306: Building From Scratch (Twice): What Failure Taught Me About Success

What if you didn’t have to choose between building a successful business and being present in your life?

In this episode of Call Me CEO, I sit down with Arvi Carkanji, founder and CEO of Elite Talent Recruiting, a boutique headhunting firm helping high-growth startups hire top-tier talent.

But Arvi’s story isn’t a straight path to success.

She moved to the United States at 17 with no safety net, put herself through college cleaning houses and babysitting, built a business that failed… and then made the decision to start over.

And this time, she built differently.

In just a few years, she’s grown a thriving business with a 92% retention rate and become a trusted partner to founders and executives—but what makes this conversation so powerful isn’t just the success.

It’s the honesty.

We talk about failure, starting from scratch, competing in a saturated industry, and the very real tension of building a business while raising a child.

If you’ve ever wondered if you can really “have both”… this episode will give you a grounded, honest perspective on what that actually looks like.

Connect with Arvi:

• Website:  Elite Talent Recruiting
• LinkedIn:  Arvi Carkanji
• Instagram:  @arvicarkanji

Connect with Camille:

• Instagram: @CamilleWalker.co
• Podcast: @CallMeCEOPodcast

Try the 5-minute routine tomorrow and tag @CallMeCEOPodcast on Instagram with your biggest takeaway.

Schedule a free discovery call with Camille!

https://calendly.com/callmeceopodcast/discovery-call-with-camille 

Transcript

Welcome And Why This Story Matters

Camille 0:00

Hi, and welcome back to Call Me CEO. This is your host, Camille Walker, and here we celebrate Women Building Businesses. This is a podcast for women who are building businesses, raising families, and learning how to do both on their terms. Today's episode is one of those conversations that will stay with you. I'm sitting with Arvee Karkanji. She's the founder and CEO of Elite Talent Recruiting, which is a boutique headhunting firm helping high-growth startups hire the people who actually move the needle. But her story does not start there. She actually moved to the United States at 17 with no roadmap, no safety net, and no clear path forward. She put herself through college cleaning houses, babysitting. She built a business that failed and then made the decision to bet on herself again. And this time she did it differently. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about what it really takes to rebuild after failure and how she built a business as a mom and how to create something that worked for her life and not against it. If you've been trying and feeling like you are doing it all and wondering how you could really bet on yourself, this conversation is for you. I love this raw conversation. It's different than what you may have heard before. And I'm so excited for us to jump in. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? Listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

Moving From Albania At Seventeen

Camille 1:48

Arvi, it is so good to have you on the show today. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much for having me, Camille. And your story is so powerful. Please take me back to 17 when you were coming into the US for the first time. I can't even imagine. I mean, when I was 17, I was thinking about like what the next school dance was and my AP tests or whatever, not starting over in a new country. So please take us back there and what that was like for you.

Arvi 2:17

Yeah, that's a really good point. Uh, and I'll be completely transparent and say that I absolutely hated my mom at the time for making me move at 17. Uh, it was definitely hard. Like you said, I mean, I was in last year, going into last year of high school. I had all my friends, you know, we had all the plans for prom and like everything we were gonna do next year. And then my mom just kind of says, like, hey, you know, I think this is the best decision for our family um to move to the US. And this is, you know, what my vision is, etc. And I just completely had a fit and I was like, I'm not going with you, I'm staying here. And where were you moving from? Albania. Okay. So a big change culturally, obviously, physically too, uh, but culturally for the most part. Um, and I I will say honestly, like that first year here with being was really, really tough. I didn't have any friends in last year of high school. I was trying to just understand, really, like just the American culture. I didn't know how to laugh at jokes. I didn't understand the jokes. I mean, like kind of like little stupid things like that. I wasn't fully aware of how to just navigate the life. And my mind was still, you know, back in Albania to where all my friends were having fun and you know, picking their prom juices, et cetera. So it was a really tough year. Um, but after that, thankfully everything just happened.

Starting Over In Buffalo For College

Camille 3:41

Oh, that's great. And what was it about building a new life here? What was something that helped to turn the corner for you in terms of feeling like you knew the program? I mean, I would imagine moving anywhere new. It takes like a year to even just feel like you know which way the grocery store is. So what was like that for you and for your parents too?

