Cherishing Younger Days

Entrepreneur Anika Azam
Talks to
Salman Rob

Photo Courtesy: Tanvir Ali

I did my O Level and A Level from Aga Khan School and got my Bachelors degree in Economics from North South University. I am currently pursuing my Masters degree in Development Studies from North South University.

School was always fun for me. Everyday was like a party at school, which was one of the reasons why I was never irregular at attendance. We had a lot of inter-school sports matches and those were the most fun times. Coming back to school after long summer holidays was very exciting. We did not get to bunk many classes because our school compound was not that big back then. Exam times are known to be the worst times for any student and it was the same for me.

Hanging out after class in the name of doing project work was one of the many excuses we used to come up with. Our curriculum included lots of interactive report writings and projects that usually needed to be done in groups. We always had the best time working on those projects.

My university life was not that different except that I could stay out longer than most other girls. But university was where I made the most friends and interacted with most people. I was involved with a lot of club activities in university through out the years. I was also the General Secretary of the North South University Social Services Club, and that is where I got a hold of organising events and learnt to deal with different people. University was where I actually became a more open minded person.

A lot of people have inspired me throughout my student years-- university teachers who I look up to even today, my family and even my friends. I heard and read stories about existing entrepreneurs who did so much and worked hard to reach where they have reached today. I read about a particular business woman who was awarded the best women entrepreneur about five years ago and thought to myself that someday maybe I will get that award. I always wanted to do something on my own ever since I can remember.

After completing my undergraduate studies, I worked for about a year, but soon I realised that doing a 9 to 5 job was not something that was meant for me. From my early years, I was always actively involved with helping out cousins and friends at weddings, decorating dalas and deciding what songs to dance to. Also, due to the experience gathered from club activities, I got the courage and the confidence to start my own business. Eventually, I realised that this is what I liked doing the most and that is when three of my friends and I started the event management firm three years ago at the end of 2008. I enjoyed organising all kinds of events, especially weddings. The decisions, the deadlines and outcome of every day's work motivate me to go further and get the job done. Also, the positive feedback from clients and their happy faces reassure me that I did well!

Expanding the business is what I want to do right now. I need to reach out to more people and do better and quality work. People should remember me for the work I did and how well I did it. Never forget to dream and work towards achieving that dream with honesty and hard work-- it always pays off in the end.