Born and brought up in Mumbai, 31-year-old Greeshma Thampi believes in excelling in whatever she does. An ardent fan of powerful women like Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kocchar and Naina Kidwani Lal, she has successfully completed PGDM Retail at the Prin L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (WeSchool) in 2009. She is a Certified Image Consultant.
With Over three years of managerial level experience in HR has helped her to develop her expertise in various facets like IT and Non IT recruitments, Training and Development, Employee Engagement, Grievance Handling and Employee Branding. She is now the Founder-Director and Chief Image Consultant at Avancé Image Management. They offer services in Corporate Training as well as Individual Consultations.
Besides, she has also been the Master Trainer – Femina Believe Learning Academy (Times of India group), Senior Executive Trainer – Luxury Academy of London, and the Faculty – Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI) and the Former Vice President -Membership at Image Management Professionals Association (IMPA). IMPA is the first association of Image Consultants in India and the Middle East.
A self-made entrepreneur
Greeshma has studied business in during her graduation and post-graduation but she always wanted to start her own venture. “It began to take root while studying at WeSchool where the studies are not just limited to classroom learning and a lot of emphases is given on Learning by doing, extra-curricular activities, development of leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Wide industry exposure, events, seminars and working closely with industry as well as grassroots leaders gives the WeSchool student a holistic view and develops him as an all-rounder. I was part of Leadership 30, a special select group of 30 students. We learnt management and leadership styles through drama. With awards like ‘Leadership Excellence Student’ and ‘Exemplary Student’, I realized that I will not be able to exploit my potential within a set of listed job responsibilities and that I should start my own business,” said the vibrant Greeshma.
Stepping stones
One day while browsing online, Greeshma stumbled upon the website of Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI). “The idea of Image Management struck the right cord. I realized instantly that this was my true calling. It was certainly a huge turning point in my life. It was a career which was the perfect amalgamation of my skills and interest, providing the creativity, flexibility, and challenges of entrepreneurship. And thus after the training and certification, Avancé Image Management was born. Till date, we have conducted over 500 programs addressing more than 10,000 participants. Our esteemed clients include – Yes Bank, Reliance ADAG, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Thermax, Crompton Greaves, Johnson & Johnson, Tata Group, Oberoi Group, to name a few,” quips the young entrepreneur.
Overcoming hurdles
Image Management is a sunrise industry in India. Being a first mover in the industry definitely had its set of challenges for Greeshma. “One of the biggest challenges is awareness. But it has definitely increased over the past few years. More and more companies and individuals realize the importance of this subject in this highly competitive and global environment,” says Greeshma.
Future prospects
Greeshma has her priorities set. “We have experienced an exponential year on year growth. With awareness about the industry increasing and companies realizing the need for “branding” their employees, we are sure to look atleast 30% year on year growth. We have also added unique training programs to widen our offerings,” she says.
A message for women
She thinks it is a very exciting time for women in India. “For a lot of companies gender diversity is a big goal, and hence the opportunities for growth are better for women. Women naturally make great entrepreneurs as they can nurture, empathize and multi-task,” she adds.
Services she vouches for
They have various offerings. “We have corporate training interventions ranging from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2,00,000 depending on the level of employees and duration of programs. Individual Consultation Packages are priced as per the client need and number of hours of consultation,” she informs.
Hobbies galore
An avid reader, Greeshma is never tired of reading “Follow your Rainbow”, a book by Rashmi Bansal, that shares stories and struggles of 25 women entrepreneurs. She is also a professional dancer and used to run her own dance school.