Life Conversations with a Twist
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Life Conversations with a Twist
Branding Made Simple: What Really Works (and What Doesn’t) with Puja Malhotra
“I don’t necessarily think that the logo and website you launch with is going to be your forever. You will eventually outgrow it.” —Puja Malhotra
Your brand isn’t your logo—it’s the feeling people get when they think of you.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by branding, stuck chasing perfection, or unsure how to stand out, you’re not alone. The truth? The most memorable brands are built on authenticity, not just aesthetics. Forget the pressure to have it all figured out from day one.
Puja Malhotra is a seasoned branding expert and founder of Roop Creative Agency, a branding agency dedicated to helping female founders craft brands that grow with them. With nearly a decade of experience, she’s passionate about mentoring women to break stereotypes and build businesses that reflect who they truly are.
Tune in as Heather and Puja unpack what really works (and what doesn’t) in branding, from starting simple and evolving, to embracing your story, learning from mistakes, and focusing on what truly matters—so you can build a brand that’s both unforgettable and unapologetically you.
Connect with Heather:
Episode Highlights:
02:02 Breaking Stereotypes in the Branding Industry
07:16 The Importance of Owning Your Identity in Business
17:52 Imposter Syndrome Among Entrepreneurs
23:12 Designing Timeless and Transformational Brands
25:42 Trends in Branding and Personal Branding
26:56 Puja’s Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Connect with Puja:
Puja Malhotra is the founder of Roop Creative Agency, a boutique branding agency dedicated to empowering female founders at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. With a background in design and over nine years of experience, Puja specializes in creating impactful brands and websites that reflect her clients’ unique stories and ambitions.
Born and raised in Canada to South Asian parents, she is passionate about increasing representation in her field and mentors women to break industry stereotypes. Puja is committed to fostering confidence and visibility for women in business, drawing inspiration from her own journey and the diverse clients she serves.
Heather Nelson: Hello everyone. Welcome to this week's Life Conversations With A Twist. I have Puja on. We just met again. Probably everybody who listens to my podcast is like, oh, my god, Heather, just meets these amazing women and has these great conversations. But this is truly what I love doing. But we were connected to through some mutual friends, Laura, who is actually on my podcast recommended you to come online. You were on hers, I'm assuming, because she has one as well.
Puja Malhotra: Yes, I was on hers as well.
Heather Nelson: I love it. So welcome. Tell our listeners a little bit about who you are, where you live, where do you live?
Puja Malhotra: Well, actually, I never found out where you are so I always change that answer depending on where the other person is, but GTA, Greater, Toronto Area. I like the market area. You're in Canada. Yeah, yeah,
Heather Nelson: You're in Canada. We all want to live in Canada. Trust me, every day it looks better and better. I'm from, obviously, the United States. I'm in California.
Puja Malhotra: Well, you've got that beautiful sun.
Heather Nelson: We are very lucky where we are. I'm about an hour north of San Francisco, so perfect. Now, the sun is starting to come out. It's gonna be a beautiful day. I'm in Wine Country, so I really can't complain.
Puja Malhotra: Not being in Wine Country, that's kind of nice.
Heather Nelson: So tell everyone about what you do. You have a beautiful ring, for those who are watching on video.
Puja Malhotra: Thank you. I run a branding boutique, and so we're a branding agency that really works with female founders to build them up regardless of what stage they are in their business. So we have packages ready for those of you who are just starting out and don't want to go that DIY route, and also for the experienced entrepreneurs who want more of that done for you, want that strategy and have already kind of outgrown that initial brand, and now know where they want to head. And so we provide branding and website packages for them. And then on top of it, actually this year, I decided to start mentoring because I want to see more women who look like me in my field. And so break the stereotypes, and bring more people on, I guess, increase my competition in a good way.
Heather Nelson: Competition is always good. I love it.
Puja Malhotra: I love it. And the thing is I didn't come here to just leave that door behind me closed. I want more people who look like me doing the jobs that I'm doing. I didn't necessarily have mentors who did look like me when I was kind of getting into this industry as well.
