Home Based Entrepreneur – From Welfare to Millionaire Muslimah

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Home Based Entrepreneur From Welfare to
Millionaire Muslimah
by Victoria Caldwell From Ordinary to
Extraordinary Website Link http//o2epodcast.com
/ Article Link http//o2epodcast.com/home-based-
entrepreneur-saiyyidah/ Hey everybody and
welcome back to the From Ordinary to the
Extraordinary Podcast. And today we have an
extremely special guest today and looking at her
bio, you know, she has such a huge resume and it
would take me literally five minutes just to read
everything so Im just going to give you some
highlights of just who we have the honor of
speaking with today. Her name is Saiyyidah Zaidi
and she is a positive psychologist and expert
growth coach. She is an international speaker and
is known for her training and seminars on
entrepreneurship, work faith balance, positive
psychology, high performance and abundance. She
is the first winner of Niche Hero, an
international business competition and has been
personally mentored by Sheikh Muhammad AlShareef
and her personal mentors include Tony Robins
Brendon Burchard and Sheikh Muhammad Akram Nadwi.
She is the worlds only positive psychologist and
certified business coach and one of one hundred
and fifty certified high performance coaches
globally. Most recently she is founded
Millionaire Muslimah (which is a movement to
create and grow ten thousand Muslimah of
businesses). So, again Im only reading just a
few of her accomplishments and I can say this is
an extreme honor to have you online with us
today. Welcome Saiyyidah, how are you doing?
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Saiyyidah Assalamu Alaikum, Hi. Im doing
really really well its an honor for me to be
here. Host You know I almost dont know where
to begin, so the easiest thing for me to do here
is to start at the beginning. How did this whole
entire journey get started? You dont seem like
you have enough years on your life to have
accomplished all of this. Saiyyidah I got my
first job when I was eleven so maybe I started
really young. Host Okay. Now, what was that
job? Saiyyidah I was working in a play scheme,
you know like you would have these summer schools
where the kids go and I was an assistant there
and it actually thought me a lot about leadership
about diversity because we had kids from all over
the world there but also kids with baring
abilities as well So there were severely disabled
children all the way to fully able body and had I
not had that job I wonder if I would have ever
interacted with such a variety of people so, I
did learn a lot about myself. Host Oh wow,
thats excellent. And so what catapulted you into
the world of entrepreneurship? Saiyyidah So,
when I was growing up I think the kind of
traditional idea of a career that I had was you
go to university, you graduate, you get a job and
then you just go through the ranks and eventually
you retire and thats what would have happened
for me. And, you know I was doing quite well
because I had made it to director in local
government and I did it quite fast which was
pretty miraculous in itself.
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But I think I did it through working hard and
making good connections and getting the right
support and knowing where my gaps were. But how
did I then take the leap from what you would say
was a traditional 9 to 5 career into working for
myself And I think it was pretty much because I
was just unhappy. I realize that even though I
was doing the job of my dreams in British
commerce, I wasnt spending time with my family.
My decision-making ability was being determined
by people who were around me and I no longer
loved what I was doing and I just had enough and
just wanted to get out. And so I thought okay,
leave, because I had already been coaching
people. And so I thought okay, let me just get
out of there and try and find a way for how I can
make sense of this skill that I have and see what
I can do and thats how I have ended up doing
what I do now. Host Wow that was a pretty high
level position that you had. Saiyyidah Yes.
Even now I can hear my mom in my ears saying to
me, why did you leave your job? Because you
know, when you work in the government position
you get a nice pension and you have the
healthcare you have everything taken care of. And
it was just like I said, I had have enough and I
know it had a very significant impact on my
family because all of a sudden we when from 6
figures plus a year to very, very little. But I
think it was the right thing to do because its
more important for us to be happy and whole than
for us to be slaves working for something that we
dont believe in. Host Absolutely I totally
agree. The courage it takes to leave that kind of
an income you know. It says a lot about the
individual as a person and you know, you have
just been a blessing to everyone that has been
able to be mentored
by you that you actually took that leap and
decided this is enough.
