When Passion Turns Into a Business | Ma Didi Cosmetics & Gifts

We share yet another story of how someone’s passion and curiosity turned into a business in today’s blog feature. At BoldBizz, we love sharing these inspirational stories of how businesses and brands are born. Keep reading as you meet the brand and the face behind: Ma Didi Cosmetics & Gift.

The face behind Ma Didi
Ma Didi is founded by Kayla Haakmeester. Kayla considers herself an introvert, someone who is very shy but always used creativity as a way to express herself. Kayla tells us that she has loved creating from a very young age. Since she was a kid she would make her own candles, jewelry, face masks, bake sweets, and even made clothes for her dogs. Kayla was known amongst her friends and family to always give personalized gifts and she always challenged herself to create things of her own since it really sparked her creativity and curiosity of how things were made. As Kayla got older, her interests shifted more towards gardening and plants. She loves the idea of taking care of plants as they take care of you in return by providing herbs, fruits and vegetables for you to consume. The connection you feel when eating freshly picked fruits and vegetables from your garden is really special.

Ma Didi: the start
Kayla says that it was never her intention to start a business. She just loved experimenting with ointments and oils as it fed her curiosity, aided in self-care and self development. “Ma Didi became a business organically. When I created the Facebook page and shared my first post, I did not expect the reaction that I got,  it was overwhelming. My first post got 152 comments and was shared 63 times.” says Kayla. Ma Didi herbal ointment was sold out 7 days after that post and at that moment she had an epiphany and officially decided to pursue the idea to start an official business, and so Ma Didi Cosmetics & Gifts was born.

Ma Didi: it doesn’t get any more authentic than this
We asked Kayla how she came up with the name “Ma Didi”, we are always curious to know how entrepreneurs are inspired to come up with their brand name. Kayla tells us that she had been making ointments for 3 years already and hadn’t given it a name. On a Sunday morning, Kayla was visiting her grandma with her mom and in conversation, Kayla’s grandma was sharing a story of how her mom (Kayla’s great-grandmother) used to be a midwife. Kayla’s grandma was reminiscing how people would come to her childhood home to inform her when mother’s were ready to give birth, they would knock on the door and ask for Didi, also known as Machi or Shi Federica, she was known to have many nicknames. After hearing the name Ma Didi, a switch went on in Kayla’s head and she had decided on a name for her business. This name is an honor to all the hard-working women in her family.
#FunFact about Didi: since she helped deliver a lot of babies back then, a lot of mother’s honored her by making her the godmother of their child. Ma Didi had more than 50 godchildren at one point in her life.

Locally made in Aruba
We know Aruba is a very small island and can have its limitations when it comes to making products locally so we were very curious to hear from Kayla what challenges she encounters. She says that importing components for the products are not cheap and finding quality components takes time. One of the most challenging parts of creating local products is that sometimes companies here will be out of stock themselves so she has to resort to ordering online, which can take even more time. When this happens, Kayla has to rethink a new strategy in order to come up with an alternative solution. Kayla also works full-time and follows a strict planning so when she comes across challenges like these it can take a lot more time to re-plan everything therefore delivery of product can also get delayed. So if you are considering a business where you make your own products, this information would be good to keep in mind.

Lastly, our favorite section! Real life practical tips from real entrepreneurs. Are you an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start their own business but have feelings of doubts? Kayla shares some tips!

First and foremost, do you research and depending what type of business it is, Kayla recommends to start small. Research is important as you don’t want to enter an over saturated market, especially on a small island like Aruba.

Always believe in yourself! There will always be that little voice in your head that tells you that your product or concept is not good enough, don’t listen to that voice. “I personally combat that feeling of self-doubt by giving products to my friends and family and ask them for feedback.” says Kayla.

When in doubt ask for help. Kayla is very grateful to have her family supporting her and they are always willing to help and give advice, especially her cousin Richelyn who she considers her right hand.

Great tips that are definitely inspirational!

So how can you support or purchase Ma Didi products? You can simply call or send Ma Didi a WhatsApp message at + 297 699-2526, or contact them via Facebook or Instagram. They offer free delivery every Saturday!

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