Can an Accountant become a successful content creator and digital marketer?
In fact: In today’s article, we have Rishikesh Lokapure sharing with us how he started his career as a Content Creator after qualifying as a CMA.
Rishi is experienced in handling copywriting, digital media, strategy, events, TVCs, and branded content teams.
He is also a semi-qualified CA from India.
If you need any content for your business or accounting firm then Rishi is definitely the Go to Person.
You can connect to him on LinkedIn at – Rishikesh Lokapure
Jack of All, Master of None
We have often heard the saying Jack of All, Master of None.
We are constantly pushed to master a skill, an education stream, or a career path.
We then start running a race with no finish line in sight. First to excel in studies, then in extra-curricular activities, higher education, finding a job, getting married, and excelling in careers, we are constantly running.
But we forget that we were meant to be masters, however, in the race to excel we end up running around for life.
Did we master life? Not really.
As I grew up, this saying stuck with me. I often used to question myself:
Why just master one and not master multiple skills?
Why limit our thoughts?
Why walk the same paths that others have already walked on?
Life Goal
That is where I found my life goal. I decided to pursue a career in 10 different fields in a single life.
Sounds odd? Read the line again – career in 10 different fields in a single life.
How to succeed in any career?
I knew I had to broaden my vision, learn new skills, read a variety of books, and network with people from varied backgrounds to pursue my life goal.
From a theatre enthusiast, a financial and management accountant, a marketer, a copywriter, an audio-visual writer-director, and a consultant to an author, I am fortunate to wear many caps.
I was never the brightest student in school. I was probably the most curious.
This is a story of me starting as a finance student and reaching a point where I won the most influential content marketer of the year.
From Theatre To studying CA
In my last year in school, I scored well and got admitted to one of the best high schools in my native city.
In my quest of searching for answers, I came across performing arts and theatre. I felt at home while on stage and used to love the process of writing and directing plays.
On the other hand, I decided to pursue a degree in accounting. (Someone had told me it is a lucrative career).
CA studies are considered to be the pinnacle of accounting so I found my first career path.
“Excitement and Happiness are the stepping stones to success”.
CA studies were my excitement and Theatre added to my happiness quotient.
London Calling
I enjoyed learning new concepts in accounting while studying CA. I cleared two years of CA and was into articleship now.
One fine day, I came to know that I had been awarded a scholarship for pursuing higher education in the United Kingdom.
A social foundation awards this scholarship to students who are equally good in academics and extracurricular activities.
I took it up and flew to London. It was a different world altogether.
Out there, I decided to switch to CMA after learning that it was globally recognized.
I broadened my financial accounting knowledge with management accounting concepts at the London School of Business and Finance. (Someone again told me this would be a killer combination).
A few years of education and working with accounting firms helped me become a global citizen.
However one fine typical sunny English morning, I decided to pack my bags and fly back to India. It was an inner calling.
I had a warm welcome in India.
Few people thought I would settle in the UK looking at the way things were going, but I always wanted to return.
A couple of years later, I was a financial controller; but I felt a vacuum in my head.
I sat down to think of my life goals and realized I am here to run a marathon, not just to sprint.
“If you want the right answers, you need to ask the right questions”.
Learn To Market Yourself
I wanted to learn how to market myself.
I had figured out that whichever career I step into, marketing my skills was essential.
I joined an international sales and marketing company where I started in the field and graduated as the managing director in a span of nine months. It was the biggest struggle of my life.
Moving from the AC cabins of London to the hot and humid streets of Pune and from the world where people asked for my advice to where I had to convince people.
I often felt I had taken a U-turn in life, with no clear way in my sights. I used to feel terrible at times, but then, I used to remind myself why I am doing this.
I created some systems in place to put the company on autopilot and continued my journey toward my life goal.
Switching To A Creative Field
With a sound background in theatre and marketing, I decided to switch to the creative field.
Advertising seemed like an option to look into.
Advertising was a huge field then. It had some of the brightest minds. I was good at imagining things, writing stories, and improvising situations. I got into an advertising agency as a copywriter.
Concepts became taglines that grew into advertising campaigns. As I started digging deeper, I found out that the world of online advertising was just finding its ground.
“When everyone else says it can’t be done, you do it”
Digital Is The Future
I headed the digital marketing wing within the agency.
It was an improvised version of traditional advertising, where decisions were based not just on instinct but had to be backed with data and analytics too. With my finance education to help me, number-crunching came as naturally as a concept to me.
It went on to become one of the biggest agencies in the city. Clients and job seekers were equally aspirant of associating with it.
I realized that every professional should learn digital marketing, at least to the extent where we can market our services. We live in a digitally connected world and our clients and employees judge us by looking at our digital presence.
Also, in this fiercely competitive environment that we live in, a sound digital presence gives us an edge over our competitors.
“If you are the smartest kid in the class, change the class”.
Consulting Multiple Agencies
If I could do it with one agency, can I do it with multiple agencies? On that note, I decided to move on with my life goal.
I decided to switch to consulting. It was a calculated risk. I knew the loopholes in the industry and decided to fill them.
I started networking and writing about my expertise on social platforms. Many agencies loved my business model and way of working and got me on board.
Writing A Book On Investments
Recently, I got into a new domain – authoring a book.
By now, I had sound knowledge of finance, management, investments, advertising, and online marketing.
A large publication house was looking for a writer who knew about personal finance and would make it sound interestingly simple.
Few good folks recommended my name. Formalities went well and a couple of months back, I wrote my first book.
It draws parallels between the life of Saint Kabir and the mistakes we do as investors.
Was it Easy?
With every switch in careers, I had to start from scratch. One day, I was a managing director, the next day I was an absolute fresher. That was the biggest struggle I had to go through.
On the other hand, it made a difference in my paycheck as well. However, I knew that this was just a phase.
I had even thought of pursuing everything part-time and simultaneously working on other career paths too.
I thought it would be a half-hearted effort and would lead nowhere. However, I know of a few people who are able to balance and juggle multiple careers equally well.
Focus on the process, not the results
In every field that I worked in, I made as good money as I would have done working in the previous.
For me, money is the result of a process. If the process is right, the result ought to be right.
I feel a content creator can make as much as a CA or a film director if the process is right.
In whichever field you might be, networking with people, creating a personal brand, and marketing yourself are important.
“A diamond, never discovered, is worthless”.
Today, when people want to hire someone with multiple skills, I tend to get highly recommended. This not only helps me to get more clients but also to charge premium rates. This indirect strategy has worked for me on multiple occasions.
“Average people can achieve extraordinary things if they can find a purpose”.
Two years into hardcore content creation for some of the biggest brands helped me bag an international award and recognition as ‘Most Influential Content Marketer of The Year’.
Related Articles
- How this CA started a profitable e-commerce store in only 7 months
- How this Accountant started her own business while working full time
To Conclude…
Although I switched careers, a few things remained common throughout the journey:
– Find the purpose of existence
– Your confidence matters more than your marks
– You need to be disciplined in order to succeed
– If you are true to yourself, you can excel in everything you do
– Do it till you enjoy it
– Create a process and put systems in place
– Build your personal brand
– Learn to market yourself
– Be curious and ask questions
It all started with a question, why just be a master at one? But to be a master at all, you first have to be a jack of all!
“Life is not about living the same day for the rest of your life. On that note, I decided to move on with my life goal and now it is about living a new day, every day”.
Now It’s Your Turn!!!
Are you a CA or a CMA who wants to get into Content creation?
Have you switched multiple careers?
Do let us know by leaving your comments below.