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Saiyyidah Yea, Its a blessing for me that I
have the support of my husband who I remember
having a conversation with him and he just said
Do what makes you happy and we will deal with
the consequences. And had he not said that I
would probably still be working in that job now
because of the security that it gave and so I
think its really important for us to make sure
that we surround ourselves with people who love
us not just on a superficial level but love us so
much that they want our happiness for us. Host
Yes thats extremely important especially in this
journey because its not an easy journey. So you
made this decision to quit that job and then
what? Where did you find yourself? Saiyydah
Laughter I found myself unemployed and in bed
for six months and I will tell you why. Because I
felt like maverick actually leaving my job and it
was the best thing I ever did. But then for the
next six months all I could here was my mom
saying to me Why did you do it? And When are you
going to get a proper job? and all of that. And
it was really hard so I would describe it as if I
actually went into mild depression because I
didnt know what I was going to do next. And it
was really hard picking myself up from that
because, you know, I still had clients I had to
coach and I still had people that I was working
with. So, in some ways it was like I was living
two lives because I was having to deal with so
much of my own stuff yet support these other
people and I felt lost. And Im not sure what
turned it around but I have to say, you know, I
was asking God for a lot of help and something
must have happened because six months or so after
that I just realized I couldnt carry on living
my life like that.
Because if I did I was just going to go back to
what I was feeling when I was
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working for the government. Then at least I had
decent money coming in and this time I didnt
have any. HostLaughter If you gonna suffer at
least suffer with money! huh Saiyyidah Exactly.
So thats when I kind of thought okay, pull
yourself together Saiyyidah, youve got to sort
this out you need to get on with working out what
you need to do. And that was really when I
realized I had to setup my own business. I had to
learn all this stuff about what a blog is, what
is social media. I didnt even had a Facebook
page. I didnt even know how to spell the word
blog let alone how to write one. And so it was
like I was going back to school and I struggle
through all of that. But because I have done
that, you know, I thank God Im now in a position
where I can take care of my kids and I know what
theyre doing on a daily basis. We can live
wherever we want to and travel wherever we want
and its fantastic and I wouldnt change that for
the world. Host Yes, I travel quite a bit and I
like traveling too. And youre in beautiful
Scotland right now. And you know its interesting
that you also brought up taking care of your kids
and being able to be especially for women who
feel like theyre always in this tug-a-war
between taking care of their children and having
a career in which is in one way of taking care of
themselves. And I find that a lot of women feel
that they lose themselves when they stay home,
not that theyre not contributing they just feel
like, especially leaving a job and staying home,
which I think is a fantabulous decision. But a
lot of women are in that position where theyre
feeling like, well, how I decided I made this
conscious decision to stay home or to quit
my job but then they find themselves in that
space where, oh my gosh, now
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Im a permanent caretaker. I mean its
completely rewarding and then at the same time
theres still some sense of wanting to contribute
in other areas. Saiyyidah Yes, absolutely and I
think it was interesting for me because I took
time off when my kids were babies and then I went
back to work. And it was only because Ive been
through that experience that I relate to what
youre saying because I feel I need to work. I
need to use my intellect. Then if Im not doing
that then Im whole and Im not happy and I love
my children at the same time. So where do we find
the balance for all of that because theres no
point in having kids if youre not going to look
after them properly and raise them right. But at
the same time you have got to look after yourself
and it can be quite challenging to strike that
balance between your needs and your childrens
needs. And I think that we have this wonderful
gift of the Internet and computers and I think
its actually enabled us to be in a position
where we can work very effectively from
home. You got to find the right balance, but you
can do it. And I think that we live in times that
are quite complicated but also there is a lot of
liberation thats available, should you seek
it. Host Yes. Its being amazing for me, not
that I have children to worry about but I come in
contact with a lot of women and I hear the same
story in different ways but one put it to me, she
said, you lose yourself .And that was scary for
her because she was thinking, even though her
children werent small theyre going to grow up
theyre going to have their own lives one day and
then whats going to happen to all of the
education and the intellect that I have and how
do I create a life outside of my children when I
have been doing this for so long. And that scared
I think even more women that will actually talk
about
it openly but its definitely something that the
internet had made extremely
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possible to fulfill both and you been helping
women to do just that, pretty much. Saiyyidah
Yes. Now that I have done this and Ive been
through five-plus years of struggles of ups and
downs, you know, days when theres no hair left
to tear out. laughter But the thing is once you
that once youve been through that journey you
have an idea of how to streamline it and make it
easy. And so, what I do when I work one to one
with people is just that Im helping them to
start and to grow their businesses because I
really do believe that if you have a skill set
then its important for you to share it with
others so that they can then develop as well. If
you keep it to yourself then its like a muscle
that youre not exercising and thats the bit for
you, but when you make other people realize their
potential as well then is like creating ripples.
