IAM1421 – Founder Helps Entrepreneurs by Taking Care of the Non-Core Activities

Riya Jain is the founder of Namo Padmavati – a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs to delegate non-core activities. She started working when she was 18 because of her parent's separation and now she truly believes that necessity is the mother of invention. She also hosts a podcast that talks about the journeys of entrepreneurs. Riya has a team of 12 and they have worked on 350+ projects from all over the globe. She also started training professionals in entrepreneurship, marketing, and everything an early start-up owner needs to become successful.

• CEO Story: Riya believed in growing through the build and believing in new beginnings. That is where she got her company’s name. Exposed to challenges in life, she came out strong and worked in a large corporate company.  Thought that she was done with corporate life, she built her own company training professionals in entrepreneurship. Now it’s more than 4 years and growing strong and building her team.
• Business Service: Takes care of all the non-core activities of a business owner that need less attention from the entrepreneur. Data entry, transcription, marketing assistant, customer service, generating leads.
• Secret Sauce: The challenges in life that challenged her more and kept pushing her. Becoming a better version of herself.
• CEO Hack: Learning every single day. Learn from YouTube or podcasts for 10-30 minutes of your time, you will be unbeatable.
• CEO Nugget: Working smart and working hard go hand in hand.
• CEO Defined: Responsibility. Investing your time, energy, and skill in the company.

Website: namopadmavati.com

LinkedIn: riyajainva

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Transcription

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00:24 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:51 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello, This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today, I have Riya Jain of Nomopadvati Riya, it's great to have you on the show.

01:01 – Riya Jain

Thank you. Thanks for having me here. It really means a lot.

01:04 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, excited to have you on and talk about all the awesome things that you're doing. And of course, before I do that I want to read a little bit more about Riya so you can hear about some of those awesome things. Riya is the founder of Namo Padmad Vasi, a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to delegate non-core activities. She started working when she was 18 because of her parent's separation and now she truly believes that necessity is the mother of invention.

She also hosts a podcast that talks about the journeys of entrepreneurs Riyahas a team of 12 and they have worked on 35050 plus projects from all over the globe. She also started training professionals in entrepreneurship, marketing and everything on early startup ownership needs to know to be successful. Riya, excited to have you on the show again. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:48 – Riya Jain

Yeah, I'm excited. I mean I loved it when I received an email so yeah, let's do this. All right.

01:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, absolutely. I love it too and am always excited to have other podcasters on the show so we can get you on the other side of the mic and hear a little bit more about your story. So that's exactly where I wanted to kick off. I wanted several hear a little bit more about how you got started. What's your CEO story?

02:09 – Riya Jain

So as the company name is Namo Padmavati, which means Growing through the dirt and believing in new beginnings. So that is why I named my company that. Because I started when I was 18. I never wanted to get into this business field. I never wanted to work. I always wanted to have a lavish life, you know, not worry about what's happening. But that's now how it is. Right. So kind of life came crashing down when my parents got separated and I was, you know, suddenly from being this amazing luxurious girl to kind of being the brand winner of the family was a journey.

So I had to kind of, you know, get started. I started working a couple of years ago. I worked in a very fast-growing SEO company and I managed about 100, 150 people there. And I did a lot of lot of training and stuff. And then I was like, you know what? It's time for me to get rid of nine-to-five and try to start something on my own. And that's when I kind of started Namupad Mavati. And today we have completed four and a half years and we are going strong and we are also building a team.

03:13 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I absolutely love that. And if only I could say and pronounce the name of the company correctly. We had a bunch of outtakes before we got started, but I love just hearing why people call their company what they call it. And I was just thinking, like, there's this book and I think even a poem that is basically talking about the roads that grew from concrete. And a lot of times we think that that's a disadvantage, but actually ends up becoming an advantage because I think you start to have a lot of that, you know, resiliency, a lot of the strength which I imagine, you know, kind of penetrates in everything that you've been able to build and do.

03:47 – Riya Jain

Definitely. I mean, I would say that if you are too comfortable with your life and if there's nothing happening, there's nothing that is challenging you, then I think that is something to worry about because change is extremely important. I can't. I can't, you know, say this enough because if you're going through something challenging, then just, you know, you should be lucky because I think God is literally wanting or pushing you to become something and kind of unleash your true potential. So I definitely believe that.

04:13 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it speaks a lot to, you know, your mindset as well too. When you're able to kind of understand that and understand that even the difficulty. They say a lot of times when you're being pulled backward, it's actually to propel you forward. So sometimes when you're going through those things and those challenges, they actually can't. They can be to your advantage.

04:30 – Riya Jain

Exactly. Very well said. Yes, that is what it is.

04:34 – Gresham Harkless

Yes. I love it. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more. I know we touched on a little bit when I read your bio. Could you take us through how you're serving your clients, and how you're making your impact and helping them to be their best selves?

