‘IT WAS SCARY GIVING UP A REGULAR WAGE, BUT I HAD TO TRY’

Zainab Ahmed, 41, lives in Leicester with her husband and 11-year-old daughter, and gave up her job to design swimwear. Sitting on the beach, on a family holiday to Turkey in 2018, I pulled my kaftan closer around my shoulders and observed the other women on the beach in similar attire.

I am a Muslim and often really struggled to cover up around the pool or on the beach, and I just couldn’t find a modest swimsuit that was fashionable, too. I knew I wasn’t the only one with that dilemma.

So, at that moment, I came up with an idea – to create my own fashion brand, making modest swimwear that looked good.

I had always been fiercely independent, getting myself a weekend job at Boots at just 16, and I’d always loved having my own money. I was driven, and that attitude led me to work in marketing for a big fashion brand in London after completing my Business degree.

Having a well-paid career was my main motivation at first. I worked long hours and, soon, my hard work paid off. By 2018, I was head of marketing for a telecommunications company, earning over £55K.

My husband Omar worked in IT infrastructure for a big fashion brand and our wages combined meant we were financially very comfortable.

However, after that holiday, my focus changed. With my fashion marketing background, I already had some skills

I could draw on. For a while, I worked on my idea alongside my day job – drawing ideas, contacting manufacturers and ordering fabric samples.

But, soon, I realised I simply couldn’t do two jobs at once.

So in February 2021,

I handed in my notice.

It was really scary, giving up a regular wage, but I had some savings, and Omar, now

42, supported me all of the way. Although

I was so used to being independent, accepting his help was tough.

It’s still early days, but business is looking good, and I’ve already had lots of orders. It can be overwhelming and lonely at times, going from working as part of a team to being responsible for absolutely everything.

There have been sacrifices, too – no more fancy meals out, and using supermarket hair dyes instead of splashing out on highlights every couple of months. But it’s a small price to pay for the freedom and satisfaction that working for myself brings.

My daughter Aaliyah is 11 now, and starting secondary school this year. She’s so proud of me and it’s fantastic to think that I could be inspiring her to maybe do the same one day.

✱ prettysassylady.com

‘I’ve always been very independent’