And you know, if I can just shake the earth a
little bit and help to support some amazing women
become financially independent, become kind of
free mentally as well as physically then that
would be pretty awesome. Host Its amazing.
Were going to get into that a little bit later
what you have cooking up for that which is an
amazing program that I am so excited about and
its just oozing you cant even see it right now
but Im just oozing with excitement because when
I saw you post about it I almost jumped out of my
chair. And Monica saw it she probably saw it
before I did because shes just on Facebook more.
But oh wow, we were just so excited talking about
it so were going to talk a little bit about back
later because I want to kind of end with that.
Okay, so in this whole process what would you say
would probably be your biggest mistake that you
said you made? Saiyyidah Hmmm The biggest
mistake would not believe in myself. So when
I looked back to those six months after I leave
my job, that only happened
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because I didnt believe in myself and it can be
anyone who say just a few words to you and they
mean it or they say those words with the best of
intention because they care for you. But
sometimes what happen is that you process those
and thats all you hold onto and it destroys your
confidence and your ability and it means you just
do absolutely nothing and I look back to that
time and I feel as if I wasted six months of my
life and its not something that I ever want to
do again. So anybody listening if you want to do
something you just got to believe in it and you
just got to get on with it and not allow anyones
negativity or bad words or whatever it is to get
in the way of you believing that you can deliver
and you can do what you want. Host Yes. I think
thats extremely important and I like I said it
eighty percent mental. Saiyyidah Yes, and even
in the work that I do with my coaching clients
and the work that my coaches do with me, its all
about us standing in our own way and as soon as
we learn to step out of that and actually step
into the one that is our best possible self, then
the world will come to your assistance and I
think we forget. Host Yes or dont know it,
because how long its even taken me if all other
things Ive done its taken me even a long time
to come into some of these realizations myself
and its amazing when you realize it and
inexperience it. And what I realize is that were
not really (unless you were born in a household
that did this very effectively) were not
traditionally raised or taught to really trust
ourselves. were taught to be like someone else
or were successful if we are in this particular
category we are doing this even from learning
and that could go on forever but, we are just
constantly being
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fed that we need to be something else
indoctrinated in a way to where thats the only
way we know to think. Saiyyidah Its really
interesting because I think that with that
traditional education systems, with the way the
media is with all of this stuff going on it is
indoctrination. And people are being created out
of the system that will just go and plug
themselves into businesses earning minimum wage
and not really having the best life that they
could. Yet as soon as you step out of the system
and you try and do something different, it
becomes very transparent of whats going on. And
I find it fascinating as there are people all
over the world and in terms of their wealth
situation they vary from living off minimum wage
all the way to multimillionaires. And there are a
lot of people who are opting out of the system
because they realize that they dont want for
their kids and future generations what they had
for themselves growing up. So I think the world
is going to be a very different place in the next
few decades. Host Yes, hopefully for the
better. And thats why we are here to be a part
of that change. So whats your view on the big F
word Failure? Saiyyidah I think that theres a
lot that we can learn from failure. And I think
that youve got to make it your friend. When I
started out that first blog, and remember I
didnt even know what blog was I had to have so
much help even just to set up a Facebook account.
And would you call it a failure, nobody liked my
first blog post I had to hunt down people who
would be interested in what I was doing and it
was a real struggle. And that thought me that
youve got this thing about determination and
just keeping on going. But through all of the
mistakes that I have make and you know, Ive had
launches where I gone into it and thought that
this is a fantastic and literally delivered
something very, very quickly and it has been
amazing but then sold like five or ten and its a
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failure. But the learning that you get through
that failure is phenomenal and its the
application of that. So for me, personally, I
want to keep failing because then I keep growing.
