Naima is a Human Resource Officer by profession and she is also the owner of Nai.tural Organic Skincare. She was born and raised in the United Arab Emirates in a city called Al Ain and moved to London in 2006. Naima speaks three languages; Somali, Arabic and English. She studied at the University of Greenwich where she received both her bachelors and master’s degrees in Human Resources Management.
Naima started her skincare business Nai.tural Organic Skincare in February 2019. The brand is centred on developing clean skincare that is vegan and made with organic ingredients.
Name: Naima Mohamed
Occupation/Role: Human Resource Officer and owner of Nai.tural Organic Skincare
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I always had this dream of being a businesswoman and managing people. I always loved interacting with people and listening to them in order to do my best to help them. When I started studying at the business school, the first year we had to take many different subjects such as marketing, finance, accounting, economics and human resources. In our second year, we choose one of these subjects as our major. So in my second year at university, I knew that human resources is what I wanted to do and continued studying it to pursue a master’s degree. I can confidently say that my studies have helped me a lot when I started my own business in terms of planning, marketing, pricing, managing, and selling.
Who were your biggest role models growing up?
My biggest role model has always been my mother. She is a strong woman who moved to two different countries, even though she didn’t speak their native languages, and she still managed to learn them and adapt to their cultures and systems. She worked hard to raise us as children, manage small businesses here and there, go to school, work, cook and clean. Despite all of that, she never complained. She raised us well and pushed us to obtain a good education. She was the reason why I started my business because her passion for vegan skincare taught me a lot.
What is one thing that you would like to tell your younger self?
Hmm… where do I start? I would first tell my younger self to enjoy her life, enjoy the present and not worry about the future. I would also advise my younger self to worry less and don’t hesitate to try new things, which in my opinion is the only way to gain experience. Also, SPEAK UP!
What was a life-changing moment you experienced that shaped you into the woman that you are today?
I have had many life-changing moments, but the only one that affected me the most is when my father got ill and passed away (may Allah grant him the highest Jannah). I think it has pushed me to work harder and never give up. Reminding myself to make my father proud even though he is not with us anymore.
What made you pursue your current career?
In terms of my profession, I always loved dealing with people, helping them improve their skills and talents by training them.
In terms of my business, since I was a young girl my mother taught me how to take care of my skin using our Somali traditional ingredients like qasil and huruud, and that’s how I established my business.
What is a typical day like for you?
Every day is different, however, because of the current global pandemic we are working from home. Therefore, I will always have a daily to-do list for both my profession and business to organize myself with any deadlines and tasks. Some of these daily tasks include trying new skincare products, developing new products, posting content on my Instagram, and making and editing DIYs videos.
What has been the biggest obstacle in your professional life so far and how did you manage to overcome it?
How nothing is certain in this world, everything and anything could be changed in a second. You need to breathe, observe and react when needed.
Which Somali woman inspires you and why?
All Somali mothers because they are superheroes in many ways, so I take pride and inspiration from the fact that I belong to such a group of people.
What advice would you give to a person pursuing your chosen career?
Work hard, educate yourself, be nice to everyone, make connections, ask if you don’t know as there is no shame in that.
How would you like people to remember you?
As a kind person who helped people better themselves.
You can shop Nai.tural Organic Skincare at www.naituralskincare.com/
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