QUESNEY21 (Day7): Their Entrepreneurship Journey - Women In Business: Making An Impact
On the 24th of March I attended the Women in Business: Making an Impact at the ultra-modern and superb co-working space called Common Ground in TTDI.
When I arrived the place was already abuzz with loads of women getting to know each other. There was the smell of freshly brewed coffee and breakfast pastries not to mention a tangible spirit of women wanting to connect with each other. It was also wonderful that were quite a few other Steemians there that day and I am glad that I got to connect with some of those that I missed in other meetups. I had a chance to really chat with @natalielo, @littlenewthings, @karinzdailygrind, @kaerpediem and @joyceann21. There were also some other friends that I met as well and really need to catch up with soon.
Anyway, the event started and we got to listen to the following women speak:
• Claire Sancelot - The Hive Bulk Foods
• Franki Turner Shaik - Frankitas
• Anabelle Co-Martinent- La Juiceria
• Adelina Mahiyudin - Hot Yo Studio
• Freda Liu - BFM Radio Station and her book "Bursting Fixed Mindsets"
• Julia Koh - Brand 360 and WomenWill
It was a great line up of 6 women entrepreneurs who shared the highlights of their journey and took Q&A from the audience of women attendees. Thanks to @yasminep who organised this fantastic event and invited the bunch of us women from Team Malaysia.
Each one of them had made a difference in their area of business, some helping the less fortunate, bringing a different retailing concept to Malaysia, being an inspiration for other women to emulate, writing a book and advocating for a more healthier lifestyle. They all had some really incredible gems of wisdom to share and I believe overall a great motivation to everyone who was there.
Reflecting on the event I realised a few things:-
Of the 6 women, only two were Malaysian born and bred!The other 4 were foreigners in Malaysia having arrived here via different means or have lived overseas for a prolonged period of time.
Please don't get me wrong, the only reason I pointed this out was that I felt that if a foreigner with no friends, no connections or understanding of our local cultures and business environment could grow a thriving business and become successful, what more are the opportunities for the Malaysian woman like us! Each one of them armed only with their dreams literally and the desire to create a business for themselves went out and did it! If you want to hear more about their stories, I would be happy to meet up for a coffee and chat, else you could also google them up.Each of these women believed in giving back and more importantly finding meaningful ways to give back to the community around them.
They gave back time and effort to help other women during events like this. Within their own businesses, they found ways to give back to the refugee community, the less abled person and the environment.They still had time to nurture their children
It amazing how the majority of them are mothers and still manage to create a home, teach good values to their children and run a successful growing business.Lastly, the organiser of the event, the wonderful @yasminep who herself is not Malaysian has really put in so much time and effort into organising something that would benefit more women in Malaysia. She has shared that she is laying the foundation for something more tangible to continue in Malaysia and other parts of the world! If you want to find out ways you can contribute or work together, do get in touch with her directly!
That day a small little fire lit within me. Women in Malaysia have opportunities, we can succeed! We must not be afraid to learn from one other, seek out mentors who will push us out of our comfort zone and most importantly as the organiser shared we must be supportive of each other rather than as competition to tear down. Another friend recently shared with me that her mentor told her that in her corporate career, men have hurt her but women have deeply wounded her as they tried to tear her down.
So here I am calling for all women to stand together, to learn to connect and empower each other. Let's us put aside our petty jealousy and power struggles. Opportunities abound and we can achieve so much more together, we can make a difference!
Do you think women are more prone to tearing down another woman rather than building each other up? Do share your thoughts, I would love to hear from you!
So what is QUESNEY21? @joannewong and I are challenging each other to create great content for the next 21 days. Starting 26th of March and ending on the 15th of April. We needed the discipline and motivation that comes from being accountable to each other. Tell us if this is interesting to you, do you think you could benefit from your own QUESNEY 21?
Check out the other postings for this challenge:
QUESNEY21(Day 5): The Priority
QUESNEY21 (Day4): The Heart of A Child
QUESNEY21 (Day 3): An Analogy For Your Steemit Wallet
QUESNEY 21 (Day 2): Money Conversations with Millennials and Post-Millennials
QUESNEY21 (Day 1): Strangers On A Train
Do check out @joannewong postings too for this challenge!
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Couldn't agree more. I've met some (both men and women) who travel abroad for work and can't speak the local language after years (one was 8 years in UK and not speak English well enough), or had a hard time making friends. Entrepreneurship aside, I think it's about the proactiveness of the person too. My 2cents...