Do you know what I mean? Host Laughter Oh
Absolutely and you know Im a master of failing
but then again like you said thats what allows
you to keep growing. In some cases you cant
learn it other ways, its like this is the path
where you have to jump over this hurdle and you
cant get to the other side unless you go through
that hurdle and then you can look back and say,
okay, now I see why. Saiyyidah But theres
also something really interesting that happened
to me recently because I have been doing a lot of
travelling and Im trying to learn Arabic and I
actually failed one of my levels like I failed
the exam because my attendance mark werent
enough. And so that put me with a different class
and I had new people in the class. What was
interesting for me through that experience was
that the second time around I was seeing things
and learning stuff that I missed first time
round. So my depth of understanding was far
greater but also its the opportunity that was
created linking with different people and so for
me I think failing that exam and failing in a
traditional sense actually open up so many more
opportunities for me and it really struck me and
it made me kind of reflect on other things that
Ive failed up in the past and how had I not done
all of that maybe I wouldnt be where I am
now. Host Yes definitely totally agree or
sometimes that failure is a blessing. Its
definitely a blessing because its a process of
you getting to that level of greatness that is
there. Saiyyidah Okay I will give you another
story as well if I may which is a few years ago
we got burgled and they took the lap top, they
took my
backup and they took the back up of my back up
and I was really, really
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annoyed I was not in a good mood. And so I
thought okay, what do I have to learn and I had
my period of having a few days to be angry and
then I thought okay, Im not going to allow this
to eat me up. I need to work out what they need
to learn from this. And the biggest message for
me was that maybe it was God saying to me that
six months worth of work that Ive lost it just
wasnt good enough. Then I though okay fine, Ive
got to start again blank piece of paper, new
laptop and I just did everything again. And it
killed me but Im so glad I did it because what I
did the next time around was so much better than
what I had before. Host Wow! I dont know if I
would have even come up with that but you know,
thats what happened I tried whenever something
goes wrong I say okay, what is the lesson
because if you dont get it you stay in it until
you really do. So Im like, okay I need to really
focus on what (and you have to really set aside
the failure aspect to really see the blessing in
it). You have to set it aside and say, okay, I
prayed for this to happen it didnt happen whats
the lesson from it and how can I take away from
it? Some of them are like oh Im so glad that it
didnt happen the way I asked for it because it
would have taken me off in a totally different
path that I would have been doing and I wouldnt
have been happy with even if it was successful.
So I definitely welcome those and we can only see
so much ourselves so its awesome. So what do you
think is your biggest accomplishment? Saiyyidah
Its a really, really hard one and I hope that I
havent done it yet. And the reason I say that is
because when I first got married and even before
I got married I had this conversation with my
husband to be, about kids and all of that. And I
was very indifferent to having children Ill be
honest with you. And then I did very well with my
education and my career was going really
well. And then my daughter came along and I was
like, oh my God this is the
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hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And I
hope that in decades to come I will look back and
I will think that that is the best thing that I
have done in my life because there is no point in
us having this skill set and learning it if
we dont nourish and create our children to be
the leaders that their generation needs. So from
the work that I am doing I come to this late and
I feel as if and I feel as if Im constantly
catching up, but if I can give them the skills
that they need then they can influence their
generation to be better. Then that for me I hope
that would be the biggest legacy that I could
leave. Host Yes, I totally agree. So what
advice/advices would you have for young
entrepreneurs, any entrepreneurs but especially
those starting out? Saiyyidah Come up with an
idea not a hundred ideas just one because because
I know that if youre anything like me, I can
come up with ideas for businesses and blogs and
all of this. I can come up with a million a day
but there just isnt enough time and what happen
is that when you have too many ideas you lose
focused and you end up doing absolutely nothing
so use just one idea. Be prepared to make
mistakes and learn from those mistakes because
not learning that you that you do is priceless
and just believe that you can do it. These days
because we have the Internet and social media and
all of these other things, you dont even need a
huge amount of money to invest in your business
you can start with zero. There is also available
that will help you build a mailing list with up
to two thousand without a penny being spent. I
didnt have that when I started out. You can
start a WordPress blog for free. So there is no
excuse anymore not to work for yourself and to
have your own business. You just got to want to
do it and carve out a little bit of time every
single day so that you could do something
towards that.
