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Archana

Archana Deshpande  |65 Answers  |Ask -

Image Coach, Soft Skills Trainer - Answered on Apr 18, 2024

Archana Deshpande, the founder of TransformMe Life Skills Coaching, is an image consultant, soft skills trainer and life coach.
She has been working with individuals and corporate organisations for more than 10 years during which she has helped professionals and students improve their soft skills, build confidence and enhance self-esteem.
An engineer from the PDA College of Engineering, Gulbarga, Archana had a successful career at Reliance Communications. But she has always been interested in teaching and training people. So she pursued a postgraduate diploma in teacher’s training at Pune’s Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies followed by teaching assignments in schools at Visakhapatnam and Mumbai.
Archana also holds an international certificate in image consulting and soft skills training from the Image Consulting Business Institute, Mumbai.... more
Asked by Anonymous - Apr 05, 2024Hindi
Career

Hi , I wish to “Write in English” as a Profession , as that happens to be one of my core competency . It gives me a lot of soulful satisfaction & propels me to continue writing further . My Drafting & command over English Writing has been my primary strength right from my schooling days but I committed the mistake of not choosing it as a career . Hence , Post doing my B.E. & M.B.A. , I worked in decent Corporates for 16 Years but went on to quit the last Job in 2021 as I felt stagnant & monotonous doing what I was into . I was immensely appreciated for my e-mail drafts & Write-ups in all the Organisations I worked in but that had no weightage in my KRA . I did pretty well in my professional career with the exception of the last couple of months wherein I felt a bit lost & as a result , was not enjoying my work . I am into my 44th Year & now convinced to follow my dream professionally ( i.e Writing & penning down what comes my way) but am somewhat clueless how to move ahead . I am not there for the in-vogue content writing stuffs , online blogs etc. but want to write on something substantial or small interesting / soothing write-ups that interests a major chunk of the readers . Kindly help me with all the specific / possible options wherein I can directly target , that would probably yield me results ASAP . Please give detailed info with the probable sources to explore-in , as generic one-liners may not help , as I am blank on whom to approach . Looking forward to your much value added counselling & the probable avenues that may break the ice for me . Thanks & Regards !!! Pls. Keep up with the Good-Work you guys are doing with this Q&A Consultancy Guided Section .

Ans: HI!!
The way you have stated your needs so clearly shows that you have good writing skills, so no doubts about your writing skills.

In the message you mentioned that you quit your job in 2021 and yet you say you are not enjoying work since the last couple of months. A little confusion there for me, I am assuming you are still working. You also mention that you did pretty well professionally, this shows a mind that can work well even when it not totally into the work heart and soul. Try to find positive reasons around your work.
You are 44 you said, at this age we all are at loggerheads with what we studied, what we are doing for a living and what we are passionate about! I have been there..

I need to say a little about myself in order to answer your question. I am an Engineer too, today I am Image Consultant and a Soft Skills Trainer. I used to work with one of the top telecom companies, my Mentor there used to say an Engineer can do anything and me and you are proving that. You are a BE, MBA and you have exceptional writing skills.

As a public speaking skills coach I used to write speeches for clients and help them deliver with panache. One of my long standing clients said no to the classes after I increased the fees. Where did she get her strength from to say no?....AI and Chatgpt, even though she always said it doesn't have the AD (Archana Deshpande) effect!! Why I am mentioning such a personal incident is to help you understand the scenario today.
You want to write good stuff and earn money too, rt? You don't want that typical content writer kind of jobs... so what I suggest is that since a BE MBA is a deadly combo and you are an intelligent man, pls continue to use these to earn money. I want you to google, "platforms for writers to make money" and check all your options, for sometime write and publish on various platforms, send it to various newspapers, see how people respond to you. I know your joy comes from writing so go for it on a day to day basis, schedule it everyday. When you continue to do tasks that bring you joy, your doing all the things that are compulsory becomes easy( like going to office). Test the waters before you quit your well paying job( and yourself mentioned you are doing pretty well). Plan to write a book on a subject that comes easily to you or a book of short stories around your experiences. Today Mrs Sudha Murthy is a celebrated writer, look at her journey as writer, it didn't happen overnight. There is no ASAP here. You want to become a writer professionally, take it slow, start writing, start publishing you work, gauge the readers reaction, keep writing, keep reinventing, it's a creative process, let it flow through you without the stress of earning money through it.... it's joy for you to write, let it remain so!! Create a beautiful space at home to allow the creative juices to flow, continue to write everyday. Apart form writing, check what else brings you joy, on a day to day basis consciously spend time doing things that bring you joy. Enthusiasm/energy for life comes from your joy list. I am listing so many things because you mentioned you are not enjoying your job. I want you to arrive at a place where you enjoy your job( it pays your bills and takes care of your family) and continue to work on stuff you are passionate about. It can be done by living a little consciously and joyously, a little shift in the mindset can do wonders!!
All the very best!!
Career

