Naddy Rahman wears many hats – as a beauty influencer, a fashion model, an entrepreneur, a content creator, and a food and travel expert.
theSun recently asked the 27-year-old lass, who has a law degree, to answer the following questions about her current businesses, and about her plans for the future.
Describe your childhood years.
“My father is a naval architect, and was an engineer for Petronas Carigali. My mum has always been a housewife. I have three sisters, and they are 13, 12 and 11 years older than me respectively.
“Since the age gap between me and my sisters is quite far, I can say I got enough attention from both my parents.
“Due to my dad’s occupation, my parents moved around a lot while my three sisters remained in Kuala Lumpur. I lived in Johor, Terengganu and Pahang, moving schools a number of times, which means I made a lot of new friends. So, it was a colourful childhood for me.”
Describe your shoe brand, Alicia Sophia.
“Alicia Sophia was established in 2018. I co-founded the brand with my eldest sister Zana Rahman. The brand itself is named after her daughter.
“Zana always had a good eye in terms of fashion and style, so we incorporated that into our mutual love for shoes. We started off with eight designs, catering to all ages, as our designs range from classic and evergreen to edgy and current.
“Alicia Sophia is also dedicated to Zana’s daughter, as she is a special child. Ten percent of the sales will go to a fund to support her. So, people who shop with us are buying for a good cause too.”
Tell us about the bakery business you recently started.
“I started Baked With Butter as a small home business during the first MCO (in March). It started off with my mum baking and sharing most of her baked goods with our neighbours. It became popular, and we decided why not give it a try and sell them, especially as times are hard and uncertain now.
“My mum’s specialty is baking Roti Naik. At the time there were not many stores selling Roti Naik on Instagram, so it has been going really well for us until today!”
Where do you see yourself in the future?
“I see myself having my own established business with a proper team, staff and a store. If not a store, probably another online business. Perhaps selling clothes of my own design. I also would like to see myself married and with kids by then, hopefully.”
What is your strength and your weakness?
“I can adapt to anything and anywhere, whether it be a new workplace, meeting people, or learning a new skill like baking. I have no problem with unfamiliarity. I am quick and sharp in learning new things.
“My weakness is that I get easily annoyed and love to procrastinate, and do not handle things well under pressure.”
You are a law graduate. What made you study law in the first place?
“My father always said I was good at arguing. I also remember facts and stories well. So, I went for it.
“I am currently a paralegal and have had two years work experience, with six months of internship. I do see myself as a lawyer but not for the long run, as I would love to have my own fashion and beauty business in the future.
You are an idol to many youngsters. Who is your own idol?
“Jack Ma. I admire the fact that he kept trying and never gave up, because he believed in himself. He applied to go to Harvard and got rejected 10 times, applied for 30 different jobs and was told that he was no good, until he learned about the Internet and eventually started his own website. His story is enough to motivate me to never give up, and to keep going until I find something that is meant for me.”
What advice can you give to young entrepreneurs like you?
“Fall seven times, stand up eight times. Keep trying no matter how many times you fail, keep seeking what is meant for you.
“Explore as many areas as you can, and be open to learning new skills, whether baking or designing, because you never know what you are actually good at, and you may be able to make something out of it. Accept rejection and failure, move on by finding loopholes.”
