“My books have sold over a million copies…I feel successful when I think that my one small voice has reached that far.”

“I realized that unlike other professionals (lawyers, doctors, engineers) there’s no associations worldwide that can help guide artists to grow their career.”

“Success to me is making a living creating my art.”

“Audiences are inspired by the body positive message and are intrigued by the historical information about the misunderstood art of bellydance.”

This story is part of our 1,000+ Stories campaign. What’s your story Name: Ragini Shrivastava Business: Doli Saja Ke Rakhna  Location: Mumbai, India Industry: Arts & Entertainment  Reason for starting? There are two kinds of families who want to hire a wedding planner: one who wants to be involved in planning a lavish wedding and the other who wants you to get it …

“If I can provide a product that can bring a smile to the face of someone with Autism or Alzheimer’s I feel successful.”

“My purpose is to be a reliable, sensible, professional, and outstanding resource for my loyal trade clientele.”

“We at Mrs.India focus less on finding models and more on creating role models who can inspire women in our country.”

“In the early 90s I was teaching photography to at-risk adolescents while working as a freelance photographer. I saw how they benefitted from self-expression in many ways. That was the impetus for opening Photo Explorations, a photography learning center for teens.”

“Everyday brings in a new challenge and each challenge shows us our potential and forces us to get better each passing day.”

“Due to rapid urbanization, the rich cultural heritage of certain art forms are slowly vanishing.”

“My hope is to create awareness and inspire other women to follow their passions regardless of perceived up hill battles.”

“I’ve realized that when you’re extremely passionate about something, you do not need glamorous degrees or elaborate strategies. The answers just come to you organically.”

“I felt that I needed to capture what I see and how I see the world.”

“Everyone has issues when they’re starting a business. I tried to go it alone at first only to realize that you can’t do it all and you can’t do it alone.”