MEET THE BUSINESS
January 2020
Maysaa Abouhamze – Co-Founder, Franchisee
Maysaa is the owner of Trieva’s Spa and Cinnaholic. She started her first business in the spa industry. Forming Trieva’s a start-up that was developed by herself and her business partner (Trieva Katsandres), a one stop shop for wellness which included: massage services, a hair salon, facial services and waxing. Each business has six rooms, a relaxation sanctuary and a sauna. After tackling the spa industry Maysaa diversified and entered the food industry, where she joined Cinnaholic as a franchisee. Cinnaholic’s quality of their product and the business structure lead her to join their team.
Below are a few questions to help facilitate this interactive connection. At the end of the page you will have an opportunity to post your own questions for Maysaa.
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How did you become an entrepreneur? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I became an entrepreneur because I believed I could provide excellent customer service and a great working environment for my teams.
Please discuss a moment or turning point in your life that led you to start this business?
I have worked for other days spas and chains before. I really wanted to work for myself when I was 25 years old. I felt that investing in my own company would be the most beneficial to my career. I also enjoy building a business from start to finish and watching it flourish. It is extremely satisfying when you provide a product or service and customers enjoying being a part of it.
Do you recall any specific challenges you encountered and overcame? How did you overcome that and what advice would you give others in your situation?
There have been many challenges when creating and developing a business. Being overwhelmed or feeling alone as the business owner is a common feeling. As a small business owner you experience many hardships with staffing, payroll, overhead and many things that come up each day that you do not plan for. After a few years of being an entrepreneur, I have realized that everything will work itself out if you keep working hard. It is not always easy to be motivated, especially during the harder days. When you stop and look at how far you have come and how much you have learned, you realize you can overcome the obstacles that lie ahead.
As an entrepreneur, what is it that motivates and drives you?
As an entrepreneur, I am driven by the work culture and being a woman. Developing a great work culture and bond with my team motivates me. Being a woman in business motivates me as well. Women continue to have to push harder in the workplace and juggle life, children and family while building a career. Though it can be hard to constantly be working to find the balance, the small successes along the way help me continue to move forward.
What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful business?
I would say that the key element of creating your business and running it is to be involved as much as you can but still keep as much of a work-life balance as you can. Businesses need to be owner operated, your team needs to see you in there doing what they do. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions! Interview other business owners in similar fields and get as much feedback as you can when starting and running a business.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who are starting out?
My advice to entrepreneurs is to always ask questions. Questions help you learn, especially since you can learn from other people’s mistakes so that you can help minimize your own. Also, do not be afraid to say “I don’t know how to do that” or “can you explain to me what this means?” We do not have all the answers and many situations are truly trial and error, and that is okay! You will not regret asking the question but you may regret not asking it.
Where do you see your business in the next 10 years?
In ten years I see my business growing and running well with a great team!
Tell us a little bit about your hobbies outside of your field:
Some of my hobbies outside of work are being with children and my friends. I love to work out as much as I can and can usually get about 4 work outs in a week. Being with family and traveling are some other things I enjoy doing outside of work.
A Q&A form will be uploaded shortly. In the meantime feel free to send any questions you would like to ask Maysaa to admin@network1017.com
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