Heather Nelson: And what is your ethnicity? Where are you from?
Puja Malhotra: I'm South Asian, so I was born and raised in Canada. But my parents are from Delhi, India.
Heather Nelson: Okay, awesome. Do they still live there?
Puja Malhotra: No, no, they're still here. They've been here for 30 years. I don't think they could move back at this point. I say 30 years, and then I'm like, wait, no, I'm 37 so they've been here for 40 plus years now. And so it's a very different place there now, and I think they're rooted here completely.
Heather Nelson: Do you have siblings?
Puja Malhotra: Yeah, I have two younger sisters.
Heather Nelson: That must be fun.
Puja Malhotra: It is. I am one of the lucky few who does get along with her siblings. And I have two sisters who are honestly my soul mates.
Heather Nelson: I love that. So what was your passion behind your business? Were you always in that creative space? What made you continue down that journey?
Puja Malhotra: So my parents consistently encourage creativity in our house. They're both very creative people themselves, and so that was always encouraged. Art was looked at the same way as many other subjects were, which is not typical for a South Asian household necessarily. But as I was encouraged with education, I knew from the get go that I wanted to have some sort of a bachelor's or some sort of certification in design, and so I did end up going down that route and getting a bachelor of design. And so my passion for art and creativity has always been there since I was 6 years old. I also knew that I wanted to be my own boss at a very young age. I realized that I'm not made to work for other people, and that didn't stop me from then, still going through the corporate rounds. I am a corporate dropout myself, and so I did work in corporate for about 8 years. And from there started to launch my own business when I was ready. But as far as knowing what exactly that business would be, I didn't. But I knew it was something that would allow me to be creative, and also allow me to share my story.
Heather Nelson: You made a good point, and it was something that I wanted to ask you because I think a lot of people want to start their own business. I'm speaking to myself because I was in the same boat. I know I wanted to do something, I knew I could do it, but everybody feels like you have to know exactly what it is that you want to do, especially the work you're doing. We have to have this beautiful logo, and we need to have this beautiful website to actually launch. Was that your same experience? And what was that like for you?
Puja Malhotra: It's funny. Because for me, I don't necessarily think that the logo and website you launch with is going to be yours forever. I am a strong believer that you will eventually outgrow it, and that's why even the services we provide hit different demographics on where you are in your journey. Not so much like your age range or anything. It's where you are on your journey. And so when you're starting out, it is that DIY figure it out. You're trying to understand who you are attracting. And so 90% of our clients that actually do come in that do the done for you services are people who have outgrown their DIY. And I think that that part of their journey is very magical, and it allows people to make mistakes along the way. And so even for myself, the way that I launched my business is definitely not what my business is today. When I launched, I really wanted to be accepted by everyone. And because I came from a corporate background, for me, I thought success meant not saying things like, I am only working with female founders. Something as simple as that would not be a sentence I would have said in the beginning. But now, nine years in, I know that those are my clients, those are the people that I attract, and those are the people that I do want to work with, and that's where the magic happens.
Heather Nelson: So good. I always thought my business was going to be women focused because of the work that I do in my podcasts and stuff, and my women's retreats. I'm in this woman empowerment space, but most of my clients in my consulting world have been male. I was just talking to them about it too. I look back and I'm like, every single, pretty much every single one of them is a male because I teach business development, sales and building clients through relationships, and men just don't have that. They just don't have it in them. It's definitely when they're male, and a very women dominated industry, how do they insert themselves within that, and so it was interesting. Definitely not something that I thought my business would be.
Puja Malhotra: I won the opposite way. I thought I'd be attracting brands of all type. I never thought it was going to be a specific demo, specific demographic. And I will say that the women that I attract, I don't niche down to a certain industry, but I do attract the same kind of person, and that person is someone who is who is a doer, who is motivated, who has ambition to build something that is greater than them and bring impact into the world.
