Women Who Empower – Shikha Rastogi | ThatSheenGirl

• We will start this with you, obviously, say if someone is watching or reading about you for the very first time how will you introduce yourself in the most fun yet honest way that they can’t help but be smitten by you?
• “Well, I am your regular girl-next-door with a bit of child kept alive in me. I am no different from all of you except for the fact that I dared to pursue what I loved with all the courage I had and guess what, it worked! For me, Komal Pandey has always been a great source of inspiration and wanted to be like her. However, someone told me that instead of being the next Komal Pandey, why not be the first Shikha Rastogi!”
• If you have to sum up your traits in three words, what would they be?
• “Confident, Unique and Versatile”, is how she summed her whole personality up. Well, from what we know about her, we could not agree more!

• Let’s move on to some inspirational stuff without which no interview will be complete. But seriously, I personally have been following you for years and to see you where you are today gives me immense pride and motivation, like nothing is ever unachievable and impossible. It is a source of inspiration. So, why don’t you tell the world about your journey so far and how you started? When exactly did you start?
• “I cannot remain glued to my seat and do the regular 9-5 job and this restlessness made me explore the world of fashion and makeup. Also, I can’t take orders, so I decided to be my own boss. Initially, it was tough as I did not have ample or enough experience in this field nor appropriate knowledge regarding the audience I wanted to target; but I am also a stubborn person. I had it in me to prove to the world out there that I am no less than anyone. Since the day I started out as a YouTube Content Creator, I have been consistent with my work and reached where I am today with my sweat and tears.”
• Weren’t you conscious of putting yourself out there in the world? How did you overcome this fear? And how old were you when you put your first video/post as a creator?
• “My journey began at the age of 21 and yes, just like any other person who is starting out in a field, I was conscious. Being from a small town, I had the fight in me to make it big and follow in the footsteps of my source of inspiration – Komal Pandey.”
• The world of content and YouTube/Instagram (especially) has changed a lot in years with new algorithms kicking in every day and a lot of people starting in the same niche. How difficult is it for you to sustain or grow an audience at this time? How did you grow your audience? Were there any strategies that you followed?
• “It is extremely difficult to sustain and grow one’s audience because everything I do or create will not be liked by everyone but be consistent. I believe, it is important for one to remain focused on the job at hand and allow your mind to wander free to be creative. This has always worked for me. Also, I ensured that I remained ahead of the trends and focused on the issues faced by girls and women on a daily basis. For example, figuring out affordable college outfits is the theme of one of my videos.”
• As a content creator, when was it that you started making some money or started getting some brand deals?
• “After 6 months of starting out, I would say.”
• On that note, what advice do you have in store for anyone who is starting out on this journey as a content creator?
• “All I have to say is, do not listen to people who pull you back. Be sincere and devoted to what you believe because, “kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna. (people will always run their mouth, it’s their job to do so).” Well, we wholeheartedly agree with you, Shikha. ‘log kya kahenge’ has ruined a lot of dreams more than anything else. So, all aspiring content creators, push past the societal barriers and go for what you love.
• Talking about content creation, I have always noticed the word influencer notoriously being used for creators. Now a lot of creators despise this word defining their work and niche. What are your thoughts on this? Do you mind addressing yourself as an influencer?
• “The job of an influencer is to influence his or her audience whereas I am here to make a statement with my style. Therefore, I consider myself as a content creator instead of an influencer.”

• Now we will brazenly circle this back to Beatnik. Clearly, we have seen your love for jewellery and how gracefully you style them all but if you have to choose only one piece of jewellery for the rest of your life, what would that be and why?
• “I will go with earrings but then technically I get to wear ‘two’ pieces of jewellery instead of one as you mentioned. :P”

• So, I will now take another scenario for you. You have to get ready for a wedding function as a guest with just three jewellery pieces, what would you pick and how would you style them?
• “Bangles, earrings and neck-piece. I will go with simple and classy styling.”

• Okay, so let’s have a quick rapid-fire round to end this insightful and very interesting QnA with you. Are you ready? Pick one:
• Saree any day or dress?
• Dress
• Silver jewellery or gold?
• Gold jewellery
• Statement earrings or small dainty earrings?
• Statement earrings
• Bad hair day with full glam or good hair day with no makeup?
• Good hair day with no makeup
• Lipstick on my teeth or a stained dress in an event?
• Lipstick on teeth
• What would you choose? Month-long vacation on an island or road trip across India?
• Month-long vacation on an island

Wow! That was truly a fun, insightful conversation we had and we are sure that our readers would love these glimpses from your life. Thank you so much for your time, Shikha. I truly hope everyone reading this and learning more about you makes this their fondest memory and we, together, through this rendezvous, would have accomplished to put a smile on people’s face and made them realize it’s never too late to dream – if she can do it so can you!! 😀

We are stoked to share these wonderful women’s journey with you. We recently shared the story of Simmy Goraya in the previous blog, if you haven’t read about her inspiring work yet go ahead and while you’re at it do share your thoughts in the comment section below.