"Always make the most of downtime in your business because you never know when things will pick up again."
Neha Naik Tweet
Neha Naik is now a 4 times business owner, and she runs those while raising 2 toddlers! She is an expert in career planning/recruitment, a certified sleep consultant, and a mom entrepreneurship coach, mentoring moms with young children on how to start a business to create a better work/life balance. She helps moms who DREAM of starting a business, but don’t ACT on it, takes them by the hand, and walks them through all the steps of their new biz – conception to delivery! She now runs her four businesses successfully: RecruitGyan, Creative Arc, The Sleepy Cub, and Quit my 9-5 Moms
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to Valiant CEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Neha Naik: My name is Neha and I’m an expert in career planning/recruitment, a certified sleep consultant, and mom entrepreneurship coach, mentoring moms with young children on how to start a business to create a better work/life balance. I help moms who DREAM of starting a business but don’t ACT on it, I take them by the hand and walk them through all the steps of their new biz – conception to delivery! My first business was born when I was job hunting, trying to avoid the unjust treatment I experienced from my previous employer, and I was prompted to start my own company instead.
I first felt insecure, thinking I did not have enough experience or expertise – but I succeeded! Things snowballed from there, and every major new skill in my life turned into a business of sharing it with others. I know firsthand the journey of building an empire while also raising a family – I have lived the rollercoasters of failures, obstacles, fears, self-doubt, not knowing how to do it, overwhelmed by all the advice out there. So I decided to share my story and help other moms start businesses, or simply organize their day with routines and predictability so that the whole family is energized and happy.
Who has been the most influential person(s) in your life and how did they impact you? How did that lead to where you are today?
Neha Naik: I am blessed to have 2 influential people in my life- first was my father who always encouraged my brother and me to be business owners – he immigrated from India with us in 1999 and had to build everything from the ground up by working hard. The second influential person in my life is my husband – he pushes me to be the best I can be and encourages me to do more, to do better. He takes over daddy duties happily when he knows I need to spend time on self-care or business care and I couldn’t have been blessed with a better life partner.
2020 was a challenging year for all of us, particularly for businesses. How did the pandemic impact your business? Please list some of the problems that you faced, and how you handled them.
Neha Naik: It was an interesting year- I decided to return from my maternity leave in March after having my second baby in December but it was around the same time COVID happened! All of a sudden I lost 2-3 major contracts overnight (within a few hours). A lot of it was a knee-jerk reaction of course because everything seemed so uncertain and scary – instead of giving up or feeling upset, I decided to scale my team and get ready for the return of my clients and then some. And that is exactly what happened, I hired out a few key hires and by May not only did my clients return but I had signed on another 8! It was a blessing in disguise for my business just because I knew I needed to scale but didn’t have a lot of time to hire and interview – always make the most of downtime in your business because you never know when things will pick up again.
The pandemic led to a myriad of cultural side effects, including one that was quite unexpected that is informally known as “The Great Resignation”. Did this widespread trend affect you in any way?
Neha Naik: Because all of my contractors and clients are remote; it didn’t affect me- I did have most of my clients pause their contracts but that was to be expected.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021. How do you feel about this trend? Explain.
Neha Naik: I can see that! A lot of people started their freelancing or consulting business during the pandemic and grew it so it doesn’t surprise me much when I see this statistic.
According to a study by Harvard Business Review, Employees between 30 and 45 years old have had the greatest increase in resignation rates, with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021. That can be quite an alarming rate. What advice would you share to increase employee retention?
Neha Naik: To increase employee retention here are a few things that need to happen:
- – High-quality interviews, not necessarily the quantity – dive into their motivation and cultural fit
- – Offer visible and attainable career progression tracks
- – Offer professional growth opportunities
- – 401k and PTO go a LONG way!
- – Incentivize them with stocks or options and offer refreshes
- – Semi-annual performance reviews instead of annual ones will allow employees to feel heard.
According to a Nature Human behavior study, In 2020, 80% of US workers reported feeling that they have too many things to do and not enough time to do them – a phenomenon known as “time poverty”. What is your take on the work-life balance? Explain.
Neha Naik: As a 4 times business owner – I 100% get this! For me personally, it’s a lot about prioritization and packetization. Figure out where you spend most of your time and why you do it? Find out your strengths and weaknesses and outsource things you cannot do or just don’t have enough time to do. You need to be a CEO and spend most of your time in client acquisition and team growth/learnings.
A more recent survey by Joblist asked about 3,000 respondents if they’re actively thinking about leaving their job. That survey found that 73% of 2,099 respondents who answered this question on their employment plans are considering quitting. How are you preparing for the future to counter this potentially persistent problem?
Neha Naik: I am working on a consulting model for my recruitment business which will help me and CEOs like me in scaling their business by hiring the right people.
Thank you for all that, our readers are grateful for your insightful comments! Now, if the Great Resignation isn’t your greatest concern, what is the #1 most pressing challenge you’re trying to solve in your business right now?
Neha Naik: I am working on a consulting model for my recruitment business by which I can help tech CEOs scale their teams with the right backbone and infrastructure. I hope to have this model polished and ready to go by Jan 4th!
Before we finish things off, we do have one last question. If you had 10 Million Dollars to spend in one day, what would you spend it on?
Neha Naik: Investing in properties, setting some aside for kids’ education and traveling!
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Neha Naik for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Neha Naik or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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