WHEN Rubeni Ponnurangam started her hair oil business in 2016, it did not cross her mind that it would bloom into an international favourite.
Rubeni, 35, had been jobless for two months after quitting her high-paying job before she decided to venture into a home-based massage and spa business, offered mostly through referrals.
Her business improved significantly when she advertised her products and services in the Caring Moms Facebook group.
“Within two weeks, I was fully booked for three months. I even had to cancel further bookings. Then, I decided to focus on my homemade product, Nariel Hair Oil,” Rubeni said.
“The response was so overwhelming that the hair oil was sold out immediately after I advertised it on the group.”
Members of the group helped deliver bottles of Rubeni’s hair oil from Johor to Penang, while she focused on preparing the mixture, made of organic coconut oil, fenugreek seed and curry leaves.
Thanks to the Caring Moms community, the hair oil has travelled to Australia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Maldives, Germany and Dubai, which otherwise would not have been possible if Rubeni had done it on her own.
Two others who benefited from the community, Nurulain Zaidon, 39, and Woon Jac Kie, 42, shared similar sentiments.
Nurulain, a senior assistant of student affairs at a school in Klang, has been making kuih Nyonya for five years.
She was added to the Facebook group in 2016. After six months, she got her big break.
“In my five years in the field, I have never gotten such a large amount of orders once members got to know about my small business,” Nurulain said.
“For the first time in my life, I was in the kitchen, baking non-stop for 14 hours.
“The thought of so many people wanting my kuih was heartwarming.”
She said the trust and support from members gave her the courage to opt for early retirement from her teaching profession after 20 years to focus on her business.
For Woon, life had always been throwing her challenges.
It began when she could not continue her career as a nutritionist due to an economic slump.
Woon returned to her hometown in Ipoh and joined the banking and finance industry, but she decided to let it go to focus on her family.
Her passion and interest in crafts and beadwork allowed her to start her jewellery line, “Handmade Happiness”.
Although the initial response from the group was not encouraging, things took a turn for the better when Woon joined the Caring Moms bazaar.
“When customers can see the products, they trust the seller even more. When I advertised in the group, I did not get much response. Initially, it was discouraging, but with continuous encouragement from other mothers and women in the group, and after joining a few bazaars, I gained customers’ trust,” Woon said.
She advised those interested in starting a handmade-jewellery business to be persistent.
“It will not be easy. But when you are passionate and keep doing it, eventually, somebody will see your fine handiwork.”
The Caring Moms community group was co-founded in April 2016 by Major (Rtd) Shera Ann Bosco, 41, and Indian expat engineer Umesh Nara-simhaiah, 36, with the aim of creating an ecosystem for women to
develop and grow their entrepreneurial skills.
It connects mothers and women to a network of individuals and corporations, providing them access to a wide range of opportunities, skills and guidance, thus empowering them to be economically independent.
The Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) has invited the group to be an impact partner.
“An impact partner creates impact enterprises so that corporate partners can pledge to make these enterprises their beneficiaries. We know MaGiC means business, so this will help bring the businesses to the next level,” Shera said.
Umesh said with this partnership, Caring Moms would identify businesses that wanted to grow and had MaGiC help them expand.
Caring Moms provides financial and business courses for women wanting to venture into the industry. It also provides food handling courses for women in the group.
The group, which started with 10,000 members in its first month, now has 63,181 members and counting.