Juggling careers: Bengaluru-based graphic designer is also a fitness entrepreneur

Her 13-year-old daughter is a trained ballet and Bharatanatyam dancer, an artist, avid cook and the prefect of her school. Her 78-year-old grandmother still runs errands, goes grocery shopping and innovates food recipes. Clearly, multitasking runs in 36-year-old Darshana Nahata's family .

When not designing logos for apps with cloud consulting firm GreyNubo, Nahata is planning the menu and fitness programmes at her health studio.

“Sustaining two successful careers in today's highly-competitive environment gives me satisfaction. Learning every day is the key to inner happiness,“ says Nahata, a commerce graduate and a trained utsa artist (traditional Rajasthani art made with red sand, water and gold foil). She also sells her abstract acrylic artwork at flea markets like Soul Sante and Chitra Santhe.

The juggle started a year ago when Nahata earned an online degree in graphic design and joined the consulting firm. Simultaneously , a discussion with a like minded cousin fuelled her childhood passion for nutri-gourmet food and yoga. That prompted her health and spa café Enerjuvate.

“Office clients take me seriously now,“ she notes. In return, her graphic design career helped her set up the studio on a shoe-string budget. “Mason jars make the chandelier. Leftover lids became tasteful wall décor. Printing menus became easy. Setting up the café was an artistic journey,“ says Nahata.

The partnership business model of the health studio and the freedom to do her graphics work from home did the trick. “Time management tops the skill list in today's busy lives. Pursuing a job is easy but following your dream is a challenge. One should take the risk. If nothing, you will learn something along the journey .“

Nahata now plans to scale up her studio through a franchisee model. A Vietnamese or Thai restaurant is on her mind too. “Life does not give too many opportunities. Once it knocks on your door, grab it,“ is her advice.