Meet Palak Pahwa | Woman in Tech | Blogger | Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Palak Pahwa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Palak, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
When I think about risk, the three words that come to my mind are Courage, Faith and Vulnerability. Courage to defy the conventional path life has created for you and do something different. Faith to always believe in yourself and trust your gut. And vulnerability to accept that it can come with a failure and be prepared to bounce back. But no matter what it comes with, it is a great lesson. If the risk comes with a failure, it will make you learn from your mistakes and make you resilient. And if it comes with success, then voila – you did it!

I took a risk when I started exploring a few hobbies outside of my full-time corporate job. Walking at the New York Fashion Week for the first time, starting my own travel and lifestyle blog, and venturing into the makeup industry were all part of this risk because I used to constantly ask myself – What if I look stupid? Why would people read my blog? What if I fail as a makeup artist? But then I took a step back and asked myself – Is this something that will make me happy and fulfilled? And the answer was yes. So, I knew I had to keep going. I knew I had a lot to learn and that success wouldn’t come in a day. It may not even come. But then, that would depend on how I would define success. Typically, success would mean doing well in all of these but for me, success meant learning through the process and evolving. It meant feeling fulfilled at the end of the day and becoming a better version of myself each day. And as long as that continued to happen, I considered myself successful. So, as long as you can isolate your thoughts and not let the external factors cloud your judgement, you can be a risk-taker. And that’s when I realized that all you need to be a risk-taker is courage, faith and vulnerability. And trust me when I say this that the process can sometimes be very frustrating. When I started my blogging journey, there were so many times when I wasn’t able to get the results I wanted and that was frustrating. But it is this process that enabled me to experience, learn, grow and take chances. So I strongly believe that trying, failing and bouncing back stronger is better than not trying at all.

So, listen to your heart and take that leap of faith!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I work in the luxury retail industry in the field of Data Analytics. I have been working since 2017, before which I was pursuing an MBA from University of Missouri. While I know sometimes monotony can take over and life can feel a bit mundane, I think I feel lucky to also have a lot of days where I am excited and looking forward to going to work. I know its very difficult to find a job that you can love and I feel I finally landed that kind of a job. I love solving analytical problems, contributing to my company’s overall success and providing our customers with an incredible experience. I work in the Marketing department at my company and my team is responsible for designing, implementing and measuring customer facing marketing campaigns, among other things. We are responsible for meeting our company’s targets for customer acquisition and retention. When I see positive results, it really encourages me to do better. I am also pursuing my passion for makeup on the side and I often volunteer myself as a makeup artist to do gigs. That is also something that really excites me and makes me want to do better. Its so empowering to make people look pretty and confident. Making my clients happy is such an amazing feeling.

I don’t think my professional journeys was easy. Coming from a different country and culture, it was initially hard to adjust and find my ground. Leaving behind my family, friends and a comfortable life was difficult for me, as is for many other immigrants. Living in a totally different culture, adjusting to a different professional environment, constantly gaining new skills and proving myself was part of the struggle but it was totally worth it. I wouldn’t have been the person I am today had I not moved out. The amount of exposure I got really taught me some invaluable lessons, which I feel is also what sets me apart today. I learned the importance of being authentic and transparent. When you work with people day in and day out, its very important to not fake and be yourself. Transparency is a very important pillar of building your brand and building trust. It is what makes you credible and speaks volumes about your personality.

Other things I have learned are being passionate about whatever you do, always being open to learning and accepting feedback, and always staying curious. I always seek out mentors, both personally and professionally, that I can learn from every day. They are the people that inspire me to do better. Their feedback is invaluable and I always welcome it because it helps me identify my flaws and course correct along the way. So, having good mentors in life is so important. And being passionate about whatever you do is also equally important because you need to give your best in whatever you do. I’d rather be less successful pursuing my passions than be unhappy doing something I don’t like.

Ultimately, like I said previously, I don’t define my success by the results I am able to achieve but by the growth I have had through the process. I define my success by the rich experiences I get, the learning and growth that happens through the process, and the fulfillment it brings with it. Everything else is just a byproduct.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are many fun spots to visit in and around Atlanta so here’s how my itinerary would look like,

Day 1-2 – Drive all the way up to Smokey Mountains and spend the night in Gatlinburg
Day 3 – Spend a day at Helen and make a stop at the Montaluce winery on the way back
Day 4-5 – Explore Atlanta – Georgia Aquarium, Piedmont Park, Centennial Olympic Park, Coca Cola Musuem, Midtown, Ponce City Market, Buckhead Village District, Virginia Highlands, Atlanta Beltline
Day 6 – Shopping at North Georgia Outlet Mall, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza
Day 7 – For beer lovers like myself, drive to Athens for the Creature Comforts Downtown Taproom and Brewery to try some nice IPA.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I strongly feel that none of us can achieve great things alone. Its so important to have your tribe that can love you, support you through thick and thin, empower you and inspire you. I am so blessed that I have such an amazing community of people in my life that constantly support me and make me want to be a better version of myself. My two biggest supporters and cheerleaders are my husband and my sister. They have always loved me for who I am, believed in me, been my honest critics, mentored me when I’ve needed it, been there through my lows and have never lost faith in me. Apart from that, I am also thankful to have an amazing community of friends who are like my family and always want to see the best in me. I also have a few mentors in my life that have been such an immense support system for me and have been responsible for my growth.

Website: https://palakpahwa.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pahwapalak/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/palakpahwa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palak.pahwa/

Image Credits
Image Credits-

Tara Gems Galore (https://www.instagram.com/taragemsgalore/)
Prathamesh R Divekar (https://www.instagram.com/prath_portraits/)
AVA The Fashion Studio (https://www.instagram.com/avathefashionstudio/)