So, part of the “She Is My Tribe Movement” is this fireball of a business lady that truly puts the Sav in savvy. At first glance, you wouldn’t believe that this petite kindred spirit is the founder and owner of Pole Fit Egypt. Mint is probably who the saying” big things come in small packages ” is talking about.

 

What do you do consistently for time management?

If I’m being honest, I’m not actually that good at managing my time. But, I do have a diary. Although, I’m not very good at time management I am very good at organizing my time. So, basically what I do is wake up earlier than I need to, and work by myself for at least 2 hours before the rest of my team shows up. This is super important for me to get work done without getting disturbed. Then I write all my weekly to-do list in my diary and I always give myself a buffer day in case something takes longer than expected.

What is one resource you wish you knew about when you were starting out?

I really wish I knew about “MindBody“. It’s an app that allows you to find classes near you that are about mind and body wellness. I personally use it for my own business for all my scheduling, accounting, booking, and money managing. The second tool I adore is “Asana” which is a fantastic app that helps you manage your team and their tasks. It’s such a great help, and they also have a backend on the desktop, so it’s not just on your phone.

What’s the best career advice anyone has ever given you?

The best advice anyone has ever given me is actually two books. The first one is the “Four Disciplines of Execution” and the “One Minute Manager”. I swear by these two books, they’re amazing.

What do you do to motivate yourself when you feel like giving up?

I have this journal that I keep with stories of all the students that have had life-changing experiences at Pole Fit Egypt. So, basically, when I meet a student that Pole Fit touched their life someway I ask them to write their story in the journal. Whenever I feel like it’s all too much and I want to give up, I open that journal and remind myself of how privileged I am to be able to change lives every day.

What is the one thing that kept you going when quite literally all odds were against you opening the first ever Pole Studio in Egypt?

The one thing that kept me going was: belief. It taught me to really believe what I’m seeing instead of believing what people are saying. It didn’t matter what people were saying because they didn’t know, as I was the one who was in the classroom every day. I was the one who saw it manifesting, saw pole fit growing. That was what kept me going when it seemed like the whole world thought I was crazy.

Photographer: Khaled Marzouk

MUA: Malak El Mokadem