Chitra Bansal is one of the smartest, hardest working, driven, and generous people I know. She is an entrepreneur. A woman who dreams of making the impossible possible. We are very grateful to her for donating several boxes of beautiful fabric to the festival from her interior furnishings business Gargi Home Furnishings. Chitra has a zero-waste business policy and donates material left over from her business projects for many people and groups to benefit from.
You often hear people say 'I wish I could start my own business,' if only ... If only I had the money - if only I had the right connections - if only I had the right marketing skills, knew the right people - had a hefty inheritance..... What they really mean is if only I had a fairy godmother who could wave a magic wand and make it happen for me. Then they list all the reasons why they can't. Truth is the business world is tough. It can be grueling and unforgiving. There are no fairy godmothers, no magical divine intervention to help you get started. .
When Chitra first arrived in New Zealand she came as a newly married bride from India who couldn't speak English so she couldn't even get a job. She is walking, talking proof that you can start a business with nothing but determination and inspiration. Chitra now has two businesses - Gargi Home Furnishings plus she is a real estate agent. I met Chitra in Toastmasters. I'm not sure 2 businesses is enough for her entrepreneurial spirit because she thrives on challenge. She is a wonderful entertaining public speaker with an open honest attitude, an entrepreneur with an open heart happy to share stories of her hassles and hustles, her trials and tribulations of being in business. She seeks to empower others and enjoys the education and empowerment that Toastmasters brings to peoples lives. This is Chitra's story.
1. Tell us about yourself please. Who are you?
I migrated here from India in 2001. I trained as a teacher, qualifying with a Masters Degree in Education. I am married with 2 children, have a business called Gargi Home Furnishings, and have recently become a qualified Real Estate agent. I enjoy the challenges of both businesses and am often looking for small business ventures I can help people get involved with. I find business start-ups exciting and seeing people succeed very rewarding.
2. Toastmasters is primarily about education, acquiring leadership and communication skills. Why did you join Toastmasters? What did you hope to gain?
Life is short so I do not like wasting time. I'm very busy with family and extended family so what little time I have I prefer to spend productively. I do not enjoy non-productive activities and do not appreciate people wasting my time. . A friend mentioned Toastmasters to me one day. It sounded perfect as I wanted to become a more proficient, more confident speaker. English is my second language and I am very self-conscious of grammatical errors and mistakes - I saw Toastmasters as an opportunity to conquer my inadequacies as a speaker and gain a greater command of the English language. I have met so many stimulating people in Toastmasters from different walks of life and different professions, educated in so many different fields, I learn a lot listening to others speak. I also find it stimulating to watch different Toastmasters clubs from all over the world on Youtube as I try to improve my public speaking skills.
3. How many Toastmasters clubs do you belong to? If you are a member of more than one club why did you join multiple clubs? What do you get out of your club or clubs?
When I joined Toastmasters I made lots of friends at my first club MCBC Toastmasters in Manukau. I continuously pushed myself to do more speeches, research more topics. I loved the challenge of pushing myself under pressure, forcing myself to learn more. But I wanted to grow faster. So I joined Meadowbank Toastmasters and then Pacific Toastmasters. I particularly enjoyed being in a smaller club because you have far more opportunities to speak and perform a greater variety of roles, and more opportunities to work on the committee to grow and learn new skills, especially online skills. Growth was my objective. Smaller clubs have a huge advantage in allowing you to practise everything more, achieving states of excellence faster, perfecting your skills faster.
4. When did you first attend a Toastmasters meeting and what did you think of it? Why did you stay? What advice would you give someone thinking of joining Toastmasters?
I first attended Toastmasters in 2019. I totally freaked out watching the speakers because they were so good. I fell in love with Toastmasters. It just seemed to be the right place at the right time for me. It was perfect for me to improve my English. It took time but slowly I got to know people. Gained more confidence. I wasn't sure about commitment to a club at that stage - but I reminded myself my objective was personal growth and admonished myself to take more responsibility. In time I was asked if I'd be interested in being the Vice President of Membership on the committee for MCBC Toastmasters Club. Nathan Piahana helped me learn the role. I believe if you really want to improve your public speaking, Toastmasters is a very good platform. My advice is take the opportunity, join a club, commit yourself to growth, be responsible for your own development,. Life is short. Don't wait. Focus on your personal development. The longer you leave this in life the further you fall behind. Start improving yourself as early as you can.
