Sonal Chhibber is an Indian-born and Dubai-based Social Media Influencer and Mompreneur. She is the founder of ‘Living_life_on_own_terms lifestyle blog, which is now considered one of the most loved Lifestyle blogs in Dubai. Sonal is the winner of 10 poetry contests and is currently nominated for the SHE Best Writer/Poetess Award, Best Blogger & Most Fashionable Influencer Award, Best Model award & prestigious Filmfare Changemaker of the year, Travel Blogger & Wellness Icon Awards, UAE. Her articles and blogs have been published in various digital publications in the UK, USA, South Africa, India, and the Middle East. As an influencer, she has worked with various leading brands in the Lifestyle & Fitness segment. A staunch believer of the “women empowering women” principle. Through her blogs and social media, she especially strives to support and empower moms all over the world! She is an acclaimed writer and exemplary motivational speaker too. She is known for her literary, travel, fashion, and lifestyle content. Along with books and beauty, she shares her blogs on traveling and makes her viewers see different places across the world through her eyes. She is the new age social media star predominantly on Instagram. She inspires and promotes women from all walks of life across the world. Her motto is to empower and support women globally. Writing is her passion. She believes it’s never too late to begin and make your dreams into reality. Her dream is to leave a noteworthy legacy behind, as she believes one should contribute to society, much more than one takes from it. She wants to motivate & encourage women, help those who need to find themselves and pursue their passion in life. That’s her mission of life now!
Tell us about who you are and what you do.
Hi all, I am Sonal Chhibber. I am an Author, Motivational Speaker, Travel Blogger, Wellness Influencer, Mompreneur, and most importantly a Mother. I am an Indian ex-pat living in Dubai for the past 13 yrs with my husband and 3 lovely kids. Educationally, I have a degree in Business Management and Teaching and had a successful career in the Corporate & educational sector, before taking a career break to balance out my family life. While I love being at home & spending quality time with my family, still a side of me was looking to venture out. That is when I decided to pursue my passion for writing. After winning a writing contest by Khaleej Times, my inputs started getting featured in reputed newspapers, magazines, websites, books, radio, TV & blog portals in Dubai, India, UK, the USA, and South Africa. This got me much needed appreciation, acknowledgment, and respect. So, with encouragement from my family, I decided to follow my dreams and #BustAMyth that women who have taken a career break are less ambitious or committed to their work. As I enjoy writing, communicating, and connecting with people and love to pen down my thoughts, I started my personal blog to share my inputs & experiences, and unleashed my passion for becoming an Author and released my books, and became a renowned Writer. My favorite self-authored book has been ‘Living life on your own terms’. This ideology is the basic foundation of my life and the cornerstone of my Instagram blog aptly titled @living_life_on_own_terms as I truly believe in living life on my own terms and encourage others to do the same. I believe in live & let live. I seek to inspire and empower all, especially women.
Tell us how you created this brand and what was the sole idea behind it?
Well, I always believe when you discover something wonderful, one must share it with others, hence, I decided to share my life’s journey, milestones, and lessons with all, especially women, so that moms like me get encouraged to fight back & not give up their dreams after marriage, kids & career break. So, the basic idea to start my blog @living_life_on_own_terms was to inspire and promote women from all walks of life across the world. My motto is to empower and support women globally. I write regularly about women empowerment, parenting, ex-pat life, self-care, beauty, wellness, fashion, relationship, mindfulness, spirituality, and travel. I’m passionate about writing, traveling, teaching, wellness & being ‘The Changemaker of Society.’ I try to give my 100 % in everything and never give up. I have always loved the way I want and stand for the right issues, no matter what. So, via my blog @living_life_on_own_terms, I hope strong women join me in this amazing journey and together we create magic & sweet memories!
Go in detail and tell us about how your brand works. You may keep this from the audience’s perspective.
Pandemic has adversely affected our lives in many ways. Still, I try to stay positive & do my best. Currently nominated for the Best Writer/Poetess Award, Best Blogger Award, Best Model, Social Media Star award, Change Maker of the year award, Travel blogger award, Wellness Icon Award, Most Fashionable Influencer award, UAE, etc. Looking forward to attending Filmfare Social night as I’m nominated for awards in many categories & be a special guest at Entrepreneur India’s Influencer Summit and Awards’2021. Also, currently, I’m working on my new book, ‘Sonal’s Travel Notebook’…13 countries in 13 years. As an influencer, I’m working with various leading brands in the Lifestyle & Fitness segment in Dubai. A staunch believer of the “women empowering women” principle, through my blogs and social media, I’m striving to support and empower moms all over the globe. Along with my books & philanthropy work, I plan to share more blogs on traveling and make my viewers see different places across the world through my eyes virtually, as due to Covid19, we all are facing restrictions in regards to travel. Also, many motivational videos will be uploaded on my youtube channel ‘Sona Shines’ to motivate people of all ages & zones. Lastly, this year I have taken the plunge to be a Mompreneur & started my Label “S”…Gifts with “Soulful” messages @Sonalz_Soulful_Selection on Instagram, the proceeds will be donated for a charity. Idea is to create empathy and give back to society & uplift people in these difficult times by contributing to a noble cause & divine purpose.
