To start with this is not a sales pitch. For those who know me should know I am not a big fan of ‘Sales Pitches’ anyway!

        If somebody were to ask me a year back if I had any ambition to start my own business, I would have replied in the negative. I have always been a self employed professional and I thought that it would be best to stick to what you know best going forward. Who knew that 4 months later I would end up drafting a 50 page business plan and then actually launching and running a proper business. But then such is life!

I did not think it to be necessary for me to explain my journey of creating This Pampered Life (TPL) but some very generous friends and business partners insisted that I need to talk about my journey. I gave it a thought (many a times) and since TPL is really about enjoying the process and the journey of life, I thought it actually does make sense that I share the story behind TPL

So to start with (again) I can’t quite pin down one particular moment or thought that led to the idea of TPL but I think it has been a series of conversations, a series of moments of self realization and a series of life changing experiences that made me realize that what we really live for are the experiences and the experiences of our life help us evolve in every true sense. It is the experiences that makes our journey worthwhile. The other thought that I have had at different times in my life is that while money does drive us and motivates us, human beings constantly yearn for non monetary appreciation and recognition. And that is when the idea started to come together in my head. I started asking questions like – Why wait for others to appreciate us when we can do that ourselves? Why wait for only special occasions to create special experiences for us when we have the power to turn any mundane day into a spectacular one? Why wait to travel outside your city of work to feel relaxed and beautiful about yourself?

I must admit it took me a few months to build a business plan around this thought and while at that point I was not completely sure about where all leads to, I was loving the journey of discovering and sharing and writing and then sharing some more. Whenever I felt a bit lost and unsure of the idea culminating into a“business” idea, I would close my eyes and think about my life. In fact it is a little exercise I recommend everyone to do. When you close your eyes and think about your life it will all come back to you in a flash (like how we see in the movies) and funnily the moments that will be etched in your memory will be the emotions you felt while you were experiencing something. The other element which will stand out will be the people who you have been close to. You will see flashes of laughter, smiles, conversations, places you have traveled to, special letters, celebratory days, family, friends etc. When you do this little exercise it just helps you realize what is actually important to you as a person! You will realize that it is the experiences of life that matter most to us.

This little exercise would give me a certain level of reassurance. While I always knew the idea has merit the task was to actually get it out there in the open!

It was a culmination of all these thoughts that made me ask a few questions to myself-

• What is it that we actually desire for? A comfortable life or in a more fancy way- A pampered Life?
• And what is a pampered life? It is when we can enjoy the small things in life, it is when we can take some time out to be by ourselves, it is when we can appreciate and recognize who we really are, it is when we can disconnect from the world outside and appreciate the little joys of life. It is a life we can share with our loved ones, when we can try new passions, new cuisines, new sports. A life that is filled with memories of you “being you”.

And that is why This Pampered Life came about. I wanted to create a space where I can design a pampered day (which would hopefully be a start to your pampered life) for anyone and give them the luxury of doing all that I mentioned above. A day created just for you so that it is a ‘dream’ day for you.

My ambition did not stop there, I wanted to make the foundation of the business stronger and that is why I decided to collaborate with local businesses/artists/shops so that I in my micro small way can help promote local talent. And if you are from Leeds you will know we have so so much to offer!

Since the concept is so unique (mostly a first in UK) I did face a lot of challenges (still do) but then as Dad said ‘When there is a will there is always a way’ and I am loving every bit of discovering this ‘way’!

It has been 6 months and I am proud of what I along with my vendors have achieved so far…..the smile and joy on the face of all our Stars (clients) just makes it so worth it! I know I have a long way to go but at the moment I just want to feel happy about TPL. I feel blessed when I see that TPL is doing exactly what it set out to do. It is such an amazing feeling to know that you have indirectly created so many beautiful memories for people, when you have indirectly brought a Mother and Son closer or when you have given an employee the recognition she deserves. It is blissful!

It is a shame that many a times I am unable to share the deeper meaning behind TPL and I am restricted to talk about it in business terms only but then again if I complain I will be ungrateful and that is definitely NOT what TPL stands for!

P.S- I would highly recommend that you take a day off for yourself (regardless of whichever part of the world you belong to) and do the things you love. Give yourself the nurture and care that you give everyone around you. Feel like a Star and enjoy the small luxuries of life