Heather Nelson: So good. I love all your artwork behind you.
Puja Malhotra: Oh, thank you. I try to keep it as fancy as possible. But a lot of them, I just find at different markets I've been to, or some of them a little peacock has been with me since I was, I don't know, 8?
Heather Nelson: I like the piece up in the corner.
Puja Malhotra: That one's actually one of my old friends. She sources them. She's an interior designer.
Heather Nelson: Ah, that's so cool. What is their experience working with you? Or who's your favorite type of client to help, and what is it that you do with them?
Puja Malhotra: I think it's hard for me to say a favorite type of client, but I would say my favorite thing, let's maybe switch that up a little bit. Because what I do love is every time a client walks in, I want to learn more about their industry. And so whether you're an interior designer, or a stylist, or someone in the restaurant business, I love working with variety because it allows me to learn more about that industry, and I think it keeps me on my toes. It also pushes me not to template my designs. It pushes me to really think about who that person is as a person, and how they're going to grow. So for me, it's all about timeless designs. And in order to get that, especially with the done-for-you services, it is very transformational, and it's about self discovery. So my favorite part is watching that person walk in initially in that first meeting, and seeing who they become by the time we launch. And that's where the magic happens because I feel like people come in with an idea, even as an experienced entrepreneur, they come in with an idea and to see the spark and the confidence that they get from their brand afterwards is really special for me.
Heather Nelson: I'm going to bring up the AI thing, because I'm sure you probably experienced that all the time. Everyone's always like, AI is going to take over, I think, in certain industries, and absolutely it will. But I think something about the work that you do to really get to know somebody, who they are and the type of client they attract, and the industry that they're in. You could get that from AI, but not to the personal level of the services like you do.
Puja Malhotra: 100%. I think the thing is AI can take over the data side of things. And so there is data that I collect as well, so I really try to get to know who your industry is, your competitors, all that fun stuff. And that's all stuff that AI can gather and give you something through that as well. But for me, it's also magic in understanding who you are, what your lifestyle is, and how you want to see your business grow. And that comes from workshopping and spending time together before we even start the design process.
Heather Nelson: What is the process? So somebody comes to you, I'm sure you probably have different types of packages they need, but what does the timeline typically look like?
Puja Malhotra: With the smaller packages for the people who are just starting out, those timelines are completely different. I'll speak on the bigger done-for-you package, because that would be where you'd come in. We'd start from scratch and really build up. And so you're looking at about 8 to 10 weeks on average. But what we do is we start with a brand interview, which you'd fill out on your own time. We would then take that review. It is to run a competitor analysis, and then we'd sit down with you for a 60 minute workshop period. And that workshop period is where the true magic happens. And so what I'm trying to see is, where do you get that little sparkle in your eye? What does your body language look like when you're speaking about certain ideologies with your brand or even your competitors? So building and workshopping from there, and then we go back and we actually do all our designs, our initial concepts in black and white, because color will change your direction based on what your relationship is with a certain color. Some people love pink, some people hate pink. Some people feel some way about green, and some people don't feel so keen about green. So we want to take color out of it and really focus on the concept. And then from there, we bring in color palettes and work with you. And then we'll create an entire brand style guide, which is the holy grail of your brand and your business, and it'll outline who you are, what your mission is, your color palettes, your font palettes, your logo usage, all that fun stuff.
Heather Nelson: So fun. I feel like I love stuff so much. I always think it would be so much fun, but it's super, super overwhelming to me because there's just so many options out there to go.
Puja Malhotra: And that's part of my job, to narrow down the options for you based on who you are. Because ultimately, the goal is for me, why I left corporate because I was doing this in the corporate world as well. And what I realized is that I really enjoy doing it for small businesses, and I want to be able to give it to people who don't necessarily have these massive marketing teams behind them. And that's what sparked the interest in bringing this business to life. And that's my main reason. How do I give you that competitor edge that a brand like Coca Cola has? And a lot of small businesses aren't necessarily like these. Small business owners are educated in what they provide, but they're not necessarily educated in that branding aspect. And so bringing in that cohesiveness, telling them how they can show up in a way that will create that memorable brand experience for their clients.