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Archana

Archana Deshpande  |65 Answers  |Ask -

Image Coach, Soft Skills Trainer - Answered on Jul 17, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Apr 13, 2024Hindi
Listen
Career
Hi Maam , I wish to “Write my heart-out in English” as a Profession , as that happens to be one of my core competency . It gives me a lot of soulful satisfaction & propels me to continue writing further . My Drafting & command over English Writing has been my primary strength right from my schooling days but I committed the mistake of not choosing it as a career . Hence , Post doing my B.Tech. & M.B.A. , I worked in decent Corporates for 16 Years but went on to quit my last Job in 2021 as I felt stagnant & monotonous doing what I was into . That was the most risk-laden call I made in my life , but I had to as I was no more enjoying it . I was immensely appreciated for my e-mail drafts & Write-ups in all the past Organisations I worked in but that had no weightage in my KRA . I did pretty well in my professional career with the exception of the last couple of months wherein I felt a bit lost & as a result , decided to move out of it . I am into my 44th Year & now convinced to follow my dream professionally ( i.e Writing & penning down what comes my way) but am somewhat clueless how to move ahead . I am not there for the in-vogue content writing stuffs , online blogs etc. but want to write on something substantial or small interesting / soothing write-ups that wins the heart of the readers . Kindly help me with all the specific / possible options wherein I can directly target , that would probably fetch me results ASAP . Please give all the detailed info of the sources which can be explored . Generic one-liners may not help , as I am too blank & am in a fix on whom to approach . Trying my best to persevere & being resilient but probably lacking pro-activeness which is the key requisite in the current times . Looking forward to your much value added counselling & the probable avenues that may break the ice for me ... Thanks & Regards !!! Pls. Keep up with the Good-Work that is being done with all your expert advices in this Q&A Guided Consultancy Section .
Ans: Hi!!

This question was answered long long..
Here's the link - https://gurus.rediff.com/question/qdtl/career/wish-ldquo-write-english-rdquo-profession-happens-core-competency-gives/5151512

All the best!

..Read more

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Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |650 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Nov 17, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Nov 14, 2024Hindi
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Hello finance guru, I am 45 years old , with 2 kids. I live in a Tier-1 city with ~49 Crores of networth. This includes ~12 crores of investment in real estate (land and a flat at a prime location), ~34 crores in equity, ~1 Cr in Crypto and ~2 Cr in cash. I work in a pharmaceutical firm in an executive role and planning to retire in the next 1 year. My knowledge on finances is average and would like to seek your advise. I would like to generate ~2.5 lakhs per month for expenses from my savings and would like to double my networth in the next 7 years. Could you provide me help on the directions I can take to make this working?
Ans: Hello;

Deducting the real estate and crypto investments from your networth, we have 36 Cr.

You may invest 4 Cr each in 2 equity savings type mutual funds and 2 conservative hybrid debt oriented mutual funds.

If you do a 3% SWP from each of these funds you may expect a monthly payout of around 2.8 L (post-tax).

These funds generally yield 8-9% returns so they will continue to provide inflation adjusted income to you.(6% inflation rate considered)

Balance remains around 20 Cr, while 2 Cr may be retained as liquid fund for contingency requirement, the balance 18 Cr you may invest in combination of mutual funds, PMSs and AIFs.

As you enter retirement phase your focus should shift from "maximising returns" to "decent returns with moderate risk" since return of capital is more important than return on capital.

Happy Investing;
X: @mars_invest

*Investments in mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.

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Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |650 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Nov 17, 2024

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Dear Sir, I am 53 yrs. I want to retire @60 with a INR 2.00 Cr Corps. Currently I have following SIP Total SIP 30000/- PM Axis Bluechip Fund - Regular Plan - Growth HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund - Growth Plan Aditya Birla Sun Life Pure Value Fund - Growth Option Aditya Birla Sun Life Equity Advantage Fund - Regular Growth Sundaram Mid Cap Fund Regular Plan - Growth Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund -Regular Plan-Growth Franklin India Focused Equity Fund - Growth Plan Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund-Growth HDFC Top 100 Fund - Growth Option HDFC Multi Cap Fund - Growth Option I have MF Investment @ 26.00 Lakh Current Value is @ 52.00 Lakh. I have Savings of Rs. 10.00 Lakh, PPF Rs. 5.00 Lakh, Share investment Current Market Value around Rs. 20.00 Lakhs. I don't have any Loan. Insurance INR 1.50 Cr. up age of 70. Per month earning around Rs. 1.25 Lakh. I have a Investment in real estate which can give my INR 40.00 Lakh at current Market Price & Gold Investment of INR 20.00 Lakh which I think sufficient for my daughter Marriage. Current Monthly Expense INR 40-50 K. I am in a new tax regime, so discontinue my ELSS saving and PPF Saving. Suggest how i can increase my Corpus for retirement.
Ans: Hello;

You may top-up your monthly sip by 10% every year for 7 years. This will grow into a sum of around 0.51 Cr.

The MF corpus and direct equity holdings worth 0.72 Cr today will grow into a corpus of 1.59 Cr after 7 years.

Therefore you may achieve your intended corpus of 1.59+ 0.51=2.1 Cr, 7 years from now. A modest return of 12% is assumed from MF and direct equity holdings.

2-3 years before 60 you should start moving your gains from equity funds to liquid or ultra short duration debt funds to protect it against market volatility.

Also good health care insurance for yourself and your spouse.

RE property you may sell at a later date to boost your retirement income.

Happy Investing;
X: @mars_invest

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Milind Vadjikar  |650 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Nov 17, 2024

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DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related document carefully before investing. The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information and as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision. RediffGURUS is an intermediary as per India's Information Technology Act.

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