Hello everyone and welcome back to the Bilna Sandeep show. I am Bilna Sandeep, the founder of Homepreneurs Club and the managing director of Growwie and Built Market Lab, a marketing agency based in Dubai. Today on the show you have a very special guest who most of you might already know if you have been following my social media or Homepreneurs Club or our Bilna Sandeep show because she’s been on a guest before a few months back.
Watch the Video
Listen to the Podcast
Bilna:
It is none other than Anjum. Hi, welcome to the show Anjum. How are you today?
Anjum:
Thank you Bilna, thank you for having me again. It’s very exciting as always.
Bilna:
Now to our listeners, if you have been following us you know you have seen the big announcements we have made about Homepreneurs Club. Anjum has now been taking up the role of Chief Operations Officer for Homepreneurs Club, COO of the club. So welcome to our show, COO of Homepreneurs Club.
So Anjum, I just want to ask you about how do you feel you know starting from being a community manager to now being the COO of the club. I know I remember the very first conversation we had I think maybe like one and a half years back.
Initial Contact and Role Discussion
Anjum:
Yeah and it was in October 2022.
Bilna:
When you first emailed me, it was your email that I got first.
Anjum:
That was a very classic thing you know when somebody says I’ve always learned just ask. Yes. What is the maximum that you will get is a no.
Yes. So there was a Facebook post you did. Yes.
I’m not sure what it was.
Bilna:
I think I was looking for a community manager.
Anjum:
No, I think it was about something else. It was just a normal post and you said something. I said okay are you guys hiring now?
Yes, yes. So you replied can you send me your CV and we are always hiring. I sent my resume to you and I remember this very well.
I was at Hamleys in Dubai mall. I was shopping for my daughter’s birthday gift. That’s when I received it.
Hello, I’m Bilna Sandeep. I’m like Bilna, I’m shopping in a toy store.
Bilna:
That is how it all started.
Anjum:
Yeah. Then it’s when you told me that you need a manager, community manager and you saw my profile and everything.
Bilna:
So I think your profile at that time said you were helping course creators.
Anjum:
Yes, it was a very digital learning profile. So when I saw the job profile as well, the technical part of the profile I was very happy. I said yes, I can do it.
Bilna:
That is what you were exactly looking for, right? Like we were on Kajabi.
Anjum:
Yes. So I said I’ll do it but when it comes to people management, I don’t know Bilna. Then you’re like you will do it just start.
So that I really have to thank you and I always keep telling members also you know that whenever you’re low, there is that one person that pushes you, that’s enough for you.
Bilna:
That’s enough, just go ahead.
Anjum:
You just told me just start, whatever happens we will take care, don’t worry. And then it happened there.
Club Growth and Community Support
Bilna:
And for me also like I was also in that figuring out phase like I knew I had a big vision for the club but I had no idea how to reach there. We are still on that journey, now we are together in that journey. So I was basically looking for somebody who had the right attitude and who could take my vision, who could learn what I want, you know what that vision and who would have that similar, what do you say, similar energy to go ahead.
Similar craze, similar vibes. So that is what I was looking for and I felt like the very fact that you reached out to me, that itself was a like big positive thing for me because I want people who are ready to take that step. So you took the first step, so that was enough for me, you know.
And it was not even a job application where I posted for something and you came.
Anjum:
It was a random email.
Bilna:
So that itself was like okay, she has got that something in her, I don’t know where we are going to go ahead but let’s try.
Anjum:
Even, you know, I also started this role with that. I said let’s just start and see where because I was working from home with my own business, right? Yes.
Then I said I have to step out of the world, out in the world.
Bilna:
Out of the comfort.
Anjum:
Yeah and it just went.
Bilna:
And then like, now how is that a difference, you know, from when you joined, the first being introduced as a community manager and probably, I think, initially you started taking up the webinars hosting. Then we started going the in-person meetings. How was that experience initially?
Anjum:
To me, personally, it was a very two-way street. When I joined, I just went. We were 44 members.
Yes. So I just went in, I told them this is my background, this is what I do, this is what I don’t do. So, you know, if I get stuck, I will need your help and the community as such was very supportive.
Bilna:
So everybody there. Very true.
