Sunaina Agarwal hails from the beautiful hill station of Shillong, Meghalaya. Her family lives in her native. Her journey in writing started back in 2010. The first instance when she realized her passion was when she was watching a news channel, and one of the stories was so impactful that it inspired her to start researching, writing, and sharing such real-life stories with the masses.
In the 2nd year of her graduation, her Journalism teacher informed the class that a newspaper/media house was launching soon. It was looking for fresh writers. They could go to their office and drop their resume if interested. Sunaina went there without telling her family.
However, when she reached the office, she was informed that there was a condition to being selected. The editor told her. “You are a fresher, and you can get this opportunity only if you find a story worth printing. Write that to us. If you find your story and name published in the newspaper, you can come back to me for regular newswriting.”
At this point, Sunaina realized the challenges involved in writing, and at the same time, she understood the value it has. Only on the day that her story was published did she tells her family about the job. But the professional course she was pursuing was quite time-consuming, and she was asked, ‘Will you be able to manage the timings?’. She replied, ‘Yes.’ And the rest is history.
Eventually, Sunaina completed her graduation and post-graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication. However, she followed her passion from the beginning and, along with her studies, kept pursuing part-time jobs in newspaper offices and radio stations. She always believed in the power of the pen and thus, chose print media over broadcast media. She trusts the ability of words to create a difference and trusts that good stories can influence lives.
Her first job was as a columnist in a local newspaper- Meghalaya Times, in her hometown, Shillong, Meghalaya, which she managed along with her studies. She simultaneously started working as an RJ in AIR (All India Radio) and took up freelancing in 2010, when the world was still warming up to it.
Later Sunaina joined a private firm as a social media executive when Facebook was the only platform for promoting businesses. Charmed by the digital wave and evolving online metrics, she shifted from print to digital. She started working for companies as a writer and as a social media executive. Today, six years later, she has a broad experience of working with a diverse clientele from India, the USA, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. While her role evolved from an executive to a strategist, her freelancing experience of almost six years gave her a thorough understanding of the market and client requirements.
About Digital Pheromones
Realizing the field’s potential, she formed her very own start-up called Digital Pheromones. For the last two years, every day, she has worked hard to find clients, work with companies, and provide them with the best content. The growing demand has given her further confidence in the field, and despite tough times and struggles, Sunaina kept providing the best branding and content solutions to her clients.
She believes that having good team members can make all the difference. This factor has helped her grow her start-up. Digital Pheromones is different as the team thrives on rock-solid creativity, originality, and uniqueness. They sit down every week to brainstorm what new things they can do for the clients and as a group of creative heads. This keeps their energy high, and they end up creating something new and unique every time. Their clients and team members always share positive feedback about their experience.
Currently, Sunaina wishes to grow her start-up and give all the artists a fair and equal chance to express themselves. She has worked hard to pursue her passion and wishes to continue doing the same for as long as possible. She has toggled between studies and writing, working late hours and weekends to create a portfolio. And now, her passion has become her full-time profession. What attracts her to ‘words’ is how impactful the right words are and how content can create a long-lasting impression.
Challenges in the Journey
There are many challenges that Sunaina faced throughout her journey. Sometimes, she feels demotivated when individuals undermine the ability of content. Especially when people say, “Yeah, it is just content! You can write”. But what they don’t understand is the mental power it takes to create the right content.
Another factor that concerns her is that the pay scale in the content segment is less. Because it is a time-consuming task, a lower pay scale can be stressful and demotivating. Writers often put in long hours of mental ability and thought in framing a single article. One of her biggest challenges has been to find retainer clients. As content and branding needs have a shorter shelf-life (the demand is for a quick and shorter duration), finding regular or monthly clients for billing isn’t easy.
Other than professional challenges, there were other criticisms too. When she first started as a journalist, she heard her relatives and neighbors telling her it was a risky job on the field. Also, being on the field can be stressful for the family. However, Sunaina is immensely grateful to her family, who has always been very supportive. They trusted and encouraged her to pursue the field. And that has always helped her to her best at work.
She believes she could further start her own business/start-up as her family always asked her to believe in herself and stride ahead without worrying about results. This has always encouraged her to do more of what she loves.
Sunaina Words
“Nothing comes easy in life. While you might see popularity and demand around your profession, it is also essential to understand if you actually enjoy writing, designing, or is creativity your forte at all. Because it might look simple, but it isn’t. Framing the right words, sentences and crafting the right content takes a lot of effort. Also, designing a new brand identity can be tricky.
But if you know you love it, dive deep into it. Do not worry about failures or rejections. Just believe that you can, and your only mantra in life must be to ‘Keep doing. Keep trying’. Don’t run behind success, as every failure will teach you more than success can. Embrace your journey, enjoy it, and believe in yourself to do more of what you love”, says Sunaina.
Digital Pheromones Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Digital-Pheromones-105237218458680
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