5. What impact has Toastmasters had on your personal and professional life?
Since joining Toastmasters I completed a real estate course and am now a real estate agent selling properties. I am a lot more confident speaking professionally, conducting interviews, and speaking publicly. It has given me a sense that I can do very well for myself, and be an inspiration to my family in India as well as New Zealand. Now I can speak with confidence to anyone, anywhere, any time. My growth is being recognised.
6. What are your future life goals and how do you think Toastmasters can help you achieve them?
Future business plan - achieve top level in the Real Estate business as well as our family business. Personal goal - I know Toastmasters will continue to increase my range of expression and confidence. You never stop learning in Toastmasters. You never stop advancing. You can be a Toastmaster for a lifetime and there are so many levels of achievement to attain, the journey of advancement never ends. I want to climb higher.
7. What has been your greatest memory since joining Toastmasters?
Becoming 2021 Toastmaster of the year at MCBC Toastmasters. Also winning the hospitality award in 2020. At MCBC we can host meetings and take over hospitality for the meetings. In 2020 I got 100% of the clubs hospitality votes for the year - the only person who didn't vote for me was me!
8. Being on your clubs committee is a big challenge. When and why did you join your club's committee? What is your favourite committee role? How has the challenge impacted you? What is the highest executive role you've served in Toastmasters? What did it teach you?
I have only performed the role of Vice President of membership on the MCBC Club committee. I loved it. I learnt so much about organisational skills and so many new computer skills. For the first 6 months in the role I was very unsure of myself. Then I pushed myself to do the job better. I kept a dairy, recorded data, took notes, got more disciplined, gained more confidence in the role, then the stress decreased. I learnt being more organised decreased stress greatly. All the new skills I learnt were immensely beneficial. Ask me in the future after I've done other committee roles what my favourite role is.
9. What advice would you give anyone taking on a committee role?
Be committed. Get organised. Attend every meeting so you know what's going on. Because you waste other people's time expecting them to explain things to you. Take full responsibility for your role.
10. Do you have a favourite quote that sums up your philosophy on life?
NEVER GIVE UP. Be positive. Be consistent and work hard. Never ever give up.
11. When I researched the questions that people wanted answered about Toastmasters Altruism was at the top of the list. The number one question on everyones tongue was if Toastmasters is about service, how are you of service to your community outside of Toastmasters? It is obvious that Toastmasters are deeply involved in the Toastmasters organisation and their own clubs - but what about the real world? People want to know how have the communication and leadership skills learnt in Toastmasters programmes been translated into reality, how have our Toastmasters skills impacted our communities.
In traditional Indian culture there were barriers to women's independence and empowerment. I have been fortunate in that I am successful. When I see women like me I know they have power they are not aware of. I try to help empower women, make them aware of their own power. Encourage them. I befriend young women particularly by giving them jobs. I believe being an employer you are providing a service to your community by providing jobs for people. I also encourage people to start their own business, help them set up, donate materials, and teach people business skills and offer them contract work. To people I trust I give business loans to help them start their own businesses. That is how I help people in the real world.
12. What is your favourite Toastmasters programme, manual, or project and why?
The first Toastmasters programme I started was Innovative Planning, but my heart wasn't in it. Then I started Presentation Mastery and I loved it. Favourite project - competing in speech contests and winning the Humorous Speech competition. After winning I felt recognised and realised I could compete at higher levels and win. I felt validated.
13. Toastmasters has drastically changed over the last few years. I think Toastmasters going online or hybrid is fantastic. It means anyone can join any Toastmasters club anywhere in the world in real time. As Toastmasters continues to adapt to a changing world do you have any predictions for the future? Are there any changes you would like to see?
Toastmasters is a voluntary organisation. People give their time, energy and goodwill tor free to help others. They need to be inspired and encouraged to contribute. It's much better to win people over with positivity, generosity, and kindness as opposed to making people feel obligated to the club. Think about people's hearts, what they're going through, what their lives are like. Be compassionate. Realise people might be hurting. We are there to help each other. One trend I would like to see is more clubs operating weekly like MCBC Toastmasters. Most clubs have meetings fortnightly. Weekly meetings would provide more opportunities for growth. Growth is what it's all about.
14. In your opinion what makes a Toastmasters club successful?
Consistency, commitment, and equality. A well organised club is a club of committed members who regularly attend meetings, a club that pays attention to the fine details - the agenda must be done on time, and all members must have equal regular opportunities to practise roles, or they will feel left out, lose interest, and stop coming. In person meetings are what makes a club successful. Online meetings are great too, and zoom and hybrid meetings are brilliant for clubs, but in person meetings are the best platform for Toastmasters meetings.