Anjum:
So they will always come and they will help me. Like why are you doing this and then it’s good, you don’t feel that, you do this, that and everything.
Bilna:
I think the good thing about our community is everybody is in it together. Yes, yes. Like everybody wants to grow and everyone knows that we need to grow and we need to support each other.
Anjum:
Correct, that’s what happened. So they supported me and then when I grew, now I support everybody.
Bilna:
It’s like giving back to that community.
Anjum:
So it’s a very two-way street, yeah, and then it was a gradual progress.
Enrollment Campaign and Club Development
Bilna:
Yes, and even the whole club, like if somebody who is seeing from outside the Homepreneurs Club, just like you said, when you joined, it was 44 members. Then we went up to 175 in the last launch and now we are about 160 members. So that transformation for somebody who is seeing the club from outside as well, it’s a huge one, right?
But it’s a lot of hard work. Yes, there’s a lot of work that’s been behind and we were figuring out a lot of things.
Anjum:
Especially our open door campaign, the last day is so…
Bilna:
That was like a moment. Remember, we had an enrolment from Odri at 11.57. Yeah, and we were like, we were all sitting and checking who’s going to do it. Is there anybody coming in the last?
And then we all went to sleep in the morning when we woke up at around 6-7. There were three other enrolments because technically we could only close it in the next day morning. Correct, yeah.
Anjum:
So that is a very, you know, adrenaline rush when you have a campaign running in the club.
Bilna:
I think that was not just for us as team members of the club. Even the members who joined, they were all looking forward to what was happening in the campaign. And there are a few members who are also other community people in our club, right?
Who also joined who are owners of other communities. And they were also looking forward to what we were doing and they were taking the learning back and they all come to us, what do you do? How can I also implement the similar thing in the community?
And we are like always open.
Anjum:
That transparency with us, I feel is what is one factor that keeps the members stay back with us.
Bilna:
Yes, because they know that like we did the whole YouTube video after that, how we did the whole campaign, because there were a lot of people coming in asking us, how did you grow such fast as a club? And for me, it was not really just a fast growth in three weeks. It is the background work that was actually done over a three-year period.
And out of that, you were already part of it for almost one and a half to two years of it. So you know that how it went into it.
Milestones and Achievements
Anjum:
You know, we work around the clock without, you know, I think WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a blessing and also sometimes it gets out of hands as well. You know, when you message like at 12 in the night and when you reply and then you start talking like let’s do this, let’s do that.
Bilna:
Then we get into the talking board, then we forget. Oh my God, it’s 12. So Anjum, now before you become the COO, the journey as a community manager, initially it was people management, but then you got into a lot of other things, part of the business as well, where we brought in some amazing collaborations.
Right. So what are the milestones or what are the those pivotal moments you had in the last one and a half years in the club?
Anjum:
So first is definitely our first launch where we went from 84 to 174.
Bilna:
That was like the huge.
Anjum:
That was even for me, it was a very first experience and the first learning milestone in the club. Right. And the other is the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival.
Bilna:
Yes.
Anjum:
You know, no matter how much background work you’ve done back and forth, when you open the sef.com website, you scroll down, you see your little logo there. That was like a proud moment.
Bilna:
The names of Timar and all those and then down communities. And we had our logo there.
Anjum:
That was very, it was such a, you know, exciting feeling, you know.
Bilna:
And a lot of our club members went on representing the club.
Anjum:
They got so much value from there. They felt, they came back to me and said, thank you for sending us there. If you had not pushed us to go, then we would not have gone.
Bilna:
But there were some amazing talks that happened that day for the show. And I remember Erum had done a few reels about it, which and she even shared the learnings from the CF day in the club as in the WhatsApp group. Right.
Anjum:
And everyone’s favorite was Khalid.
Bilna:
Everybody wanted Khalid Ameri’s talk that day.
Anjum:
We have to someday, someday we have to invite him and come to the club.
Bilna:
Let’s tag him when we do this. Let’s see if he can come.
Anjum:
No, everybody, I have to tell everybody, Khalid, if you’re listening, everybody were your super, super fans. They were just talking about you, how you gave them all those learnings.
