Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Meghavi Vyas : My answer might just disappoint you and/or many others, but the fact remains that the idea of having my business around Image Management was purely destined. I just had no plans about getting into this kind of business. My academic qualification is in engineering which is miles away from the concept of Image Management. As a matter of fact I always lacked that extra dose of confidence since I was never particular about my own image(perks of being an engineer) Now when I look back, I strongly feel that my lack is what drove me towards Image Management. I wanted something which was not just superficial like putting on makeup but was scientific enough, logical enough to be accepted as a way of life. This is how I got into the business idea of using self as the biggest resource for success. Oftentimes I jokingly quote that I have a start up in self-esteem. I have been blessed to move from "Designing buildings to designing personalities"
Great Companies: What are the various Services provided by Mega Image Consulting
Meghavi Vyas : Mega Image Consulting deals with the clients in four major ways.
1) Training
When we look at training it can be a Corporate training, group session for a closed group of a particular club or organisation, open workshops where the participant is broadly defined. This can be either on a behavioral aspect or a subject related to image enhancement. Here we discuss the most pressing and most common aspects in stipulated time.
2) Personalised Services
When a person has specific needs to be addressed to, needs personal attention and personalized solutions, is not in a position to adjust his schedule with the group sessions, we go ahead with the individual one on one sessions. Here the sessions are tailor made to fit the needs and quieres of a particular client, no generic solutions are provided. Lot of senior professionals come to us to build their Executive Presence.
3) Uniform Design
With more awareness and need of updating, uniform is no longer just a pair of shirt and trouser/skirt given to the employees. The companies who understand the impact of the attire on the company branding, on the morale of employees, and the perception created by their brand ambassadors(employees) wearing that uniform invite us to design a uniform that truly represents the company.
4)Keynote
Image Management is still a less understood topic a lot of times. Corporates want to spread awareness around the subject and this is where keynote helps. Annual days, AGM, Womens Day, etc are some occasions where we get to share our thoughts as keynote.
Great Companies: What makes Mega Image Consulting different from hundreds of other Training and Coaching Firms?
Meghavi Vyas : Well, the focus at Mega Image Consulting has not been about being different from hundreds and thousands of other similar firms as much as it has been on creating impact and bringing in transformation. If that is a differentiator, yes we focus on transmutations. We, being a growing firm, still have a personalised service scope with our clients.
The biggest differentiator, I believe, comes from the fact that I know the pain of not having an appropriate image and coming from there, I feel the untold pain of my clients, which definitely brings a sea change in how we treat our clients. Having authored one of the few books on Image Management in India, I can definitely say we have observed and dealt with quite a lot of day to day issues of people related to their own image, their Personal Brand.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Meghavi Vyas : Mega Image Consulting, being a smaller venture has its own set of challenges. Coming from a non-business family background there are a lot of doing-learning-redoing cycles which take up time, energy and money. Of course one learns from experts and time too teaches but even that has a cost. Having plans but lacking in execution due to dependency on certain factors becomes one of the biggest challenges. As an educator/coach the expectation of people to be constantly in that high energy and positive mindframe at times go too far. Apart from that we face the similar issues of marketing, revenue generation, building teams and so on.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Mega Image Consulting?
Meghavi Vyas : Mega Image Consulting looks to niche down in Personal Branding and come up with short programs, detailed programs and individual services for people wanting to build themselves as a Brand and not just remain a commodity.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Meghavi Vyas : JUST BEGIN. I think this is the one thing I have struggled a lot while I was starting. The apprehension of should I - should I not, Is this right for me or not, will this work for my domain, my city, my personality and so on. The little voice inside will keep talking about doubts and fear - that is its job after all - but all you need to do is JUST BEGIN.
Ofcourse, you want to be mindful of the risk factors but do not just stop taking action. The antidote to any fear you fathom is action. Make this your business mantra and I can safely assure you that you will be winning against one of the major challenges - time. In this fast age late is what eliminates your fate. Kill the doubt and JUST BEGIN.