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Host Absolutely. Now you can do this with no
money. You know when I started and I started with
a ecommerce site which I still have but thats
another story. But there was some investment not
a huge investment but some other platforms and
things that are available now just were not
available and the things that were, was really
expensive and we had to bootstrap it for such a
long time just to get little things because it
wasnt as developed as it is now. No WordPress
blogs and no social media. There was just setting
up anONLINE STORE pretty much was your way to go
with and business. Then you had to pay the
monthly fees and you had to advertise and you had
to get training. So now I like that you put it
that way that there is just no excuse if you
really reant want to do it and there is plenty of
information out there to get it done. So did you
have any particular book recommendations? Saiyyid
ah Okay. So I really like Ten Thousand Hours by
Malcolm Gladwell, I love that book. I just think
it has thought me so much about understanding
that whole process of growth, that one. I think
the other book that I would really recommend is a
book called How of Happiness and it takes you
through positive psychology interventions that
you can do. And I know weve not spoken much
about positive psychology in this discussion but
I think that there is a lot to be said about you
taking control of your psychological well-being
and that book has enormous amount in there, the
different things that you can try and there will
be something in there that will fit you. For
example I know that one think that seems to be at
the front of a lot of peoples mind are issues
with forgiveness, therell be someone in your
family or your circle that youre struggling to
forgive. Well, this book and the intervention
that is in their really helped me to work that
stuff out.
Host Is that called how happiness?
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Saiyyidah How of Happiness Host Okay. Those
are two I havent heard and since you brought it
up and said it exactly as I was thinking, lets
define what positive psychology is just in case
there is some kind of confusion around
it. Saiyyidah So positive psychology is the
science of happiness. And its interesting
because if we look at normal psychology, inverted
commas, it was to taking people are feeling
anxiety or depressed or have some sort of
psychological illness to a place where they feel
normal inverted commas. Well, positive psychology
looks at the average person and takes them to
a place where they can go to and thrive and
flourish. And thats what really struck me about
this because what we are doing is that were
saying yes there is a whole load of psychology
and interventions that are available for people
who need to move from one place to the other to
where they can be living an ordinary and normal
life whatever that may be for that person. But
how do we then shift them forward to propel them
so that they really are living in to their
excellence? And for me positive psychology has so
many tools and interventions that are there that
help people to do that. Host Excellent, yea and
that just leads right into entrepreneur, well,
not for our discussions personally into the
entrepreneurship and just really stepping out
there and out there and being confident and doing
something that you are going to love and be happy
doing. Saiyyidah Yeah, Absolutely. Host
Definitely. Youre the only one I never heard the
term positive
psychologist until I met you.
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Saiyyidah Its interesting. I will tell you how
I got into positive psychology because I did some
coaching training and I didnt realized at the
time how elite it was but it gave me some really
really good connections. And so I asked one of my
trainers and I said, what should I do next?
Because a lot of my clients were saying to me
that they didnt understand the reasons why some
of the interventions and some of the work that we
were doing was working. So they said why dont
you go and do a Masters? So I found this
Masters in positive psychology and they were
only two places in the world that did it at the
time. One was in Pennsylvania and one was ten
minutes bus drive from my house. And it was one
of the best things I did because not only did it
really help me to grow, but it also helped me to
deal with, you know, we all have stuff that we
need to get over and it did helped me with that
and it helped me realize that just having an
ordinary life is not enough for me. I feel as if
Ive been created to do more than just live and
raise my kids and work 9 to 5 or whatever, I have
to do more. Host Yes, and you have done quite a
bit. So, let talk about this new project you are
launching. Saiyyidah Yes, Millionaire Muslimah.
You know, Its funny because its being an idea
that Ive had in my mind for some time and it was
a conversation that I had with my Mom that just
made me think, okay, now is the time for me to
like, get up off my butt and do something about
it. And the aim really is to take the work that
Ive been doing with people on one to one and
actually put it in a way so that it is more
accessible to people. And to actually help
primarily Muslimahs kind of grow and creates
businesses for themselves, so that they are
psychologically whole so that they have financial
freedom, so that they
can live wherever they want to and so that they
are in charge of the decisions
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that they make for their lives rather than
stressing about how they are going to get food on
the table, how are the bills going to get paid.
