Meet Zenya Udwadia | Marketing Director & Project Manager

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

Hi Zenya, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Hey ATL-iens, I’m Zenya, and I made the bold move to Atlanta five years ago after finishing my Masters Degree in social work in South Carolina. What drew me to this vibrant city was its incredible potential. Atlanta is a unique blend of traditional southern roots and modern trends that shape global culture. It’s a place where people from different industries and cultures come together, brimming with energy and a drive to create positive change. Since I arrived, I’ve felt like a connecting piece, bringing people and ideas together to make a larger, intersectional impact.

I love that we are talking about balance because a life goal I’ve always sought is to find balance in all aspects of my life. This discussion is especially relevant for entrepreneurs and creators living in the current age of technology and social media. When your career intersects with your passions and hobbies, lines can blur. It becomes challenging to separate yourself from the businesses or projects you’re working on.

But here’s the thing—balance means something different for each of us, and it evolves as we grow and change. It’s essential to respect and acknowledge these differences, both within ourselves and in relation to others. One person’s journey might involve a significant chunk of time spent partying and going out with friends, followed by a complete 180 to focus solely on work. Another person may be content with working a nine to five job and reserving their evenings and weekends for personal time. Finding balance is tough because there’s no right or wrong answer, and everyone defines it in their own way. Some may be content with pouring themselves into work, while others around them may have different needs. Imagine if history’s innovators hadn’t dedicated their lives to their discoveries.

I grew up watching my dad seemingly work all of the time, often missing out on a lot of family activities. Now, in retrospect, I don’t think him being so career driven and making those sacrifices was wrong. He pursued what he enjoyed and felt responsible for supporting his loved ones. However, when the amount you work starts to affect the people around you, it becomes essential to evaluate and communicate with them, finding time to meet their needs.

On my own journey, work-life balance has fluctuated between avoidance of finding purpose in work to feeling so invested in my career I’ve neglected friends, family, and even my own wellbeing. I hurried through school, feeling ahead of the curve as a 21-year-old with a master’s degree, but also behind since I hadn’t figured out my exact career path yet. The stars aligned and I had the good fortune to spend some of my early 20’s traveling. Backpacking through Europe, visiting family in India, and even taking a short trip to Alaska—these experiences gifted me with a fresh perspective on life. I believe travel is a gift that everyone should have, as it broadens our horizons and helps us grow through encountering diverse situations.

After my travels, I returned to Atlanta, working as a waitress while applying to jobs in my field. I stumbled upon an opportunity in marketing with small businesses and kept my waitressing job for the extra cash and social benefits. At that point, my work-life balance was pretty good. I got a taste of making an impact through my direct work, met new people, attended city events, and prioritized self-care with a lot of yoga.

However, things took a turn when I ventured into starting my own business and took on managing a small restaurant in my mid to late twenties. Suddenly, I found myself becoming a workaholic. Leadership positions in small businesses offer creative freedom, but they also demand wearing multiple hats. Now, on the verge of turning 29, I’ve realized just how unbalanced I feel. Pouring all my time into creating something new was fulfilling for a while, but it’s not sustainable if I want different parts of life to thrive. I started missing out on events with friends or being physically present but mentally absent, wanting to send just one more text, email, or worrying about what was going on while I was not at work.

Ultimately, I think what distinguishes balance from overdoing something is when we feel trapped, like you aren’t moving forward, and are unhappy. It’s important to realize that we can’t do everything at all times, and not everything needs to be done immediately. Finding trusted people to delegate tasks to or planning for the long-term can help us slow down and create space for ourselves. The flip side of balance for me is finding joy in what I do and integrating it into my life in different ways. Whenever I go out, I love learning about what others do and finding ways to connect them with my own projects or networks. Social events become not only opportunities to have fun but also chances to network and create content. Currently, I’m aware that I want to be more present in all aspects of my life. Awareness is just the beginning of making actionable changes to our lifestyle, but it’s the first step towards the direction I want to take.

Let’s strive for balance together as we navigate the exciting and sometimes overwhelming paths we’ve chosen.

