By: Michelle Liew
Nurul Fatimah Mamat never thought her life would change 360 degrees after graduating from university almost a decade ago.
She said that on campus, she was very active in the leadership club and that she always wanted to be a leader some way on day.
Despite having a master’s degree in finance, Nurul Fatimah did not pursue a career in that field but never regretted her choice. She ventured into business and started out with her friend as a business partner. After her partner quit, she was determined to take up the business on her own, and that was the start of her successful hijab business.
“Before this, my business partner and I did this business just for fun and wanted to increase our side income as a housewife.
“At that time, I was already married and had children too, so time was a bit limited and most of the time was spent managing the family.”
“I didn’t expect the business to start taking off so well, the demand for the hijabs that we sold was in high demand and still is in high demand,” said the Terengganu native.
With many agents working under her, she did not want to disappoint them and eventually stood on her own two feet to run the business.
“Alhamdulillah, everything is made easier by Allah. Officially, the tudung bawal business under the brand Darena’ started operating in March this year and now, I already have almost 1,200 distributors and agents nationwide,” she said.
“Although I do not work specifically in finance, I am doing more than that right now. As a leader, I also have the role of administering, managing and ensuring the smooth operation of the business, ” she said, adding that Darena has so far had more than 150 designs for tudung bawal (printed & plain).
Despite challenges in the business, Nurul Fatimah never gave up and persevered throughout her journey as an entrepreneur.
“Despite the inflow and outflow of agents and distributors, that is beyond my control as a leader. What is important for me is the strengthen the existing team and just continue to grow bigger, ” she adds.
Nurul Fatimah has shown us that no matter what your field of study is, as long as there is hard work and a passion for learning, anything is possible. It is never too late to start something new and be successful at it.
