Great people are the ones who build themselves from the ground up, they are the ones that have assembled their futures brick by brick, and have sacrificed a lot of things in order to achieve this level of success.
Women in our society have always aspired for great things, and they never seize to amaze us. An inspirational woman we have met recently was Chef Khulood Olaqi, who has studied Medical Science as her major in university, but chose to follow a different path by doing what she loves, which is cooking. She has started her own home business, an Instagram based restaurant specializing in sushi, Oishii Sushi. Khulood was in charge of everything, from A-Z. She was so dedicated to her business and delivering the best quality she could, that she wouldn’t even hire an assistant because she wanted to ensure that the level of service would always live up to what her customers are used to.
She has faced many hurdles during her very start, but she had a great support system, her family and friends were her backbone, and they always encouraged her and kept her going. After overcoming many obstacles, and getting encouraged enough to seek help and get an assistant. She cleared her mind enough for her to expand the idea of Oishii Sushi into a restaurant, which will hopefully be opening soon. Khulood has become very active on Snapchat as well, and interacts with her followers on an everyday basis. She offers culinary technique advice on her Snapchat, as well as daily recipes, which are surely delicious! Moreover, she is working on the idea of offering cooking classes and sharing her passion with everyone in her community. Khulood is a very good example of a talented young Saudi woman who has succeeded against all odds. She should serve as a motivation to many young Saudi girls, that nothing is impossible if you work hard enough and dedicate yourself in entirety to what you love. As we sat with Khulood, we couldn't help but ask her about her successful journey.. Q: Why sushi? A: My mother suggested sushi, but I was scared, because at the time sushi wasn't popular. Nowadays a lot of people's favorite food is sushi. The decision was risky and I did not expect this type of reaction, it was very positive, however it wasn't as positive as it was when I started back again in 2014, sushi was more trendy than it was in 2010. Q: What encouraged you to start it as a home business? A: At first, we weren't financially ready, and we did not have the expertise to run a restaurant. It's hard to know how the market will react to your business, therefore we wanted to test the market. Thank god for Instagram! The story of my husband and I went viral, we were known as the husband and wife that make sushi together. All in all, my followers are the reason behind my success. Q: Did you have a solid bus plan before starting? A: We didn't map out a clear path when we started, but the ways we follow now, whether it's dealing with customers or delivering orders are all based on a trial error system, and we learned all of that with time. For example, at the beginning, my husband used to deliver the orders while I started cooking the next orders, afterwards, we realized we needed a helping hand so we outsourced the delivery and sought help. With time, we learned from our mistakes and gained experience. Q: What does Oishii Sushi mean? A: Delicious sushi, I chose this name out of multiple suggestions my friend gave me because I liked the way it rhymes and I found it catchy. Q: Why did you set a minimum order? A: 2010 was a huge loss for me because I used to buy groceries and they stayed in the fridge for longer than they should have. I didn't get enough orders and I had to throw away a lot of the groceries, because I care about the quality and the freshness of the food I serve. Q: How did Oishii Sushi menu evolved? A: It all depends on people's preferences. There are some things we can't take off the menu like the volcano roll because it's a fan favorite. We monitor what menu items are ordered more than others in the duration of 6 months for example then based on that, we make the decision to either improve the item or take it out of the menu. Q: What was your biggest mistake? A: It wasn't a mistake, it was an overdue decision, which was dividing the work load and deciding not to do everything myself. Q: Whats your favorite item on the menu? A: It's like you're asking a mother who her favorite child is. I love each one of them in a special way! Q: Whats the next step for Khulood? A: My dream ever since starting back in 2010 is coming true, I'm going to open my own restaurant soon! As for myself, I will continue in this field because it's my passion, and the interaction on social media and the content I'm delivering to people is what drives me.