Because that not the way life should be I think
there is so much more that we can have and we
shouldnt be worried about some of the
basics. Host And so what gave you this
inspiration for this project? Saiyyidah It was
the frustration of women having to compromise. As
we were speaking of before no one should really
have to decide whether they go to work or raise
their children. No one should have to decide
whether they use their intellect doing something
that they enjoy it or not. And, we shouldnt
become slave to the 9 to 5 working in a job that
we dont enjoy. There has got to be more to this
and I think that as women are getting more and
more educated and becoming more aware of who they
are. There is also this thing about us not having
to not having to ask anyone for money and I think
that is religionless and also its timeless. I do
not ever want to have to ask my husband for money
to buy something that I want. If I want I like a
nice handbag I should just be able to go to the
shop and buy one without thinking of the
consequences. And I know Im being flippant when
I say it but really thats something that I would
desire for myself and I would desire for
everybody. And we shouldnt be standing in the
supermarket looking at two loaves of bread and
thinking do I go for the cheaper one or the
healthier one because we havent got the money to
buy it. And these are the choices that some
people having to make. And so, what Im working
to do really is to help women to be able to
create their own businesses and grow their own
businesses so that they are no longer in that
situation. Host Yes absolutely, its definitely
something that so many women are
dealing with and not knowing how to get started
and where to get started but
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they have that desire, even if its just (and
your speaking in pounds and Im going to speak in
dollars) but even if they had an extra five
hundred or an extra thousand dollars in their
pocket, that would just transform a world
for them. A lot of people think that they have to
make so much money and some just want to make
enough and I know even when I started my goal was
to get rid of my commute and to not have to do
that commute and to replace my income working
from home . Of course that was the goal number
one and then once you get there you can always
take it further but you dont necessarily have to
if that is okay with you. There are some women
who are going to be just fine with that and happy
and then others who are just will just want to
say, You know what, if I can do this I could do
more and thats freedom. Saiyyidah Absolutely.
And I think what is interesting for me is that it
releases some of the stress and the tension and I
think you are right, an extra five hundred to a
thousand dollars a month it will create freedom
for people to go on holiday, to take time off and
not worry and maybe have a little bit of luxury
in their life as well. Things that I think the
majority of people probably had before their life
circumstances changed. Host Yea, Definitely and
thats why I was so excited to see you doing
this. Im just excited for all of the women who
are just going to be able to benefit and you are
looking at over ten thousand over the next five
years you mentioned? Saiyyidah The next five
years. A part of me thinks that figure is going
to end up being quite low because every day I get
an email or there is a Facebook message or
something from somebody saying that they want to
be one of the
ten thousand or they are struggling with
something to start their own business
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or there is an obstacle in their way.And so, Im
doing two things, one of the things Im doing is
Im making videos in responses to questions that
people are asking. And the other thing is Im
sharing the resources that I use as well, because
its going to be easy to use and accessible and
Im trying to write it in a language that would
have been easy to understand for the person that
I was five years ago not having any idea of any
of this stuff. Host Yes, exactly. I told you
the other day I walked in the store and I was so
excited about it and I just started talking to
somebody about it and she, I want to do it.
Now, this particular woman shes a stay at home
Mom . She is decently well of and she doesnt
need to work she wants to work. And she is a
creative type just like you and she has a million
and one ideas and even her children are like,
Mom when are you going to actually do one of
these? Theyre like, Mom another one? and its
so funny because I just peggedd her because just
listening to her and she is like, I want to do
it and I said you know what? You should do it and
shes like yeah, keep me posted. And its just
something, because she has all of these ideas in
her head she just wants to get them out and
actually do something. And she was actually in a
course at the University trying to learn, take
some courses on this stuff and I was like, No
this is going to be better for you. Saiyyidah
Well, you know the funny thing is that I got an
email today from somebody who is a senior
lecturer at the business school in London and
they signed up for the Millionaire Muslimah, and
I was just like, Wow! This could go to so many
different places if people of that caliber are
signing up.
