Parita Kuttappan
Parita Kuttappan is a certified professional coach.
She tells us that, “I work with working women, working moms, and the organizations that employ them. My coachees experience everything from burnout, guilt, and overwhelm to feeling stuck in their current personal and/or professional life. I help them go from where they are today to where they want to be in the future. My ultimate goal is to help all of my coachees make their 80 year old selves proud. I am also a mom of two young kids, Kaiden who’s 7 and Mila who’s 2.5.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your professional journey and what inspired you to choose this career.
I am the oldest daughter of immigrant parents who moved to the US from India in the early 1980s. We lived with and near extended family, so Indian culture was a big part of my life growing up (food, movies, dance, etc.). I was always interested in psychology, relationships, and human behavior, however, when I got to college I decided to major in Finance because it was the most practical choice. Eventually, I shifted careers into Human Resources, which aligned more to my interests. When I had the opportunity to go though coach training, I took it, and fast forward a few years, I’m now a coach who gets to think about psychology, relationships and human behavior for a living.
Was there any turning point in your life that changed your journey? If so, what was it? Please tell us the backstory behind it.
I think the biggest turning point for me was when my husband asked me what I wanted out of my career. Up until that point, I never thought about what I wanted. I always thought about what my parents wanted and expected or what I needed to do to support my family or what would sound and look good to others. But when my husband pushed me to think about me, that’s when coaching and entrepreneurship entered my life and everything changed.
Tell us about your goals, interests, and role models.
My personal goal at this time is to read more on a daily basis. I’m a true bookworm and have been all my life. Reading, both fiction and non-fiction books, brings me the utmost joy! My professional goals are to increase the number of speaking engagements I participate in, work with more corporate clients to reach more women, and to write a book one day. My interests include exercising, making healthy desserts, and spending quality time with my friends and family, especially my two kids! My current role models are the women in my life who juggle professional ambitions with personal responsibilities. It’s a true inspiration to watch my sister and friends pursue their goals while also raising children and doing everything that goes along with that.
Everyone has their own set of challenges when starting an entrepreneurial journey. Still, the most essential part for others to learn is how you deal with those. Would you like to share with us your challenges and your coping mechanisms?
The biggest challenge in my entrepreneurial journey so far has been shifting from a corporate team environment where your role and responsibilities are carved out for you to being a team of one where I wear all the hats AND also juggle being the primary parent to two young kids. I used to get really frustrated and feel helpless. But now I implement stricter boundaries around my time, I do a lot of preplanning and thinking around the things I need/want to do in my business, and I also outsource as much of the housework as I can. It’s not a perfect solution and the struggle to ‘do it all and do it well’ is still there, but by giving myself grace, being flexible, and creating the ecosystem I need to do my best work, I am getting there.
What impact do you feel you have been able to create with your work so far and how would you want to grow in the next few years?
My greatest impact so far in my work as a coach has been to help women feel seen and to co-create a space for them to think about what they want and their personal plan of action. I’m helping women move past the idea of martyrdom and into a world where they matter just as much as anyone else in their lives. My only goal with regards to this is to reach more and more women with this message.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I want all women, regardless of professional roles or family status, to have a chance to think about and prioritize their dreams, desires and joy. I want all women to feel like they can pursue hobbies, passions, and careers for their own fulfillment because I truly believe healthier women (in all aspects) equal healthier families, workplaces and communities.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women’s leadership today?
Personally, I think we’ve come a long way in terms of women’s leadership and also that we have quite a ways to go. In order to keep women in the workforce, we need better and more affordable childcare options, we need stronger maternity and paternity leave policies, and we need to have more open conversations about equality and the second shift women take on at home. I also think companies will benefit from moving away from a pseudo productivity model that centers around face time to allowing people to get their job done in the way that works best for them.
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
My simple answer would be to constantly think about that 80 year old version of yourself and ask, “Am I making her proud?” We only get this one big, beautiful, unpredictable life. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Prioritize yourself and what you want however you can every single day. You deserve that and so do your loved ones.