She started off by working in her family buisness, the very famous Nagurjana Cements, before venturing out into unchartered territory of her own a French — inspired patisserie, Feu. Shilpa Datla can be considered an example of ambitious women who want to achieve it all.
Now as takes on the role of chairperson at the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO), she has big plans .
“There’s enormous scope to spread awareness on social media, so I intend to start the Y FLO Instagram page this year. I want more youngsters to connect with our work, and I believe that social media is an appropriate medium to reach out to the youth,” said Datla.
Datla feels the organisation comprises many talented women who are unable to come to the fore, and she’s hoping to set an example for such candidates who have tremendous potential but don’t realise it. “A lot goes on in the organisation which does not necessarily make it to the media. We have several talented workers who manage back-end operations, and I want to use social media to share their work with the world,” she said.
With many roles to play, the ambitious woman is determined to not allow anything to bog her down. “Like many others, I’m trying to balance my professional life with my personal life. At the end of the day, whatever satisfies you is good enough. As an FLO chairperson, I do my best to share as much valuable information as I can get my hands on with the members of the organisation and try to ensure that they achieve success in whatever endeavour they take up. Other than that, I launched my business last year, and it’s doing well. However,
YFLO will continue to remain my first priority no matter what. As far as my family is concerned, I’m quite certain that they respect my priorities. They’ve got my back, no matter what,” she said.
Datla, wants to focus on helping women multi-task and cope with challenges.
“Most women aspire to become the best version of themselves. Keeping that in mind, my vision for women is to help them transform into a ‘New You’. The New You initiative essentially encompasses physical, personal, and professional transformation. A large number of women have been facing anxiety issues lately, mostly because they juggle between many roles and sometimes even take on more than they can handle. Anxiety attacks, insecurities, and postpartum depression further add to their woes. We want to help women cope with and even overcome such issues,” Datla said.
Elaborating on her inspiration, Datla said, “While FLO chair members have helped me in fair amounts in overcoming my issues, my mother has played a major role in my transformation. Despite being a housewife, she was the backbone of our family. I’ve learnt from her that having my own identity is paramount. She taught me that despite the conventional roles that I might have to pursue as a woman, I must never forget my own ambitions.”