Bilna:
Amazing. I hope we get to have you on our show or on our club as a guest sometime. Fingers crossed.
So now also coming back to the brand, the club as a brand, right? So it was, I think in one of our internal meetings we discussed, we create those badges for our club members. And I was not sure if the club members would want to wear it.
So we were giving it as batch ways because whoever comes for the meetups, we were distributing it. And in one of the meetups, I actually missed to take the set of meetups. So I had some of the new members go and ask some other members, is it something that is available only to the founding members or something?
We also want that. That was something, right? And I also saw in the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival, the photo some of them posted and I saw Suganya had posted and Suganya had the club badge when she went there.
So I think now the members of the club have started owning the club like it is their own. And I think you have played a huge role in that. Thank you so much.
Because I know, like you used to tell me, right, every day morning I wake up, I want to think what should I cook for my family?
Anjum:
And next thing is what should I do for my members?
Bilna:
And you have really owned it and your energy has really passed on to a lot of our members who actually own the club.
Anjum:
You know, Billa, like members come and tell me that how do you have this energy? How are you able to motivate anybody and everybody in the club? And I always tell them that it is not just my energy, it is what when I see you, I get that.
So I pass it on to you. So they expect that from me. Even in our meetups, they want us to be there for them, to support them, especially when you cheer them.
They just love it.
Stories of Member Transformations
Bilna:
Can you share a few stories of the transformations of some of the members you have seen? Because I know you have this community manager’s desk post which you do on Instagram, right? And people love that post.
So can you tell me some of those stories?
Anjum:
So that is like, I have to go and stalk everybody on Instagram, what they’re doing, what they’re doing. It is not something scripted or anything. I really have to stalk, I have to keep a watch when something they have done is really good.
It could be something small, like Radhika. So when I met her for the first time, she was telling me that she gets very nervous. She has camera, she cannot face the camera and everything.
Then I saw her consistently, she posted her stories. So when I did that post, I asked for a photo. She said, why?
I said, no, you have to give me and then I will tell you. When I did that post, she was so happy that somebody has seen that she has taken this effort.
Bilna:
Yes, and somebody has really seen what she has done over there. And she had two, three amazing big workshops is done, right? With 100 plus people in the room.
And some of the club members collaborated in that workshop.
Anjum:
That’s a very nice thing about the club. You know, when you have a question or you have a request, you just pop it in the group saying, like Radhika, she said, I’m doing this workshop. I need somebody to help.
Yes, it gets sorted. Somebody is there. So they say, let me help you.
I’m there for you. Yes, yes. So that’s one.
Bilna:
Any other stories you remember like that who, you know, any other members you want to share something like that? I think every member has a story, right? It’s so hard to pick.
They’re all my success stories. In their own world, there is different kind of success.
Anjum:
Yes, there is. I have to pick and tell then there is Trija. Yes.
I have to tell her she’s working full time. Yes. She works full time on her business.
Yes. She watched the webinars. Yes.
She comes back to me and she says, do you have a webinar on this? This topic? I say no, I don’t have.
Can you do it? Okay. But she cannot attend live sessions because we do it at 11 o’clock.
She’s at office. So then she after we do after I upload it on the portal, I tell her Trija, this is there. Then she will watch that she’ll come back to me.
She say, okay, I learned this, but I want XYZ, you know, in that person who really follows the webinars. She’s so focused. And you know, I always tell her like, I always tell the members also, what she does is so much.
It’s too much, right? But still she does it. Yes.
Bilna:
And we get that back end access on Kajabi to see who all has watched the recording. And it’s always Trija topping it.
Anjum:
Trija is always there.
Bilna:
Very religiously she’ll do all that. So these are like, I think, amazing stories that we need to bring out of the world from the club. And every time somebody sees somebody is doing it, that is when others say, okay, I can also do the same.
I can also, I also have the possibility to grow. Correct. Right.
Anjum, do you also want to share some of the challenges that our club members face or the most common things that you see as a trend among women entrepreneurs in our club?
Challenges and Trends Among Women Entrepreneurs
Anjum:
The challenges women, general women face, it’s just not our members, you know, it’s like everybody. One is definitely confidence.
Bilna:
Yes.
