Congratulations to Shrimati Neelam Wali from Billerica, Massachusetts, USA for getting sworn in as a commissioner on the Asian American Commission, a newly constituted body dedicated to political advocacy on behalf of Asian American community in State of Massachusetts. She was nominated as the Chair for the Commission.
Shrimati Neelam Wali is owner of a successful Printing and Graphic Services in Billerica, was born and brought up in India. After finishing her undergraduate degree in Ceramic at the prestigious J.J.School of arts in Bombay, India, she arrived in the USA in 1977 as a student at Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1984, she started her first business venture, Creative Printing, in Madison, Wisconsin. She sold the company in 1986 and moved to Billerica, and started her second printing, company, Printing and Graphic Services, in 1991. Neelam is active in her community and in 2006 was honored as Billerica’s Business Champion of the Year. She is President of The Friends of Council on Aging, past president of Billerica Chamber Of Commerce, Board Member of Billerica Partners for Education, Board Member of Billerica Lions Club International, Member of Billerica Plan, Member of Billerica Access Television, Member of India Society of Worcester, Member Indian Association of Greater Boston, Member of United India, Member of Hadassah and serves on various Town Committees.
Some excerpts from an interview Neelamji had with Lokvani, Editor Ranjani Saigal.
Lokvani: As a successful businesswoman what tips would you give others getting into business?
Neelam: You must have a willingness to work hard. You must be extremely professional. For service businesses like ours, I think success comes from having a real passion to help people. Of course money is important but the goal should be excellent service and really caring about your customer. Another thing I cannot emphasize enough is the importance of getting involved in your community. I attend our town meetings. I am very active in the school system. I was very active in the chamber of commerce and now I am its president. Considering that this is an elected position I am very excited that as an Indian American I was chosen. But the sad thing to me is that while there are so many Indians in Billerica there are so few that are seen in any of the town activities. We as minorities should be visible. And what better way to be visible than to provide help to people in your town?
Lokvani: How do you manage your family life with such a busy career?
Neelam: I am the mother of three daughters and I think by doing my work I hope I am being a role model to them. I think the secret to our family unit is that we have excellent communication. I make it a point to find out what is going on at school everyday. If I am busy, I bring my children to work and they do their work here or if they have time they help me with my work. So they clearly know what is keeping me busy and that gives them a better understanding of my work. The goal I have for them is that they should grow up to be hardworking, good and kind human beings. I hope they will grow up to be self-confident women who bring passion and commitment to everything they do. Of course I cannot emphasize the value of a kind and caring husband in helping me juggle family and career.
Lokvani: How do you define success? Do you consider yourself successful?
Neelam: Material goods do not define success to me. It is not what I wear. It is not the car I drive or the house I live in. Success to me is simply defined by the respect one earns in society. Do my clients see me as a businesswoman who delivers on her promises? Do my children love me and think of me as a caring mom? Am I seen as a human being who helps a person in need by the society? I hope by all these definitions I am successful person
India Abroad, the oldest Asian Indian publication in North America reported "She took her first step in community building when, as a young mother of three; she got involved with Billerica school system. Wali, who runs a small printing business, is President of Friends of the Council on Aging, the COA's fundraising arm; a former president of Billerica Chamber of Commerce, head of Billerica Partners for Education; and a member of the Kashmiri Overseas Association." "We as Asian Americans have educational issues, we have family issues, Health issues and Senior issues that we aren't able to communicate to the government yet," she says. Please see scanned copy of the report below.
Neelam and her husband, Anupam live in Massachusetts, USA and are blessed with three wonderful daughters: Ambika, Anjali and Nisha.