04:46- Riya Jain

Sure. Because you know what, small business owners, you know what happens is that when you start a business, you're wearing all the hats of responsibilities. Let it be financing, let it be, you know, getting the human resource right or, you know, getting thinking about ideas or, you know, doing some marketing, getting into sales, customer service. And it could be a lot. And that is why I believe that many people give up because they're like, oh my God, what is this? I don't think so. I can handle this.

And that's why nine to five look comfortable. Nine to five look like, okay, you know what? This is where I just work nine to five and that's done. But entrepreneurship is also easy when you have the right people on the team. Right. So what I do is that I take over all the noncore activities of a business owner. It could be anything that needs his, that, that needs less attention of the entrepreneur. And I, we actually, I have a team of 12 now and we all work on the projects and we kind of deliver it to them so that they can only focus on what's important and they can also get some extra hours to spend with their family.

05:46 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I love that. And especially that last part about like, sometimes we forget why, why we're doing what we're doing. So you pretty much do like each of the things that a client might be looking for from a virtual assistant standpoint.

05:57 – Riya Jain

Correct. Everything. Like when it, you know, data entry, transcriptions, marketing assistant, or, you know, it could be customer service or you know, helping them finding, generating leads through LinkedIn or whatever it is. Yeah. We have a set of professionals and I would not like to say that I am the one person who does. No, I have my skillset. I have, and my team members have some specific skill sets. So yeah, that's how it is.

06:22 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I love that because that's essentially what you're helping the business owners to do, to not try to do all the things. So it makes sense that you shouldn't do all the things either. We each have our lane that we should lean into.

06:32 – Riya Jain

Definitely. Yes.

06:34 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So what would you consider to be what I like to call your secret sauce? This could be for yourself personally, the business, or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

06:46 – Riya Jain

I think the way life makes me uncomfortable at times, is my secret sauce, because I am somebody who needs, you know, who kind of needed a push initially, and I would have never realized my potential. I would have never been able to do what I'm doing. I would have never been able to meet you and, you know, kind of have this interview going on if it would not be because of the push. So I would say that I kind of pray to God that, you know what?

Keep pushing me, keep challenging me, because, you know, many of them go and pray to God saying that, hey, you know what? Please make this okay. Make this okay. But I'm like, no, challenge me. Make it difficult for me so that I can prove myself wrong, that I can do way better. I don't care about the society, but I care about myself. And I. The only thing that keeps me going is that, you know, becoming way better than I was last year this time.

07:36- Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And when you have that mentality of trying to get, you know, better every single day, day after day after day, you're like, I just want to continue. Then you start to really have that intentionality, and it starts to manifest itself from there. But I love what you said, and I think as we kind of even talked about before, so often we forget that, really the challenge and the obstacle is often the opportunity.

And if we don't look at it that way if we just want everything to be sunshine and rainbows, we don't want to have any challenges, we don't want to be out of our comfort zone. Then ultimately, we end up living a very limited life. And as you said so. Well, I don't feel like we were put on this earth to do that either. So I think as you talked about, you know, being challenged by God, I think also God gives us that opportunity and those challenges so that we can show ourselves and also him in the kingdom, exactly what we're all about.

08:27 – Riya Jai

Exactly. I mean, to realize your potential, it is very important to either realize it yourself, which is very difficult, or, you know, when life throws some challenges at you, you should be like, okay, you know what? Let's do it. Let's see what it does. Because many people lose jobs, and they're like, you know what? I don't think so. You know, what happened? And they kind of lose all the interest and the hope and everything.

But when they realize, oh, I was made to kind of become an entrepreneur, I was made to do something much bigger. Okay, I did not realize this. So I have interviewed people, and I've talked with people all over the world. They're like, you know what, Riya? I was at that stage of my life where I wanted to commit suicide and then something happened. And today I never thought I would be this person. And I think that's the most magical thing. And it's all about patience. It's all about being calm and kind of trusting. The process is very difficult. People are not patient. And it is extremely important to just, you know, just to stay a little longer.

09:20 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. To stay the course and kind of respect the journey. And I think a lot of times when you hear those people that are successful, and I appreciate you sharing that so much, you don't realize that sometimes it's the darkest moments where dawn starts to appear and really things start to go, you know, towards where you want them to go. But if you don't have those less-than-ideal moments, then it's really hard to experience all that joy. So I want to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So it could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

09:51 – Riya Jain

I would say learning makes me more effective and efficient because, you know, if you think that, you know, just completing a course will make you intelligent or smart, that is wrong. Because, you know, knowledge also kind of has an expiry date. For example, if I'm working on LinkedIn and I'm not aware of the new algorithms or what is happening, what is in the market, and what people like, then I am never going to succeed in that market.

