Saher is a woman who can do it all! Whilst raising three children she has set up a business and runs a successful community for women. I have seen the wonderful work she does and what a difference she makes. Saher is living proof that there are no limits to what a woman can do.
Can you tell me about ‘The Girl Tribe & Co’ and how it all started?
The Girl Tribe & Co is a platform created for women across all fields to come together to empower, champion and inspire. Through the events and workshops we curate, we hope to help women on the personal and/or professional level. We truly strive to encourage woman to love, respect and believe in themselves first and the world will follow. We create workshops and get professionals on board based on the current struggles we see out there. We host a range of events from talking about mental health to organising social media workshops for entrepreneurs. We bring in the professionals and we learn together. Every event is really FUN!
In all honesty, The Girl Tribe & Co is something that started very spontaneously in one of my weakest moments when I really felt like I needed a creative outlet that would inspire me to grow and challenge me to rise outside of my comfort zone. We started as Bangalorefunmoms with the vision of doing mom and kiddie activities together. My goal was to get moms out of their homes and have some time for themselves while I engaged their children in fun activities. Along the way I organically grew and was joined by my partner Tara Khan at which point we rebranded to become the The Girl Tribe & Co and pivoted the direction of the brand to encompass the larger vision of empowering and championing women entrepreneurs.
What do you feel is unique about your community?
The unique thing about GT is that we grow with our members. Our events, workshops and all other activities are based out of what we feel the women out there want or need support with. We study our members and then we curate events based on the data collected. All of our members come from unique backgrounds and have had unique experiences, yet we share the same vision of inspiring and supporting one another. We truly believe that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
As well as being a community leader, you are also an entrepreneur. Can you tell us about your business?
I have a small business on the side called ThePartieBox. Being an Early Childhood Educator myself, I really enjoy curating fun activities for children; especially for parties. I am not a fan of constantly having children play games to compete with one other. I found most parties found games and competitions the primary form of entertainment. This usually resulted in one happy kid – the winner—and a whole bunch of sulking kids who didn’t happen to win. Hence, I introduced fun activity kits that the kids can work on together and everyone goes home feeling like they accomplished something. Our kits include all the items needed to conduct the particular activity so the parents and kids can get straight to the fun part.
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
I often hear people claim that this celebrity or this person is their biggest inspiration, however I do not think I have ever had that one consistent person. It may sound a bit clichéd but my mom is someone who inspires me every day to rise above the hardships and come out a winner. I guess that’s the same for most people. I just feel like every day is a new story. Meeting new people, and having new experiences inspire me in so many different ways. One day I might get inspired by a rocking interview by a celebrity on television, while another day I get inspired by a homeless woman on the street who is tired and starving yet she has a smile to offer her child. There is so much love, beauty and emotions out there that it is difficult not to be inspired by something new all the time!
How do you balance work and parenting?
Being completely candid, I would say that three kids down… I am still struggling. The more I think about this million dollar question, I truly wonder what the balance is and who sets the standards that qualify me to be a good parent or a bad one. I know as a mom I try to do the best in my ability to give my children a loving and secure environment. I have good days and bad days. Some days I spend 80% of my time on work and 20% of my time with my kids and on other days it’s vice versa. But the one thing I consciously try to do is designate time for them in the week where we have family time. We go out, watch a movie together, play board games or chat about almost everything and anything under the stars.
What have your parents taught you that is invaluable to you as a Mother?
The one thing I have learned from my parents is to always be your child’s cheer leader. Make them feel like they are amazing and you believe in them. Having my parents always backing me up whether it was their excitement when I won our school speech competition or them surprising me with a cake even though I lost in basketball, they always focussed on my strengths. They never made me feel like I was not good enough. They made me feel like I was amazing. This belief that they had in me would organically create a want for me to better myself in everything I tried to do.
What are the most important lessons you want to pass onto your children?
A very important lesson I want my children to understand is the importance of respecting oneself in all facets of life, let it be professionally and personally. When we expect respect from others we must learn to respect ourselves first. It is extremely important to set boundaries that we are comfortable with and not compromise them at any cost. Especially for my daughter, in a world where sometimes a woman is classified as being “selfish” when she stands up for herself or her rights, I want my daughter to be able to respect herself enough to avoid all people and situations that hinder her ability to grow and succeed.
You are a great inspiration to many. How do you intend to keep inspiring our generation and the next?
I hope to continue inspiring people through honesty. With the increased pressure social media has put on our lives to be the “best” all the time, I feel it is really important to show people both sides of the coin. Yes, I do have amazing hair days, I do go on fun vacations and have a blast when I have my girls night out but I also have days when I cry myself to sleep, haven’t left my room in days and I really want to be left alone. People need to know that it is completely okay! Life is full of ups and downs, both of which are equally important in shaping the person we become.
What are your goals for the future?
I have been an extremely spontaneous person. My reactions are completely honest to how I feel at that second. I work towards making things better for the moment. Thinking about the future is important, but it’s something I feel will be the result of how well I perform today. However, with The Girl Tribe & Co my vision would be to create a platform for women where they have access to experts and resources across all fields to support them in their business and their personal life – physically and emotionally. My individual goal for all our woman is get them to realise their value and strengths so that they can love and respect themselves for who they are.
What are your hopes for the future of India?
My hope for India is that we are able to see beyond the stereotypes and biases that have become the norm for women. I truly believe that woman are achievers, they deserve access to the same opportunities and participation as men do. Unfortunately, we as a country are behind many other countries in the world in regards to this. It makes absolutely no sense to have half of our population use their skills and education to make India a better place while the other half is forced to sit at home and not given the opportunities they deserve.
