Inspired by this amazing blog, I was hoping to have a fortnightly interview series on this blog. The series would feature entrepreneurs from a variety of different fields and sectors and would aim at chronicling their journeys from having a job to creating jobs.
Since I wanted the series to start of with a BANG - I was hoping to get Adriano Zumbo, (The crazy inventive pastry chef from Masterchef) to be my first interviewee. I quickly presumed this was going to be a hard task and that I might have to do some cold calling/stalking on Facebook fan pages/friend on twitter, to ensure this dream was a reality. Before I even began my quest, I remember telling myself that as an entrepreneur I needed to be comfortable stepping out of my comfort zone...so it was ok to cold call, it was ok to stalk etc..
After an entire day of having long debates inside my head, and throwing up thoughts of abandoning the project - I decided to stop thinking so much and just contact the man. I quickly did some research online and found an email address that, maybe, just maybe would reach him. I wrote up a quick email, changed it and re-changed it over a million times and finally sent it away.
I told myself that a man so famous, would get a million emails like the one I just sent and if I did not receive a reply in 48 hours, I shouldn't be disappointed. instead I should take it as an opportunity to device an alternative/more creative way to reach him. Needless to say i spent the evening plotting my strategy to contact Zumbo.
As I checked my emails the next morning, my mind abuzz with crazy ways to reach the man, I saw an email from a name I did not recognise, I opened it - and to my surprise it was an email from Zumbo's personal assistant.
I couldn't believe it. I had made contact - OMG.
And so ladies and gentleman, through this little adventure/challenge, I learnt one of life's big lessons, if you want something - sometime, all you have to do is ask :)
In fact, When starting a company/new project you frequently have to ask people for things -- introductions, advice, a meeting, sponsorship, money, etc. Its how the entrepreneurial world runs - so if nothing else, learn to be comfortable with asking for things.
Oh and yes, my first Infinite Inspiration's Interviewee will be the King of Pastry himself Adriano Zumbo.
Since I wanted the series to start of with a BANG - I was hoping to get Adriano Zumbo, (The crazy inventive pastry chef from Masterchef) to be my first interviewee. I quickly presumed this was going to be a hard task and that I might have to do some cold calling/stalking on Facebook fan pages/friend on twitter, to ensure this dream was a reality. Before I even began my quest, I remember telling myself that as an entrepreneur I needed to be comfortable stepping out of my comfort zone...so it was ok to cold call, it was ok to stalk etc..
After an entire day of having long debates inside my head, and throwing up thoughts of abandoning the project - I decided to stop thinking so much and just contact the man. I quickly did some research online and found an email address that, maybe, just maybe would reach him. I wrote up a quick email, changed it and re-changed it over a million times and finally sent it away.
I told myself that a man so famous, would get a million emails like the one I just sent and if I did not receive a reply in 48 hours, I shouldn't be disappointed. instead I should take it as an opportunity to device an alternative/more creative way to reach him. Needless to say i spent the evening plotting my strategy to contact Zumbo.
As I checked my emails the next morning, my mind abuzz with crazy ways to reach the man, I saw an email from a name I did not recognise, I opened it - and to my surprise it was an email from Zumbo's personal assistant.
I couldn't believe it. I had made contact - OMG.
And so ladies and gentleman, through this little adventure/challenge, I learnt one of life's big lessons, if you want something - sometime, all you have to do is ask :)
In fact, When starting a company/new project you frequently have to ask people for things -- introductions, advice, a meeting, sponsorship, money, etc. Its how the entrepreneurial world runs - so if nothing else, learn to be comfortable with asking for things.
Oh and yes, my first Infinite Inspiration's Interviewee will be the King of Pastry himself Adriano Zumbo.
3 comments:
WELL DONE Rohini! The power of asking!
If you are interested, I would love to feature your interview on RealAcad Mondays as well. Do just send me a note on my email if you think that's a good idea and happy to figure out how we can make it work. (and share learnings from my limited experience as well) :-)
PS: I see you have enabled the mobile version of your blog. Might be worth checking with your readers if they find it very useful. I took it off after a while because Disqus doesn't show up.. So I had 2 different comment threads (one on google comments and one on Disqus). In this case, I got here by clicking on 'view web version'
Thanks Rohan! you were my inspiration :) And yes, I would absolutely love to be part of your 'RealAcad' Mondays. I'll send you an email this afternoon.
Aslo, I am not sure how exactly to enable both disqus and google comments. I'll send you an email about that too..and perhaps you can help guide me!
Sounds like a plan. Let's chat over email!
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