So I would say learning every single day, you know, let. And it is not like you'll have to go purchase these new paid fancy courses. No, just go on YouTube. Just go listen to your podcast or some of the other podcasts out there. I think every day if you could invest 10 to 30 minutes of your time just learning of what's happening in your market or what's happening in your industry, you would be unbeatable. That is for sure. You would be unbeatable.

11:43 – Gresham Harkless

When you have that insatiable appetite and that kind of relentlessness towards, you know, learning more and more and more. But I love what you said about learning to have an expiration date because I think often we forget about that. Especially we're talking about things like algorithms and how they change. But even though we're experiencing it now, life is completely changing.

If you're, you're reading and listening to something that's maybe, you know, 50 years about starting a business, you might hear things like, you know, opening up an office and making sure that you hire the employees. But as we're involved and talking about right now, things are changing. So it's so important not necessarily to take that book and say, okay, it's not necessarily worthwhile, but to understand that things have evolved and changed. If you continue to kind of learn and learn and learn, that'll set you up for success.

12:26. – Riya Jain

You know what? The pandemic has caused a major change in corporate life. So if we are still having those traditional methods in our head, like, no, we need an office or we need this, I mean, then there'll be no way for us to grow. You know, you have to adapt, you have to learn, and this is how you can keep going every single day. And, you know, you never have to shut down your business.

12:47 – Gresham Harkles

Yeah, absolutely. Adaptation is definitely the key to success. And I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this is a little bit more of a word of wisdom or piece of advice. I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client or if you happen to be a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

13:07 – Riya Jain

Younger business self. I would definitely go back and want to say that working smart is not always the right way. You know, people say, you know what? Don't work smart. You know, you should I mean, don't work hard, you know, kind of work smart as well. But I would say that working smart and working hard goes hand in hand.

And when I started, I immediately kind of started delegating and I was like, you know what, I want to be the smart person and stuff, but I think hard work is equally important. It is, you know, it is never a day when you're like, you know, you can work smart and kind of, you know, succeed or get the victory smart and hard work goes hand in hand. No matter how smart you are, you need to work a little to kind of get things done.

13:47 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's so important and I think it's something that, you know, isn't talked about, you know, enough. So I appreciate you bringing that to life.

13:56 – Riya Jain

Thank you.

13:57 – Gresham Harkless

So I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So, Riya, what does being a CEO mean to you?

14:07 – Riya Jain

It's a responsibility. I think that people, you know when I go on LinkedIn and stuff, I read a lot of posts that say that if you are a CEO, you don't have to worry. You can take whenever, you know, you can take off whenever you want, you can go on holidays, you can, you know, have fun. You don't have to work every day. You don't have to go through that 9 to 5 thing. But I'm like, no, it's not that CEO. Being a CEO is way, way, way more difficult than any job role in a company because you are not going to be paid if you don't get the job done. Unlike the team, you know, and they have the safe net and you have to be on your toes.

You know, you cannot let one thing go out of your loop, you know, you should be there. So I would say that the CEO is responsible. Not everyone can do it. And it is. And it is not as fancy as it sounds. So everybody should know that being a CEO is not a cake work. It, it is not that fancy. I literally gained 20kgs in like last year just trying to keep my, keep the company together, you know. And yeah, that's how it is. And no matter how autopiloted your business is, you will need to kind of have some kind of.

At least in the initial years, you will have to be there no matter what. Even if you're on holiday, you are there. You're using your phones, you're on emails, you're checking stuff even if you don't have to. But this normal employees won't do because it's like, okay, you know what, it's my holiday, I'm going to add an autoresponder message and that's it. But the CEO can never go on a holiday, no matter how difficult or easy it is.

15:45 – Gresham Harkles

Yeah, absolutely. You find so often, even if you're physically in a different place, mentally and emotionally, sometimes you're in the same place. And I appreciate you sharing just the true nature of it. So what I wanted to do now was passionate about the mic, so to speak. Just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers enlist listeners know and of course how best people can get a hold of you. Subscribe to your podcast, and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

16:10 – Riya Jain

For the podcast, I'll just send you the link and it'll be available in the description. If you want to reach out to me about the services or whatever, you can just shoot me a LinkedIn message or you could email me or you could go through to my website it is very easy to reach me because I'm super, super, super available on all the social media platforms. So yeah, absolutely.

16:30 – Gresham Harkless

I love it on your website. Can you tell us about people who might be listening?

16:34 – Riya Jain

Sure, it is www.namopadmavati.com and I'll also send you the link and you know, we can have it on the description or whatever. Thank you.

16:43 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. We will have that information in the show notes as well too. Just so and make it even easier to connect on LinkedIn, subscribe to the podcast, and of course visit the website. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of that.

16:54 – Riya Jain

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me here. It really means a lot and I wish you all the best for everything thank you so much for the listeners to kind of you, you know, listening to me. But yeah, thank you so much. Thanks a lot.

17:06 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.