We were lucky to catch up with Rojina Pradhan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rojina, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I came here to the U.S. when I was 19 to pursue my undergraduate studies. I was naive and did a year of schooling as an Accounting major. If I had stuck to my study plans, I would have finished my degree and gotten a 9-5 corporate job. But, I wanted to make an income, be financially independent and wanted to explore parts of myself and the country too. So, I made the decision to move to Dallas, Texas with my friends. I enjoyed the city life and saw + learned from the people there. I had a community of Nepalese friends whom I could lean on for support. Oct 2019, a one week casual trip to California turned out to be magical. And I decided with my then-roommate that we would move to the Bay Area. I transferred to a community college and then to a four year college. I had already changed majors back in Texas and now was pursuing International Business. Being an international student myself and learning different languages in Duolingo, I loved learning about diverse cultures around the world.

I was introduced to an online business in March 2021, that opened doors to social media. My beauty business helped me get out of my comfort zone, talk to new people, make connections online, learn about leadership, faith, spirituality and I started working on my mindset. I got into a really bad car accident a couple months later and was about to quit. But, the community of like-minded entrepreneurs whom I had only known for two months, encouraged and taught me not to lose hope.

I was interested in public speaking and creative storytelling since high school, but hadn’t gotten a chance to explore those creative avenues then. After working on my business after a year and a half, I found my calling in life coaching. I figured I could help others through my story and voice. I love being creative on camera and sharing my experiences about living life abroad. Along the way, I have lost friend groups but also called people whose values and missions aligned with mine. Along the way, me and my close friend started a podcast last year and released bi-weekly episodes. The podcast is where we share our stories through video and audio content. We have invited five guests on our podcast and plan to bring on guests who have a STORY to tell.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into life coaching industry when I realized the power of a coach, mentor in my healing journey. As a first gen BIPOC immigrant, I believe my lived experinces in the U.S will empower others like me. I moved to U.S. when I was 19. I didn’t have the necessary support system to help me adjust my life in the U.S. I was the first one in my family to move abroad for studies and it was tough navigating the intricacies of the system, culture, schooling, adulting all by yourself without a support system. My mental and physical health took a toll after a couple years of moving abroad. But I didn’t give up. I stayed resilient and pushed through those tough times. I had friends by my side who themselves were navigating life abroad.

Looking back, I don’t know how I did that. But I am grateful to my 19 year old self, for not giving up on me. I have lived int he U.S for about eight years now, and still learning the nuances of being an immigrant in a foreign land. I am motivated to mentor and coach others who are going through the same experiences. Being alone in a foreign place can be tough. I want immigrants who move abroad for a new life, to feel supported and heard.

Currently, I serve BIPOC immigrants of mixed and undocumented status all over the U.S. I offer my coaching services where I help my clients feel seen, supported and help them adjust to living life abroad. I offer 1:1 coaching (on the basis of where they are at in their healing journey) and will be launching my 8-week cohort based program in February this year. I also offer card reading (crystal and Plant Spirit) guides on a sliding scale basis. I offer services in Nepali and English.

My services revolve around my brand pillars: intentionality, energy work, collaboration, collective healing. I believe in creating a healthy relationship between my clients and me. My approach to coaching is different as I will be supporting them 1:1 in their journey together with them. I also participate in the group coaching program myself by following the action items, reflections with my clients. I believe that as a coach, I need to be learning and investing in myself as well. My pricing reflects my work and effort I’ve put into crafting these programs. I take my clients on this transformation journey where at the end of my program, they leave feeling empowered, inspired and motivated to pursue their passion in a new place. I focus on limiting beliefs, mindset, healing the inner child and go deep into the client’s needs to help them in their healing journey.

I am most proud of building my personal brand online. I have grown a community on Instagram where I send constant reminders about living life intentionally through my reels and video content. I am also proud of our podcast community and the growth we have seen this past year. I have created a wholesome community where people come together and share their experiences. I believe there’s power in collective healing. One thing I learned from 2023 is being in proximity with your community and learning from the shared experiences. My personal brand revolves about intentional living, personal development, collaboration, collective healing and digital storytelling.

I see myself being a holistic life coach who helps immigrants find passion in living their life abroad.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As a creator from the BIPOC community, I have felt that there’s not a lot of exposure and space for creators from the community to thrive. I am grateful to be living in the Bay Area, where there’s pockets of community I can lean on for support. For my BIPOC creatives living in other states, I want them to have access to these resources. I didn’t know there were creatives who were working towards the same goals and mission as me when I started my journey. I did my research and found the community by reaching out to multiple people in shared spaces. Having virtual workshops around this topic where creatives and artists come together would be helpful. I want to see more creators from the BIPOC community in the limelight.

I have learned that not everyone has the same healing practices. So, for creatives looking to get in their work flow, I would recommend them to spend 10-15 minutes with themselves and let ideas flow. Also, trying different self care and healing practices to figure out what works and doesn’t work for yourself. I have been the one to pick self-help books as a healing practice but I recently heard in a podcast from a creative director that reading fiction helps us be more creative as it stretches our imagination! And staying in community of like-minded creators also helps in terms of resource and opportunity sharing.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a long game and for those who are just starting to build their social presence, I would tell them not to give up on their second or third month. I started my social media journey when I opened my online beauty business on 2021. I learned about social media, leadership, branding, storytelling and many more through the trainings given to us at that time. I was shy and hesitant to talk about the products or even make reels at the time. I kept an open mind on learning to make reels, video edits, take pictures and public speaking. I am grateful that I took the leap and started the business.

I consistently grew my following from 1200 to 3400 in a span of two years organically. As long as you show up as who you are and put effort in your branding (work smart not hard), it will be worth it. I am building my social media presence for my podcast and it has been a journey. I am focusing on serving and adding value to my existing followers rather than chasing the numbers.I would advise not to get attached to the follower numbers, it’s about how many people you impact. I would focus on having a service mindset rather than on the logistics. Having less followers who trust + know you and buy your services is better than having huge following and people not knowing what you offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beacons.ai/rojinayahh
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rojinayahh
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rozna.pradhan
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rojina-pradhan-458445bb
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@rojinayahh