A decade of building businesses and dealing with challenges faced by women made Iffat Khan start a venture to support female entrepreneurs and help them grow. By Team Viva
An entrepreneur, an author, an international speaker, a breakfree coach, and a TEDx speaker, Iffat Khan dons several hats and is on a mission to make an impact on the lives of a million people and help them break free in their business. Growing up, she was often called socially awkward, weak and a failure but she brilliantly fought her personal battles and emerged victorious. Today, she has become an inspiration for many women and men in India and around the world. Here are a few excerpts of how she defines her journey:
What has been your creative process?
I have failed in countless endeavours in my life — my subjects at school, interviews for a job, my first business — and was thought of as weak and incompetent. I had to fight through personal challenges of being a misfit.
Then I began listening to myself and following what my heart said, and soon, things changed. I always had this inner voice but I did not have the courage to act upon what it told me to do. I remember working for Fortune 500 companies and always outperforming everyone. Yet it didn’t make me feel worthy enough. I still felt that something important was missing. I wasn’t content. However, I didn’t understand what that void was.
I was a performer at work and yet felt miserable when it came to self-confidence and worth. I felt stuck because that one thing that I always wanted to do, I couldn’t for several reasons. But it didn’t leave me for decades. I was scared. I remember, while growing up I was treated as a failure by my friends and acquaintances. For long, I ignored my inner voice and my dreams because I was restricted by my fears.
Then came a time when I often felt trapped and suffocated. And I couldn’t live like that for the rest of my life. I wasn’t doing justice to the people around me. I wanted to do a lot but didn’t know how. Finally, I decided to chase my dreams. I quit my job to follow my long-term passion of starting a business and helping companies grow as a business consultant. That’s when my journey as an entrepreneur began.
Would you suggest people to quit their jobs to start their businesses?
I wouldn’t suggest that anyone should quit their job to start a business until they have saved enough to take care of at least six months of expenditure. Because when you leave a job, your plan should be foolproof and you also should have a backup plan ready in your mind.
How challenging is it to be a woman in business?
It has its pros and cons like every entrepreneur does. Looking at how times have changed, women should be looked at equals but the truth remains that there are still many challenges that women face.
For too long, women haven’t been given their due rights or recognition in the public sphere. They haven’t been treated well and have often been objectified. Well, they still are, often. And their challenges are far more. But there are also some things which I beg to differ on. Women are not respected due to the programming of the society. However, I don’t like the term, ‘women empowerment,’ because they are already empowered. If they can bring a life to this world, they can do anything they want to. Women don’t need empowerment. They just need support and a place that they own.
Everyone is special in their own way and that’s what makes each one of us amazing. We all should be treated as unique apart from just being equals.
The entire experience of a decade of working with businesses, building them and the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs made me start Femipreneur, a venture to support women in their business and help them grow.
Where does your strength come from?
My family has been my biggest strength no matter what happens, or how many challenges we’ve been through, I always find them by my side. We have always overcome challenges as a family and that’s incredible. It’s a blessing to have them — my amazing parents and crazy siblings.
What is ‘Breakfree’ all about?
We all need to break free from the past programming that has influenced us due to our surroundings and the people around us so that we can realise our potential.
I believe it’s now that people need us more than they ever did before. Especially, in the world of social media, accessibility, and technology, things are easier to accomplish now than it was ever before. Yet most of us are not utilising the true potential that we have.
I believe the sooner people understand they can break free from what’s stopping them to pursue their dreams, the sooner they can literally fly.
What is your message to the readers out there?
Find yourself. Dive in self-discovery. Find your purpose. Explore more and understand what more you can do. I wish each one of you can break free and live your heart’s desire (because I know how it feels like not to).