This week Entrepreneur

Hye all,

Today, we would love to introduce another young entrepreneurs who have started and running business. Haida Waty from NowAsia had the previlige to interview them and feature here in www.abangabu.com

I am very sure that we can learn something powerful from this young entrepreneurs.

olalola.jpg

Name: Hartini Ab Ghani & Nur Arfah Octavia Jaffar

Age: 27

CEO of: Ola Lola

URL: www.ola-lola.com

1) What kind of business do you have? What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

We run an online business retailing accessories and apparel for ladies. What inspired us to be entrepreneurs was the sole idea of being our own bosses, also the thought of having our very own brand name appealed to us. Of course, needless to say, the love for accessories also contributed to this inspiration.

2) Did you need to have a certain mindset to achieve success?

We work on our passion, sincerely, and everything falls into place thereafter. Patience is most definitely, a virtue. Believing in our dreams, having a positive mind and faith in ourselves would also be the baby steps to success.

3) Have you noticed certain advantages to being an entrepreneur?

The entrepreneurial mind does wonders to how we perceive life now. We are embarking on personal self-growth, independence and wisdom. Having an eye for detail and being meticulous, especially when we are working on a hand-made product, proves to be an all-important trait that eventually developed in us. The simpler pleasures in life now would mean seeing a satisfied customer putting on a hand-made Ola Lola product. What also keeps us going is the constantly widening circle of network, which starts off as customers who have now become our friends and acquaintances.

4) Is it difficult to get financing for businesses? If so, why and are there any solutions?

We started off well with a mediocre amount of money. Subsequently, as the business grew, we focused on sourcing for supplies at the most minimal cost. Family members have also helped in investing when the need arised.

5) Did you have a mentor to help you get started?

No. We relied on accessory-making how-to books and our own creativity.

6) Approximately how much money did you invest before your business became profitable?

It took less than S$1k to kick-start our business.

7) What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?

The reliable Internet, self-help books and our creative juices contributed a great deal when we were starting our business.

8) What ways have you found to be most effective in marketing your product or service to get sales?

Word-of-mouth, social networking websites, flyer distribution and outdoor events such as flea markets and bazaars are the most effective ways of marketing our product and brand name.

9) What tips can you give others who want to embrace their dream but, don’t have the confidence or feel they don’t have what it takes to succeed?

Never let anybody tell you that you won’t be able to do it. A tiny voice inside you will insist that nothing is impossible. Listen to that tiny voice. You’ll shine better when you are passionate your own product/service and sincerely want the rest of the world to experience it the way you do. Set goals and put your plans into action. Create a personal motto and live by it. Play motivational words in your mind daily as a mantra. With all that said, it’s really fine to fail sometimes. You’ll never be able to savour the sweetness of success without knowing how failure feels like.

10) How do you manage juggling the responsibilities of being an entrepreneur?

We believe being self-disciplined, determined and prioritizing works well for us.

11) What’s next for you?

Kicking into our fourth year now, we hope to launch an apparel line for men. A perfect picture of Ola Lola’s biggest goal would be a quaint little café with a savoury finger food feast, and a corner to display our accessories and apparel for our shopaholic patrons.

3 Comments

  1. seri

    salam,

    i’ve read your artical. im in the process of starting my own biz online, i would appreciate if u could answer some questions( as part of my homework)

    these are my questions:
    1)why u choose to do this(apparel/accessories) biz?(why not food/books/etc)
    2)isn’t it very competative?
    3)what makes your biz diff from others who also sell the same product as yours?

    terima kasih
    seri

  2. salam seri

    1) we chose apparel & accessories simply because we’re pretty passionate about them, just like any other female. for example, if food and cooking is your forte, then you’ll definitely have a head-start there. we’re accessories-junkies ourselves, so we figured we’d do pretty well in it. 🙂

    2) competition is inevitable. one has to constantly work on improving and putting the business on higher levels as you go along.

    3) we’ve withstood the test of time. some online blogshops close down after a while. sellers may find it much effort to maintain, bringing in stock, taking pictures, selling, wrapping, etc. strong passion and determination keeps Ola Lola alive for 4 years and counting. over time, we’ve grown from a simple site to what we are today.

    hope i’ve helped. 🙂 and good luck to your online biz!

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