Thanks for your two cent @maverickfoo always appreciated from you! Yes I think that makes a massive difference!
Honestly I too once thought that there are hardly any female entrepreneurs who actually could succeed in the million dollar mark in "the men's world" so to speak; but seeing each and every one of them especially our expats who had that determine to thrive and survive in a foreign land led me to a thought why only 2 out of the 6 panels are locals.
Complacency
It's a place we can always fall back . Our expats friends could strive and thrive forward is the very fact that they are in a foreign land. They are pushed out of their comfort zone already.
No turning back
Just like when most of us women who actually travel to different states instead of our hometown, especially when you travel from East to West Malaysia (and vice versa), that mental lock of no turning back is powerful enough to push us through and through.
I think when we realise our weakness of always able to fall back to our family and embrace that first step that we cannot run back to our own old ways once we make that move will help us, especially women, who are so used to depending on our male counterpart, look beyond what we have right at this point and also to appreciate the present.
Great insights @khimgoh ! upvoted and resteemed
Wow! @littlenewthings appreciate you adding to this. Complacency...there was a quote somewhere isn't it that says "Good is the enemy of GREAT!" I also like that you pointed out appreciating the present...too often I know I live the in the past and worry about the future! Being intentionally present is super important!
Great write-up Khim! And Yay there is a photo of all of us! Didn't realise that. Thanks for sharing. I'll be resteeming.
Thanks for sharing @khimgoh.... I like what one of the speakers said about the need for naiveté so you are not overthinking, overwhelmed and sabotaging yourself... I think a lot of us have a tendency to overthink...
As for your question...I think with exposure and thanks to Sandberg's Lean In, supporting each other in a competitive environment has become "cool"
Hey, @kaerpediem thanks for bringing up a good point! I forgot about that one but yes we women are definitely more prone to that. Speaking for myself anyway!
Umm...I hope your "cool" means genuine support and happiness for each other. A lot of times, I find that it may not be the case and they are just being nice in front of you.
Yes me too... Big on overthinking haha....
"Cool" as in now more are putting in a concious effort. At different levels of commitment to the cause... and it is picking up momentum for sure. But even if they are not 100% convinced, I hope they will over time see how it nourishes the community on the whole. Even if they don't believe in it now, but if it is for the greater good.....
Like a child, may not be crazy about eating his vegetables but we would still encourage, and explain til the cows come home if we had to, to make vegetables "cool" 😊
That is indeed empowering sharing. Both men and women may have a different style in carrying out entrepreneurship, yet it is not about tearing each other down but on how to make our life a better one. Making others life bad doesn't make ours better too. My 2 cents :)
Thanks for your 2 cent @kimzwarch much appreciated. I like that...making others life bad doesn't make ours better. Just wondering what if the person doesn't know or doesn't think that they are making someone's life bad???
I think they will feel something wrong as people will start treating them differently, perhaps being avoided most of the time. Some good friends will point it out but it falls back whether the person willing to listen or not. It is like a cycle, can't really know where to start and how to end.
Anyway, there are tonnes of people in our life, one rotten apple doesn't mean other apples are rotten too. We can always choose to get other apples. (if we are good enough to save that rotten apple and it becomes fresh again, that is something good for both side).
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Hi there! I'm a newbie on Steemit and found your posts really interesting. First of all, I think the reason there are more successful foreign women entrepreneurs compared to locals due to conditioning. In Western countries, having an opinion is a compliment but not so in Asian countries. If an Asian woman has a strong opinion, she will be labeled as bossy. I had a fall out with a friend recently because he thinks I'm too opinionated. In reality, he was afraid to be overshadowed by me.
Secondly, coming from a place with strong currency exchange rate or strong financial background helps tremendously. In Malaysia, even to save RM50,000 is not like a walk in the park for average women. However, for foreigners, GBP10,000 or USD10,000 is achievable due to better social welfare, trade union, human's rights law and etc. Definitely, life would be even better for women being brought up in well to do families who provided them with ample initial start up capital. I would also like to mention about women who married well into rich families or have a sugar daddy. We all have different life circumstances. That does not mean starting from scratch is impossible but it is very very challenging for someone from a lower social-income background, without access to higher education and a lack of network.
My answer to your question about women tearing each other apart are both yes and no. Mainly depending on the person we are dealing with. Having emotional intelligence and people skills help a lot.