My father, Haider Ataya, is my mentor. He is a civil engineer turned entrepreneur who always encouraged and challenged me and my four siblings to see things in a different way. He would often tell us that the only way to succeed was to go the extra mile. When I landed my first job in Procter & Gamble at the age of 21, he gave me a valuable piece of advice.
After listening calmly to all that I had to tell him about the pay and the perks, he said, "I am confident you will succeed, but treat your successes just as you would the failures. Don't let success go to your head. Achievements are just the start. You should never become complacent at any time and always need to look ahead to grow."
I discovered I had a head for business when I was a child, living in Kuwait, and became an entrepreneur. I was around 11 at the time and my father had bought me some fancy chewing gum called Hubba Bubba from one of his trips to the US. I could make giant bubbles with the gum and loved it. He gave me a box of 24 pieces and after eating one I took the rest to school to show off to my friends. My best friend liked the piece I gave her and started making bubbles too. Soon there was a queue of people asking for the gum, so I decided to sell it to them. Back home, I told my father about the sale I made at school. "You need to order another box immediately," I told him! He found it really funny.
I have always been extremely competitive. I always pushed myself to get better grades than my siblings. I also loved sports and was a good athlete. I enjoyed horse riding, tennis and playing the piano. Even today, during my free time, I play the piano or tennis with my children.
Once you become a mother your life changes. You become responsible for your children's happiness and success, and a lot depends on how you shape their thoughts and educate them. To a certain extent, a child's character depends on his or her nature, but nurture - how parents add value to their life - has a large role to play too. It's important to do something more for them, their environment and myself. You have to look at the larger picture. That's why I didn't just set up something purel business-oriented, or just for my children. I wanted to combine the two. The result is Mumzworld. It came about when I tried to buy the best things for my children but still get good value for money.
When I was pregnant with my twins, I created a list of things I wanted to buy for them. I divided my list into two - the necessities and the nice-to-have items. You need to have all the basics but it's good to have some of the nice-to-haves too simply because it makes you feel good.
However, I found I was struggling to find items in the stores. I was also confused about whether I needed to return to work, whether I needed to educate my twins in a different way... and there was no single book that could answer all these questions.
I spent hours researching on the internet to educate myself, and realised I could offer all of this to other mums.
Mumzworld is one of the largest online shopping and information portals in the region that offers consumers a huge platform of products for the mother, baby and child offering the best value for money. Through Mumzworld, I wish to empower parents to be able to make a good selectionof products at their convenience, thereby making good decisions for their children.
For me success means adding value to my surroundings. It also entails improving myself and raising my three children to be responsible adults. Success involves making a positive contribution to your surrounding with integrity and ethics.
When you are working, there are many employees, partners and investors who are working towards the same goal as you. As a CEO of the company, I am responsible for a lot of other people and their livelihood, so I learnt a great sense of commitment and responsibility.
Quick questions
How do you see yourself ten years from now?
Making motherhood easier and giving every mum a friend through Mumzworld. I want brands I've created to have intrinsic value and improve people's lives for the better.
Lessons you learnt from your children?
Patience. I'm still learning that on a daily basis. Second, would be control. You really have to think before you react. Lastly, I believe it is important to have a perfect balance of quality and quantity of your time for your children.
