And it is 2022!

Hey! I am back! Since my last blog post in 2015. I started my "Baju Kurong" business. I was proud of what I did with my business. I when for digital marketing courses so I can run ads to reach out to my customers, I created the look and sourced fabrics overseas. Some fabrics and ready products were destroyed before I found the right and trustworthy tailor. I also had a wonderful support system to help me with make-up, photoshoots, and photo editing into turning them into beautiful pictures. (Sohfian, my 2 daughters Saras, sis-in-law, and friends). Sold my creation on social media platforms with no website, Ramadan bazaars, Zalora Singapore, and featured my look at Singapore Modest Fashion Weekend 2017 alongside Southeast Asia's celebrities and fashion designers. I am so thankful to the almighty that it all went well. Nothing beats happy customers sharing photos of their princesses trying on the clothes and wearing them during Eid.

Up till mid-2018 I had a mental and emotional breakdown and got depressed as I was just a stay-at-home mum and not doing anything else. I took a break from my business. And also I have always known a financial crisis comes every 10 years but didn't know how impactful it was for a small business like mine. I am not too sure I am able to withstand the wave. I was there to see many were affected by the 1999 and 2009 financial crises.

I told Sohfian I would like to go back to work, I was recommended by my aunt to a pharmaceutical company. The salary package was good enough for me and my family to go on a couple of holidays and I joined the gym. The gym didn't really help though. I am so thankful we get to travel and go to places. Rightafter our Tioman beach holiday in March 2020. Covid19 came and we were on lockdown. We were all staying at home for 2 years. My girls had home-based learning throughout. Sohfian did Grabfood. Some people who learned through Covid had their moments of realization. Sohfian took up 2 hobbies gardening and fishing. As for me I was bottled up and stressed with my work-from-home situation. It is not that I am not appreciative that I still have a job. As everyone else has said. It is just that I let myself get lost in the daily work stuff. I gained weight and when into depression again. 

Since I am still working, I decided it was time to go back into the business in 2021. As I knew going back to my passion is the only thing that will keep me sane. I created my own website and started my TikTok account (thank god for Shopify and TikTok), due to the travel restrictions, I ordered my fabrics from the same supplier got them shipped to the same tailor, and brought them made via WhatsApp communications. Alhamdullilah. I did pretty well however, my job and business don't work well together. I guess I am a person who needs to be out and about even though I am doing my own business. During the 1st year of my business, I was doing my work, packing my orders, and replying to customers' inquiries in a storage space away from home. And will just move on if anything I am doing doesn't really serve any purpose in my life. I am not the sought that will continue going through the motion. I've always believed that money we can always earn. I am not saying money is not important. It is very much important, if not I won't be doing what I am doing. It is the purpose, the feeling of fulfillment that gets me going. 

I had taken real estate courses to pursue sales in real estate. So I decided to leave my job in January 2022 which shocked my colleagues.  It is October 2022, and I am currently doing freelance jobs and planning for my 2023 collection. I am not tied down with companies telling me what to do. I will have updates on what is coming up in January 2023. Stay tuned for my next blog post. InsyaAllah. 😊