Following her Heart: A Dreamer who Made it Big in the Training Industry

Sometimes life is all about chasing your passion and following the inner most desires of your heart. This is the story of Nisha Dhanuka, a successful business woman in India, and a core finance person from Bangalore with CA, CS, and MBA degrees. This career woman took a dynamic turn from her corporate life and entered into the domain of training with her staunch determination and true devotion. Nisha is the C0-Founder and CEO of C2X, a corporate training company, based out of Bangalore. Success comes to a woman when she is ready to take risks and face challenges like Nisha. HerMoneyTalks caught up with Nisha for an inspirational flashback to her entrepreneurial roots and career.

 

Nisha has been with the corporate banking group in ICICI Bank in her earlier working years. Intermittently, she used to get opportunities to guide and train fresher’s in her team and she enjoyed that. This led to the formation of C2X, with a vision of enhanced employability and career fulfillment for individuals.

 

A trial by fire in the beginning

 

“My initial times were really hard. People did not accept my getting into training as it was a completely different ball game together. My initial meetings with my prospective clients used to be very demotivating as they used to think that I come from hard core banking background and won’t be of much relevance for the training industry,” shares Nisha. Every “no” from clients made her think that her experience was becoming her obstacle. But Nisha decided to take this as a challenge.

 

She realized that she needed to create a niche for her company. “C2X should be known for its passion. We may not be experts but we are ready to not let any stone unturned to meet or beat the client expectations,” says Nisha.

 

My initial meetings with my prospective clients used to be very demotivating as they used to think that I come from hard core banking background and won’t be of much relevance for the training industry.

 

When she went for a couple of meetings, she realized that sometimes along with the training heads, even the business heads used to be there to share their needs for the training sessions. As Nisha came from a finance background, she understood most challenges faced by businesses.

 

She thus started to talk to them in their language. This gave her a huge edge over other training companies, going a long way in helping become a successful business woman in India.

 

Learning that perseverance always pays

 

As they say, perseverance always pays, and pays big! Nisha's first success milestone was when they got their first big client, an MNC Bank. “I am proud to say that we are still among their top 3 preferred learning partners. As the wise say, keep doing the good work and the work will speak on its own,” beams Nisha.

 

As the wise say, keep doing the good work and the work will speak on its own.

 

Through her network, she kept getting more and more referrals leading to more and more clients and business. Presently, C2X has four verticals-Corporate Trainings, Campus Employability Trainings, HR Consulting, and C2X Learning Café. And it has clients PAN India.

 

Finding a passion in money management

 

From day one, Nisha began making financial decisions in her startup. She believes women are capable of managing finances efficiently when they are focused and self-assured.

 

Women entrepreneurs do not have enough knowledge in managing their finances especially in their initial phase of business. This was a road block for them.

 

“Throughout my journey, I interacted with lot of women entrepreneurs. I realized that they have immense potential to do things. But somewhere, they do not have enough knowledge in managing their finances especially in their initial phase of business. This was a road block for them,” reveals Nisha.

 

She started interacting with women at various forums, giving them hands-on tips about managing their money on their own. “It gave me immense satisfaction when some of them shared how my interaction helped them in their business,” confides the C2X top honcho.

 

Nisha’s money tips for those who dare to dream

 

“The three money lessons I follow include maintenance of a passive income, inculcation of a saving habit in life, and cutting down of unwanted expenditures,” Nisha reveals. For her, money management is all about being financially independent and leading a life comfortably free from debts. She manages to find passive income by investing half of her savings in mutual funds and properties.

 

“If we could make our own money, then we can manage it too,” affirms Nisha. “Perseverance and efficient usage of money are my success mantra,” adds Nisha.

 

Nisha signs off with a piece of advice that reflects her life's learning: “One thing I have to share is, if you have a dream, don’t waste your time by thinking too much on it, better chase it soon. If you believe you can, you can do it; and if you believe you can’t, you cannot!”

 

This wonder woman is not only a successful business woman in India but also has a strong vigor in her that's infectious. She makes it very clear that one need not be an expert at first to succeed but must be strong willed and enthusiastic in managing difficult times.