Let’s hear from Shreena Choksi Doshi, a mompreneur and founder of All that Jazz – Lifestyle Services, an event and design organisation which predominately works under the following divisions – atjEvents, atjBranding, atjWeddings, atjProducts, atjPrintables and atjKids. She was a Computer Science student who went to the University of Warwick where although she was doing well; had a sense of realisation and decided to move back to India to complete her graduation in Management and later became an entrepreneur.
How did you start All That Jazz?
After a six month stint at Merrill Lynch I found my calling in events while planning family weddings. I enjoyed the detailing and the entire process of putting together something beautiful that is a lifetime memory for a family. My first event was a friend’s baby shower and the joy it brought me reassured me that I was on the right path. And then there was no looking back. Events that were based on a strong sense of design helped the company expand into areas of Branding and Communication, Social Media Marketing and Personalised Products. Design is the back bone of All That Jazz and a strong understanding of people allows us to communicate with great design, touch emotions with detailed events and be a part of peoples personal and professional lives.
What is your favourite part of working in the event industry?
I may sound crazy when I say this but working with deadlines under great pressure is something I love the most. The ability to work with labour, designers, artists, writers, branding strategists gives me a great thrill and that moment when a client walks into their event, or sees their logo for the first time, receives a personalised gift from us and when a strategy creates conversion for a brand; that look on a clients face is what fills me with immense satisfaction.
You are a mother, having an event management company which involves a lot of travelling. What is your schedule like and how do you maintain work life balance?
Planning, planning and planning. I try to be extremely organised with menus and schedules so much so that practically live inside of an excel sheet. My daughter is five and my son two, I don’t know but I manage with great family and helpers that support my work and my schedules. I try not to work on weekends and luckily on easier days my hours are pretty flexible. And sometimes my munchkins join me in the office.
How did being a mom affect your entrepreneurial journey?
My passion became a business and I sort of started weighing things in terms of time away from my children, or what my success could do for my children’s future. Being mom taught me patience that I seemed to have lacked and gave me a sense of calmness in the midst of chaos.
What do you do for me time to relax and recharge the batteries?
Sleep is precious to any entrepreneur especially one with young kids; so I love catching up on sleep. Otherwise you could find me reading everything from Elif Shafak to Khaled Hosseini, catching up on Netflix or scuba diving. Oh and yes, massages are always welcome.