Heather Nelson: I love that. Do you work with people all over the world?
Puja Malhotra: Yeah. I actually had a few clients in California, and even the Bahamas. So anywhere and everywhere. Zoom does make it easier so I love that everything can just be online.
Heather Nelson: You mentioned in the beginning of introducing yourself about some of the challenges of being an immigrant and having somebody who was a mentor for you that looked like you. Talk about what that was like for you, and kind of some of the things that you've learned along the way.
Puja Malhotra: Yeah, so I will just say I'm not personally an immigrant. I was born and raised here. And so for me, my story is very different from what my parents' story might be. And so for me, I think there was this constant ideology of not fitting in anywhere. Because I was born here, I wasn't Indian enough for the Indian people. And because I was born here, but I look like I do. I wasn't white enough for the white people, and I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood as well. And so I think the challenge for me was really just owning who I was and who I am, and knowing that it's okay to show up as I am because the world has changed a lot since I was little. And I guess parts of it haven't either, depending on how you see it. There is this aspect that is more accepting, of course, that you see. I think now, because there's more people like me in the positions that we're in, we're able to show the others, the generation coming up, that you can do this. And that was really important for me, because I wanted to be able to showcase that because I felt like, for me, I did feel isolated. I didn't know that anybody truly understood the cultural nuances that come with being a South Asian woman trying to build a business.
Heather Nelson: What were some of the challenges like, and I'm just saying this in general as a business owner, because I think so many people are hesitant to start a business. I certainly was myself, but I would never go back. There's some people that go back, but I'm like, I would never go back. But there are always challenges. What are some of the challenges that you faced and overcome that you could share with other other people too?
Puja Malhotra: All the challenges that you face, especially you being a woman, me being a woman, they're very similar challenges. But then there's also this idea of like, am I safe here to voice my opinion. And it's not even as safe as you could be in a room that's super safe for you physically, but is it okay for me to be visible here and share my story, and how is it going to be received? And I think that that was a big fear that I had to get through and get over. It was hard. Because initially, when I did start my business, I almost wanted to hide who I was, to blend in with what I knew success was being matched with. I hate this term girl boss, but there was a big part when I was starting my business where it was this ideology of like, who the girl boss is? And generally, when you think of that notion, it is kind of a whitewashed version of what a boss should look like. And so trying to fit in and blend in, use the millennial pink or all those trends that we had with the hustle culture took away, and stripped me of who I was internally. I'm someone who's bold. I'm someone who's bright. I'm someone who wants to showcase all aspects of myself, but that is not something that I started with. It's something that I healed from and learned that it was okay to do this, and also that it's okay to step away from rooms where you don't feel safe to share that I don't need to prove anything to anybody.
Heather Nelson: So good. I know the confidence thing is real. And I think you had mentioned in the email when we were chatting about imposter syndrome, and I think you hear so much about it. I had it all of the time. Then you get in a room with somebody who is so inspired by you, or so inspired by the work you do, or so inspired having a podcast, whatever it is like, okay, I guess I can do this. But it takes some grit and some self discovery to build that confidence to be like, I can do this.
Puja Malhotra: I think the thing is that we believe that there's this belief out there that imposter syndrome comes, and then we get over it, and it's not like that. It's almost like imposter syndrome comes, we get over it, and then it comes back again, and then we get over it, and then we reach another goal, and then it comes in again. And so it never really goes away. But you have to remind yourself, I think, even on your darkest days of why you're doing this. That's what keeps me as a business owner, seeing those testimonials come in. I had a woman who recently came up to me and told me that I'm on her vision board, and that melted my heart. I just remind myself on those days where I feel like things are harder than, hey, you're on somebody's vision board so let's make this happen, and make sure that you show up 100%. Those little reminders throughout are important to get over that impostor syndrome and build that confidence. It's not getting over to something, and then it never comes back.
