In today’s blog, Amrita Raichua-Kaushal, a former Pharmacy student, talks about her experience as an entrepreneur and why she decided to move away from a career in Pharmacy. Read more to find out how she made that transition into entrepreneurship and how she overcame barriers.
What are you doing now?
Currently, I am on my maternity leave but I have been working on setting up my bubble tea, shakes and smoothie shop from scratch which will very soon be opening next month. This idea came In August 2019, 3 months postpartum and I started working on it straight away. I registered my company Boba Bar Ltd in September and will be launching the grand opening in February 2020.
Is this job role what you expected? What has surprised you about this position/industry?
This project is everything I expected and much more! I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and the excitement of overcoming all the challenges one by one gives me an adrenaline rush. It is much harder than expected but that’s what makes it that much more rewarding. Nevertheless, I can surely say that all my past work experiences have taught me the skills I needed to venture into a new industry like this
How did you get there?
I graduated with a Masters in Pharmacy, worked in hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy, and an independent pharmacy as a manager. Travelling was an essential part of my life whilst studying and working which widened my horizons into different areas other than pharmacy. Hence I decided to pursue in another field which strongly grasped my interest; the start-up finance industry. I gave the FCA exams and became an investment manager at a fintech company called FutureBricks. I became very close to the Founder of the company which allowed me to overcome my fears of starting a venture and made me believe in myself that I can achieve whatever I imagine, as long as I am ready to put all the hard work and commitment into it. I absolutely loved my job at this company as my role was unlimited and extensive, however deep down I knew that I still had to establish something of my own and this was not it.
What made you focus on this career?
I knew I was diverting from pharmacy to something different which I was enjoying more, however, the defining moment came after I gave birth to my baby girl. I did not want to work on someone else’s timings, I wanted to be my own boss and also become my girl could be proud of.
What barriers did you overcome? Were there any that couldn’t be overcome and that changed your career direction?
Firstly having studied pharmacy and not pursuing that further in my career was a very difficult decision that had to be taken if I wanted to enjoy my professional life. There was also the constant need to learn and develop in the new field of finance which was time-consuming. But all that I had learnt in both the careers helped me in my current role as a business owner.
What do you know now that you’d wish you knew when you were a student?
Even when you are doing things that you don’t enjoy, say a presentation or a job or even a degree, there are always some skills to learn from which you can extend into other areas of your life.
Do you have any tips for people interested in working in your area?
Starting your own business is an extremely challenging but equally rewarding project. Becoming an entrepreneur requires extremely determined willpower and a burning desire to do something you believe in.
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