What is your giveaway idea through this interview? Highlight something that may interest the readers on a one to one basis.
I have always believed in this saying “Die with memories, not dreams”. I am glad to have achieved my dreams within this lifetime of mine. I’m glad to be interviewed by @ceomedium for their magazine. This platform interviews young entrepreneurs internationally and I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen for this opportunity. I am so overwhelmed to be featured by @ceomedium, sharing my passion and journey with people all around the globe. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk about my journey as an Influencer/Mompreneur, the challenges I faced, and some tips that I can give to people who would like to commence their career as a Blogger/Homepreneur. I would like to thank my Family for being major support in helping me to achieve my dreams, all my followers for their love, and digital platforms like @ceomedium for giving me global coverage. Time to ‘Rise and Shine.’
Explain the challenges you went through while you were working on brand creation. What are the challenges you go through on an everyday basis?
I struggle with self-doubt and funds just like any other influencer & shepreneur out there. There are good and bad days, and the fear of failing is overwhelming when it comes to brand creation and sales. Nevertheless, I work on myself and my blog every day to inspire all. It took me years to gain self-confidence and to not take negative feedback adversely. I was scared to take risks. Routine job & being a homemaker seemed more comfortable. But, I took a leap of faith & decided to step out of my comfort zone & not give up on my passion. Having worked in the corporate and education sector for a long, blogging was and is still a challenge for me. Still, I try to give my 100 % and never give up. Writing, Teaching and Wellness are the areas I’m passionate about. I believe in living life on my own terms. “Living life on your own terms” simply means the ability to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling to you. It means being able to enjoy quality time with your family, while also having a purpose-filled career that provides financial freedom. It also means having the time, freedom, and flexibility to pursue the things that matter most to you. “Never give up on your dreams. It’s difficult to wait, but it is more difficult to regret.”
How do you manage your finances through the services you offer. Any fundings etc received?
I used my savings and funds from my sessions as a Trainer, also social media promotion & representation to provide enough opportunities to grow. With brand sponsorships, influencers like me can get good offers, while enjoying what I do. It can be daunting at times, but in the end, it’s worth it!
Tell us your future vision about the brand. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level?
I think it’s essential to find inspiration from your own life and spiritual experiences. Having been an avid traveler, I observe places, people, surroundings, real-life incidents, deep conversations & divine connect with nature; to form my opinions & thoughts, which helps me to churn out meaningful & relevant content in form of inspirational poems, motivational articles, empowering videos, travel & wellness blogs, exemplary books, meaningful gifts, etc.; which connects my followers, readers & viewers to my social media accounts and helps me build a personal & long-term relationship with them as I’ve learned ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’
What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?
Today, social media holds massive power in educating, inspiring as well as entertaining people. This has increased the opportunity for many creators and influencers to engage with their fans with their unique content. Apart from creating content, influencers also use social media platforms to network and stay updated with the upcoming trends. Nowadays, there are many virtual events to connect and bring influencers, bloggers, and creators who love to share a part of themselves on social media, together. There are many events for appreciating creators and influencers for their hard work with prestigious awards. Recognizing and encouraging those who stand out in this booming industry of content creation is now imperative! Back in the olden days, only real influencers or role models were the few selective Movie stars and Sportsmen, because no one else was that big. Over the last few years, with the advent of social media, almost every one of us wants to be and is a potential influencer at some level. Imagine so many influencers influencing the young generation in so many ways! ‘With great power comes great responsibility’, so I feel privileged to be called at events as a speaker & motivator for new and budding entrepreneurs & Influencers to network and grow. In my opinion, Dubai is a ‘land of dreams’ and the ideal place to grow & prosper for all influencers & creative people. I would say the future of influencing on social media is quite bright & influencers are here to stay! Thank you @ceomedium for counting me as a global achiever and giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my influencer journey with my viewers. I would like to conclude by saying “Aspire to Inspire before you Expire”. Time to ‘Rise and Shine!’
–Sonal Chhibber (Change Maker of the year, Wellness Icon, Travel Blogger, Social Media Star & Shepreneur).
Get in touch with Sonal on
Website URL: www.livinglifeonownterms.wixsite.com/sonalchhibber
Instagram: www.instagram.com/living_life_on_own_terms, www.instagram.com/sonalz_soulful_selection
YouTube: ‘Sona Shines’- www.youtube.com/c/SonalChhibber