Arvi 4:03

Yeah, great question. So actually, when we first moved here, we lived in New York City. And obviously, you know, last year of high school, I had to start applying to colleges and I got this like direct mail in the mail or in my apartment at the time that said, like, you know, join us in Buffalo, New York. And I'm like, oh, it's in New York, can't be that far. Didn't even bother to look up the location. I didn't know much about New York in general. I just thought it was like New York City area and the five boroughs. And um, I applied to the college. I got approved, you know, I did all the paperwork, and they're like, here's the address, we'll see you, you know, in September. And then I look it up and I'm like, holy hell, like the Buffalo is like seven hours away from New York City. We didn't have a car at the time, and I didn't obviously didn't know anybody at the time either in terms of going there or any friends who to ask, you know, nothing. And I told my mom, I was like, hey, this is what's happening. And she was like, Yeah, no way, I'm gonna let you move that far in a country we don't know, people we don't know. And then I was like, you know what? I really want to do this. I feel like, you know, this would be a kind of like a fresh start for me. I was like, I won't have your help or anybody's help to kind of be supporting. And I was like, I want to figure this out on my own. And I would have no other choice but to do so, you know, with my back against the wall per se. And I decided to move there to Buffalo, New York. It was a very small college, which I think helped a lot for me because it wasn't one of those big universities where you're just kind of like a number, and it really got me into like the culture itself, like I was really connecting with the professors. I had really good friends and they were pushing me to do like leadership clubs and things like that to really got get me out of my shell because I was an extremely shy kid. Um, didn't want to talk to anybody, and that was extremely helpful for me. So, in a way, like starting over as I was starting over in a new country was really helpful.

Camille 5:53

Wow, that's inspiring. I think that's really so you found some good friends that helped to guide you through. And that is a nice start, starting out at college where everyone's new, so you're not feeling like you're the only one. I would imagine that would be a help there. And then also with

Paying For School With Side Work

Camille 6:10

building your business or what were you going to school for? Because I know that you were cleaning houses. Was that during college? Was that after? Like, walk me through the timeline of that and what were you studying?

Arvi 6:21

Yeah, so I I didn't have like I knew I wanted to do something in entrepreneurship. I didn't know what at the time. Uh my dad was in business, so he stayed in Albania. My parents are divorced, and he's always been an entrepreneur. Uh, my mom's kind of been an in and out on both. She's dipped into entrepreneurship, but more into like um, you know, working for somebody else. And I really wanted to be an entrepreneur, I just didn't know what. Um, so when I was there, I was like, I'm just gonna do like a general, you know, um a college degree of like business management just to learn about I didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you. So I was like, I just need to learn like management or leadership or business in general. So I just went for that. And then every time you know school would be done, I would go back home to New York City where my mom was, and then I need to make money at the time. So I was like, what's the easiest, fastest thing to do things? And it was, you know, babysitting or cleaning houses, and that's that's what I did.

Camille 7:20

Right.

The First Business And Why It Stopped

Camille 7:21

Okay, so you're you're building that business, you're going to school, and you had a business fail. What was the failed business and what happened?

Arvi 7:30

Yeah, so right after college, um, I like I said, I wanted to start something, I didn't know what. And I was uh before I even started the business, I started applying to jobs and I must have applied to over a hundred, and at the time, you know, gotten like two to three responses, got interviews with all of those, and just nobody was hiring me or even giving me feedback on things I was doing right or wrong. And I remember I was talking to my dad on the phone and I was like, Hey, I don't know what to do. Like, I must just be really bad at this thing. And he was like, Hey, I heard a friend in Boston is like flipping houses. Do you know what that is? Do you know how to do this? And I was like, No. And he's like, I think you should look into it. You know, you buy houses for cheap, you fix them up, and then you sell them. And I thought that was an easy thing to do. I watched HCTV at the time and I was like, you know, we can do this, we can figure it out. And that was my first business.

Camille 8:21

Wow.

Arvi 8:21

Um, I call it a failure because I didn't continue it, but I did that for like four years of just consistently, you know, buying houses, fixing them up, and flipping them. And the problem with that for me specifically was that I wasn't mature enough to run a business. I didn't know how to run an actual business. I was very much an operator that was doing everything, and it just wasn't sustainable. It was a very cash heavy business. And anything, you know, I would make it would go straight into the business again. And I was just really struggling. And I I just decided in a way to call it quits and honestly knew that I needed to step back to really figure out what I did wrong. You know, what do I need to level up in skill set for me to potentially do something else in the future?

