Shasya Habib is a local entrepreneur and founder of her self-titled retail brand, Shasya Habib. She started the company in 2014 and today, she’s paving up her way in modest fashion industry. She was the one who initiated the first hassle-free scarves for career women in Malaysia and recently, opens up an academy to help those affected by the pandemic. IKON Malaysia was very honoured to interview Shasya Habib or her real name, Syarifah Shasya Datuk Paduka Habib Zam Zam for Malaysia’s Book of Records for IKON Malaysia under Fashion Category. She is an ambitious, career-driven woman and all about women involvement in business.
As someone who with no business background, what drives you to open up a business? What makes you want to start up your own company?
I’ve started this business back in 2014 which is around 8 years ago. At that time, I’ve decided that I really don’t want to practice as a lawyer. My husband said that I have passion for business in which I didn’t even recognize it myself. He saw that potential and said that I should get myself involved in business. I thought if I want to start up a company, I prefer something that involves fashion like garments or jewelleries. When I was younger, I love to play dress up and keep up with the trend. I get inspiration to open up a business from my mom as she was a teacher. She’s a career woman. I want to help successful women by selling hassle-free scarves, thus Shasya Habib was founded. I initiated instant scarves to help career women and no one did that when I first joined this industry. I really love to get involved with the process – choosing fabrics, designing, and everything. I’m truly passionate in what I’m doing.
You started this business around 8 years ago. At that time, modest fashion trend was booming. Don’t you think that there were a lot of competitors thus it’s risky to start a modest fashion brand?
Regardless of industry, all businesses have its own competitors. I always keep myself positive and strive to move forward. Shasya Habib always try to keep up with the trend and be innovative. Currently, the market is very big. Most women in Malaysia are working women. I want to make this brand as a sustainable brand for sustainable women. This brand is my blood, sweat and tears. We always have to be innovative and cannot stick to only one trend and collection. There’s one time we’ve even come out with dress and blouse collection. Shasya Habib is not a brand that would just stick to one thing only. We always keep ourselves moving and innovative.
In your opinion, what can a recognition do for a business? What’s the impact of recognition towards one’s business?
All businesses in any industry are equally important because each of them has their own strength. I am very thankful to be involved in this industry. Fashion industry is a glamorous industry and we need a marketing strategy for our collection to be on par with our brand. Every brand needs to have brand visibility. It’s important especially during this pandemic to create brand credibility and awareness with right brand positioning. This is to ensure that our brand will be more trusted by the people out there. It is actually a great opportunity for us to use this recognition to lift up our brand even more. People then would be more confident on us because of this prestigious recognition.
You’ve recently founded SH Academy because you want to help those who were affected by the pandemic. Can you explain more about this academy?
Before this we were more focused on offline sales compared to online sales. When the pandemic hits us, I was thinking how can our business sustain throughout the pandemic? I’ve been watching the news and it’s getting worse day by day. My husband who’s an engineer graduate, helped me a lot with developing system for the academy. We have planned the flow on how we’re going to manage this academy during this difficult time. It’s our pilot project and we’re trying our best to help those who are affected. Some have been laid-off meanwhile some want to generate side income and we will help them. With my 8 years of experience in this industry, I will personally guide them from zero to hero. I will also publish e-book besides guiding them thoroughly and I hope that we would be able to help more people to find success in doing business in the future.
Everyone has been impacted by the pandemic. It’s a very difficult time and businesses are struggling. Do you have words of encouragement for them?
Always move forward. We actually have a choice either to give up or to move forward. We can give up at any point of our lives but then what is going to happen to us? It’s important on what we do every day. It all starts with our heart, mind and soul. Our physical appearance is only 5 percent of us. It’s always about our mindset and personality. When you feel like giving up, think again about your journey from starting up a business to what you have achieved now. Think about your goals for your business and yourself. Share with someone about your frustration and don’t keep it to yourself. Every minute counts so it’s crucial something productive throughout the day. For example, you can attend motivational talks in making sure to be motivational every day. Always trust the process and give the best out of you.