In Seeking for Happiness

"I made a list of the happiest periods in my life, and I realized that none of them involved money. I realized that building stuff and being creative and inventive made me happy. Connecting with a friend and talking through the entire night until the sun rose made me happy. Trick-or-treating in middle school with a group of my closest friends made me happy. Eating a baked potato after a swim meet made me happy. Pickles made me happy.

I thought about how easily we are all brainwashed by our society and culture to stop thinking and assume by default that more money equals more success and more happiness, when ultimately happiness is really just about enjoying life"

- Delivering Happiness "A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose" by Tony Hsieh (CEO, Zappos.com, Inc)

Coming into Final Year

How did time fly by so fast? It felt like it was just yesterday I took the picture above, going into the university's library for the first time, not knowing what to expect out of my 3 years in Law School.

Next thing you know, within a blink of an eye, I was already packing for my 3rd year LLB Law Undergraduate and I was having the utmost mixed feeling moment ever. Like finally, I'm graduating (insyaAllah)! But whoa, how did time pass by so fast? 

No words can describe how I feel or the thoughts running through my mind, so I guess it stops here, for now :) 

The Juggle

So today's the first day we had two shops running at once, and my employee in the ss15 shop is still new (as in its his 3rd day) so you can imagine how hung up I was to my phone incase anything happens, which was really not cool the fact that I didn't charge my phone overnight !

Anyways, had to start my day at 7.30 AM, prepping for the booth cause there were so many little things overlooked (mind you I made a list but as usual, some things still gets missed out hahaha). Jumped outta bed without breakfast and rushed to Subang Parade to prep our booth before 9AM. Then we went back home again to take the stuff we realised we left behind after setting up the booth.Then we went to Parade again at 10AM to officially open our booth for the Dessert Fair ! 

I then went back home again to finish designing for the social media updates we had to post for the day (the marketing part of The Skinny Bakers) and then I realised, alamaaaak, terlupa nak beli bananas and strawberries for the booth ! So keluar la and went to grab the fruits to deliver. Then I realised again, aiyoooo, green tea powder and strawberry syrup !! So I went to buy the ingredients at a nearby grocery store. Just as when I thought I was done, tertinggal chocolate ice cream at the shop !! Then went to the shop to grab the chocolate ice cream, and patah balik la to Parade. Worst part of it was when I was running errands in Empire, my parking ticket decided to go missing !! I had to retrace my route nasib baik jumpa.... phew 

Next thing I knew, it was already 12 o'clock ! And the queue for our ice cream sandwich cookie was getting massive !! But as you can see, our menu was not up hanging yet because I had to go Shah Alam to get our bunting stand (oh and now I remember, I took time to print out the menu too before lunch time, no wonder la dah 12 o'clock then) 

So drove to Shah Alam to get our stands etc came back to Subang Parade then my partner (aka mum) told me, "Eh, we need to take plastic from the shop !!", so head back to the shop with the new printed buntings to hang at the shop. Then went back home to grab stuff for the shop (mineral water etc), then stopped by the shop again. Well, I guess the story just keeps on going on and on of the many times I had to go to ss15 then to home then to Parade, suddenly, it was 5PM already ! 

Then my tummy started roaring ! Ya Allah, I just remembered, I was eating only maggi while doing my designing work earlier this morning and munching on pears but I didn't eat properly... So I sat down at McD baru nak order suddenly, the new worker was calling me for something urgent at the shop! Luckily I had Hafeedz (the other worker) to help me settle it through the phone so that I can finally MAKAN ! Then my mum pulak call, "What are you doing?!" So I told her that I was finally having lunch at 5PM and she laughed, hahaha thanks ma. Good to know my pain is your pleasure hahahaha

And then we made a visit to MPH, where I was supposed to just buy my white board marker and leave for home to get a quick nap but then suddenly my adorable niece went like "Mama sha, I want you to read a book for me !" So, we sat by a corner and whilst reading, I realised I might just fall asleep at this little corner in MPH. Creepy tak if you saw a random stranger sleeping there !! hahahaha

So I left and next thing I knew, it was already 7.30 PM yet I was still sleepy so I broke the rule of not sleeping time Maghreb, just for that 15 minutes nap I long needed ! Then around 8.30PM we left for Parade again cause we wanted to catch peak hour time & I wanted to catch a quick dinner fix at Sushi King. Just as when I was sipping on the hot green tea "hah, I'm in zen, finally", my mum called me and said, "Our cookies are selling so fast we're out of stock!!" I was on my 2nd plate of sushi then so I rushed into my third plate and went back home to restock.... 

