We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Bhatnagar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I think the greatest compliment I can receive is when someone says I remind them of my father. He is truly the kindest man I know and is everything I am today. He instilled values of empathy, compassion, and kindness within me. Growing up, my big brother and I would help around at our family’s small restaurant after school. On hot summer days, I watched the way my parents would give a customer a complimentary water bottle, cut up fruit for a couple with young children, or insist it was okay if someone was a few dollars short on their bill. Even though these were the very things that would make us lose profit, they were also the things that made them the incredible entrepreneurs they are today. I wanted to be exactly like them. They taught me that you can never become poor by giving. If there is a chance to give, give.
Emily, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My dad is my very best friend. Growing up shy as a little girl, he was the one person I could talk to and we were inseparable. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with stage four thyroid cancer when I was a sophomore in high school. Soon after I witnessed him nearly lose his battle with cancer on my 16th birthday, I began For Love & Buttercup. Between my increased responsibilities at my family’s small bread shop, tube-feeding my father during my ten-minute breaks between virtual classes, monitoring his medical needs, overcoming anxiety and an eating disorder, and taking over finance for the family business as I prepared to be listed as my father’s beneficiary, I was eventually hospitalized from exhaustion and made it my goal to give back in honor of him and all of the incredible doctors who helped him in his recovery.
For Love & Buttercup is a book drive initiative that spreads hope by gifting books to children and teens undergoing cancer treatment. Ever since its start in July 2021, I have donated approximately 20,000 books to hospitals. These books have contributed to increased literacy rates in children that fell due to the pandemic, and especially for children with chronic illnesses that are spending lots of time in hospitals and aren’t able to have an education that is easily accessible.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I definitely think I have approached my initiative a little differently as a member of Gen Z! Even though I have heard so many millennials advise against it in a professional setting, I’m a naturally bubbly and feminine person and I love when people see that. I want to be my true, most authentic self when I’m working with someone, and I think that’s part of the reason my project has been successful. For example, I remember emailing The Washington Post and using tons of exclamation marks and smiley face emojis when my article came out because I was so excited. Most people would think, “WHAT?! Don’t ever do that!” But, The Post actually said they loved that. In fact, they begin replying with exclamation marks and smiley faces, too! Especially when an interaction is virtual, like an email, I think it just feels so transactional, robotic, and rigid if that makes sense (however, there are other instances in which I would say you should stay strictly professional! It all just depends on the case). As a Gen Zer, connections are important to me. I think people really appreciate feeling like they’re interacting with a human, and I think empathy is the most important trait someone can have. I think the basis of my brand is empathy. My #1 thing is that I want people to see me as approachable. I have had little girls DM me on Instagram telling me how they read an article about me and I helped them overcome their eating disorder, and then we’ll be chatting like friends! Creating and fostering an environment in which an audience would be comfortable enough to do that is my definition of success.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
You don’t need thousands of dollars to create a brand. When I first began receiving media attention, I felt immensely pressured to invest in materials that would make my brand more professional because in a way, that would therefore mean I “deserved” it more, right? It would feel like a “real” brand. I realized very soon that I was still in the beginning stages, and saving was the most important thing I can do at that time. I use my phone to take nearly all the pictures that are used in news outlets and magazines. I use Pinterest for inspiration and Canva to create ads. I’m still 19 and have so, so much to learn. Trial and error is basically my method. I coordinate and develop relationships with all the hospital philanthropy coordinators I work with for book donations and if there are any contracts involved, I thoroughly research the documents (literally on Google) and all the fancy words they use in it so I really understand what I’m reading! I create my own graphic designs I use for advertisements and the press, schedule all my own photoshoots for the book drive and plan the creative direction for each, am fully responsible for making all the boxes and packing the books into them, sanitizing each and every book (if they’re used and not sealed in plastic wrap), keeping a detailed record of my donations, writing handwritten notes for the children with cancer, delivering the boxes of books into hospitals and meeting the children, networking, planning out the brand partnerships I take on, and attending meetings for collaborations with authors or influencers. There are days I write over 300 emails a night from my phone! It is very possible to start a brand from your bedroom. The main ingredient is dedication.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/forloveandbuttercup?utm_medium=copy_link
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2RO4Z1P1VD6MU/?ref_=lol_ov_le&filter=all&sort=default&viewType=list
Image Credits
Image 1 (Personal Photo): Grandar Creative Co Image 7: Grandar Creative Co