle Group and heads the design and product development divisions. Heading one of the largest companies in Bengaluru, in today's extremely competitive market is no easy task and Karle has managed to do so with transparency, fairness and ease. After completing her Bachelor's degree, Karle tried to figure a way in which she could engage herself in her two passions, business and charity.
"Eventually I took up a day job as a Business Development Executive at Karle Group's garment export business, while simultaneously investing myself in social projects, informs the 31 years old business leader. Her research on developing a clothing brand for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of Karnataka led to the birth of a new brand for the company. Karle was dedicatedly involved in the developing, supervising manufacture and establishing distribution channels for the brand.
Time is ripe to take calculated risks and explore uncharted territories
She soon switched to the real estate sector and five years into the male-dominated real estate and infrastructure sector, Karle has been promoted to the position of Director - Karle Infrastructure.
"Women are great multi-taskers which make them great entrepreneurs. We are also in touch with our emotional intelligence which plays a big role in team building and of course stable and capable teams are at the centre of any successful business. With all these qualities on our side and with the world opening up to strong women leadership (Hilary did win the popular vote!) women should take those calculated risks and explore uncharted territories," puts forth Karle.
