Day In The Life Of: Payal Sakhuja, Ripple Links

Payal Sakhuja tells us how she balances her two babies – Ripple Links, the digital marketing agency that she founded, and her 19-month-old, and loves every minute!

My mornings begin at 7 am with a 30-minute jog to get the juices flowing. Though my little one and company Ripple Links keep me on my toes, it’s good to start the day with some exercise and introspection. I follow up my jog with a routine of newspaper and chai.

My 19-month-old wakes up at 8, so it’s all hands on deck from 8 onwards. I figure out what needs to be planned in my home and get my little one ready for the day.

I set aside half an hour each workday to plan my schedule and answer the mails that have collected quietly in my Blackberry through the night.  Here’s where I hit an activity blur – answering client mails, brainstorming with them on their campaigns, assigning tasks to the team at the office. As an entrepreneur in a digital marketing agency, my world is always dynamic. I work to create and design campaigns for my clients to ensure that they get the best results and engagement based on their channel of choice. This involves exploring new things and finding new ways every day of fluidly getting our ideas and their products across.

Before I realize it, the morning is over and I have lunch with my little one – fun time! We feed each other, recite nursery rhymes, sing and laugh!

A couple of times a week, I have client meetings. I try to schedule these in the afternoon to avoid the mayhem of morning traffic. It also means I can use the mornings to plan the day’s work and help my son settle in with his nanny.

Most days, the afternoons fly by devising campaigns, servicing clients and managing my business. I try my best to finish up the important tasks of the day by 6 pm so I can spend time with my son in the play-area.  We spend an hour playing cricket, football, the merry-go-around, swing and my son’s favorite activity feeding the babbits (it’s how he says rabbits). On our return from the park, I tackle any work that is left for the day. 8 to 9 pm is dinner time, followed by story-time as my little one goes off to bed.

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I’m passionate about cooking too – it’s my weekend career!  I find if I’m particularly stressed out after a busy day, there’s nothing like a new recipe to get me into a good mood and at my creative best. I also try and incorporate a 30 minute walk and read up on what’s new in digital media, marketing case studies, campaigns by brands etc. In my industry it is important to keep oneself updated with the happenings of the industry.

My husband who manages the team at the office is usually back by now, and we chit chat about work, music , food , our day and of course, campaigns!

Certain days are crazy with back-to-back meetings, proposal deadlines, understanding new clients, coming up with and designing new campaigns – but I love every minute of it! My entrepreneurship is what makes me happy and pushes me forward. It’s really like raising one’s baby and watching it develop and grow. I remember I was on a client call just a week after delivering my son and the brand’s business head was shocked I was back so soon. She said, “I thought you were on maternity leave!” I told her, “I can’t leave one baby to raise the other! Both of them need my attention!”

*Photo Credit: Payal Sakhuja

Are you a woman running a business in India? Would you like your story to appear in our Day In The Life Of An Entrepreneur series? Email us at admin AT womensweb DOT in with an interesting account of a day running your business, and we may publish it! (For example, what was the one interesting thing you did that day? Did you meet someone new/had a conversation with a customer? What thrills you at work? What are some business challenges you’re currently grappling with?) Also send us a few pictures of you at work – with your team, at your desk, at the factory, meeting a customer….

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