Anjum:
Because they know it all, they do it all. But when it comes to putting it forward, or telling it out, they are like, oh, am I doing this?
Bilna:
Am I doing it?
Anjum:
Am I good enough? Yes, yes. So that is there with them.
And the other common challenge I feel is that they’re very shy to network. Yes. And 20 out of 10 times in a day, I go and tell them online or in person, you have to network, you have to show up, you have to tell them who you are, what you are, you know, and build that relationship, it definitely comes back to you 10 folds.
Bilna:
And I think you I have seen you always push them, you know, to come for because some people just like you said, they just need that push. And they’ll be there.
Anjum:
You always have to nudge them. Why are you not coming?
Bilna:
In a very subtle push for that, right?
Anjum:
Sometimes I didn’t see why are you not there? Okay, I have to go to school.
Bilna:
I think what members love the most about you is also that because it’s very easy for us as entrepreneurs to lose track of what we’re doing. Because there is 101 things we’re doing every day. And when there is somebody who’s coming and one is like you said, observing what you do and appreciating them.
So you I see you always recognize the members and their efforts. And also you give that when you know when that push is needed. And you know when to step back.
So you don’t just go too hard on because you know the their limitations. If you see it’s genuine, then you don’t go. So that is something I think people love the most about you when I see as a third person.
Because they know that you are that people’s person in the club, they know you’re approachable, they know that they can come to you, maybe you might be busy now, but they know you will get they’ll get an answer from you probably next day or so. But you will make sure that you’re there.
Anjum:
Yeah, that what do you say immediate accessibility that we have, we do there is no barrier. Like if you have to talk to somebody, the business people in the club, then you have to go through these set of emails or this or that, no, they just take WhatsApp and they manage. And it’s very simple, right?
So yes, that is very ease of communication within the club is very nice for them.
Bilna:
Now, if you were to like, okay, I’ll just ask you one question. In one minute, can you tell me what are the best benefits of the club if somebody is going to join as a homepreneurs club member?
Anjum:
Community, community, community. Five points.
Bilna:
That is the most important.
Anjum:
Yes. I, I tell, we tell always that you have, you have, we live in a day where you go to Google and say, I want to post on LinkedIn, then you get a lot of yes, things. It’s not very difficult to get if you’re tech smart, you can always learn.
Yes, that’s what many of us do.
Bilna:
Right.
Anjum:
But the people connection, the community part of it, the identity, the belonging, yes, that is, you have to work towards it. And we give that platform for them to make it easier.
Bilna:
And I know you have also faced some challenges from some members where they come in and say, you know, Anjum, I’m not getting a sale from the club. What’s your take on that? That’s a difficult question.
Because I know there are some members who’s grown amazingly through the club. And there are some probably they don’t know how to make use of the club. So if I were to come to you and tell me, tell you, I have a marketing agency, and I’m not getting sale, what should I do?
How can the club help me?
Anjum:
The first question I asked them is, when did you drop a high in the WhatsApp group?
Bilna:
Most of the time nobody did.
Anjum:
Yeah, because the person who’s asking me that question, I know that they’ve not shown up. Yes. So then they’ll be like, Oh, I’m so busy.
Then I know you. How do you expect the other people to know you?
Bilna:
The other 160 members in the club, how do they know you, right? Until you start doing something. Yes.
Anjum:
Now, like, for instance, I know Aswati. So I’ve taken, given my daughter’s birthday cake. Yes.
Now, anybody asks for a cake, I always tell Aswati, because I know her. Because you have seen her a lot of times, right? Then it comes to your memory.
She shows up, she’s there and everything. So without you showing up, how do you think? That’s what I asked them.
I said, when did you drop a high? And then, instead of this, okay, I will do it. And then they go back and then say, they send, this is my Instagram link, please follow.
I have to go. No, no, no, no, that is not what you have to do.
Bilna:
Who wants to follow you until they know who you are, right?
Anjum:
It doesn’t work like that. You have to give them value. Like we had Naina and Sargun.
Yes. In past few weeks. Yes.
So both of them, I went to them, like, at the last moment, I told them, this webinar is cancelled. Can you please do a session? She was like, okay, I will do it.
