An MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and with over 10 years of work experience in Multinational Banks, Chetna Vasishth joined the education sector with a training firm. Two years ago, she set up ChetChat as a pro bono initiative with the goal of helping our youth in taking the most informed career choices, since she believed that the youth across the country and in several other countries do not have the most accurate information to take their decisions on, parents are also limited in their knowledge and counsellors are either very expensive or misinformed.
She now runs a hugely popular digital talk show on YouTube on career guidance for the country’s youth. So far she has conducted over 140 video interviews with experts, CEO’s, founders, students, celebrities and many more interesting people.
Lets turn tables and interview the digital talk show host herself today, in a chat with Namita Nayyar, President www.womenfitness.org.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You set up ChetChat two years ago as a pro bono initiative with the goal of helping the youth in taking the most informed career choices. Share with us your journey of moving from the corporate sector to joining the education sector and then starting your own YouTube channel.
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
I did my post graduate studies from XLRI, Jamshedpur and became a corporate banker. I worked with some of India’s largest MNC banks for the first ten years of my professional career. The birth of my son saw me take a break from the corporate world. I then set up and ran a training company for the next 10 years. My firm trained bankers from more than 10 banks, both within India as well as overseas.
Along the way, I became convinced that I should reach out to youngsters not only when they are established in their careers but even earlier – as they are about to make the choices that would then define them for the next 10/15 years. Setting up ChetChat therefore seemed to be a natural extension of my work, since the idea was to use my network to provide free videos for students across the world to help them make informed career choices. Soon this spread and we were fortunate to meet with and interview some inspiring people who were leaders of their fields, celebrities, students, start-up founders and CEO’s
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Having been in the field of education for over a decade you realized that students across India do not have authentic information on various subjects and decided to help them with their career decisions. This must have been a challenging journey for you. How far have you been able to serve the purpose?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
Every change brings tremendous learnings, we started off not knowing how to shoot or edit videos, we had one camera, no mics and no lights, no idea about how to popularise the created content. We recorded in the outdoors and were stuck with crow sounds and traffic noises with absolutely no clue on how to deal with that. My husband has always helped me with the shoots and initially something would always go wrong on every shoot, either the sound was not syncing with the video, or the exposure levels were wrong, bad lighting or just too much ambient noise. There was this standing joke between us about ‘what is it going to be this time?”
We have come a long way in these 2.5 years. We invested in equipment, attended workshops and learnt every day on the job. I edited the first 100 videos on my own, to ensure I knew my craft well. We started with Windows movie maker and people laughed at us. Now when people tell us that our videos look professional, it is very satisfying. We have also begun to learn about what the audience wants, which videos typically succeed etc.
To answer the second part of your question on how far we have been able to serve the purpose, I would say that so far, with 140 videos we have only made a very small ripple in the pool, there is a very long way to go. The information gap is huge and we hope to make a bridge over that wide lacuna over the next 5 odd years.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Your YouTube channel, the largest online career chat show in the country, with over 30,000 regular subscribers and more than 1.6 million views so far, sees you converse with professionals on career paths, entrepreneur success stories, and college students for the benefit of viewing students. Provide us an insight into a day of your life as the founder of ‘ChetChat’.
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
Every day of the week has a designated plan. We ensure that we upload a video every Friday so every week there is about one shoot, some research to locate the most appropriate person to interview, figuring out the best means of contacting them, preliminary discussions about content etc. Next the task of video editing which my colleague Rohit now helps me with. Every week we sit together on one day to discuss the edit of the week and then he works independently.
Thursdays are usually the busiest with last minute work on uploading the video, putting in descriptions, keywords, making trailer videos and preparing for the Friday release. Friday mornings are spent with social media posts and promotions which we continue throughout the week as well. So, we also design promotional posts and other social media content to engage our viewers every day.
The most satisfying part of the day is replying to individual messages and comments from the viewers. I make it a point to reply to every message across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, email and Twitter. Now I even know some subscribers with their names, faces and regular comments. I value this relationship that has been built up over time. I feel so blessed that they write in from all corners of the world – including far away South America, and that they are always appreciative of my work, very motivating and encouraging.
In addition to these time bound activities, I also go to colleges and schools for talks, panel discussions etc. I watch a lot of TED Talks for inspiration and ideas and plan for next steps.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Being a Chat Show Host, Trainer, Director, Movie Maker, and Blogger, how are you able to keep yourself fit to cope with your day-to-day routine?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
I am an Air Force Officer’s daughter and discipline has been a legacy trait for me. My mantra for life and fitness is that there are no miracles, it is the little things we do each day that add up in the end.
I was a basketball player during my growing up days and I have always loved sport and exercise. These days, I have a fitness instructor, who makes sure I lift weights, crunch my abs and sweat the functional workout three days a week and pushes me till I am wincing in pain. Walking with Simby (my pup) is the most pleasurable exercise every evening.
