Passion + Perseverance: Sashee Chandran, founder of Tea Drops, Shares Her Career Journey

Recently, I came upon a quote that says – “The things that you are passionate about are not random. They are your calling.” Many people, including myself, have a hard time figuring out their calling, and even what they are truly passionate about. Truth of the matter is, with life moving so fast our interests can move from one thing to another just as quickly.

So how do we find out what we truly are passionate about, and is success as easy as knowing what that is? For Sashee Chandran, finding her passion and calling came to her by looking into what naturally centered her, something that she grew up with and reminded her of her upbringing. Her career journey started from understanding this, but grew with perseverance and discipline. She founded the company Tea Drops, which has not only given people a new way of enjoying their beloved tea time, it also helped her turn her passion into a business.

Read our interview below! 

All About Tea Drops!

What are Tea Drops? “Tea Drops are organic shaped teas that dissolve in your cup with boiling water (that’s right, no tea bag!). Comprised of all organic tea, spices, and lightly sweetened with raw sugar — our Tea Drops are a blissful, sustainable, and unique tea blend that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere with just hot water. We DO NOT add any additives or artificial flavorings to our teas. Did we mention, how cute and fun the Tea Drops shapes are too?!”

What sparked the inspiration to make Tea Drops? “Tea has always been a part of my family’s culture and upbringing, so I grew a deep love for the ritual of tea from an early age. After college I held  many positions in corporate environments, I always noticed how difficult it was to enjoy a high cup of loose leaf tea at work. First, I would have to get out my tea pot and strainer, boil the water, add the loose leaf tea, steep it for a certain amount of time –and I’d usually forget about the water after getting sidetracked with my work and end up over steeping my tea. I then tried premium tea bags, but I was never satisfied with the taste and would usually end up in a conference room without a means of disposing the tea bag easily. I felt there had to be an easier way to enjoy high quality tea! So for the next few years on my weekends and after work, I would mix tea and spices together to see if I could create and easy, all-encompassing loose leaf tea experience. After LOTS of trial and error, I eventually ended up with what we now call Tea Drops.”

9. Do you have a personal mantra or motto you live by? Yes, I do! Here are a few of them:

“As you walk, the way appears.” – Rumi, Persian poet and Sufi master

Fear is obviously a huge factor that can hold you back. I always love being reminded that I do not need to have all of the answers when I continue on my journey. I have to have faith that guidance will appear the more entrenched I become in my path/work.

“Nothing in the world will take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Genius will not. Education will not. Persistence and dedication alone are omnipotent.”

There is so much talent in the world, but I find there is one distinction that separates hobby artists from creative entrepreneurs – and that is “grit.” Persistence is key. Especially when I feel intimidated, I always have to remember that.

10. What particular advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business? “Focus is paramount. I listened to a podcast earlier this year that stated that on a good day, business owners spend only about 23 minutes of their day on work that is actually important. That statistic was eye-opening for me!  The rest of our day is often spent tackling urgent, but non-important work — or worse, irrelevant tasks. It is hard to do, but key that we map out and think  about how we spend our time each day. Time is one of the few commodities that cannot be replenished.”

Sashee Chandran reminds us all of a great lesson in pursuing success. Sure, passion can lead us to our calling, but success can only be attained by taking the courage and discipline to follow it through.

Check out Tea Drops at www.myteadrop.com! For updates, you could also follow Tea Drops on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.