Ramita Anand, founder of Elevate.RA mentoring services. Mother of two, teacher, entrepreneur, podcast host and most recently an author. Born and raised in Vancouver, CA, she spent her first few years of teaching as part of a bigger adventure by moving to London and working in inner-city schools. With over 15 years of classroom based teaching experience, including six in learning support departments in diverse schools, her aim is always to work from a child-led approach.
When not teaching, Ramita is fond of spending time with her family and friends over food and music. She enjoys biking, yoga, and discovering new places for exploration.
When did you start your business?
I launched my business in September 2020.
What was the inspiration behind starting this business?
The experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today: the grief of losing her mother as a teen, the lessons gained from teaching students for over 15 years in schools internationally and the unquestionably wild ride of being a mother of two amazing children. The service is an 8-week mentorship program, focusing on five key attributes of confidence, resilience, empathy, emotional intelligence, and kindness. Traditional schools typically offer outstanding academic curricula but work reactively with girls experiencing obstacles and self-doubt, negatively impacting their mental health.
I developed a set of preventative skills that help the girls she works with navigate the tricky bumps of being a young adolescent. Elevate.RA’s mission is to ensure that every girl, regardless of her upbringing, learning profile, or difference has access to the tools she needs to accept herself for who she is and build up the armour of tools she can rely on to strive to be her best self. The programme supports girls to develop a growth mindset, take risks, speak up, ask WHY, chase their dreams, and celebrate not fear failure. These stepping stones to success will ultimately help our girls grow up to be the leaders and members of our society we can be proud of.
What are you most excited about in your business?
The fact that the work I am doing is shaping the views of girls around the world and providing parents, carers, educators tools with which they can enhance the ways young girls will define the future.
What has been the most challenging thing about starting your business?
I think the fact that the planning of it began before the global pandemic and while having the launch during lockdown meant I was able to reach girls across the globe, it also presented with a set of whole new the issues that we needed to address which were very particular to the lockdown repercussions, such as online school, uptake in device and social media, loneliness, grief and sadness of losing loved ones, separation and family divorce – which is also apparent in pre pandemic times, but the intensity and frequency with which parents shared these concerns was amplified in my experience. The shock and uncertainty of so much for young adolescent girls was a lot to take on for them and their carers. It meant I reshaped a lot of the lesson planning especially in the resilience modules to make these skills more relevant to what was going on in the world in front of us.
What advice would you give to other women thinking about starting a business?
If it’s something you love, it will never feel like work, your passion will take over and you’ll enjoy every minute of it. And don’t let fear or nerves hold you back, the best things in life are worth feeling a little scared over. You can only regret the things you don’t try – so try it out and see where it takes you!
Why did you enter the AusMumpreneur Awards?
Mainly to connect with other like-minded women, be inspired by what other are creating and putting out into the world and learn from each other.
What did you enjoy the most about being part of the awards?
The wonderful empowerment felt amongst the candidates whether finalists, winners or nominees – there is wonderful sense of community among the group, and I loved being part of that.
How did the awards help you in your business?
It offers a huge sense of pride and accomplishment to be recognised and provides you with greater fuel to keep going even on days when it may not feel like you are actually achieving what you set out to or are not yet where you wanted to be. It has provided me with even more drive, as the encouragement from many others- not only those within my industry, with whom I have shared these awards with has been so kind and complimentary which means a lot when you are a new entrepreneur. It is also adding credibility for the work I am doing while creating new opportunities for me.
What advice would you give to other mums thinking about entering the awards?
Don’t over think it – do it! It’s completely worth every minute of it- even filling out the application forms only solidifies what you do each day into words and seeing those words can be hugely impactful and powerful – sometimes we are too close to our business, so taking a step back and thinking about what you have created can be instrumental for our own reflections on the progress we have made.
What has been the best thing about starting your own business?
The freedom it has given me to plan, target lessons and learning outcomes, reach families around the world, many of whom are now important connections and people in my life. Being a role model for my own daughter who is a teenager and able to appreciate how we don’t always have to be defined by one career or stick to what we might have thought we’d like to do at university or even in our 30’s – I am in my 40’s and learning new tricks every day. Being a lifelong learner and having the curiosity to learn and evolve are skills we should never outgrow – I am very excited by this.
What’s happening next in your business?
I have just written a book that is being launched next month, I am excited to get that out. I have a few collaborations in the pipeline and a new project with a school in Canada being planned at the moment which I am delighted about.
What are your big plans for the future?
Taking each day as it comes so not planning too far into the future but dreaming – always dreaming. I am working hard to make some or any of them a reality – watch this space!
What is your website and/or social media links (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
https://www.facebook.com/elevateRA.edu/
https://www.instagram.com/elevate.ra/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC_ya6iw0B3KDVVm1d28EoQ
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramitaanand/
https://www.pinterest.com/elevatera/_saved/