So that's roughly how it went ! Got a taste of running 2 shops at once but am definitely blessed with such a great team to work with :)) 

It was definitely a day to remember .... although it's not over yet since we're gonna be at Parade for the rest of the week ! *deep breaths* 

Starting Young - All about being Rajin and Focused

If there was one thing I've learnt since the first step I took into starting a business is that you constantly have to be rajin (hardworking) and focused.


About being focused,
Starting business at 21 years old (okay la, not so old or not too young I guess), I came to realise that there were many times I came across "distractions". Seeing my friends go on trips and for concerts but having to be 'stuck' here due to commitments to work isn't as easy. Looking at people post pictures of them travelling just makes you think twice about everything, if you are doing everything right. Having to say 'No' many times to lepak times with your friends or food hunting isn't as easy either especially if that is something you guys have always enjoyed doing together. And it gets worse when people say, "You're still young, just enjoy it while you still can"

But I guess it all depends on your perspective on things. The best is when you can find the balance between having fun as a youth and taking opportunities that come up to you only when you are not young. Having to balance your time with your family, your friends and time yourself. I am a firm believer to start your own business when you are young cause that's the only time when you don't have huge 'responsibilities' or 'commitments' to your own family for instance, having to come back to spend time with your own kids and at the same time, trying to find time with your parents. And with the current era we are living in, starting a business at a young age is a marketing itself. But then again, to those who are not into 'business' but force themselves into business just because the idea sounds good, cause that's where passion and being rajin comes in.



It is difficult to pull through without being rajin,
You know when you're in your early 20s, that's the best time (and pretty much the only time) you have to wake up late, even if it means at 1PM. But not having discipline and waking up at any time you wish gets pretty hard to go by when you have your own business, unless your business includes you having to be up and awake all night.

Having to say 'NO' to that second plate of delicious Nasi Lemak with Sambal that you know is going to give you collateral damage and make you sleepy all day can be quite difficult to okays... well, at least for me !

If you're really passionate about something, then you wouldn't have a problem about waking up and doing work (unless if you're overworked haha). You would even make sure the long list of things in your 'Must Do list' or 'Urgent list' would be done and dusted.

And the term 'malas' (lazy) does not even help us to get further, the furthest we can. We tell ourselves, "Alaaa, its okay. I can do it some other time, I'm so lazy now and tired and malas"...... That has been through my mind so many times, but I figured if I say yes to it once, I will say yes to it many times. I do take my breaks and chill at times though, but only after I've done as much as I can and reward myself.  It's also good to work around a dateline and try to make it as realistic and achievable as you can. Better yet, go the extra length and miles for your own company if you could.



I believe doing your own business when you're young is good cause of the people you meet along your journey to the 'business world'. The discipline you force yourself into, having commitments and priorities, sticking to the choices you've made and making heavy decisions, isn't as easy as it seems. Being able to 'hire and fire' somebody, finding the right balance as a 'boss and a colleague' can be hard too.

But honestly, beyond all that, the BIGGEST CHALLENGE you would meet is YOU. You are the biggest challenge to your own success, to the business you started off. You have to keep telling yourself to pull through and finish well, to go the extra mile and open your minds to any opportunities. To keep telling yourself that every challenge or problem you encounter (that makes you feel like booking another flight to another country for a 'short getaway) will be worth a while learning from.


The strength has to come from within YOU.


So good luck, and know that whatever it is, you can make it. Go the extra mile. No matter what the consequences are, you'll pull through :)