Camille 9:10

How cool that you got into real estate so young, though. Do you still own real estate in New York?

Arvi 9:15

Yeah, I actually do have a small rental portfolio still, uh, which I have a very much uh love-hate relationship with it. I love it. Amazing. Yeah, hate and the others. Um, but yeah, I still own a small rental portfolio for sure.

Camille 9:29

Wow. I mean, to be able to get right out of college and get into that real estate is such an amazing investment. Over time, it's going to pay off dividends for sure. So you're probably in that middle where you're like, okay, this is a lot of work. How many units do you own?

Arvi 9:47

Um, I believe we're at either between eight to ten. I found them indoors because some of them are like small multi-family ones. So we have 15 doors total, and that's around eight to 10 uh self-properties.

Camille 9:58

That's amazing. That's not a failure. I'm like, way to go. That's so cool. Okay, so now you have a new business on top of that, which I already am just so impressed. So tell us about what you're doing now.

From Real Estate To Recruiting

Arvi 10:12

Yeah, so right after that, I took like a little break of just not doing anything in terms of business-related activities. I did end up working for a company and I learned so much there on things on what to do and what not to do. And one of the biggest things that the business was constantly doing was like hiring and of course firing too, like letting go of people. And I was just learning a lot about like leadership and how even in my previous business, when I had hired some people, they had not done well. And obviously, I would blame it on them, not on myself, because I didn't know any better. And I just realized that how crucial hiring is for a business, it will literally make or break it. And that's kind of where my idea of like really obsessing over hiring came about. And I just at that point, you know, figured out okay, a recruiting business really kind of matches my experience now, what I've learned so far, and how I can help apply to other businesses to help them hire top talent. And I started to focus in tech companies for that specifically. Um, and I found a small niche within that area of something that there was obviously there are a ton of recruiters in the space, but they don't specialize in specific departments or skill set. And the one that I found, which is called pre-sales, is one that was not very known. It's becoming way more known now in the tech world, but it's something that a lot of recruiters didn't fully understand because you're hiring for a sales skill set mixed with technical skill set. So I just found kind of like

The Pre Sales Niche Explained

Arvi 11:41

where to thrive in that specific section.

Camille 11:44

Okay, that's really cool. So talk to us a little bit because I'm curious for I'm sure there are people listening that are interested in both sides, whether it's like, oh, is that a job that I would be good at or is that something I could hire for? So tell us a little bit more about both sides of that.

Arvi 12:01

Yeah, so this role specifically is mainly done by tech companies. I wouldn't see a lot of other companies hiring what we call in the pre-sales, just because they're called sales engineers for anybody listening. So you're hiring basically a software engineer that has a sales or personable uh personality to be in front of customers. So, unless you're like developing a product, you know, like writing code or now, you know, as they call them AI engineers, not a ton of companies would have a need for the specific roles outside of that. Um, but of course, you know, as we work with these companies and they've been really pleased with our results, we've expanded a little bit more on like sales roles or even, you know, like product marketing roles, et cetera. So we are a little bit more expanded now, but starting out in a very niche and like really focusing on that and becoming really good at it is what really helped us, you know, breaking into an industry that is honestly really hard to break into in tech.

Camille 13:01

Yeah, it's very niche. And I you have like a 92% retention rate. That's amazing. So, what is it that you're looking for? Because I know hiring people just in general is very overwhelming for most business owners. What are some key indicators or things that have helped you to have such a high success rate in terms of finding

Hiring For Retention And Culture Add

Camille 13:22

people that really fit the bill and also that stick around?