Heather Nelson: Totally. One thing you had mentioned is that you're an introvert, and it's so interesting because I have this conversation all the time, because I'm an extrovert, for sure. Put me in a room and I know that I got it. I can handle this. I love it. I thrive off of it. I go home. I'm an introvert, though, when I get home. But as a business owner, you have to put yourself out there because you are your salesperson. You are the face of the business. Talk about some of the things that have helped you along the way to kind of overcome that.
Puja Malhotra: Having a plan in place. I still know this happens to me. Anytime I have to go to an event, my heart starts to race. I just feel nervous. I think I'm going to just cling on to somebody, and then what's the point of meeting and going if I'm not meeting people? And so what I've started to do is create a plan going into it, and I make my day easy. I understand that I need to recharge, which means this event is my work for the day. I will take time whether it's an evening event, I will take it easier during the daytime. If it's a morning event, I will have an easy morning and just go to the event, and then take the rest of the evening off. And so those are just tools that work for me, because I need that recharge moment. I know I've also been to events where I'm just like, okay, I think I just need to step out of the room, maybe go to the bathroom, fix my hair, just take a few minutes to just breathe myself. Because for me, it's the anxiousness of having to make small talk. Now, if you were to see me at an event, you would never imagine that this is me. And so another thing that really helps me is creating that persona. It's almost like Beyonce and Sasha Fierce sort of aspect of it, right? I was recently asked, do you have a persona when you're designing? And I'm like, no. When I'm designing, that's the truest form of me. But when I'm out meeting people where I do feel like I'm not being fake, but I have to be on, I think it's okay to know that you're still being authentic when you're showing up and then you're still yourself when you're at home snuggled up by your desk designing.
Heather Nelson: I also think that we have to be better about being okay with not being perfect on things. You can put me behind a microphone, and podcasting is my jam. This is great and easy for me. You put me in a microphone in front of a group, a hot mess, and I've learned to just accept that that's okay, that I don't need to be perfect in that world if I'm thriving somewhere else. And I think we put a lot of pressure on us to be perfect all the time in every single way. But I think it's okay to be like, I'm not strong at that. I'm not strong at pronouncing people's names. I'm not a strong writer. I know this, and I just need to be okay with it. But it has taken many years to get to that point of being like, this is who I am. And take it or leave it.
Puja Malhotra: I think that goes into business too. We try to do everything, and one of the business lessons I learned was to hire people who are smarter than me in other aspects that I'm not really good at. I think that's hard to let go, especially when a lot of us treat our business like it's our baby. We've nurtured it, we've created it, and we don't want to let go of certain aspects. And I think it's really important to understand what we need to let go of in order to thrive and build even more.
Heather Nelson: Where do you continue to find creativity? For me, podcasting. Since I'm a podcaster, I love to listen to other podcasts because it fuels my soul, right? Do you have websites? What do you do to find your creativity?
Puja Malhotra: I think for me, it's the energy that comes from meeting new people. And it's funny that I say that as an introvert. But one on one, I'm great. It's that magic. My clients are the ones who inspire me and their stories. A lot of what we do with the branding is understanding their story and their why, and that's what helps me figure out what I want to do and bring that creativity. Now, I could also say that music plays a big role in it. I have to be in my environment, cleanliness. There's other factors, but I think the number one thing would be the people I work with. That's what drives my creativity.
Heather Nelson: Do you have a team?
Puja Malhotra: I am solo. I hesitate saying I'm a solopreneur, because although I don't have a team that's designing with me, I do have contractors that I work with from time to time. And then, of course, the entire team behind the facility of being a woman in business is you have your VAs, you have your cleaning ladies, you have the village that helps you take care of your children. There are other aspects of a team, and that's why I hesitate always using the word solopreneur because I'm not solo. I have a lot of help in different aspects, and I try to, again, use apps and AI that helped me build out my business in a way where it can thrive.
