SPARK ON WITH NEELU

I am so stoked to have the very talented Kuslum Kunwa as a guest on my latest episode of Spark On With Neelu podcast! She's an acclaimed food and lifestyle photographer based in Kuwait. I have been following her work since she started her blog journeykitchen.com and has seen her grow leaps and bounds. We chat about food photography, of course, how she manages her freelance business with two children, the must have tool(s) in a budding food photographer's kit etc. I know I say this about...

In this brand new episode of Spark On With Neelu, I am chatting with my good friend and watercolor artist Zakkiya Hamza of Inkstruck Studio. I came across Zakiya’s work a couple of years ago and was smitten by her watercolor tutorials. Her blog posts will make you want to grab a paint brush right next second! She’s a force to reckon with in the watercolor world and it is truly an honor to have her as my guest. Download and listen to the full episode to find out more about this talented...

If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know about my love for staying organized. But is organizing only about making lists and keeping our workspace clutter free, or is there more to it? In the latest episode of Spark On With Neelu, I chat with my good friend and blogger Mel Carruthers of More Organised about making space in our lives for what really matters.

"Entrepreneurship half of the time is problem-solving." - Tahir Shah, Moti Roti I met Tahir and his Mother at one of the Ripe markets when they had just started Moti Roti. They have come so far from having a kiosk in the building Tahir worked at, to being vendors at various markets and now a restaurant of their own. How has the journey been? To find out, please download the episode and listen at your convenience. PS. We were recording the episode at the restaurant when the staff was busy...

My guest Arva Ahmed, founder of the very first food tour company in the region talks about everything from food writing and research to being one of the pioneers in food tourism. We chat about her journey of setting up Frying Pan Adventures, about collaboration, where to find inspiration, her experience with Andrew Zimmern on Bizarre Food and about her upcoming podcast among several other things. She also has a bit to say about the lavish Iftar buffets and what we can do to contribute to the...

My one little word for 2017 is 'Bold'. Around October last year, something happened in my work life and I felt knocked down. Unfortunately, I can't share what it was for personal reasons. It sort of put me in a weird and dark place. This was also few months after my youngest was born and I was getting adjusted to this 'mother of three' gig. One might think that having a third child makes us more prepared as we have experience at parenting. It sort of does but having a newborn to take care of...

It’s not every day you get to interview an entrepreneur like Dina! She’s a mother of two and is the founder of one of the best interior design firms in Dubai - DZ Design! We sat in her office in the very stylish Dubai Design District chatting about Motherhood, running a business, creativity, where to look for inspiration, what success means to her, Mom guilt, and the list goes on. This was both a fun and a very inspiring conversation that I so did not want to end. Working Mother or not, this...

In this episode Sally and I, chat about blogging, finding inspiration, what small businesses owners like me can do in terms of Influencer Marketing etc. Sally has some advice for new (and old) bloggers, and there's a bit about street photography as well! You can really hear how passionate Sally is about her work and what she does. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. You can reach Sally via her blog - www.mycustardpie.com. Her Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter...

Since this is my first episode, I am would like to share 5 ways to be a better small business owner! These are my life lessons as a small business owner of five years. #5 Call your business, just that 'a business'. Often times, new business owners are shy to term their work as a business. Let me tell you something if you do not own what you do and give it the respect it deserves, trust me, no one else will. #4 Keep your commitments. When we are just starting out and looking for work, we...