COVER PAGE

Queen Sandi

Q: Can we meet with you, Queen Sandi?

I am a free-spirited person. I choose to walk the paths you see me walking. At any given time, I am responsible for my choices in life and I own up to them. Good or bad I am ultimately responsible for my life choices. I value myself and I love my life. I seek to impact the lives of the people around me with what I have learned in life.

Q: What is your upbringing like?

I grew up in a very small town in India called Kanpur. Growing up with my parents I had a pretty comfortable childhood. I was much loved by both nuclear and extended family members and it remains so even till now. That was how the Queen tag name came to be. I have always been a centre of attraction and have always had this positive perception about myself hence the self-confidence I have always been known to show.

At the age of 5, my father got a job in Kuwait in the Middle East in 1959. I moved with my family of my younger sister, mother and father to start a new phase of life in Kuwait. At that time the quality of education in Kuwait was not of a high standard so my parents decided that my sister and I should attend school in India and so we stayed with my grandparents to continue with our high school education, as my maternal grandmother was not in favour of us attending a boarding school. She took great care of us while we lived with her. The only clash I had with her was that I felt she was just too Victorian in her method of raising us!!!! After high school, I chose go to Lady Shri Ram College University in Delhi, a very prestigious college. While holidaying in Kuwait I eventually received the letter of invitation for an interview from the Lady Shri Ram, Delhi University where I had applied to. It was the process, way back then, to first attend an interview at your university of choice before the real admission is approved. I had so much confidence in myself right from when I was a teenager that I had trusted that the university was going to

accept I had not applied to any other college...just in case! My friends at that time felt irritated with my level of confidence. I travelled to India to attend the interview and I was indeed admitted to Lady Shri Ram. I have always believed that when you focus on something that you want you will achieve it!

Back then, once a girl reaches her 20s, marriage was the next step! I was at University when I met my now-husband who was a lawyer practicing in the High Courts. My father initially was against my choice as we are of different religions but did eventually come around and support us. After graduation, I went back to Kuwait. My fiancé joined me there. He got a job as a lawyer We married at the Indian embassy in Kuwait in 1975. I had my child, a boy in 1977 and had my second, a girl in 1982. We moved to Bahrain in 1983. My husband’s thriving career as legal counsel to banking institutions in the region fueled a very luxurious lifestyle! Later, a move to Dubai changed all. As a family, we were forced to bring down our standard of living and lifestyle It was a major emotional adjustment for us all my kids faced a lot of emotional trauma.

Q: At time in your family life you faced a challenge and had a crisis that almost impacted your family growth negatively. Can you share this with our readers?

The journey was what I made of it . I entered the workforce when I was 44 years of age! Before then I had never worked or personally had a source of income. I mean it, never worked for a day before! I was very much a housewife, a handson mum, always with my kids, raising them and guiding them through schooling. I was okay being in the passenger’s seat in life, another person (my spouse) driving, always the one in charge, the one in control. As a full-time housewife and stay-at-home mum, I stopped being aware of what was going on in terms of finances and spending. I was ‘asleep’ in the passenger’s seat when the financial ‘car’ crashed. I had thought as usual that my husband would be able to fix things but unfortunately, this time around he just could not and neither could anyone else, fix the financial crisis of a lifetime

My husband like most men doesn’t like to share the state of their financial situation because they feel that if they share what is not going right then it will cause worry and stress in the home! They don’t want to be seen as being incapable. However, that is not a good way of looking at issues within a family, the earlier all family members are put in the know of a problem the more prepared they all get to be about it because when the issue does eventually break out, when it is out of control, as was my case then, it becomes harder and more difficult to bear for the family. This could somehow have been avoided or mitigated had I been in the know from the get-go of the issue. I wouldn’t have blamed him, my husband for the financial situation if I because I was just as much involved in the spending and mishandling of the family funds that led to the failed situation. I didn’t handle things well by not being actively involved in knowing what was the true situation of our family’s financial stability

