Friends, and now business partners Sachreet and Shuchi met in University. They shared meaningful conversations which eventually led to them leaping into social entrepreneurship. We recently had the pleasure to interview them both and learn about their entrepreneurial journey!
So, founders! Introduce yourself and tell us about your business?
We are Sachreet (left) and Shuchi (right) and we’re the founders of Power to Her, a Canadian Non-Profit Organization that focuses on amplifying the voices of women within the community with the intent to drive discussions around women empowerment and feminism.
What prompted you to leap into this?
Sachreet: We both had always been very interested in non-profit work and social entrepreneurship growing up. Personally, I had always wanted to launch an organization of my own, but thought it wouldn’t be until way later in my life that I got around to doing it. However, last year, Shuchi and I had recently reconnected after University and she suggested that we just go for it and start it right now because “what is stopping us?” At the end of the day, age is just a construct and we shouldn’t be waiting to do the things we’re passionate about.
Shuchi: We both felt that there was this unspoken rule to start a social enterprise later in life, but I am so glad that we dove into it the way we did. We have grown to have an extremely engaging community and received an unwavering amount of support over the last 8 months. It has been a crazy journey and I’m sure both of us can say that we learned so much from it - both personally and professionally.
Why Women empowerment?
Sachreet: Our organization focuses heavily on women empowerment as this is primarily what we bonded over and have been passionate about throughout our lives. When we became friends, most of our conversations would end up in the sphere of feminism and women empowerment, as we frequently talked about our experiences - as two brown women with an immigrant upbringing. Being women of color, brought up in immigrant families, there were certain biases and double standards that we were subject to and we both felt that there was a lot of change and activism required in this realm, so this inevitably became our big ‘Why’.
You are right! There is a lot of work to be done in the realm of women empowerment, and it’s amazing to see two young individuals like you taking the initiative to facilitate change. I understand that you launched Power to Her in the middle of the pandemic. How was that experience?
Sachreet: We launched in November of 2020, and it’s been an amazing journey! The response we have received has truly been so overwhelming and we are so grateful to our community for continuously showing Power To Her so much love and support. Launching a Non-Profit Organization in the midst of a pandemic definitely isn’t easy, and there were a new set of challenges we had to overcome - such as ‘how do we connect with the women in our community when no public gatherings are allowed?’
Shuchi: We had to revisit and understand what the word ‘community’ meant to us. Both of us are marketing majors, so we began utilizing our knowledge of social media to make connections, spread awareness, and build meaningful relationships. Due to the lockdown restrictions at the time, we gave social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok high importance. We consistently created quality content and because of this, now we are able to make an impact in people’s lives in a way that we couldn’t even have imagined back in November.
That’s amazing and of course Power to Her went viral on Tik Tok due to this consistency of quality content! What was your reaction to this? What were others’ reaction?
Shuchi: I think we went in with the mindset that if you’re consistent and committed, your content might blow up. So, we knew what we were working towards but for us to be able to reach thousands of people across the globe is something I still cannot fathom! It was a goal for us to one day achieve, but for us to actually achieve it, was completely surreal.
Amazing! Okay, switching gears a bit – what does social impact mean to you?
Sachreet: To create an impact that is sustainable which is able to grow on its own and withstand the test of time.
Shuchi: I agree! I think Sachreet said it perfectly. Social impact is about creating a movement that spreads like wildfire on its own. Honestly, this is what we have seen as well because when you ask people to question the way they think and how things are in the world; you begin to see people working together for change!
What does being a leader mean to you?
Shuchi: It’s about setting an example and being very transparent in the way you lead. A good leader isn’t supposed to be perfect; they are supposed to be someone that others can resonate with. Sachreet and I did not know much about internal misogyny or feminism about 2-3 years ago (the way we understand it now), and we are very transparent about this. We, like everyone else are also learning and we want to be honest about this to the community. Our goal is to wake up everyday and educate ourselves and rewire our brain to see the world differently. By doing so, we hope to inspire people to further educate themselves and strive to learn everyday as that is how change is truly created.
Sachreet: Definitely! For us, leadership means community. We rise by helping others in our community rise. We think a leader, at its core, is someone who cares about the growth of others around them.
Wow, yes. I’m sure you have learned a lot about being a leader since just launching Power to Her. What's been the biggest lesson you've learned so far as a leader?
Shuchi: Our organization is very much based within social media and at times it can be a toxic place because no one really prepares you for the trolls. Our biggest lesson has been giving up the need to entertain people who don’t want to learn. You can never impact or educate someone, who isn’t willing to grow themselves. Instead we put our attention to educating others in the community who are asking for advice, and/or looking for resources.
Sachreet: Yes, I agree! I think leadership is recognizing that not everyone is going to want to be a part of your community. We have had to learn that it is okay and that you can’t help people who don’t want to help themselves.
Yeah, I think there is power in silence when it comes to people who are trying to bring you down and something I wish I had been advised from a young age. What about you, what is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
Sachreet: To lift other women and girls up instead of competing against them and tearing each other down. Looking back at my childhood, this is something I’ve had to unlearn. When I was younger, I remember competing with other girls all the time! So, I’d teach my younger self that there is space for everyone at the table, and honestly, we are stronger together than we are alone!
That is powerful. Thank you for sharing that. One last question, what is a mantra you live by?
Both: Our mantra is that “If we are able to impact even one woman’s life, our purpose has been served.” What this means is that we want to focus change on an individualized, person by person basis where quality of impact is measured more highly than quantity. We like to refer to this mantra often to remind ourselves that if we are able to change even one woman’s life through our organization, we have achieved far more than what we set out for!
Where can others find you?
The blog is written by Sucheta Khurana, the Co-founder of Arise N' Go, a healthy snack startup and also part of Dhyana's Marketing team. She can be found on LinkedIn .
Follow @DhyanaCleaning on Instagram and Facebook for additional all-natural cleaning tips! Have your own eco cleaning solutions? We’d love for you to share them with us!
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- Website: www.powertoher.org
- Instagram: @power.to.her
- TikTok: @power.to.her
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfKaROYWzaIBbMC76k92bhA
The blog is written by Sucheta Khurana, the Co-founder of Arise N' Go, a healthy snack startup and also part of Dhyana's Marketing team. She can be found on LinkedIn .
Follow @DhyanaCleaning on Instagram and Facebook for additional all-natural cleaning tips! Have your own eco cleaning solutions? We’d love for you to share them with us!
Join our Mindful Cleaning Movement! Click here for Emails that #RevealBeauty
Looking for a professional green cleaning service in Toronto? Contact our team for a free estimate.
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