Momtastic – Maida Asal – Making Celebrations Special..

The purpose of my blog has been to share my journey as a parent, and to celebrate motherhood! Not just me, but mommies all around me as well! And with that in mind, I am starting a new section called MOMTASTIC ?!  I will be interviewing inspirational mommas who are wearing multiple hats, and managing it all with panache!

My Momma for July is Maida Asal – someone who grabbed life by the horns after her baby was born because she wanted to be a change maker, a role model for her child. Mom to a bubbly 8 month old girl, Hooria, she launched Oh.My Party has become a one stop shop for everything related to special occasions – from event planning and organizing to photography. From baby showers to birthday parties and more, Oh. My Party will ensure that every little detail is taken care of. The fact that Maida herself is a mom who loves planning special occasions for her baby adds value to her meticulous detailing when it comes to her work!

Name
Maida Asal

Explain yourself in about 10 words.
An artistic mommy now, who was once a 3D animator and photographer and now an event planner and photographer.

Tell us about Oh.My.Party.
Oh my party is basically as its names says – everything related to a party. Planning, organizing and bringing a person’s vision for their special celebration to life. The focus for me is primarily baby related. Be it a welcome party or a cake smash studio shoot, even a family outing, and birthday parties. We do party decoration, an supplies – help with organizing games and giveaways. The cake, and other food items too. I think what makes Oh. My Party special is the fact that we are very economical and will not put a dent in your pocket.

Why did you launch this as a business?
Moving to Doha from Pakistan was a challenging experience. A lot of it was different and I was missing home – especially the food. And that homesickness gave me a drive to find something to keep me occupied and on my toes. Becoming a mother only made my will to do something exciting with my life more. Motherhood was amazing but I wanted to give a venue for my passion for arts. And I was still thinking about options when it struck me. When my baby arrived, I wanted to organize a small but elegant welcome party for her. I could not believe how much of a struggle that was. Either I had to pay a lot or give up on my vision. But I was not ready to do that. So i searched far and wide, and made my dream come true. And that’s when I realized – there are so many people who are in my shoes looking for some magic in a reasonable budget, and I provide solutions to them.

   Tell us about your journey so far.
I trained to be a 3D animator, but there was no option in that field for me after I moved here. And I started spending too much time just doing mundane tasks – cleaning, Facebook and hours on Youtube. This was not what I had spent 4 years of my life doing a degree in arts for. And then when I was 8months pregnant, I started thinking about my baby’s arrival and her welcome party. And going here, there and everywhere to organize a party which was so well received made me believe in myself more. It was hectic, but I realized it could be done. And then I started taking orders from family and friends, and the I promoted my business via Facebook and other social media and on parenting groups, and here we are! 🙂 Word of mouth has been great for us. People are happy with our work, and they are recommending it to others. It’s been so far, so good! The motto I have followed through out is “when we need to do it, we have to do it , no matter what!”

How do you juggle motherhood and your work?
Somedays it is a challenge – managing a home, motherhood and business at the same time. But I manage by sleeping less. Who needs to sleep so much, ey?  My baby is an owl who is up all night – so I do a lot of chores like cleaning and cooking at night so she gets entertained too. And we grab our sleep during the day time. In between, I respond to all the mails and requests and work on Oh.My Party. My husband has been the greatest support in building and developing this business.

What is the best part about your work? What were the challenges involved?
I love that I can do it on my own terms – based on my availability, and mould it around my daughter’s schedules. At the same time, it makes me so happy to play such an important role in making special occasions more special and memorable for my clients. Their happiness and satisfaction really motivates me. They just have to give us the colours they like or the theme, and we build everything around that. Most of our decorations are home made.
As for challenges, I work really hard to consistently maintain quality and high standards. A lot of people are not willing to spend much and need quality and quantity, and that is a bit tricky.

Any advice for mompreneurs?
Time management is the most important thing. And have clear goals for yourself. Take each day as it comes, and you’ll be fine. There will be tough days but it’s all part of the game!

What is the one most important parenting rule you.
The biggest gift you can give your child is quality time. Play, laugh, run around, cuddle and just enjoy being with each other. No matter how important or urgent a work is, my baby comes first and if she needs me, I put everything else aside. After all, she is my number one priority.

For more info, visit https://www.facebook.com/Ohhmp/