19
Host I was really so excited and when I get
excited about something I get excited about it
and just really excited for this and thats
coming up in September? So where can we listeners
go to sign up for this? Saiyyidah You can go to
www.millionairemuslimah.com and you can get onto
the VIP list and what Im doing for the VIP list
is basically sharing resources and tools and ways
for people to start off. There is also the
Facebook page which she is Facebook.com/TheMillion
aireMuslimah and there is where I upload answers
to questions that people are asking. And so if
anyone listening have any questions about how to
start a business any obstacles theyre facing
they can just message me and at some point over
the course of the next few weeks I will make
video and reply to that specific question. Host
Awesome. We are going to update the site with all
of these links too. So hopefully everyone gets in
while the getting is good because Im pretty sure
that this one is going to fill up really fast In
Shaa Allah. Its amazing and Im just excited
really excited about it and yes this is good
stuff. Saiyyidah You know Im really excited
but Im also really scared at the same time
because iI think there is so much that needs to
be done in order for this to work and what is
awesome about what Im trying to do (even if I
say so myself) is there are these ten thousand
businesses that we want to create in the west but
also I want to match each new business that we
create with a micro finance project somewhere in
the developing or in the third world. So for me
there is kind of like a balance there then
because were also supporting families who are in
desperate need for some level of financial
independence as well as people in the west who
are in a similar situation but in a different
way. And so I just think it would be absolutely
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awesome for us to be able to create ten thousand
micro finance businesses as well. Host
Absolutely and thats what were here for, to
serve humanity and this serves both purposes and
not only serving those who have access but
serving those who are even less fortunate than we
are because we do you have a lot and we have a
lot to offer. Which is exactly why this whole
project is so important because now you going to
be setting that legacy for others to step in
whoever they are and do the same thing for other
people In Shaa Allah, in their own
way. Saiyyidah Yea InshaaAllah And that is
what raises the hairs on the back of my neck and
makes me really excited. Host Yes, and thats
why were doing this because this is a purpose
driven project. Its not only about money its
about serving a higher purpose and they dont
have to be independent of each other you dont
have to chose between that and the wealth model
or having money. A lot of time we think, well if
we are going to serve it doesnt really fits in
with sometimes with our psychological view of
making money versus being of service. Saiyyidah
I think the thing that really inspires me at the
moment is Tony Robbins with his Feeding A
Hundred Million people A Year and I just think
you know what, if I can even get slightly close
to that, that would be pretty awesome because
look at the great work this guy is doing and yet
he still cares for people who are suffering and
its inspirational. Host Yes, and at the end of
the day it becomes that, thats what its about
thats what drives you. Money is okay, yes its
great but that passion in
21
knowing that you are contributing and youre
doing something and youre helping someone and
youre making a difference, you just cant buy
that. Saiyyidah Yea, absolutely. And I tell you
its funny because when I was working in the
government I always have this thing about I would
give a certain percentage of my salary away in
charity and then when I started to work for
myself I was getting frustrated that I couldnt
do that anymore and that started to became one of
my big motivators. And because I have shifted my
mindset to like survival of family to giving in
charity I think that there was some blessing that
may have been put into my work. Because at that
moment when I could go back and I could give in
the charity in the same level of what I was
giving before honestly I felt so much gratitude
just for that moment. Host Wow! And then you
increase even more in that and get all of the
barakah and blessing from all of the work that
comes from your work. Well, I could sit here all
day and havent even scraped the surface on all
of what you have to offer and we have already
been here 48 minutes. So, hope fully we will be
talking to you and hearing more about Millionaire
Muslimah little bit later. Is it only for Muslim
women? Saiyyidah I have to say its for women
only but its for any women who want to come in
and start their business, I mean, its going to
be a program that is geared towards Muslim women
but Ive had Catholic women in my program before,
I have had Jewish woman in my programs and what
was always interesting for me is they even send
me emails and say that coming through my program
has helped them get closer to God and I just
think that thats
awesome.
22
Host Yes, because I know that would probably be
one of the questions because at the end of the
day Im pretty sure that there will be some
Islamic elements to it. Saiyyidah There will
definitely be an Islamic element to it
yeah. Host Yes, but it wouldnt take away from
being able to absorb the information and apply
what is being thought. So that is definitely
awesome and Im so excited and I cant wait for
it. So if you get a little bit scared I will be
right there to just boost you up and everything
because whenever you are creating anything and
you put it out there, there is always that, you
kind of feel like, Oh my gosh, am I really doing
this? But its really an awesome project and now
we can see where all of what you have done in the
past have led up to this and in Shaa Allah we
will continue to go. So thank you so much for
being on Im so excited for everyone to hear
this. Were going to post this. If you want to
listen to this, you can just go to our site and
do a site search for Millionaire Muslimah and it
will pop right up. If you are listening to this
episode and you want to find it quickly if you
missed whenever it airs, directly on the site you
can just type in Millionaire Muslimah and there
will be a write up with all the resources and
links and contact information. Any parting words
you want to share? Saiyyidah Believe in
yourself, get obstacles out of your way and just
go for whatever it is in your dreams In Shaa
Allah. Host Okay, with that said we will
signoff and we will see you on the next call on
the site and the site is o2epodcast.com and
Millionaire Muslimah in the
search function. Ok be well, thanks.
23
From Ordinary to Extraordinary Website Link
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yidah/