One day in the middle of all this drama my husband collapsed in a restaurant out of exhaustion. That was a wake-up call for me. That incident was a wake-up call there was no point for me to continue to be seated like a helpless woman flipping my hands in the air at my helplessness, putting more stress on my husband who was in burn out phase. It was time for me step up, time for me to be

constructive, do something myself that will help us out of this situation. I have always been a very confident person, if and when I put my focus on something I know I can do it. So, at 44 years of age, I decided to get a job. To start to earn an income. I got excited about the idea but didn’t realize that nobody was as excited about the idea as I was. Even my sister whom I asked to help me to prepare a Resume was frank she said the chances were LOW. Facts did add up too much... apart from my name, marital status, number of I couldn’t even type, I was computer Illiterate. One day I pushed myself to read through the job ads in the classified section of a newspaper and I saw in bold fonts, “ If you think that you are a people’s person and you have good communication skills, no experience needed Training provided Please attend this presentation at the Hilton Hotel.” .” Wow I almost did not believe what I was reading if not for the venue that was stated. I thought to myself it can’t be shady.

children, a graduate that never worked there was nothing to stand me out in a Resume. She also added that I did have a good fashion sense, was eloquent in speech, had a good knowledge of fashion brands, and was a socialite, but these qualities were not going to get me a job.

Q: At the slightest challenge in life a lot of women lose themselves, lose their families and become a shadow of themselves. Your journey to getting yourself and your family back on your feet. What was it like?

I did not allow the rejections to bother or to discourage me. I told myself I needed a job and that was all I focused on. No matter how many times people say no, you must never doubt your abilities and continue to believe in yourself. Be clear in your intentions. So, I held unto these two things: to believe in myself and to have a clear intent. This is very important for everyone in the journey of life. I prayed for a door to open! I just needed one open door, not a particular one, just one open door and no matter the sometimes-hurtful attitude of people kept giving me I learned not to focus on that or allow it to get at me. At the end of each day, I would tell myself tomorrow is another day. I was relentless. Did that attitude of mine pay off at last? Yes, it did! How? I never used to read the newspapers in the cause of my job hunt because in the classified ads section I didn’t ‘qualify’ for anything! My focus was so much on the event that when I got to the venue I didn’t notice the company name on the board at the entrance. I walked past the notice at the entrance into the conference venue. I looked around the hall and in the front row, I saw 2 empty seats. I walked straight to the seats and occupied one. Lesson Always make your way to the front, you can’t get noticed at the back!!! I am not shy, I was my bold usual self.

Giving the presentation was this young man on the stage, as he continued, I started to feel familiar with the products and services the presenter was talking about savings, retirement, and investment services and that was when I realized the name of the company. While my husband and I were living in Bahrain, one thing that I made him invest in was this insurance company’s Education plan. As the presentation was going on I was able to respond intelligently to questions asked and made brilliant contributions to what was being said too. At the end of the presentation,

, the young Mr Kumar (who is now a Sales director and still l my boss) asked that I should stay back as he would like to speak with me and some other participants. I was told that the company was impressed with my attitude, manner of speaking, self-confidence and that I had the qualities to make a good salesperson. I was told that the company was ready to hire me if I was okay with it. I was shocked and surprised the offer sounded so easy to me considering that they don’t even know much about me yet. However, Mr Kumar kept insisting that they could see the abilities they wanted in me. I did take a while before responding and Mr Kumar kept on calling me to remind me of the offer and the need for them to know if I was going to take it. It was on one of the calls that I decided to ask what the salary range is for the offer. the world. I even was able to buy properties with my income. have invested in training myself, attended lots of courses, conferences, and done professional exams. There is no such thing that once you get to a certain age you can or cannot achieve your dreams or do something for a career or a business. Whatever you do give it your best irrespective of what people around you say or feel about it.