Arvi 13:26

Yeah, that's a really good question. So, one thing that we did differently, or I one thing that I would say I think it's broken in the recruiting world, is that a lot of recruiters like myself, they go for volume versus quality. So they will get, for example, like a bunch of clients in front of them and go and hire for like 10 clients and really only fill like two to three of those roles. Um, that takes you so much time, so much effort as a recruiter. And I didn't want to do that. I didn't see the value in it. So I was like, okay, I need to work smarter and harder, uh, but also quality. So instead of me going out and getting like 10 clients, I would focus on like two to three at a time and really understand what makes or break their company, you know, what is important to them, what is impact for that company, and go hire the person, the right person for them. And the biggest thing we did is we don't rush the hiring process. Uh, we'll always say, like, if if a company comes to us and they're like, oh, you know, we'll we'll have like two to three interviews and then make a decision, I will always push them for a fourth or fifth step, which usually indicates some sort of cultural fit or what I like to call cultural ad um qualities, or to some sort of like take-home assessment or technical skill set, or even like a working interview, because that really shows you the personality of the of that person. Um, and the biggest thing I want to mention here is that we make sure that it's fair. Like nobody wants to go into a full eight-hour working interview. You know, it's like no more than two hours and anything above that. Let's consider paying for the candidate's time because that's not feasible.

Competing With Big Firms Using Trust

Camille 15:05

Yeah, that makes sense. So where you're competing against large firms with huge budgets, how are you navigating that of like in competing with that?

Arvi 15:15

Yeah, it it kind of comes down to what I mentioned in terms of volume versus quality. Obviously, I don't have the means, I can't match their marketing budget. So I focus on relationship building and quality again versus the volume. Um, so a lot of my clients come from just the relationships I've built through, you know, being online. A big part of my business is through LinkedIn. Um, so a lot of that comes from that. Uh, we get a ton of referrals. So once you know somebody's really happy with us and they know somebody that's hiring, which you know, it's not a shocker. The businesses are constantly hiring, whether it's now, you know, at some point in their business. And we do get a lot of referrals, um, and typically because we refer to and we already have a little bit of trust built. Um, and the third thing from there is again, like I said, the quality and we try to be niche. Like we don't want to, like if you come to me and say, like, hey, I'm hiring for a bookkeeper, that's not necessarily our specialty. Unless I've worked with you before as a client, I understand your company and your role. Maybe I will consider expanding to that specific skill set uh just because I know you at that point. But if it's a brand new client and they're coming to us with like a very specific role, typically we won't take them and we'll just refer them to somebody that we think could add more value than we do. Yeah, that makes sense.

Camille 16:32

I think it's really nice that you have such a niche because then people who do know you and have built that relationship, they know that that is a wheelhouse

Leadership Lessons From Bad Hiring

Camille 16:40

that you understand really well and that you can fill those spaces. So that's really cool.

unknown 16:46

Yeah.

Camille 16:47

So I'm curious where you've mentioned that hiring doesn't always go perfectly. What did you learn early on that helped you to avoid some of those mistakes?

Arvi 16:59

Oh my gosh, so many. How much time do we have? Um, I would say for me personally, just hiring for myself in the first business, um, I had no clue what being a leader was. I think leadership word is thrown around so much nowadays. And it's a really, really tough job to be a leader. You have to actually, number one, truly care for the person that you're working with, uh, care about their their skill set, their growth. And I had no clue. I was 22, I believe, at this time, at that time when I started my business, and I didn't know how to care for other people. I just thought they had to be my clone and do things the way that I wanted them done, not ask questions. You know, they should they were supposed to read my brain and like be able to read my mind and just know everything that I knew and do 7,000 jobs at the same time because I was like, I'm doing it, I'm the CEO and a founder, they should be able to do it too. Well, it turns out that's not the right way to one hire for and two try to build a company off of. So I will say the first thing was that I learned was okay, people are not going to be my clones. Like they can't do everything the way I want them to do it. Um, and just because it's my way doesn't mean it's the best way. Um, so when I opened up the door to just their thought process, or um, you know, instead of saying, like, hey, this is how you should do this, I would ask questions, well, what are your options? How do you think we should do this? And they would give options and I'd say, Oh, I never really thought about this. That's actually a great idea. I would have done it this way, but I like yours better. Let's try it. So that was number one. Um, number two is ask a lot of questions for me. Um, when somebody would come to me and say, like, oh, I don't know how to do this, I would just instantly give an answer or find a solution because I wanted to move on with my time. Um seeing back at it now, I can't in a way blame myself because I was handling so much and I should have learned how to delegate better. But I would just give them an answer and then move on. Um, versus now the difference is I ask questions instead of, you know, when they say they come to me and they say, Oh, I don't know how to do this, I'll answer them back with saying, Okay, what are some ways we can figure out how to do this? You know, how would you solve it? Versus me giving them the answer. And that helps them become more independent so that the next two to three times they have a problem. They don't come to me in the beginning, but they come to me once they've tried two to three solutions, and then you know, obviously I can get my hair quick at that time.

