An Interview with Shivpriya Venkat
With a Bachelors in Computer Application from SRM University, joining us for the 167th session, is an alumni of team.i, Shivpriya Venkat. Having completed her PG in Event Management & Digital Marketing, she reminisces on how her life has changed since then and the opportunities that she today enjoys.
Being a freelancer has helped her learn, explore and experience various kinds of events channelising her strengths in Operations and Client/Artist Management.
Five years of experience in the industry and a lot of learning from every single event that she’s been part of, Shivpriya is currently exploring the path of being an entrepreneur by starting a homemade spices business along with her father in Chennai.
Born in Chennai, Shivpriya grew up in Mumbai, completing her studies up till the 10th grade before moving back to Chennai to continue her higher education. She went on to do her Bachelors in Computer Applications from SRM University where she fell in love with ethical coding but was however not too keen to pursue a career in the field seeing as she despised the idea of a 9-5 desk job.
However, on the advice of her parents, she decided to attend a couple of interviews but after having been rejected from several, dispirited, she finally decided to move on and see what else she could involve herself in. Shivpriya however did not lose heart and soon after began studying to clear her CAT exams in order to pursue an MBA. It was this decision of hers that eventually led her to get into the space of event management.
It was a soft skills teacher in college who pushed her to do event management as a course as she was very fond of organising events and actively participating at college fests. Soon, she found herself exploring more about it and realised a career could be made from it. Very soon into her research, she came across team.i and was excited to begin her journey learning more about events, confident in the institute’s ability to deliver. team.i gave her the opportunity to experience some of the most memorable moments in her life, meeting some of her closest friends and attending bootcamps and other experiential learning sessions.
Since then, life has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for Shivpriya. She has thus far been a part of several exciting projects including various sporting events such as the Pro Kabaddi league for almost 4 seasons, the Tamil Nadu Premier League, the Premier Badminton League in Bangalore, the Special Olympics in Chennai, and the Assam Youth Games.
She has been fortunate to have been given different roles in different projects, helping her engage in lots of self learning and realisation on a more practical front. Shivpriya has also been a part of several corporate and wedding events along with special events including movie and audio launches, and the AR Rahman live concert, which she recalls to be a phenomenal experience.
Her Journey As A Freelancer
Shivpriya is of the opinion that even an industry as dynamic as the event industry can get quite mundane if not given the opportunity to take on different roles and responsibilities throughout one’s career.
As an events freelancer however, she was given the chance to explore various roles such as client servicing, hospitality, operations and the opportunity to network to a great extent. Today, she can better understand different work cultures and engage in quick problem solving thereby giving her a better chance to grow as a professional.
2020 And Her New Venture
Shivpriya takes this time to advise everyone watching to take better care of their mental health especially during these distressing times, where we are all facing one of the most difficult and testing years of our lives.
As someone who is anxious by nature, Shivpriya found herself extremely paranoid when the virus hit India back in March and stayed home for 6 months without stepping out for fear of causing harm to her parents.
During this time, she has been spending her days binge watching Netflix and catching up on the latest shows and movies but after a while began to feel the mundane monotony set in. This began to affect her mental health and she began attending therapy to help her cope during the initial few months. She strongly encourages everyone to reach out and seek help if they are suffering and to speak up and voice their hardships rather than endure it silently.
Add to this, her lack of motivation seeing as events is what she knows best and not being able to do it anymore came as quite a challenge to her.
However, she pushed herself to start learning and exploring more avenues and in due course she had learnt a great deal about graphics designing and digital marketing. She also spent her time painting and decided to begin a business venture with her father, selling home-made spices. Today, Shivpriya manages the pre and post production aspect of the spice business and is excited to take it forward in the coming months.
How To Market Yourself As A Freelancer In The Space Of Events
Shivpriya finds herself to have been quite fortunate when it came to working at some of the most influential event management companies including DNA Network and Percept among many others.
She believes that it is all about the networking and being able to efficiently communicate with the team and follow up on a regular basis to leave a long standing impression. Initially, Shivpriya worked on putting herself out there and growing her network rather than focusing on the money she was making and eventually this helped her grow to be the professional she is today.
Virtual events
Shivpriya has executed a few virtual event pitches over the last few months and while not all have been successful she is eager to see what the future of virtual events will look like.
2021 And Her Plans For The New Year
She strongly believes that virtual events are here to stay and that it is in adapting a hybrid model of event management that the industry can sustain in the years to come.
These past few months have given event planners the opportunity to explore and improve their creative sides while exploring newer, more challenging avenues. She is hopeful for the new year and with it, the learning and experiences that she will have both as an event management freelancer as well as a budding entrepreneur.
Parting thoughts
“Do what you have to do and never be shy and hold back when you want to do something challenging and risky. Fulfil any job given and build your networks as that is what the industry is all about. Hard work and smart work should go hand in hand, and learn to own your responsibilities and be confident while doing it.”
It was wonderful speaking with Shivpriya and hearing about her journey as a Freelancer in the event sector. Her advice to the next generation of event aspirants is truly worth considering and we wish her the very best of luck in all her future endeavors.
In case you missed out on attending the live session, head on over to our Instagram page to watch the recording.