Q: Financial empowerment, Social-economic enlightenment, Financial capacities, sufficiency, and the likes of that, what are some selfdeveloped philosophies and bits of advice that you have working for you over the years that our readers can learn from.

If you want to do something meaningful, something where you want to make a distinct impact, just go ahead and do Be clear n what you want to achieve, have a game plan a ‘roadmap’ it without looking for people’s approval and support. Listen to what is positive, constructive, can add value, can assist you. As an individual start gain momentum and success from her/his idea a a business venture, people will get more ‘uncomfortable; with your success and they will find ways to try to stop you. Unfortunately, many of us no matter how many positive compliments we receive, we tend to focus, get discouraged at just one negative remark from one a perhaps a someone who is jealous of your success. Hold on to the positive compliments and encouragements and run with that. When I mentor people I always explain to them the need to handle rejections in life just as we do every other part of our daily lives and living. Not everybody around us will agree with us on what The company informed me that there was no fixed salary just commissions! I we are doing. Nor will they pat you was very disappointed, I looking for how I could help with bills at home, pay off on the back and support your ideas our debts and bring a new life for my family and was told there was no salary. in life. In your business life or your Mr Kumar assured me that if a sales person works smart he or she could make personal life, you just have to be more than any salary imagined. I had been offered this job an opportunity I balanced I find it very amusing when reminded myself how I didn’t even have any qualifications needed for a job! people say you need to ‘get back ‘on I accepted! Best decision ever. Today 26 years later I’m still with the same track. What if I don’t want to get back group and Mr Kumar is still my boss! I generated so much income in the job on that track. What if I want to form a that I was able to help pay off our family debts, take care of our bills and travel new track of my own. LINBIZ GLOBAL | PAGE - 7

We need to consciously think through our ideas before we articulate them. Certain everyday words and phrases do not positively impact our lives, they subconsciously affect our attitudes to certain life issues in a way that is not of any benefit to us. It is insanity to something in the same particular way each time and expect a different outcome.

Don’t buy into a proposal, plan, business, until you understand it! The financial world, the business world is a male-dominated and it is like a ‘big boys club’. The girls, ladies, are not ‘allowed’ to enter this male domain. A woman for example goes in with a full-proof business proposal looking for an investor wouldn’t get the funding permissions etc. However, the male with an even inferior business proposal, in all likelihood would get a sponsor/ investor.

Facts, statistics have proven that many hedge funds and other investment funds which are headed by women have consistently made more than those headed by men! But the bid buck is still not available to them to expand and progress. Statistics, Research, studies have proved that women make excellent managers, CEOs, and company owners but there is always prejudice. So, do we fight the prejudice or carry on regardless, continue to do things as we see fit? We don’t need to compete or to be on the same side. Women can just go ahead and carve their own niche.

For instance, a woman addressing women is confident, however when she is addressing male counterparts, there is sometimes a hesitancy, subconscious thoughts from social conditioning holds her down, makes her feel less capable. My belief is this, if for example I have a company, and am looking for an investor, I am a business person out to grow her business. I maintain my stand confidently and tell myself that even if this person walks away from the deal, I will still get another investor. Negotiate with confidence, know your facts, do your research have the proof of your success. Unfortunately, some women start from where they think that the offer could probably hold and end up coming down, getting less than what they intended on having.

In business, there is what is called Sweat Equity. The person with the business idea, professional know-how, training and so on is equally as valuable if not more valuable as the financial partner In Sweat Equity, you must learn how to protect your financial interests. Without the ideas, skills, and expertise the business wouldn’t exist. At business negotiations, always ask for equal terms and agreement that is a win-win situation for both sides. Some great business ideas were conceived in some women’s kitchens but the businesses failed simply because terms and conditions were not legally drawn up ‘partners’ did not negotiate fair and equitable terms. This is unfortunately is quite common amongst women. We tend to get too easily overwhelmed or become become too pliant, shun due diligence to quickly close the deal or else it might slip out of our hands. Wake up reality, play to win, equal terms no less.