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.
My career path has not been a traditional one but the culmination of experiences I’ve had in different job industries as well as cultural experiences through traveling have positioned me to be successful in whichever direction life takes me. I finished school very quickly and earned my masters degree in social work with a specialization in community and economic development by the time I was 21. I decided before I settled into a long term career it would be the perfect time to travel. I briefly moved to Atlanta and waitressed for a few months to save up some money to travel. I backpacked Europe twice, visited family in India, and took a trip to Alaska. I then moved back to Atlanta with the intention of getting a position in my field with a focus on corporate responsibility. I wanted to help corporations choose where to donate their money to make the largest impact. However, without much work experience or any connections, finding an ideal job proved very difficult.

After I came to the realization that finding my dream job wouldn’t be easy, I decided to pursue passion projects while I continued to waitress. I had already fallen in love with all of the art events in the city and wanted to combine art with impact somehow. I met an artist, King Pop, who was a designer for the popular Atlanta chip brand: Rap Snacks. He asked me to help him organize a fashion show. I had so much fun doing that and from there I felt like the sky was the limit and continued networking and finding different opportunities. I was approached by someone I met to work as a project manager for a digital marketing firm. That position brought me so much learning experience as well as creative freedom to make an impact. For each client that we had I was able to successfully pitch working with a non-profit or charity in some way. During COVID we lost some of our clients and I had to find another income source so I decided to start my own consulting business.

I had two of my own clients and was able to hire friends that shared my vision to help. Around the same time that I was getting my own business going another opportunity arose. A close friend of mine, Joshua Brock, the now well known founder and owner of the Atlanta staple-Hippie Hibachi Vegan Grill, asked me to help him set up and manage his restaurant. I had the idea that I could continue my business while helping with his. I soon realized that I had to pick one or the other. It’s not that I believed in one more than the other, it’s more that I felt that if I wanted I could come back to my own business but building this restaurant was happening NOW and I had the opportunity of helping to design how we would show up in the community. When I started I worked more than 20 days straight and was continuously working 60+ hours a week. Helping to open a restaurant during COVID was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.

Fast forward two years, I’ve been able to find a bit more balance. I don’t physically have to be at the restaurant for those 60 hours anymore. I’ve also just recently started working with YWCA of Greater Atlanta as their Communications Director. I have always wanted to start my own program for children that includes learning yoga, breathwork, music production, gardening, and financial literacy. I’m not sure where I’ll be 5 years from now but I know my goal is to continue growing and making a positive impact in my community in whichever direction I choose. I love interacting with different people and feel like due to my easy going personality as well as being racially ambiguous I am easily accepted into most communities. Since moving here I’ve felt that I can serve as a connecting piece to help fuse people and put together ideas and projects to make a larger, intersectional impact.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
-Belt-Line Tour by Old Fourth Ward on scooter -Sunset at the top of the Westin Hotel
-Jackson St. Bridge for a good city view
-Breakfast: Highland Bakery:fried chicken benedict
-Lunch at The Chattahoochee Food Works, there are options for everyone: specifically Hippie Hibachi (i’m the manager and marketing director)
-Dinner: Bastone, amazing Italian food
-Drinks: Lee & White: lots of yummy beer!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a huge shoutout to Shirin Udwadia, my sister. She has and always will be my number one supporter and confidant. She stands next to me for every win, loss, and life adventure. I look up to her for blazing a trail for women in STEM. She has her biosystems engineering degree from Clemson and wants to help create a more sustainable world. I’m also in constant awe of her love for life. I want her to have everything she wants out of this life.

I’d also like to give a huge shoutout to YWCA of Greater Atlanta. I’ve recently started working with them. Their mission is to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. All of the women that I have met that work there exemplify this mission and I look up to each and every one of them. Pertaining specifically to the interview question I answered for Shout Out. It was actually working with this organization that reminded me of the importance of having a work life balance. It is something they encourage in their work culture. I’d like to specifically shout out Sooraya Williams. She has built a program that helps underserved women develop skills in technology. She also is a strong advocate for her community and uplifts other women around her.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/zenyadefined

Other: www.instagram.com/we.are.zenshi

Image Credits
Michael Thompson Thomas Forman Jr.