Rhucha Kulkarni
LifeinClicks Photography
Photography
Company Details
An HR professional-turned-entrepreneur, Rhucha is now a full-time #professionalphotographer. 7+ years of clicking various genres of photography brought her to found LifeinClicksPhotography in 2017. She specializes in #newborn, #baby, #maternity and #family #photography, and is internationally #accredited and #trained (https://apnpi.com) in handling and posing #newborns/#infants. Having created beautiful memories for 800+ CLIENTS #babies and their #families over the PAST TWO YEARs, gives her a high- when she sees her clients’ joys as they look back fondly on the #lifetimememories that she created!
What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are now
(1) Shunning a secure and well-prospected corporate career (I am an ex HR professional), raised many a questions with family and others- will I be able to build a viable business, which justifies LEAVING A LUCRATIVE MBA-led CORPORATE CAREER? Also, paving my own path demanded resilience and commitment to the cause of following my passion. Photography was my passion since past 7 years, but I made it a point to get TRAINED AND CERTIFIED in a specialised area of NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY, and investing time, effort and money in my own skills upgradation took up a lot. But I see it as a necessary step in creating a trusting environment for new and expecting parents, who are my clients. (2) Turning a passion/hobby into a SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS by building trust with clients, has been an ongoing learning. I started with a bootstrapped business (around 2 lakh investment), and through my creative offerings and engaging client-relationships have built a business which hit the 10 LAKH PROFIT mark in YEAR 1 and REVENUES INCREASED 209% in YEAR 1. Thereafter, I have been thankful to have wonderful clients who trust me with their precious kids. I make it a point to engage in a baby-friendly way to understand where my clients come from and curate an engaging and memorable experience! (3) Challenges are ongoing- how to scale the business beyond this space of comfort, how to continue building trust with clients, how to add creativity in all our offerings for the best experience for our clients. It is a journey of lifelong learning for great experiences and memories for those who choose us!
What message you want to give for other aspiring women entrepreneurs
(1) BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: As a small chunk of women entrepreneurial group, it is easy to get disheartened and give up. Building confidence and resilience is crucial to tide over the tough times in entrepreneurship. Have faith, use techniques like self-talk, meditation etc. to understand oneself and build belief in self.
(2) SEEK SUPPORT: We women often shy away from asking for help in certain areas. There is no shame in asking for help, be it the smallest of things. I often reached out to my husband for his opinion of building strategy and his insights have helped the business grow.
(3) CONNECT AND NETWORK: We never know when connections turn out helpful for personal and business growth. Building a trusting network who we can rely on for advice and even just "talk it out", is crucial to success.
To what do you attribute your success
A strong WILL to FOLLOW MY PASSION on a sustainable basis, and resilience to stick it out during ups and downs has contributed to my success. My background of my MBA and corporate job helped me fine-tune my client-relationships, and build credibility for myself. Support from my husband and me having FAITH in my capabilities have been instrumental in making my passion into a viable plus a creative pursuit of a profession.
Website or Social Media Page
https://www.facebook.com/LifeinClicksPhotographyIndia/