Leaders are not born, they are made! The saying best personifies the life of the charming, vibrant, and ‘self-made’ leader Riti Kapoor Chopra. The courageous lady didn’t just stop at transforming herself! Today, she is enhancing the lives of many with her profound experience in soft skills, behavioural skills, and more.

Riti is the epitome of perfection. From being an adorable daughter to a caring mother, a loving wife, and today, carving a niche in leadership development, she portrays the best in every aspect & role for her life. With full of aspirations & dreams, she always wanted to prove her potential to the world. Recognizing Riti as a great influencer and an exceptional woman in the niche of soft skills, Women Entrepreneur India engages an exclusive conversation with her. The inspirational story of this industry maven takes us through a ride where she showcases the importance of being an open-minded learner and breaking the barrier between academia & skills. The valuable nuggets from her portray the need for social responsibility.

How did you get into entrepreneurship in the niche of soft skills?

I believe that without ambition, one starts nothing and without work, one finishes nothing. I didn’t realize that my calling and ambition lies around changing the world, transforming lives, and influencing people, until I was given an opportunity.

Interestingly, my first exposure as a trainer was when I had to address a class of 60 students in an inevitable situation. It was to replace a trainer who was unable to turn up due to an emergency. For me, it was a moment of challenge. Either I could walk away or accept it. ‘No’ wasn’t an option at all, as I am a risk-taker. It just took a couple of minutes for me to be comfortable speaking to the audience. That’s when I realized that motivating people and unleashing leaders within them was my innate desire. That opportunity, fortunately, turned me into what I am today.

Were there any challenges you faced initially as a trainer, speaker and educator? If so, how did you overcome them?

Everything in this world is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. It's we who should decide on what we want to pursue. As a person with huge self-belief and unshakable optimism, I took every stumbling block on my way as a constructive opportunity. I did come across a few hurdles during the initial days of my career. Few of the clients would resist getting an assignment done by me saying 'I have no experience in that specific industry'.

“In the last twelve years, Riti has imparted learning to more than 1,00,000 people through more than 12,000 platform hours across hierarchy levels”

As we speak, I recall the wise words ‘An expert at anything was once a beginner’. As a new entrant, building the trust and gaining those initial opportunities to prove myself was a challenge. However, I started this journey with sheer confidence. I took a lot of experience and multiple certifications to set myself on the right track and nurture my professional journey.

Who are the targeted audiences for your offerings?

I always say that the ethos of my life is empowering another life. I love helping people to impart the best impression wherever they go. Thus, I serve diverse audience across different verticals.

I train professionals, individuals, entrepreneurs, students, and closely work with employees, leaders, C-suite officers, heads of educational institutions, and youth who need to be trained to be corporate-ready. As part of my service for corporates, I am associated with brands such as L&T Infotech, Kirloskar Pneumatic, L&T Construction, Mitsubishi Electric, BPCL, Tata Power, Future Generali, Veolia, IDBI and major Multinational Banks to name a few. I am also connected with premier educational institutions of India, like ICAI, ICSI, ICWAI, IHM, TISS, NMIMS, Ahmedabad University to name a few. I have several signature programs and enabler programs as part of my portfolio.

Throw some light on the vision for your life.

I acquire values from everyone around me. Starting from my parents who taught me to be loving, committed, disciplined and fiercely independent. Multiple people have inspired me at every phase of my life. Moreover, my commitment to society comes from a very young age. As part of the Rotaract club in school days, we used to visit Mother Teresa orphanages, I have read a lot about her and she is one consistently admired people. I look up to her compassion and belief in doing ‘small things with great love’. I embrace the profound words of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, ‘the essence of a happy life and a peaceful society lies in one sentence - what can I give?’ It is from him, I take my inspiration to shape the character, calibre, future of an individual, and give back to the community.

Further, I envision working with the Youth of India. Having experienced various challenges as a youth, I connect to the youngsters who come from different disciplines for mentoring and counselling. They crave to know their future and choose their careers. Unfortunately, academics miss out on helping them decide what they need in life. Showing them the direction and giving them a vision to achieve is what I focus on. I put in my efforts to show the youth a path in their life. I want to help them face the world with ease.

Trainer, Speaker and Educator

In the past, Riti has worked as a trainer with FWWB (Friends of Women’s World Banking) affiliated to WWB. Her close engagements with prominent personalities like Ela Bhatt, the social activist and Mallika Sarabhai, the activist and Indian classical dancer, has always prompted her to volunteer and be part of several NGOs.

She is associated with Project Mumbai, Teach for India (A national program promoted by TOI), Akshay Patra Foundation, Paani Foundation and Mother Teresa Charitable trust for the underprivileged children.

Interesting Facts            

• The positive, charismatic and straight forward leader is also a dependable and approachable friend in the personal front.

• Showcasing her successful journey, Riti has gained strong social media presence with 18k plus connections on LinkedIn and strong presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

• As a jack of all trades and master of everything she does, Riti is also a passionate Kathak and folk dancer.