For many women entrepreneurs, their self‐confidence grows over time as they journey through their business. But for some women, the lack of self-confidence remains a constant challenge. As building a successful business takes a lot of effort, faith and resources, self-belief is a critical building block to success. When one is starting out, the pace of their business can be slow and if you don’t have the tenacity, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Three finalists of the Resipi Berani MAGGI reality series, shares about their ups and downs of being an entrepreneur, starting and running their own business, dealing with failures and setbacks, and what drives them forward.
Resipi Berani MAGGI is a culmination of the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI (PMWCBM), a six-episode reality series that tests the participants’ mettle via culinary and entrepreneurship-focused challenges. The programme is deeply rooted in MAGGI CukupRasa’s ‘Tak Kenal Tak Cinta’ (Never Try, Never Know) spirit which aims to encourage women to step out of their comfort zones to try something new – be it in cooking, in life or in business.
Nur Syahidah redefines her self-worth, shares how she pushes ahead despite her physical flaw
Passionate home-based food entrepreneur, 32-year old Nur Syahidah Aimullah is the grand winner of the Resipi Berani MAGGI Season 2. Growing up in a family that runs a catering business, she always longed to kick start her own business. In her 20s, she has worked in various roles as assistant lecturer to secretariat management.
“It was not until 2019 when my husband and I decided to move back to my hometown in Kulim to nurse my ailing parents. And that’s when started I decided to take a new step outside my comfort zone to kick start my own business, NSA Cookies, which sells chocolate chip and ant’s nest cookies (biskut sarang semut),” shared Syahidah.
“The path to starting own business isn’t always smooth. There were many roadblocks toward that path. But the right time will come, so all you need to do is be willing to try and never give up,” said Syahidah. “I always believe that entrepreneurship is all about resilience. Believing in what you can do is important and keep up entrepreneurial spirit to stay motivated for the long run!”
With the aim of improving her self-confidence and gain new skills to expand her business, she signed up for the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI (PMWCBM), where she attend the Bengkel Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI to learn about business acumen, digital and cooking skills.
Since young, Nur Syahidah has always been abashed of her Blepharophimosis syndrome (monolid), leading to a low self-esteem. “I have been struggling with insecurities for many years because of my physical appearance. But I am now much more confident after my participation in the Resipi Berani MAGGI S2 and emerging as the Grand Winner. I could not believe it!
Syahidah’s resilience and determination bagged her the first placing for the competition, winning a seed capital of RM8,000 and an eight-week mentorship programme with Anne. She recently introduced her new ready-to-eat product, Rendang Dendeng Daging, under new brand Syahidah Food with plans to expand her reach to neighbouring countries like Singapore and Indonesia by 2025.
“I have since learned to love myself more, be bold and stand tall! My physical appearance should not define my worth. I am actually grateful to be blessed with this appearance because wherever I go, I will naturally stand out in a crowd and people recognise me!” added Syahidah.
When asked how have she benefitted from the programme, Syahidah shared that she has learned many entrepreneurial tips from Anne Idris, one of the Mentors of the PMWCBM. Anne taught her about food costings, pricing strategy and cost optimisation so that she’s able to garner a good profit.
Suzaimi: Staying motivated in business, even after one decade
Prior joining Resipi Berani MAGGI Season 2, Mek is a fairly seasoned entrepreneur. “You can ask most people in Kuala Terengganu, and they would know about Mek’s Chicken Rice!” quipped Suzaimi. However, this doesn’t put a stop for her to keep learning and upskill herself to further improve her food business.
A 38-year old Mother to two active kids, Suzaimi Zahari runs a chicken rice shop in Kuala Terengganu, a business which she inherited from her mother in the early 2010s. Famous for her chicken rice which comes with fresh orange juice, attractively priced at RM7, she has not revised the price since 2012! Her business was eventually recognised by the Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP) as Fair Price Shop (Kedai Harga Patut) in 2021.
“The restaurant is part of my soul. It goes without saying that I learned all about food, cooking and business from this restaurant. Watching my mom run her very own restaurant showed me that anyone can follow their dreams and dream BIG too!”
“Of course, in the early days of your business, there’s a lot of effort as well as time and financial investment. And we may only reap the success much later, so we need to persevere. I am a firm believer that getting into the right mindset and dreaming big right from the start is a great way to define a clear direction of where you want to go and what you wish to achieve.”
When asked about how she handles a given challenge, Suzaimi shared, “Owning and running my own business comes with satisfaction and sacrifice. It can be overwhelming and exhausting. We should expect hurdles at every turn on the road to success. Leverage on every obstacle as a learning opportunity and you may need to even steer your journey. But stay committed to your end goal! My goal for Mek’s Chicken Rice is very clear – to be the most well-known chicken rice in Terengganu!”
With the aspiration of expanding her business and opening more branches of Mek’s Chicken Rice, she embarked on the PMWCBM journey to sharpen her entrepreneurial and digital marketing skills and to take one step closer to achieving her dream. Suzaimi eventually was selected as one of the finalists for the Resipi Berani MAGGI Season 2 reality series and emerged as second place in the final, taking home a seed capital of RM5,000.
Suzaimi recalled, “There were many times when I wanted to give up. But I am fortunate to tremendous support from my husband and family. They have been with me throughout this journey. They are indeed my greatest inspiration and motivation.”
“Everyone is motivated and inspired by different things in life. Understanding what motivates you can make the difference between success and failure!” she concluded.
Noraslinda steps out of her comfort zone to kick start her home-based food business
Growing up, Noraslinda never saw herself as an entrepreneur. “When I first started my side hustle selling sandwiches, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew that I have this drive for extra income and doing what I like most – cooking,” she shared.
A 39-year-old mum of 4 children, Noraslinda is currently working as a clerk in a government agency. She loves making sandwiches and runs a small-scale catering business over the weekend.
Noraslinda is a true testament of a wonder woman, managing her time between work, family commitments and fulfilling her orders. “When I started to received more orders and positive feedbacks from my customers, I became more motivated. From then on, I put in more effort and focus, and set myself a goal to grow my home-based sandwich business!”
“Many asked how I manage my side business alongside my full-time job. I acknowledged that I don’t have the luxury of quitting a full-time job to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. Juggling between both was never easy. But having said that, I believe that an entrepreneurial journey should not be daunting and it doesn’t always mean quitting your day job. I would suggest to start small and learn along the way, before building up to something bigger.”
Noraslinda loves art and the creativity behind every masterpiece. Which is why she has infused the beauty of art into her business where each of her sandwich boxes will have personalised drawings or hand-drawn doodles. “I am no Picasso!” laughed Noraslinda. “But, I am happy that this little hobby of mine can bring cheer to others through my business.”
Noraslinda recently began to promote her food business via social media after attending the online workshop in the Program Mentor Wanita Cukup Berani MAGGI. She was eventually selected as the Top 12 finalists in the Resipi Berani MAGGI reality series and emerged as the Third Place winner. With the knowledge and experience gained, Noraslinda plans to further expand her business by introducing new items on her menu list and eventually open her café together with her husband in Kuala Selangor.
“Saya cukup berani! I will achieve my goal one day!,” quipped Noraslinda.
These 3 entrepreneurs truly exemplify women who are empowered to achieve success by building their self-awareness and confidence to try something new and upskilling themselves to further grow their business. And along the way they have truly inspired and impacted the lives of many others too. In the same way, MAGGI CukupRasa aims to support women in preparing a variety of delicious meals for their families despite their hectic schedules and time constraints – allowing them to further experiment with various types of dishes, enhancing the taste of the meals or even improving their culinary business.
