Imagine a top female executive in the corporate world and you might picture someone who’s been with the same organisation since graduation, winning promotion after promotion until the glass ceiling is finally shattered.
Visualise a bus driver in India and a passionate woman on a very clear career mission is probably the furthest thing from your mind. And as for online retail entrepreneurs – they’re all young, techy upstarts, right? Meet three women who’ve shrugged off all the conventional wisdom about career ladders to turn their dreams into reality.
BENGALURU’S ONLY FEMALE BUS DRIVER IS FOLLOWING HER LIFELONG DREAM
When Prema Ramappa Nadapatti’s husband died, she became, at 35, the sole provider for her ageing mother and young son.
But her application to become the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s first and only female of its 28,000 drivers wasn’t just about making ends meet – it was actually a lifelong dream for the widow, who enjoyed life on the road so much that she’d obtained her heavy transport vehicle license while previously working as a housewife and nurse.
Her gender was what saw her make newspaper headlines, but it’s her work ethic (she was the only employee who turned up to drive during a strike), and her no-accident record, that makes her so valued by her organisation – she has received financial awards by the Transport Minister and other industry bodies.
She plans to win a promotion to drive the airport buses, and hopes that she will encourage other women to consider a career behind the wheel (presently, the 3,000 female employees of BMTC are administrative, mechanical or conductors), where she says she is always treated with courtesy by passengers, male colleagues and other drivers.
CHLOE MACINTOSH LEFT HER SUCCESSFUL START-UP FOR A TOP EXECUTIVE ROLE
Climbing the corporate ladder can require slow but steady advancement over years or even decades in a single company. In a study of female CEOs by Harvard Business Review, over 20% of chief execs took jobs fresh from school at the organisations they now run, and over 70% had worked at the company for at least 10 years before taking over the top role.
Probably the last person you’d expect to find in a big exec role then, is a former entrepreneur with no experience of the corporate world – especially when you consider that business people have been shown to face bias when applying for employment (one-time entrepreneurs are 60% less likely to get a response than those who’ve never gone it alone).
But for Parisian, Chloe Macintosh, pivoting back to the corporate world gave her much-needed breathing space from the online design business made.com she co-founded – and enabled her to stretch and grow her skill set.
“It’s nice to be part of something and focus on learning from others. I don’t think going from start-up to start-up is very healthy,” she says, following her transition from start-up lead to chief creative at Soho House & Co, a chain of clubs, restaurants, cinemas, workspaces and spas across North America and Europe.
She says that successful entrepreneurs can also get a dose of humility from going into a business where they’re not at the helm.
Lots of entrepreneurs say they can’t work for others. It might be a sign that their ego is too big.
IDENTICAL TWINS KAREN DAVIDSON & LINDSEY CIVIL BECAME SUCCESSFUL UK E-TAILERS – WITH NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
A successful online retail store requires knowledge in search engine optimisation, social media and online marketing and much more besides.
True, say Davidson and Civil, but these are all skills you can learn from scratch if you really put your mind to it. Such was the attitude that led the twins – who joke that they’ve worked together since they were in the womb – to leave their jobs at the age of 50 and take themselves off to the British Library for a course in launching an online enterprise.
Their business – an online store selling cards and gifts specifically for twins and triplets – now has a celebrity backing (Olympian Mo Farah, father to twins, is one such customer) and a portfolio of press and TV appearances to its name.
Previous careers in banking and holiday homes gave the twins little foundation in the world of tech start-ups (something they say was “initially Swahili” to them), but a ‘can do’ attitude and the support of one another spurred them on.
We certainly do not believe we can do everything or anything but we are not afraid of failure. We acknowledged our ignorance and sought help everywhere – let people tell us how they resolved issues, found knowledge, gained useful insights.
“Our beliefs and mantras that have driven us to this point and kept the dream alive are: Surround yourself with positive people and ignore the pessimists. Don’t be afraid to fail. Ask for help. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Stay positive and believe. Try your best, do you best – you can do no more.”
SOURCES
Prema Ramappa Nadapatti: Yourstory.com; Economic Times.
Chloe Macintosh: Harvard Business Review; Inc.com; Evening Standard; Financial Times.
Karen Davidson & Lindsey Civil: Female Entrepreneurship Association; Twins Gift Company.
Watch more videos of inspirational women on the everywomanNetwork.
