One to One: Khush Saikia

Khush Saikia is an experienced Beauty, Aesthetics & Skin Specialist. Her career spans over 15 years of working with leading professionals in the beauty and aesthetic industry in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and India.She has also been featured on ITV's 'This Morning Show' and was a presenter on QVC as a beauty specialist. She was born in Mumbai and was raised in Florida, the beach is where she belongs. Questions1)         Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?I am blessed to call three incredible countries my home. I have always said I am an Indian by birth, American by heart, and British in spirit. But New York is the one place that has always felt like home. It’s got the perfect mixture of fashion, finance, hustle and bustle, and culture. 2)         What are your proudest achievements?Just in the past few years, I have employed around 62 team members across my salons in Florida and in London and month after month, year after year just making sure that I am driving the business forward to keep their jobs going, making sure their paychecks were never affected, ensuring that being a part of my organization is a stable and lucrative experience for them. So many of them are doing wonderful things and opening their own businesses and they send me pictures of their own ventures and appreciate the experiences they have had with me and that means the world to me. Keeping my word to my team members would be one of my proudest achievements.On a very personal front, at the age of 17, I beat 500 girls in Florida to be crowned ‘Miss Teen Orlando’ and I was also the first South Asian girl to win that. After that, I was convinced that anything that I put my mind to, I can achieve.  I always live by the quote 'Yesterday's home runs do not win today's game' by Babe Ruth, so constantly try to move that graph of mine. 3)         What inspires you?My biggest source of inspiration, believe it or not, has been Bollywood and Hollywood movies and celebrities. I remember when I was working towards my Political Science Degree, I watched 'Legally Blonde' a million times! Somehow that character kept me going. When I experienced a low in business, the Bollywood movie 'Guru' helped me. So, movies and characters have always helped me. And in daily life, I draw inspiration from everyone around me. It could be a staff member who wakes up at 5 am, cooks a 4-course meal for her family before she comes to work, or a client who juggles a high-pressure job and yet makes self-care a priority, or at the radio station our senior veteran presenters within the Lyca family who have been on the air for 25 years or 47 years and yet come early to do show prep and go on air like it’s their first time.  There is a gentleman who has been selling 'The Big Issue' magazine in the same spot every single day since 2014 in Chelsea, without fail he is there doing his thing earning an honest living in return for shelter. There is inspiration everywhere. 4)         What has been biggest obstacle in your career?Finance!! Finance!! Finance!! Any business owner will echo my sentiment. Life as an entrepreneur is like being in a video game - things are constantly being thrown at you from several different directions. You get over one obstacle and the next one is ready to charge at you. Covid has also changed the service industry and life, in general, a lot. 5)         Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?The biggest influence in my career has been my father. He has been my unbiased, practical, and supportive sounding board no matter what I do or how I have decided to spread my wings.  Also, my mother, who we sadly lost when I was young. She was a flight attendant with Air India for 30 years at the time of her death. A true independent modern woman. 6)         What is the best aspect about your current role?Any radio presenter will tell you that the thrill of going on air every single day, interacting with listeners, and bringing something new to the table with each show is so special. So, I guess, the best part would be that it forces you to reinvent yourself almost every single day. 7)         And the worst?The worst for me would be the lack of time! I am constantly having to choose between being an aesthetician/business owner and being available at media events for Lyca.  I wish I could clone myself at times. But thankfully I have managed to create a life where I can do two things, I absolutely love 1) Being a radio presenter 2) Being an aesthetician. 8)         What are your long-term goals?Long-term goals will always forever have radio as a part of my life. I am also launching my own government-recognised beauty and aesthetic courses and somehow want to use the platform to help more females start a new career and become financially independent and live the life they dream of. 9)         If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?Oh, I have so many plans!! I genuinely think that even in this day and age, women are not fully independent. I know so many women that are talented, powerful, and productive, and yet are not financially independent so personally, I would do something that encourages more women towards this goal. Also, I think education and immigration are very closely interlinked for international students. I would try to make sure no one who wants an education is left behind because of immigration issues. It’s something I personally suffered, paying extortionate international student fees in my early years in the USA and trying to balance finance and studies at the same time. 10)     If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?Ok so if I had the hypothetical opportunity to be marooned on an island ever, I really would like to just be myself. But one historical figure I would have loved to soak up all the wealth of life and its ways would be Her Majesty The Queen. Her role in history is unquestionably extraordinary....