Here is the excerpts from Interview with Raag Vaamdatt who runs and maintain his website http://www.raagvaamdatt.com and http://www.PaisaPlanner.com which are one of the topmost blog sites in Personal Finance with approximately 11000 registered readers and 1 lac page views per month.
He has recently left his lucrative well paying job in an MNC and has taken up the blogging full time.
How long you have been blogging and how you took up blogging?
When I was working as a business analyst with an IT company, I observed my friends from the technology side. I saw that they earned well, and saved well. However, they didn't invest well. At the advise of some insurance advisor, they just bought some random insurance policies in February / March just to save some income tax. I knew I had the knowledge about the India markets, and I thought why not use that to educate others about better ways of investing and planning their finances? Thats how I started www.RaagVamdatt.com http://www.raagvamdatt.com/. I started it in end-2007, and started a Hindi personal finance website www.PaisaPlanner.com http://www.PaisaPlanner.com in end-2009.
What prompted you to leave your lucrative high paying job to dedicate yourself full time towards your blog?
A short but accurate answer would be satisfaction. My job was very good, no doubt, and was very well paying. But the satisfaction that I got from the websites is something that can't be matched by any job. Tons of people have sent me emails and left comments at my websites stating that what I have written has helped them tremendously. What other job can give you this sense of doing something of real value? At the end of the day, job-satisfaction is what matters!
Of course, I am doing this with the intention of helping others, but I am not doing it for charity. When I am leaving my job, I also need to earn to sustain my family! But I believe that money is secondary if I am doing something with passion, money is bound to follow.
Have you taken help of professionals in designing your website or do you have any IT background?
Both the websites have been 100% one-person effort. I have conceptualized them, implemented them and I am the one maintaining them. So, I am the technical person, and I am the finance guy as well! This has been thanks largely to the large variety of open-source software available today. I would like to say a big thanks to the developers of such software without whom my websites would not have been possible.
Apart from being an MBA in Finance, I am also an Engineer (BE). So, yes, I have some technical background. But more than the degree, its the large amount of documentation surrounding the open-source software that helped me.
Now with full time what goal you have set for yourself in what timelines?
The goal hasn't changed with me being full time now, its the same. I started the website with the intention of educating common people about better financial ways, and that would always remain the goal. Of course, there are short term goals like increasing the frequency of publishing articles, being even more regular in answering peoples' queries, etc.
Are you obsessed about Personal finance only or we may see you blogging in other niche?
I am interested in many things, but am obsessed only about personal finance. So, thats what it would be for the time being!
How many regular readers you have and how many thank you mails you recieve every month?
I have more than 1 Lakh page views per month, and have more than 11,000 registered members on the site.
I really haven't kept a count, but as I mentioned earlier, almost every other email or comment that I get mentions that what I am doing is of great help!
We have seen that you also offer Financial planning services, how many readers have signed up till date?
In the 1 year of the My Financial Planner http://www.raagvamdatt.com/myfinancialplan/ service, I have about 40 clients. Remember, this is without any advertisements at all the clients are readers of my blogs, and got their planning done through me because they like my thinking and investment philosophies. These clients are from across India, and some are also NRIs from US, UK, Singapore, Dubai, etc.
In which all cities you provide Financial Planning services. What are the channels mainly used. Or you are providing this service only through E- channel.
The My Financial Planner service that I provide is completely web based and thats the beauty of it! A person staying anywhere in India (or the world) can avail of it.There are forms for filling in your information, and they are designed in such a way that there is no chance of missing anything! The delivery and review of the financial plan is also over the internet. The whole process is quite user-friendly, and all my clients have told me that they didn't feel the need to talk to me over the phone, forget meeting in person!
What is the kind of revenue you presently earn through blogging and what is your target now?
I am not after money otherwise, I wouldn't have returned to India leaving behind an almost 6-figure dollar salary in the US, and I wouldn't have quit my job.
As I said, I am doing what I am passionate about, and I am sure money would follow
Whom do you want to give credit for your succesful journey in blogging?
Without a doubt, that would be my wife, Renu Vamdatt! She has been very supportive, and has always encouraged me to write more and write better even though the websites were taking away from the time I should have spent with her! Now that I am focusing entirely on the websites, I guess I would be able to spend more time with her and my little son, Rishi.
Raag, wish you best of luck for all your aspirations.
