My name is Alimah Kasumu and I have the vision of changing the world by sharing my knowledge and experience with others－let others gain knowledge. With my knowledge in beauty essentials, the Arabic language, the Islamic religion, and social media, society will be a better place. I will share my knowledge in these subjects through stores, apparel, and YouTube videos.
To begin, I will educate Africans and other ethnicities about beauty products that are compliments to their skin; usually, they cannot find the best product, for their skin, in the beauty sections of Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, or other local beauty supply stores. My goal is to provide them with the beauty products that are suitable for them based on their ethnicity. To begin I will start with lotions and moisturizers. Since my family is from Nigeria, I have been using shea butter that my grandma would bring from Nigeria since I was 13. Prior to using shea butter, I would buy products/brands from Jergens, skin bleaching creams, Dove, Olay, and many other products, but they caused my skin to dry out easily. I have created a line of shea butter, Muji’s Shea Butter, that I market to Africans and other ethnicities. I frequently attend African descended events to promote and sell my products and eventually obtain ownership of a store. Recently, I have created a website via bigcartel.com for the products. After going through a time period where I had dry skin for years, I would not want anyone else to go through the same thing because of the products that they purchased at Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, or other local beauty supply stores. My goal is for people with different ethnicities, mainly Africans, to have access to the best and high-quality beauty products.
Next, my vision is to change society’s view on Muslims and to help decrease the fear of Islamophobia. I have been volunteering as an Arabic teacher to the youth in my community for over five years. As a teacher’s assistant, I have increased my students’ abilities to read, write, and pronounce Arabic words. Along with teaching the younger students the Arabic language, I also educate them about their religion. By educating them, they will have the knowledge to tell non-Muslims about their religion. Along with volunteering in my Arabic class, I plan on creating a Muslim(ah) clothing brand that includes apparel and accessories for women and men. Currently, I am designing Islamic themed apparel which includes a description and/or fact about the religion. I envision creating Islamic apparel that is unique to the experiences that I have had. For example, I have apparel that reads “Sabr”, which means patience, in Arabic; this word has a significant role in the Islamic religion and I have encountered many obstacles in life; however, I always try my best to have patience. Another example would be for me to name a collection of shirts “The Five Pillars”; each shirt would consist of one of the five pillars written on the front, and there would be a brief description or graphic explaining the pillar. Therefore, my clothing line will include fashionable apparel and accessories while having an educational or spiritual meaning behind them.
Lastly, my knowledge of self-branding will aid entrepreneurs like myself to build their personal brand on social media. For just over a year, I received the inspiration to market my self-brand. Two years ago, I attended a self-branding summer session at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Also, I had the opportunity to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising "3 Days of Fashion", which took place in Los Angeles, California in three days. It consisted of various college classes that intertwined fashion and self-branding together. I have mostly been self-branding myself on YouTube, but recently, I have utilized Instagram and created a public business account. Additionally, I have created a unique profile with a constant theme that attracts viewers to follow my account. The theme of my profile relates to the type of style I admire which is apparel with patterns. Next, I will continue to make YouTube videos, related to fashion, for my YouTube channel, Amore Alimah, but in the future, I plan to expand the content to include videos about marketing. My YouTube videos will aid aspiring entrepreneurs, like myself, to grow their brand.
My visions interlock with my goal of becoming an African-American businesswoman. I see myself as a striving entrepreneur with multiple clothing brands/lines and beauty businesses. I plan on showcasing my designs in my own fashion show along with other shows like Small Boutique Fashion Week (sponsored by New York Fashion Week) and African Student Associations’ Ankara Nights (sponsored by various universities and community members). I see myself with websites for both clothing and beauty businesses; in addition, I will have a store for my beauty products, so people can try out and examine the products in person. Ultimately, I have a goal of visiting every continent and discovering different fashion trends around the world.
To successfully carry out my numerous visions, to make the world a better place, and goals, I will need to be supported financially to continue my work in beauty care, Islamic themed apparel, and social media presence and the mentorship will aid me in obtaining the basic and complex entrepreneur skills. The mentorship will provide me with the opportunity to get one-on-one advice and guidance from the women who are in the position that I am striving for as an entrepreneur. I will hear the experiences and struggles that these women had when building their own business. For the financial aspect, I would purchase high-quality supplies needed for my beauty products, Islamic apparel, and YouTube videos. To accomplish my goal, providing Africans and different ethnicities with beauty products suitable for their skin, I will provide the necessary essentials. For the apparel, I will acquire everything from t-shirts to sweatpants in wholesale price and recreate them with factual details relating to Islamic and the Arabic language. Lastly, along with providing beneficial content for my viewers on YouTube, having a high-quality camera or recording device, will aid my channel. In conclusion, my vision is to change the world by sharing my knowledge and experience in beauty essentials, the Arabic language, the Islamic religion, and social media.
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