Today we’d like to introduce you to Wajiha Jawed.
Hi Wajiha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I was always very crafty and artistically inclined. I enjoyed anything involving color, aesthetics, and design. So naturally, as a child, I dabbled in many different hobbies. Everything from cooking to painting to makeup – you name it! I started my small business via Instagram as a makeup artist in the summer of 2018. I used that as a platform to showcase my work and take on clients. Soon, I started posting about all the other craft projects I was working on. When I saw the demand, I pivoted to meet the needs of the clients and realized that I can increase my profit margins by selling more than just makeup skills. I invested in a Cricut, initially, just to make personalized things for myself and soon other people wanted me to personalize things for them. I expanded to investing in more equipment and an embroidery machine and the rest is history! The peak of COVID was also when I had the time to grow my business while stuck in quarantine. That’s when things changed from being a casual small business to a more serious one in which I created a business plan for myself to ensure I would keep up with orders and customer satisfaction.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely NOT! Any small business owner can tell you it is serious hard work. You play all the roles in your business. You are the product designer, marketing manager, accountant, sales representative, CEO – just to name a few. Owning and running a small business requires patience, accepting rejection, and celebrating all the small wins. It is definitely hard work but once you’ve inversed enough effort you will start to see the fruits of your labor. To be more specific, the focus is the product you are selling but you have to carefully market it to the clientele you are trying to reach. That can look like using different social media sites to create photos and videos of your product. That can also look like using hashtags to reach a greater number of people. It is all about consistency for a long while. I am thankful, to be at the point where I do not have to post as much to keep my audience engaged – my business has grown a lot through referrals. Because of my day job I do not have as much time to invest anymore but the business still rolls in. I am very thankful to the clients I have. One thing I struggled with the most is creating a work life balance. Small businesses can make you blur the boundaries you have between work and your personal life. Once I reworked all of that and created a proper schedule in which I would respond to inquiries and complete orders is when I felt less stressed and more productive. Like everything, owning a small business is accepting and working with the learning curve.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I create personalized products for my clients. I like to consider myself a one stop gift shop. This includes everything from greeting cards, baby onesies, gift baskets, clothing, and much more. My audience is primarily South Asian and Muslim communities because there are not many personalized items and brands in the US that cater products to those demographics. I like to create things that are inclusive because growing up I did not have a chance to see a lot of that. Currently, it is the month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. I have plenty of Muslim greeting cards and home decor items on my Instagram as inspiration and or products that clients can order. Because I have so many hobbies, even if a client is looking for a product I have not made before I usually do the research and get to work. I started by making decals with my Cricut and expanded to making more intricate projects and now owning an embroidery machine. The product that I am constantly getting orders for is my Digital Art Displays. They are a hand drawn faceless, cartoon image of a photo that clients submit. I turn that cartoon into a sticker and place is on an acrylic sheet. Clients have several options to customize the text, background, and overall style of the final product.
Contact Info:
- Email: wajiha2709@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withlovebywajiha/?hl=en
Image Credits
Emma Brockway (main photo)
