How I achieve my dreams with action

Business acumen runs in her blood. She has the dexterity of a juggler. Add to it the stamina of a marathon runner. That would be Runam Mehta. Read her story - if you also want to achieve your dreams with action.

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I grew up breathing business conversations on the dining table. Soon after finishing my physiotherapy degree in Pune, I started my own business in 2011. With better work ergonomics, I helped workaholics improve their sitting postures. Business thrived.  Then, Cupid connected us :).  I moved to Bangalore in 2013 and literally started afresh. Perchance, I found an opportunity with Portea Medical. They were an early stage home healthcare startup in those days. They hired me to build the physiotherapy business.  Build it, I did! I went on to also grow the nursing, doctor and elder care business on steep trajectories. Meanwhile, I was also blessed with a Bitiya in 2017. My juggling skills improved a few notches after that :) Portea needed to urgently revive and reboot their chronic disease management vertical. The intent had been to reach online to chronic patients in tier 2 and 3 cities. Then assist them with their regimen actively. I guess the idea was ahead of its time. Later, it would find great acceptability during Covid times.  They asked if I could do something about it. Common-sense dictated, I refuse the offer and let the closure run its course.  I took it up instead.  I had to learn things from scratch. I had to make detailed plans because our partners would only continue to engage if they clearly saw that we could make it work. Every contingency had to be thought through with a remedial plan.  3 months of detailed planning followed by 6 weeks of intense negotiations found us back on track with this project.  Then the execution challenges ensued. I had to pull in support from 5 business functions. My risk paid off and today the vertical is a profitable business that continues to thrive. By now, my Bitiya was toddling as toddlers do and my juggling skills were at the advanced Ninja level. Covid Lockdown happened in March 2020. Like everyone else, we did not know what to do next to survive. Yet, within a few days, we rallied and pioneered Home Isolation Programs in April 2020. The 1st pilot was with the Delhi government. Mumbai and Chennai followed soon after.  We helped take the load off primary healthcare services by helping the not-so-sick to isolate and manage themselves from home. We called up, counselled, did the diagnostics, recorded medical data, shared it securely. We also helped patients figure out if and when to actually move to a hospital -- our health tech program was life-saving for lakhs of people across the nation. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Competitors soon followed suit and offered what we did.  These were 20 hour working days, fuelled by adrenaline. I remember a call, late one night, me pitching our case while softly whispering on the phone. Typing away on the keyboard, I was trying to make sure my Bitiya, who was sleeping in my lap, did not wake up. Tough times ease off, but they leave behind valuable self-knowledge about who you really are. My story is about taking risks and challenges all the time. I am someone who believes in showing up. That is the most important thing you can do every day in what you do. Show up and add some value. I get my energy from doing Yoga every morning and from what my husband said to me, soon after we got married. “Chase excellence and success will chase you”, instead of the other way round.  As I look back, I could do well because I could turn to a wonderful mentor for guidance. It is not just action and juggling, but also about having someone who has your back and can help you take a step back and make better decisions.  Based on my experience, I urge you to do the same early in your career. Look for someone with whom you have a genuine connection because of common values and because they are someone who you aspire to be like.  The starting point for that would be to ask yourself, Who do I want to be like and what would I like to be doing then?