Q: It is sometimes believed that women do give up easily in businesses perhaps overwhelmed by challenges that sometimes lead to the of their failure. To the businesswoman just starting can you talk to us on how to handle our feelings, emotions, and attitude in trying business periods.

As a Manager/ Consultant In sales, I have 2 roles manage people, expand and run my own portfolio. In Sales any business for that matter there are very important words.

ASK - Attitude, Sales and Knowledge. In my sales job, I had no skills and no knowledge but I had the right Attitude. With the attitude, I got the knowledge. Attitude comes with confidence, a healthy display of confidence. The right attitude to a business is that I don’t know but I am willing to learn. That also is humility. The right attitude to

business start offs is that if you don’t understand it don’t do it. Don’t be afraid, ‘failure’ or a rejection today, it could turn out to be the success for tomorrow if rightly handled. Be authentic don’t pretend, business is part of life. Don’t get overwhelmed and become stressed out by the challenges, Find the solution and move on.

There is no perfect business scenario. Handle each challenge as they come. Go to sleep with the mindset that tomorrow is another opportunity to succeed at what you do. Not all successful business people are happy. But all happy business people end up being successful because they feel comfortable in their skin whether they experience failure or success.

People expect you to run your business in a certain manner because that’s the way it’s always been done. Yes, while certain aspects are what we might call ‘carved’ in stone when it comes to legalities and financial practices that must meet all legal due diligence parameters, the rest depends on your Creativity Negotiating skills Attitudes and most important your Clear Vision.

Here are some mantras that have worked for me Why fit in when you were born to stand out. You have to be odd to be number 1. You were not born to fulfill the dreams of others you must fulfill YOUR destiny Anytime you want to check out the competition take a look in the mirror; Your only competition is you! It’s OK to ask questions you don’t have all the answers! Be in control of your business. As a businesswoman you are not just a businesswoman, you could somebody’s wife, sister, mother and so on. How are you showing up for everybody? Make sure you are comfortable with yourself, your daily decisions and your mindset. You have to show up as you. Discover yourself. Who is this me that has to show up for everybody in my life? Don’t go out of your way to make other people happy by making yourself miserable. A miserable person can’t think straight and can’t maintain healthy emotional wellbeing. We tend to look for too much validation from the outside when the only validation we need is on the inside. Be true to yourself. Be brave enough to take responsibility for what is not working for you. Everything starts with you, inside of you. The choice to be in total control of your life. You are starting in a business, and you are all welled up what decisions to make, how much money to invest, should I invest, and so on, some people are gamblers, they do it anyway, they believe that life is a gamble. They go about their lives and living like that. If their decisions bring favourable outcomes or not they own up to it. . In life, we learn to take calculated risks. this in business comes down to your financial stability. Before you start a business make sure that you are

financially stable. The attitude is that if this business doesn’t start to bring in returns on time I must have something to fall back on, something to support myself with. It is important to write out a business plan and make it legal. There has to be an exit plan. What will happen when you decide to let go of your business. You could want to exit the business for so many reasons. It could be that you have lost interest and strength in it. It could be anything, you need to have an exit plan. You must have a strategy to exit in a way that will still have made money off it. Contingency, exit plan, are very important. Nobody remembers to include this in their business plans. We focus on entry into the business, not the exit. To have a stable business, we must have a strong foundation. Foundation simply put, is that you must have strong legal agreements from the beginning of the business. have your business incorporated. Have legal partnership agreement terms and conditions in place, legalize all your agreements with whoever you are doing business with or who you will involve in the business even in the future.

Q: The money aspect when it comes to a business start and the running of the business, what should the right approach be like?

