I had never thought I would become an entrepreneur, but it just happened. I was struggling when I couldn’t find a decent shop in Finland that would provide quality abayas and scarves. I always asked my friend Julia to bring me clothes from her travels in Dubai, but I hoped that I wouldn’t always have to order from abroad or wait for my friends to go traveling. Julia said that we should start such a company, but back then we just laughed at the whole idea. However, on her next trip, after making discoveries, Julia called me and suggested that we should actually do it.
That’s where it all started and our passion for entrepreneurship was born. In January 2017, Julia and I set up an online store that offers clothing and accessories for both Muslim women and anyone else interested in modest fashion. I was 20 years old, had just finished high school and worked at a cash register. Julia studied at a School of Business and already had experience in entrepreneurship. At first, we didn’t even have an actual e-commerce platform and we used our phones to take pictures of products we sold on Instagram. We had to start somewhere.
At first, we didn’t even have an actual e-commerce platform and we used our phones to take pictures of products we sold on Instagram. We had to start somewhere.
If you believe in your business idea, don’t worry too much about it, but calculate whether the company would be profitable, and then try. We live in such a fast-paced world that if we don’t take action right away, someone else will get there first. Entrepreneurship is always a hit or miss, and you’ll never get to know where it could lead if you don’t try. Failure is not to be feared, it too is just an experience.
Now I am in my last year of marketing studies and my studies have been a great help in entrepreneurship as well. While it is not necessary to know everything yourself, you must have knowledge in some area of the company and an interest in the field. Otherwise, there is no fire that will allow you to move forward even during difficult times. My own perception of entrepreneurship was that it is easy money – I couldn’t have been more wrong. Today, I think that if a company is not profitable after 3 years, you must rethink the operations.
The most amazing thing about entrepreneurship has been partnership. No matter what happens, I would not regret anything that we have experienced together.
