If there is one thing that gender stereotypes can significantly affect, it’s our views of what each of us is capable of, especially women. Buying into such stereotypes could lead to limiting ourselves and others based on what we perceive we can or cannot do, whereby we create obstacles for ourselves. However, piercing and getting past the stereotypical biases can allow us to pursue careers we are passionate about and talented. One epitome of persistence is Shraddha Shrivastava, a small-town girl who changed her fate to become an accomplished self-made businesswoman.
Stereotypes and biases were something Shraddha was introduced to at a very young age. Traveling alone was privilege girls were deprived of there. However, Shraddha didn’t let these unfortunate circumstances haunt her; she took the reigns into her own hands, and it wasn’t long before she was living the life of her dreams.
Sharddha completed her academic journey being a high-achieving topper. Her first professional experience saw her in the recruitment industry, but she was left unsatisfied with an HR job. Sales became her next destination. She correctly assumed it would be well-paying, but she still couldn’t find the happiness she was looking for. Moreover, the sales job would not allow her to give time to the freelancing projects she had been receiving.
Looking for a satisfactory yet passive source of income, Sharddha then quit her job to solely focus on freelancing. In September 2022, she left the job by her choice when people were losing their jobs due to covid19. When she first dipped her toes in digital marketing, she neither had any prior knowledge of the field nor any money to take new courses. With teaching herself being the only option, she did so eagerly and well enough to land some major marketing gigs. This marked the start of her entrepreneurial journey.
While freelancing full-time, Shraddha added a few focused members to her team, as she had numerous projects that needed to be taken care of. Her persistence, hard work, and visionary outlook eventually grew this small team into a well-established creative business, Digital Height, currently providing services in 8 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Arab world.
The entrepreneurial journey was a roller coaster in itself. Being in a field typically dominated by men, with male entrepreneurs being taken more seriously than female ones, Sharddha had to overcome many hurdles to prove herself. Two popular stereotypes in the business world are that one needs a male co-founder to run a successful business and that women are able to draw more clients simply owing to their appealing looks.
Shattering those and other similar gender stereotypes in the business realm, Sharddha is successfully running her digital marketing business on her own. Digital Height, under her direction, is adding value to other startups and businesses by providing top-notch digital marketing services.