Camille 19:30

That's good advice. That's good advice as a business leader and as a mother. I'm thinking of that, going, oh, I like that, because you could apply it both ways. And you are a mom as

Motherhood Boundaries And Letting Go

Camille 19:43

well. How have you been able to navigate building your business and being a mom? Because that comes with a lot of challenges as well.

Arvi 19:51

Yeah, as we were just talking a little bit offline, I mean, it's a work in progress. I don't think there's ever like a good answer of like, hey, if you follow this exact route, this is what's gonna give you the most success. Um, I will say for me personally, the biggest thing that I've had to learn to be okay with is that I can be everywhere at once. And then some things are gonna give in order, you know, to get something else. Um, I struggled a lot with mom guilt and then also work guilt. So when I'm around my child, especially in the beginning, I was like, I could have been doing so much work-related activities now instead of you know playing dinosaurs with him. And then um, on the other hand, if I was working too much, I was like, oh my gosh, you know, I he would come to me and say, Mommy, we need to play. And I was like, Not right now. Um, so then you know, Mom Guild would kick in. Um, so the biggest thing is I've been okay or I've had to learn to be okay with both sides and say, like, okay, once my son is home at five o'clock from five to eight is his time. I try to put my phone away. Doesn't always work, just be completely transparent, but I will put my phone away. And he's actually really good at calling me out. We were playing one time and I was like on my phone, trying to answer an email, and he was like, Mommy, you're not paying attention to my dinosaur fight. So I was like, you know what? You're right. So um, yeah, it's a constantly juggling effort, but that was the biggest, I would say, learning lesson. And um one thing that I will say my husband has helped me with is, you know, when I feel this guilt, he'll tell me, like, okay, if you're with your son right now and in these three hours, how much do you think your business would really change if you handled them, you know, emailed right now? And the answer is, you know, really not that much. So like it can wait till after eight or eight a.m. the next day. So um hopefully that answers your question.

Camille 21:44

Yeah, that's a good perspective. I like that question of how really how much will this change? And if it is what they call like, you know, is this a glass ball or is this a rubber ball moment where it's like, okay, do I is it really urgent or this moment, this boundary I've put. In place, this is the time that I shift gears. And it's, and at the end of the day, the thing that I've seen over and over again, especially talking to mothers and women that experience burnout or this mom guilt, is that once you decide what your boundaries are and what your values are, if you can line up the way you use your time with your values and your boundaries, that is when you feel peace. And it doesn't mean that it's perfectly weighted, but it means that you are creating a space for yourself to say, I value my work and I value being a mother. And this is how I divide it, and that's how it works. And of course, we are human and imperfect, and there are days that it's imbalanced, and that's okay. I think that it's really important to give ourselves that grace because no child has ever suffered from seeing a mom that works hard. And I would argue all moms work hard. And so, you know, that's just a gift to your son, really.

Arvi 23:00

So yeah. One thing I will add to that, Camille, as well, is also following and aspiring to the right people has also helped me a lot. Um, in the first time around, when I had my first business, I was looking up to people and women that maybe didn't have kids or even men, you know, within that industry that were super successful. And their their idea of success was work your ass off, you know, 24-7. So I was like, okay, that's what I have to do. And then in this business, I did things differently to where I saw successful, you know, recruiters and uh women recruiters mainly that were that are moms and are successful, you know, and I aspire to be like them, to where they've also said, like, yeah, I don't work 24-7. I'm a woman first, a mom second, you know, a wife third, and then a business owner. And I felt like in a way I got permission to say, like, that is right. Like, I am this those same things. Um, so I will add to that that like who you follow and who your aspirations, you know, make sure they're realistic.

How To Start A Recruiting Business

Camille 24:06

Yeah, ooh, I like that. Would you say if someone was thinking about becoming a recruiter, what would be the top first steps to take in terms of like creating a business? Especially, I I really like how you picked a niche that was so specific to your wheelhouse, but what would you say would be those steps to take?