Heather Nelson: Totally. Yeah, it does take a village, for sure. Do you have kids?
Puja Malhotra: I have one.
Heather Nelson: Me too. They're fun. I have four kids, but my youngest is three years old.
Puja Malhotra: I want more, but three years old is a handful. He keeps me on my toes.
Heather Nelson: What are the new trends in branding? It's just like anything else, things evolve. Are you seeing some of the new fun trends around branding, logos, websites?
Puja Malhotra: I think people are now stepping into this really fantastic energy of ownership of who they are. There's no hiding. I feel like we went through this phase where everyone wanted to blend in, and it could just be what I'm attracting right now to the energy that I'm putting out there. But a lot of people are done being cookie cutter. I want to step into really building out that persona of who they are. And so alongside building these business brands, you're seeing a lot of personal brands launch with that. I think that's really important to share. Because like you said, we are the faces of our brand, of our business, and so it's important for us to put ourselves out there as well.
Heather Nelson: So true. I know I still struggle with my branding, because I have my consulting business. And then I have my past, and then my retreats and like, how do I make this? All encompass brands, but I've been struggling with that because they are very unique and different things.
Puja Malhotra: Then you are the one that holds the umbrella together, right? And I think that a lot of what people are doing is multifaceted in what their offers are to the world, whether it's a podcast or their business. And then they have all these little pieces of who they are that in some cases, make profit in different ways. And so building out a brand that's for them specifically, I think is really on trend right now.
Heather Nelson: So fun. Anything else that we didn't talk about?
Puja Malhotra: It's up to you. I feel like there's always more that we can discuss. That's life, right?
Heather Nelson: What would you say to the woman that's listening right now that has in her heart to do something different, whether it's start a business, or try a hobby, or follow their dreams? What are some advice that you learned along the way that would inspire others?
Puja Malhotra: You're the only person standing in your own way. Nobody's going to stop you. And so once you decide to do something, everything is going to be easy to figure out. And when I say easy, I don't mean that there will be nights where you might not sleep. It's gonna be hard, but all the universe will work together to make it happen. And I truly believe that once you decide that this is what I'm doing, it happens.
Heather Nelson: It's so true. It just happened to my stepdaughter. Things happen and you get worked up, and you get upset about it. Literally, everything always figures itself out. I teach my husband all the time like, yeah, there's a little bump in the road, but it always works itself out. And sometimes, it's not what we think it will be. But it always works out.
Puja Malhotra: I think what we really need to be mindful of is, sometimes, we think it didn't work out the way that we wanted, but it still works out in a way that maybe we didn't even imagine. And that's always better. It just creates something that's better. I've been through some rough patches in my life. And when you are going through those rough patches, you think that it's not going to get better, the better. And this is really hard, and I don't know why I'm doing this to myself. You start questioning everything. But looking back at those hard times, I'm just like, wow. I see why that happened to me. Now I understand why I have to go through bullying or this. I dealt with infertility and all these things that came my way, challenges throughout life, but allowed me to become the person I am. And allow me to share my story in ways that I don't think other people can.
Heather Nelson: Mm, hmm, so true. What's next for you? What is on your vision board? What's the next step for you?
Puja Malhotra: I think for me, right now, I am on this train of increasing visibility. I think I've run my business for nine years in a silent way. That doesn't mean that I didn't show up, but I just feel like right now, I'm showing up with the community in a very different way. I'm excited about this, because I feel like I'm ready to share my story and my words.
Heather Nelson: So good. Well, I'm so thankful to have you here and that we are connected. I love the work you're doing. It's so funny, because I run into people all the time. I'm like, you should come on my podcast. And they're like, well, we don't. I have a cool story. Everybody has a story, or something, or they can inspire people. One day, I put on a podcast and I'm like, this topic is exactly what I needed to hear. And so I always find that in everyone. I just want to thank you for sharing your story, sharing your journey, and being on the podcast.
Puja Malhotra: Thank you so much for having me.