Emotional fitness is another area of priority. I try to laugh a lot and try not to take things personally or judge people. I get my energy from getting excited over small things and laughing over silly jokes. I also learn Hindustani music which fills my soul with happy vibrations. If we are happy, the entire energy level of the room changes.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Tell us about the diet routine you follow to stay healthy and physically fit? 5 favorite foods you love to eat anytime & anywhere?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
I follow a nutrition plan which entails, eating every two hours, drinking lots of water, ensuring adequate amounts of protein intake each day, minimising simple carbs, not eating after 8pm and taking the right vitamin supplements as required.
Earlier I used to eat anything at any time, have carbs at night and fruits in the evening etc. and even though I thought I was eating healthy I would feel lethargic and heavy and my weight just stayed stagnant. With help from my nutritionist friend, I have lost weight and more importantly I feel a lot more energetic and happy.
My five favorite anytime go-to foods are:
- Eggs – especially the soft centred ones
- Tossed leafy salad with chicken and orange segments
- Tom Yum Soup with prawns and lemon grass stalks
- Adrak Chai
- Hot Gulab jamuns for cheat days
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You have recently been covered by the New Indian Express as one of the 18 people to watch out for in 2018. How does it feel to have your hard work and vision appreciated and acknowledged?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
Feels great! Undoubtedly. It was a great way to start 2018, but I believe we have a lot more work to do before we can hang up our boots.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your future plans in regards to ChetChat.
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
My goal is to make ChetChat the No.1 talk show in India and impact the lives of millions of young people in a positive way. I want to be on television as well and taking ChetChat beyond careers.
I am now launching a new series called MasterClass with ChetChat which will feature research based analytical information. The first videos to go up in this series is ‘Cost of Studying abroad’ where we will look at every cost across different universities and compare them, break it down, analyse it and make it all very easy for students and their families to understand. Soon we will involve entrepreneurs and experts also to conduct sessions on MasterClass with ChetChat.
The youth are our biggest asset and I see them struggling to get basic information on their career plans, future goals and jobs. If we can shine a torchlight and set them on the right path, sooner or later, they will discover their own light for the rest of their journey. My goal is to invite every inspirational leader, celebrity and change agent on my show and give them a platform to address the youth of the world to guide them, motivate them and inspire them.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
In your journey to becoming an entrepreneur, who has been your biggest source of inspiration and motivation?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
I try to learn something from every person I meet, and to name the biggest inspiration and motivation is tough. Personally, I draw inspiration from my son. He has taught me to consistently strive for the best quality, keep learning and challenging yourself, while being kind and humble. He also goads me to live life on my own terms.
Professionally I draw inspiration from Oprah Winfrey, the way she has fashioned her life helping others and crusading humanitarian causes despite all she went through and Elon Musk for being so brilliant and courageous and because he doesn’t care that he’s worth billions.
The fountain of my motivation is my husband Dheeraj. Every time I get dejected and feel like giving it up he brings me back on. Sometimes I feel he believes in me more than I do (smile).
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
From the experiences of your own entrepreneurial journey, what would be your Top 5 Tips for a person starting a new entrepreneurial venture?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
Well, this is hard but let me try to give my five thoughts:
- Having a goal larger than yourself and being passionately committed to it, come what may, is the only way to achieve success. How passionate you are about the impact you want to create and that impact should be larger than yourself, larger than just money or fame. And this is not only for an entrepreneurial venture but for any success in life.
- Patience – things happen but not in the manner or time frame you want them to, so hang in there and keep making the changes necessary
- Consistency – keep taking small steps every day in the direction of your goals, don’t look back or get distracted. One day you’ll realise that you have come a long way. Break down the big picture into salami slices: ensure you release a high quality video every week.
- Aligning every decision with your vision – I know this sounds big but every time you are faced with a quandary, a dilemma, ask yourself what those goals are that are larger than yourself. Ask yourself if your choices align with the larger goal and then choose the path that does
- Enjoy the roller coaster ride – entrepreneurship is a rocky road and we keep waiting for the ‘happy ending’ but my biggest lesson has been to keep laughing and smiling at all the ups and downs and that happiness will reflect in your work.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Women Fitness works relentlessly with a goal to reach out women all over the world providing them with best in health & fitness. What do you wish to say about the website (Womenfitness.org) and message for our readers?
Ms. Chetna Vasishth:
I applaud your work since statistics reveal that 75% of the women want to exercise but fear being judged at the gym and less then 10% of Indians get exercise. Nutritionally too, 51% of Indian women are anaemic. The initiative of womenfitness.org to reach out to women all over the world with write ups about how other women overcame these fears and inhibitions and set themselves on a path to good health is serving the community in multiple ways. Some of your articles beautifully talk about how good health is beyond beauty and about saving your life. The success stories of how women coped with life threatening surgeries and write ups that demystify common myths are indeed very useful.
I wish your readers a healthy life, both physically and emotionally.
Get inspired by her on:
- Instagram @chetchat101
- Facebook.com/chetchat101
- Youtube
- Twitter @chetchat101
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org