Arvi 24:29

That's a really good question. So I'm the type of uh first, I'll talk a little bit about personality. I'm the type of person that like jumps in and tries to figure out everything later. Um, there are some people that need a little bit more research, you know, before they jump into things. Um, I always wish I was more of the research person because then, you know, you get yourself into like this little struggles and you're like, oh, if I knew this before, I would have done it differently. Um, but I always suggest like to not take, you know, like years of doing research or like have a limit to it, right? The first thing is yes, always do a little bit of research of the business or the niche that you're trying to get into, um, you know, and and really see is there a market fit too. I would say do figure out if there's something you can do differently. Um, it is an oversaturated space, right? And recruiting specifically tech, even when I got into it. And I was doing a little bit of research at the time of like, okay, should I, you know, what are the niches that would make the most sense right now? Where is money going more towards? Or where is the tech companies, where are they moving for towards too? And one of the things that helped a lot, you know, AI, ChatGPT, or Claudia, it gave me some like ideas of like this is the roles that are really um, you know, jumping up right now within tech. So do do some research, you know, just don't kill yourself over the research and be super granular on it. Um, and then from there, I would say, again, something I did not do, which I wish I would have done at the time, is find find like podcasts, honestly. It's like people that are in recruiting, see what they're saying. You know, what are the struggles? What are not the struggles? Um, and then last but not least is go to where recruiters are hanging out or where your niche is hanging out. Um, a lot of the recruiting business in general is relationship building, especially if you're getting started. You know, once you're like those big companies and you have that big budget, it's not so much about relationships anymore. But to get there, you do need credibility in relationships. So start posting about it, you know, start following people that are recruiters or start following tech companies, seeing what they like, what they don't like, what are their struggles with recruiters or hiring in general, and start speaking to those types of people and their pain points so that you can start gaining credibility. That's all good advice.

Rapid Fire Lessons On Business And CEO Life

Camille 26:52

Okay, I have some rapid fire questions for you. What is one lesson failure that has taught you?

Arvi 27:04

Um that's a really good question. I would say is um comparison to people that are better than me. So what I mean by that is, you know, especially if you're starting new in a new industry or a new business, I would always compare myself, you know, from zero to somebody that's doing like 10 plus million a year. Or and I'm like, okay, how do I get there the fastest? And I used to forget that, like, um, I actually heard this um quote from Alex Hermozi, if you know who he is, that he said, you know, in the beginning, it's like you're fighting a bear with a stick. These companies that have like 10 plus million, they're not fighting with a stick anymore. They have swords and they have guns and they have you know money to put behind it. So just remembering that when you're starting, you know, you're fighting a bear with a stick, and it's okay that you're gonna lose and you're gonna be way slower to fight that bear than you know who you're aspiring to be.

Camille 28:00

Yeah, ooh, I like that. What is one thing you'd do differently if you started over?

Arvi 28:07

Um, great question as well. I don't know if I would do anything crazy different. Um, because honestly, like I feel like everything that you do leads to, you know, where you're supposed to go. Um the uh maybe like the only thing I would say is just what I mentioned earlier is to just be careful with who you're aspiring and who you're learning from. You know, do they match your situation? And if they don't, it's okay. Just be realistic that their situation is not yours.

Camille 28:39

I like that. Biggest misconception about building a business.

Arvi 28:45

Um, so many of them. Um biggest misconception of building a business is that you think you're gonna get there faster, and it always takes more time than you think it's going to.

Camille 29:02

I agree with that. Very true. What does being a CEO mean to you?

Arvi 29:10

Oh wow, you are crushing it with these questions. Um, being a CEO, I think it it I guess it depends a little bit on the stage, right? But for me is being able to say no to things or to people that I maybe don't want to work with or be associated with. Um, I think that when you're working for somebody else, you don't necessarily have that choice. Like you can't choose your teammates all the time or you know, who your boss is all the time. And I like the choice and the option of saying yes or no. Um, so I would say that's number one for me. Um, number two is um something that again I did differently the second time around is building with purpose. Um, the first time around, I was chasing a dollar amount and chasing, and you know, it's like one of those things where you're chasing and you never get it. Um, and this time around, I was like, okay, I want to build with purpose. So that's at least where I'm at right now is building with purpose. Uh for sure, really big part of like being a CEO for me.