Yes. I said, Sargun, people have asked me for social media tips. Can you do it in the brainstorming session?
She said, yes, we’ll do it. So they came in and they genuinely gave value, so much value. Yes.
Without selling anything. They did not sell. Yes.
Neither did they advertise their services.
Building Networks and Giving Value
Bilna:
They didn’t even tell about the name of their business.
Anjum:
No, they didn’t. They didn’t even tell follow me on social media or anything. They just gave that value and went.
And now, when people want social media, they immediately, I see that, add Sargun Kaur Sahani on there.
Bilna:
Yes. So that’s how it is. This is what a club or any networking is about.
It’s about first giving. Correct. So that people remember you when they need you.
And maybe somebody in the club, maybe they might not need you, but their network might need you. Yes. And your name is going to come up in their mind first, because Sargun gave that session, 20 minute high value session without expecting anything in return.
Anjum:
It’s always network through the club and not to the club. Yes. Because you never know who they are going to refer you to.
Exactly.
Bilna:
And I remember your classic dialogue always. If you are looking to sell to the club, you can only sell to 160 or 165 members. But if you are going to look to sell through the club, every member is going to know 100.
So I love that dialogue, which you always tell them. But I think that is the whole essence of the networking itself.
Anjum:
Sometimes you have to be strict with people. This is what it is.
Bilna:
Yes. So Anjum, one fun question. If you were to invite three entrepreneurs to a dinner party with you or party with the club, who would they be?
Gary V. Wow. Definitely.
Anjum:
That reminds me of Rohita. But I really like how he motivates everybody. Very good.
He will just, again, I think he’s just like me. Just do it. Just do it.
Bilna:
Just go and do it. Yes.
Anjum:
Okay. Number two. Other will be Huda from Huda Beauty.
Wow. Definitely for some makeup tips I would want. But otherwise, I want to meet her.
Okay. It is a third, again, beauty brand. I think I really need makeup classes.
Veena is there. Phalguni Nair from Nykaa. It’s just not about how she’s grown in India, but recently she’s launched in UAE as well.
Bilna:
I hope if you’re watching, this is a special invite to you.
Anjum:
Yes, I need lessons, how to scale.
Bilna:
I think all our women look forward to scaling their businesses in whatever way possible. And all the three people you mentioned are definitely an inspiration for our club members. Before we wind up the session, one final question.
What are the maybe three major lessons that you learned from the club? And what is one advice that you want to give back to women entrepreneurs who are either part of the club or who wants to join the club?
Key Lessons and Advice for Entrepreneurs
Anjum:
Okay, three lessons I learned. One, continuous learning. You have to be learning, you have to be unlearning, relearning everything.
And then adaptability. Pivot. You should know when to pivot.
Bilna:
When something is not working out, what’s the next way out?
Anjum:
You cannot sit down and cry, like this didn’t happen to me. Just learn where to go next. And then empathy.
It is there. When you listen to them, when you put yourself in their shoes, that’s when you connect with them and then they feel that connection. And they bloom better.
Bilna:
When you connect with empathy, they are more able to take whatever advice you give, and they’re able to implement it better.
Anjum:
Yes, yes. And then if I have to give some advice for anybody, believe in yourself. There is absolutely nothing that you cannot do.
You just have to do it. Set very clear goals. It could be small goals as well.
It doesn’t matter.
Bilna:
The size doesn’t matter, but it is the goal that you set that matters.
Anjum:
And invest in your community, build that relationship with people, and try and get with them. Because like we say, you never know who they are going to refer you to. You never know who’s connected to whom.
Bilna:
And you never underestimate anybody.
Anjum:
You always have that. You will lose out on stuff if you are going to be quiet and not investing in the community. It’s going to come back tenfold.
The ROI is going to be very bad.
Bilna:
Only if you are ready to do it in the right way. Yes.
Anjum:
Yes.
Bilna:
Very good. Thank you so much, Anjum, for being on our show. And to all our listeners, if you want to learn more about Homepreneurs Club, the link is there in the comments, or you can just go to www.homepreneursclub.com.
And you can join the waiting list, or if the list is already open, just join as a club member as well.
Anjum:
Thank you. Thank you.
About Post Author
