BRAND THOUGHT: U R UR CAPITAL!

I truly believe YOU ARE YOUR CAPITAL!

 I heard many times from friends, associates, ex-colleagues, students, etc:

'I want to do business but I don't have the capital, I don't have the cash...'

'I hate my job, I wish I could quit and stay home with my kids, but the money doesn't allow it!'

'In the dream world, I would love to go globetrotting, spend on things I like without having to worry about money...'

Well, my answers would be, why don't you?

'I'm just not as brave as you...'

The money, the capital is not the problem. Your fear is  holding you back. The truth is we all have fears. My fears still hold me back or delay me from doing stuff. The real capital that you've forgotten is yourself. The capital is YOU!

OPEN MOUTH, OPEN SHOP

I dare say this because I've done many businesses in my life and most of the times, I have been the capital. If I don't have enough money to start, I will attract the people who will invest in me or basically I'll just start with what I have. My mouth.

Yes, my mouth! The Malays have a saying "Modal air liur, je!" meaning your saliva is the only capital you need.

A lot of my mentors would say, "Open mouth, open shop!"

SHARING YOUR EXPERTISE WITH YOUR WORLD

So true, all you have to do is just share your knowledge, your expertise, your advice, your skills, with your world, not the world, but your world to begin with: your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, your siblings, etc. 

What I usually do, if I have a product to offer, I will share about it. Sharing is caring, through sharing we share our values, we share our belief, our passion, our care and in the process we sell ourselves. I won't lock my money in stock. I take orders, I conduct workshops, I provide solutions.

If your skill and passion is baking, so you share on that. You share your skill (or your cake). No money to buy oven well, steam it then, use the pot or borrow somebody's oven. Give free testing & collect orders.That's what my mom did, and she got a total of 5 cake orders in one day! You are providing solutions by producing quality, great tasting no skimming on ingredients cakes and pastries. Maybe teach others how to bake the cake. Use your kitchen to start teaching.

When I don't have makeup to conduct my Brand Image hands-on workshop, I get good Makeup company (the company and product has to be good because it'll reflect my personal brand value on quality) to sponsor the make-up. In return, I provide values to the company by sharing and endorsing their great products, I share values with my clients by giving them a hands-on experience, how to skills that they can use immediately to improve their lives (instead of just merely a demo), they get to buy good, quality products to solve their daily needs and the company make money from there, gets exposure and I make money from sharing my expertise. Now, I'm partnering with FM Cosmetics and MAKNA (the cancer foundation) for my next workshop sessions, where you can learn how to become a Personal Color & Makeup Coach yourself, which I'll announce later in my next post on this blog.

WE HAVE ENOUGH, WE ARE ENOUGH

What else could be your skills? Teaching English? Start coaching people on how to speak English. Many people especially in Malaysia have challenges communicating in English. Offer you service, start coaching adults. You can charge higher fees rather than just conducting tuition for exam preparation for kids. You can conduct your coaching even in a cafe or Starbucks or Kinokuniya Bookstore Cafe in KLCC where you can be surrounded with so many reference books. So see, you don't need a lot to start, you start with yourself, you start with what you have.

Okay, now you probably think, hey, what about marketing? Use YOUR MOUTH (for a start)! That's a better way to use the mouth than just gossiping isn't it? Share with everyone you meet what you do. Don't be afraid to share. You're only sharing. Stop thinking you're not good enough, or you're not slim enough, or not pretty enough, or not competent enough, or not having enough time, or not fit enough, or not having enough money, or just not enough. We have enough! This 'not enough' mindset creates an emotional barrier in our life that blocks our energy system. It's a pattern that we have to break. When there's blockage in our energy system it'll manifest itself into the real world, into our lives in the form of health problem, lack of peace, money drained out although we make a lot, relationship challenges etc. 

Allah says, 'Be grateful, and I will give you more'. And more you will receive when you start having gratitude. It forms an abundance feeling inside you, where the feeling will go beyond 'enough' into overflowing. One of late uncles taught me to pray and ask God in this manner:

"Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim, grant and bless me with overflowing HALAL abundance till it reaches heaven."

Try it, and instantly feel the overflowing feeling of abundance sweeps right through you. At the end, that is our ultimate goal, to enter 'Jannah' and meet Allah.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Start networking, join groups, positive groups. You need that support because, there's a lot of negativity out there ready to attack you, when you decide to embark on this journey of  'The Road Less Traveled'! However, it's a journey worth taking, it's a journey of your calling, it's a journey where you began to use YOU (finally!) as the CAPITAL to attract abundance into your life. Abundance doesn't mean just material wealth. Abundance in my personal definition would be the blessings from Allah, who gives peace in our heart, who provides 'enough'ness in our life, who gets rid of our fears and worries, who gives us happiness...true happiness.

GIVING YOUR HEART, GIVING YOUR BEST

The Capital is YOU, and deep within you lies a buried treasure that would be your biggest capital, YOUR HEART. Now, all those sharing I said earlier, would be a waste when it doesn't come from your heart, the birth place of all intentions. Now you know why Allah said to start with your intention.

One of my favorite mentor is my energy wellness mentor, Dr. Ramesh. One thing he taught me was: when I want to breathe, I must breathe from the heart, when I speak, I speak from the heart, when I start a healing treatment with my clients, I must bring my focus to the heart then only begin my action. When I start praying, I pray from the heart.

 "Every time," he said, "you must bring your focus to your heart", 

and you'll find yourself fully PRESENT, fully involved, fully genuine with sincere intention to bring values to the people you meet. You find yourself, giving your best, you find yourself giving your heart and that's the best feeling of all!

BELIEVE THAT U R UR CAPITAL! START SHARING 'YOU' WITH YOUR WORLD & BEYOND.

Till next time, stay true to the Muslim Style & Brand!

xoxox-KD Ismalasari