Camille 30:13

I love that. And that's sustainable, where it's you know, that purpose that keeps you going when things get really hard. Yeah. Yes, for sure. If a woman is listening right now and is afraid to bet on herself, what would you say to her?

Arvi 30:28

Oh, you're stronger than you think you are. I think that sometimes we always are I will say, just speaking from personal experience, um, I would look for support before to do something, or I would look for approval, like even from just family in general, or even from um my husband in general, I mean I would say, Hey, I'm thinking of doing this. Do you approve or not? And he's actually been a great supporter in the sense of like, well, just try it. You know, you don't have to ask me for permission. Try it, do it. If it fails, or if it doesn't work out, then you know, move on. And um, he kind of taught me that, you know, you are stronger than you think you are to do something on your own. You don't need a partner if you don't want to, and if you have one, that's great as well. Uh, but you don't need other people's approvals or other people in to approve of what you're doing to actually do something.

Camille 31:20

Yeah. Oh, I love that. And I think a lot of times women do wait for permission that we are waiting for someone to tell us we can, which is conditioned into us. It's not our fault, ladies.

Arvi 31:32

Where do we come up with these things of it? That's true.

Peace Of Mind Through Purpose And Delegation

Camille 31:37

So, RV, I know that you talk a lot about wanting now and framing your life around purpose and being present with your family and as a mother. What has with that shift? What has been the greatest blessing of that for you?

Arvi 31:55

Greatest blessing. Um wait, do you would you mind repeating that question one more time?

Camille 32:02

Yeah, now that you're in a position where you can be present and that you can build your schedule more, yeah. How has that blessed your life?

Arvi 32:12

Yes. Um, the biggest thing I will say is a peace of mind, which again, being completely transparent, I don't have it, you know, 24-7. I still have anxiety, I'm a business owner, you know, things still go wrong. I still have to fight fires and all that great stuff. But having a peace of mind, knowing how to handle certain situations and knowing that, you know, just because something's on fire is not the end of the world, which I used to think that. Um, so having a more peace of mind has definitely been the biggest blessing. Um, I will say the the hardest thing the first time around was I didn't know how to manage my emotions. I had so many limiting beliefs that would let me from growth and just hold me back. Um, so of course, you know, I've done a lot of work personally, even having life coaches has helped me a ton. Um, and even something as small as like learning how to delegate, sometimes we feel like delegation is easy because you're like, oh, just tell somebody to do this and like they'll do it. And it's not as easy as it sounds. You got to know how to properly delegate. I'm sure you can attest to that. Um, but yeah, that's that's what I would say.

Camille 33:21

Yeah. Oh, that's all such good stuff.

Where To Find Arvee And Closing Message

Camille 33:23

This has been such a great conversation. Please tell our audience where they can find you with elite talent recruiting.

Arvi 33:31

Yeah, I'm pretty active on Instagram along with LinkedIn as well. Um, you can find me just on my full name, which is A-R-V-I, and the last name is Kurkunji, spelled C-A-R-K-A-N-J-I.

Camille 33:46

Perfect. Thank you again for having such an honest, real conversation. And I look forward to what's next for you. Thank you so much, Camille. It was a pleasure. That was such a powerful conversation. R V is so inspiring to me. I can't imagine coming to a new country and trying to start out fresh and creating such implemental businesses in real estate and now in tech. Very cool. If you are looking at doing something new, I want you to know that where you start is always the steps into where you belong. And where you are right now is very much on purpose. So if this has inspired you, I hope that you look at it in terms of that failure does not disqualify you. It actually sharpens you. And I think it's interesting as I was talking with RV and hearing more about her story, where she feels like her first business was a failure. I would disagree with that. I feel like she learned a lot of leadership skills and understanding what she needed to change and what she needed to learn to find success in what she's doing now, which she's doing exceptionally well. So please share this episode with a friend. We want others to be inspired by these stories just like you. Any rate rating, review, comment, like, follow helps so much. So thank you for being here. And if you are looking for business coaching to move your business forward, I would love to connect with you. You can find me at Instagram at camillewalker.co or call me CEO podcast. I hope to talk to you soon and we'll see you next time. Hey, CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment in a five star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at CallMe CEO Podcast. And remember, you are the boss.