Storyboard18 - To her, with love: Vineeta Singh and Sukhleen Aneja share lessons they learned from their real-life heroes

Two women building and leading startup brands—SUGAR Cosmetics and Good Glamm Group, took away priceless learnings from watching their mothers at work and at home

By Storyboard18

Published: Mar 3, 2022 03:43:00 PM IST

Updated: Mar 3, 2022 04:30:52 PM IST

Vineeta Singh (right) with her mother

The many roles of a woman: Vineeta Singh, CEO and cofounder, SUGAR Cosmetics knows she has big shoes to fill. But she’s learned from the best.

My biggest inspiration has to be my mother, she has truly been my rock since day one.

Her calming presence, patience, constant love and undeterred support have guided me through some very tough times.

Since childhood, she has been my strength and has pushed me to strive for better and establish my mark in the world today. Along with instilling the value of giving back to the society we live in, she ensured to always embody her teachings.

Even after 10 years of her retirement from the Indian Council of Medical Research, at the age of 70, she still teaches young kids from underprivileged backgrounds. She has been an exemplary person to look up to and watching her achieve her set goals and more, has really helped in shaping my view of the world today.

She has always played all her roles so nonchalantly, balancing motherhood and having a career with a fierce determination. Now that I’m in the same position, I can assure you that it really is difficult. It is a lot of hard work and struggle, and it has only gotten me to appreciate her more. I hope that I can live up to her legacy as a mother, and as a woman, because even though I know those are big shoes to fill, I’ve learned from the best.

Storyboard18 - To her, with love: Vineeta Singh and Sukhleen Aneja share lessons they learned from their real-life heroes

Sukhleen Aneja (pictured above) says she has had the privilege to work incredibly talented women

‘Love what you do, else don’t do it’: Sukhleen Aneja, CEO, beauty and FMCG brands business, Good Glamm Group, talks about the woman who showed her how to be passionate about her work

The person who has had a great impact on me personally and professionally would be my mother—Mohinder Aneja. She was a very committed teacher who had great love for her profession. She was curious and loved keeping herself updated to keep pace with her students. One of the greatest lessons I learnt from her was to choose a vocation or profession that one loves. In her words, “Love what you do, else don’t d it.” After all, we spend more hours working than sleeping, and what makes this journey memorable is finding and living your passion.

The second aspect I personally borrowed from her is her unstinting faith and optimism. It is here I realise the importance and power of trust. It is important to have faith in yourself, in your abilities and instil trust in all the people who surround you.

By instilling faith and demonstrating trust, you allow yourself and the team to grow together both in our personal and professional lives. Both these lessons held me in good stead.

I had the privilege to work with some incredibly talented women and really wish each one of us can help make other women succeed.

‘To her, with love’ is a Storyboard18 special series where women in leadership tell us about the women who inspired them and led the way. A shout-out to her.