Meet beauty with brains Anu Bedi who recently joined our platform as a Business Consultant. She is the managing director of CSmart Consulting (CSmartConsulting/ ). Anu has an entrepreneurial spirit and currently runs multiple businesses apart from CSmart Consulting. She also owns Swimz Guildford () and Stem Champs, Australia/NZ which are set up to be management run. All three businesses are successful and built up from scratch.
Here is an interview with her:
Tell us more about yourself – what you do, your hobbies, passions etc.I am an avid reader and love to travel. Before having kids, I enjoyed travelling and experiencing new cultures and experiences. Now with kids, we have travelled far and wide, but each place we travel means we have a thirst for more. Travelling and exploring the world has changed since having kids but I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to open up new worlds and experiences to my children.
Once I pick up a book, I must finish it. In my younger days, I explored a lot of authors and styles of writing. Easy to do with no smart phones and traveling to and from work. Now with a lack of time, I've become selective with my reading. Now my reading has leaned more towards non-fiction from fiction and into the business growth, entrepreneurship and spirituality space. I am again lucky that my kids have picked up the habit of reading and enjoy it. The types of books they sometimes read though leave me gob smacked! Especially my 9 year old son who loves comedy writing to the point you will often hear him having literal belly laughs based on what he's just read.
Throughout my career, I've loved to work with people, manage and coach them to create positive cultures. Now I have the opportunity to do so through my consulting & coaching. I love this aspect of my work where I see business owners have a literal lightbulb moment or someone having an 'aaahaa' moment at one of my presentations or seminars. This aspect of educating and empowering business owners has now become my driving passion. I have a strategic view of business. I often find that I can see and feel the transformation for a business and putting this forward to the business owners gives me a real kick and excitement.
Finally, my current passionate project is my own writing – a book on women in business and entrepreneurship which is yet a work in progress
Who or what inspires you?Many people and many things inspire me. First and foremost, it would have to be my family.
My mother and sister inspire me everyday to be kind and patient. I have seen mum go throughout life do some life changing things for many people. Yet, she did them with no expectations or accolades. She simply does good things and moves on. Never expecting anything in return. This is inspirational to me and if I could even be half the person she is, I will be grateful in life. My sister is the absolute strongest person I know in the face of adversity, and she inspires me to keep going and never give up. My dad inspires me for taking some big risks in life while managing his responsibilities. He has taught me that no matter how bad things are, that day too shall pass. I own my perseverance and 'never say no' attitude to him.
My partner & kids are a source of constant inspiration and love as I feel everything I do, leads to them in some way, shape or form. My partner is the ice to my fire and balances me so wonderfully mentally and spiritually. Our kids are the at the center of everything we do and why we do it – they truly are the heart of our family and center of our universe.
Apart from my immediate family, I am constantly amazed and inspired by the women making a difference despite and in spite of their various responsibilities. Since entering the entrepreneurship space, I have met inspiring women from all walks of life with multinational business interests to start ups and each one of these ladies inspires me in their tenacity, commitment, and passion towards their work.
What are your goals in life? Have you achieved them?When I was about 17, I attended this course, Total Quality Management in relation to business improvements. I have to say, I have carried the fragments of that being, constant improvement…to the self. The goals I had set some years ago, I have achieved and absolutely enjoyed the journey in getting there.
Each day though brings with it change and we must grow and adapt. I am on a journey of self-improvement and will remain so till my last breadth I believe. This is because our lives have so many different aspects and each day, I strive to be a better mum, partner, daughter, sister, friend, mentor, boss, advisor, entrepreneur, consultant…..in short, each day I strive to be a better person in all aspects of life
Have you faced any gender related challenges in your personal or professional life?I come from a background of working in a Federal Government department for over 17 years, working through to raise and smash the glass ceilings at a young age to reach Directorship levels. The rise was interesting in highlighting the various biases people hold, including those related to gender. Working at those higher levels in Government, I would often find myself in board rooms with a majority of men who had been around for a very long time.
I recall at first, attempting to look older and smarter by donning on power suits, makeup and wearing glasses (even when there was no need to!). Over time though, I realized that my work needed to speak for itself and any barriers I felt were put up, could be dealt with in a rational manner.
Getting emotional about this issue was not going to assist but rather add fuel to fire. Hence, I adopted a calmer approach of simply highlighting my work, effort and understanding. This approach to dealing with issues resulted in me gaining respect and accolades from within a group of sometimes highly egoistical and biased group of men. This was not an easy journey and one that called for many uncomfortable moments. However, I persevered in the knowledge that I was on the right path, not just for myself, but for the other women who may face similar challenges.
I view adversity as an opportunity and in dealing with these issues, I got the opportunity to learn, understand human behavior & psyche and grow into my own skin into a much more confident person who can challenge any status quo. I am proud of who I have become going through those issues because I feel I can now role model those behaviors with both, my daughter and my son.
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