The attitude to money is that of a what do I have to do differently to get a better result Attitude. This is very important. When you are looking on starting a new business, on the one hand, you have your business plan, you have your projections, can I meet all my financial commitments, unless I have my safety net in place I must never attempt to start the business yet. Another important aspect of the business at the start is Insurance. When I am talking insurance, I am talking about Medical Insurance, Life Insurance and Critical Illness insurance. These types of Insurance policies are a very important aspect of a business plan. Life insurance will help you to take care of your mortgage, loans, your children’s lifestyle in case of sudden death and the critical illness will take care of your family if you should suffer a critical illness example Cancer, stroke Heart Attack. A Critical Illness insurance policy will take care of you while you are getting treatment but paying out a pre-determined cash amount that you can use to meet all your financial obligations Accounting is a major part of any business way forward. You need a proper accounting structure to keep a tab on the financial progress and growth of your business. Make sure you take a salary from the business income. The business is a different entity from you. If you are paying other workers pay yourself. Your business is not your piggy bank! Don’t just take money from the business account any time you like. This attitude runs businesses out very fast. Due diligence is finding out details about everything you do in business. Before you sign any contract, find out details from LINBIZ GLOBAL | PAGE - 10

a qualified lawyer. You must have a business lawyer. Keep records of money coming in and going out of the business account. If you don’t understand don’t sign! Ask detailed questions about banking facilities before taking them. Do your research, ask professionals about banking-related issues. Check the terms and conditions of offers and contracts. Once you put your signature to it, it is final. Don’t pretend to know if you don’t know. The internet is not your lawyer. Get a business lawyer.

Q: How do we market ourselves as business owners in terms of attitude, approach, and mindset?

It’s a lot of confidence. The situation appropriate attitude to get people to want to listen to you, meet with you next time, want to buy what you have to offer, pay their hard-earned money on what you have to offer. Show up looking your best, add value be presentable. Be humble but don’t drag yourself in the mud by so doing. L Listen more than you speak, learn the art of driving a conversation to your advantage with appropriate questions. Research and seek knowledge on what you do. Improve your skills appropriate to your career/business Walk the talk! If you want something ASK don’t wait for others to give

Most people don’t know the difference between self- assured and being proud One is filed with confidence the other with ego

Appreciate kind gestures from people. Speak nicely to people. Be ready to try new things to improv Set out for each day on your business with the mindset that today will be good. Be happy with your level of achievement every day. Take care of your health and well-being. Whenever I am being considered for an award I truly genuinely appreciate it and I should that I do. Talk the talk and look the part. People will accept your business as you present it.

Q: Image and branding in business, what is your take on that.

Image includes your outward appearance. Make sure that you are comfortable with what your fashion sense is. Dress t impress Be elegant and always stand out. Another imagemaking magic is your speech. Speak well, be knowledgeable in the topic to be discussed at any outing or in any gathering. Think well before you start to speak. Read a lot on different life issues. Be well exposed to life topical issues so that when you make contributions to discussions you come across as the intelligent individual you are That is when people want to get to know you and what you have to offer. Put a little sense of humour with people don’t be too serious. Your body language speaks volumes. It is a fact that more than 60% of what we communicate is through body language, so be conscious of how you stand, sit, use your hands etc.

Q: At 70 how do you manage to still keep fit and good-looking as you do?

: Every woman should never be too busy to take care of themselves. I pay conscious attention to what I eat I don’t abuse my body with over indulgence in food then go on crash diets or pop pills to control my blood sugar, cholesterol Health is internal. When your internal organs are

You don’t need expensive body creams and lotion to look good and make your body healthy. I use lots of organic products made for me from India. The cream and the bathing soap I use are made by a friend in UAE and are all organic. I drink a daily mixture of ginger, turmeric, that I boil in water. It works for me.

I exercise regularly, cardio and weight training in addition to kriya yoga and I sleep well

I do at least 1 physical fitness challenge ever year that keeps me out of my comfort zone mentally and physically

After all I have this one body created to perfection by the almighty and it doesn’t come with spare parts!

I am careful with how I live my life. I am at peace with my life choices.