Background of the founder
Since her childhood itself, Sonal was very driven and creative. We all might have played with dollhouses at some point, but Sonal would create her own designs for houses, reflecting her immense passion for architecture and design. Throughout her education, she worked hard to achieve her dream to bring differences in people’s living styles. And that’s how Design Studio was born.
Sonal is a highly accomplished individual. She holds a master in Geoinformatics and has completed her post-grad at MIT Pune. Her sheer dedication and hard work at college earned many academic mentions and the name “power bank of knowledge” from her friends who consider her a role model too. Apart from managing Design Studio, she is also currently imparting all that she has learned on her journey of single-handedly starting her business and supporting 2 start-ups through partial investment and mentoring.
The journey from a dream to a business
They say you can never go wrong if you invest in yourself. Ar. Sonal soni is a true example of this. Looking back, she reflects on how Design Studio was born and how far it has come, now turning 21 years old in 2022. “I began my start-up on my own, by investing my savings from my salary. Design studio started out in 2003 with 1 PC, a little stationery, and loads of will power” – she says. No one taught her finances however the value of money was inculcated in her by her family. Through her habit of saving 10 percent from each project, she could create her own corpus and achieve success.
Another thing to be considered is that each project required pure visual and creative skills as Google and Pinterest weren’t well-known back then. This was not an issue for Sonal, who brought in her creative, fresh, and new ideas to each project, thus not only satisfying but exceeding her client’s expectations. Needless to say, her business took off.
About the Company
Design Studio is a Registered Architecture and Gis firm offering design consulting comprehensive with project management. They have been providing their services since 2003, satisfying their clients by enhancing their spaces, creating desired ambiances, and offering architecture solutions inclusive of interior and landscape, as they believe in the philosophy- of “Beauty inside out“. Design Studio is all about celebrating the blessings of creation while maintaining a sustainable approach and catering to the client’s needs. According to them, luxury is the best parameter to measure both: smart living and holistic undertaking of each project. Currently operating in Vapi and Pune, she hopes to take the business to a national level.
Services offered:
- Site Management
- Architecture design
- Interior and landscape design
- Projects management and construction
- GIS enabled sustainable solutions
Awards and Achievements
Productivity is consistent performance. This powerful mindset and ability to always deliver has made Design Studio a force to be reckoned with. They boast of a 99 percent conversion of their first meetings with potential clients into clients they work with. They have been lauded with MSME nominations, and MSME awards and been shortlisted for design at a national level.
Company Culture
Design Studio values technical, creative, and problem-solving skills in their employees. Like most places, they have a team working consistently around the clock, so teamwork is a value they have practiced and developed from day one itself.
Speaking on company culture, Sonal says that freedom with self-commitment is not just a belief, it’s their cultural strategy. Flexibility is not only allowed but also encouraged as new ideas can only emerge from the free flow. She explains that stagnation leads to repeated patterns hence we need to allow for flexibility. Working hours are flexible, but work output is a mandate. They even allow work from home if their staff can deliver their best in that setting. In fact, providing flexibility, freedom to work, and targets to design is what makes her employees love working at Design Studio. Sonal swears by creating a work environment that has music, food, and fun. By making everyone’s ideas feel heard, she ensures that Design Studio is a fun, safe space to create and ideate.
Competitive advantage
On being asked about her competitive advantage, she smiles and says, “My smile and my honesty.” But what makes Design Studio stand apart from other businesses in the same field is their creativity and consistent delivery of results.
They employ various marketing strategies, but in particular, promotion by word of mouth and clients referring them to others has been a major asset for them. Sonal highlights that ‘Honesty, clarity, and transparency of work ethics’ is what makes their clients put in their trust and choose to work with Design Studio.
Business Challenges and Success
Being the problem solver she is, she answers that challenges are most welcome – “I can seek and hunt for opportunities, tackle challenges. That’s how I grew from zero to 700 plus projects.” She takes tremendous pleasure in her work. But it doesn’t matter if it’s hard work or a lot of work, she works because she loves her work.
Work Life Balance
She acknowledges that this is a tricky question as she does stumble while trying to manage this balance at times. Now, with experience and learning she has found her magic number – 3:6:9(=12) i.e., 3 hours for reading, 6 hours for her family, and 9 hours for social events. This formula has allowed her to find the balance she needs and works well for her.
Outside of work, she enjoys meeting her friends, playing with children, grocery shopping. And also walks amidst mother nature- the inspiration and motivation behind all her creativity. Circling back to reading time, she is currently enjoying the book ‘Conscious Living.’
Future Goals
Sonal’s larger vision and goal are to establish a Design Studio at a Global Level- “I love my country and its diversity of design language. Working across different cultures is a vision.”
In the next 10 years, she hopes to make her mark globally as an internationally acclaimed designer of Indian origin.
Message to New Entrepreneurs
Dream and work towards it. If you can dream it, you can achieve it.
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