Generally, when we talk about success in entrepreneurship, the first picture that comes to our mind is— an intense-looking man in a tie and crisp suit sitting in a fancy office. However, it is important to note that entrepreneurial success is not limited to any specific gender. Any person can achieve it and achieve a new milestone in this direction.
We can’t agree on everything, but we all can agree with this one point when it comes to strong leadership, that is, leadership knows no gender. Systematically we’ve been conditioned to always think of a male figure when we’re asked to picture people in leadership roles, but today women are leading in every area by breaking the stereotypes and hegemony. With courage, passion, and hard work, women have emerged as successful entrepreneurs and are setting new examples.
In this edition of our magazine, Trailblazing Women in Business to Follow, we’re moving the spotlight on such inspiring female entrepreneurs. A prominent name among such leaders is Tahani Al Terri. With passion and dedication for work, she is an inspiration to empower aspiring female entrepreneurs.
She is a visionary entrepreneur and is blessed with multiple talents—as a life coach, community woman, media consultant, etc. She is also recognized as “The Happiness Maker.” Her remarkable work and success are showing the path to other women too.
Her initiative— “Beauty Heart & Soul” — is unique as it empowers women not only from inside but from outside too. She has written more than 165 articles that implemented 66 training programs and various lectures inside and outside the UAE.
In the following interview, Tahani Al Terri speaks about her journey as an entrepreneur, her opinions on the present, and her vision for the future.
Please tell our readers about yourself and your career journey so far.
The press called me “The Happiness Maker.” I work as a training expert, life coach, certified international consultant, community woman, media consultant, writer, and content creator.
I have launched an initiative, “Beauty Heart & Soul,” it is for the empowerment of women from inside and outside. I have also launched an initiative, “Alif Ya Saadeh,” which is concerned with happiness and quality of life as a way of thinking and behavior.
I am a motivational speaker for others, inspiring Arab women ambassador, ambassador of happiness and creativity, ambassador of peace and goodwill. I have received 500 certificates of appreciation and honor. Six thousand two hundred trainees were trained, more than 3300 consultations were carried out, participated in 65 conferences by presenting working papers, interventions, discussions, and attendance. A consulting corner in the most important Emirati local newspaper Dunya Al-Ittihad for three years, with nearly 150 consultations.
I have written more than 165 articles, implemented 66 training programs, various lectures inside and outside the UAE, carrying out more than 165 interviews and various TV interviews inside and outside the UAE.
Tell us about your mission and vision for your future.
The future is the vision that we all aspire to reach through hard work. My motto in life is “Imprint from the mind and heart, an impact from the soul.” I always invite all the people whom I meet in life to make a positive change.
To become the “best version of themselves,” my vision is to make a positive impact on individuals and help them possess the tools that qualify them for this through various training programs, workshops, and important lectures that I implement in various fields.
What inspired you to enter the specific sectors that serve you?
My passion is training with everything in it and aiding others as a life coaching, training expert, and international consultant. I give advice to clients, in addition to being interested in transferring knowledge to various individuals around the world through the Internet and social networking sites. It is not necessary to complicate the transfer of knowledge and science because the recipient is looking for the easy thing, and this is what I do.
How has the pandemic affected the operations and growth of your organization(s)?
The COVID-19 pandemic is an experience that has added a lot to me. It has both positive and negative sides. Of course, businesses all over the world have been affected by the pandemic, as we have been unable to provide direct training to customers and we have lost the fun we had during the training process, workshops, and lectures, but on the other hand, we moved to the first training stage.
Line, which allowed us to provide training all over the world through the Internet, and the training process became easy and available to everyone, and anyone interested can join us immediately, but we lost the real pleasure in meeting the trainees and gaining experience and direct experiences from them. But with the adaptation to the need to provide training and consultations through social media and the internet, the matter has become somewhat easier.
Please tell us about your different business projects.
I am now preparing for my first book, which will appear soon. During my preparation for the book, I tried to be comprehensive and diversified in the field of leadership, development, and life skills. I divided the book into several sections, including sayings about success, leadership, development, and life.
I wrote a paragraph about each statement explaining its concept from several areas. Another section deals with the important theories and laws that we need in our lives, and we must know about. A special section for articles that I share and write, and a section in which I collected the most important sayings from the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, which are like the beacon that we emulate in life, and I look forward to success.
This book is remarkable because it is comprehensive and contains several topics that serve and benefit researchers in these fields, and I will participate in it soon in international book fairs.
What are the biggest challenges that you have faced and the most important lessons that you have learned in your career as well as in life so far?
Do not treat yourself softly; based on this saying, I began with the first steps of work towards real success, and during my scientific, practical, and life career in general, the first lessons for me were that those around you will disappear after the disappearance of positions and authority and you will become lonely.
One of the most important lessons that affected my personality and made me cling to my dreams and ambitions is that others do not care about your success and do not contribute to it, but they can drag you into the circle of failure to accompany them on this journey. On the ground, my success is the secret of my life. I believe in this saying because success allows happiness to accompany you.
What do you think is the current state of human rights awareness in the modern world?
I think that the concept of humanity needs to be strengthened, but what is rarer is that humanity has started to appear only on the pages of social media to obtain a trend, fame, or a new title. On the ground, it has become conditioned by many demands and many concepts. The mistake that is bothering those who are the pioneers of humanitarian work and those who need humanity.
Humanity is a comprehensive concept that we all must have with humans, animals, nature, and everything that surrounds us because we are instinctive to be human in the first place.
Where do you see yourself in the future? Also, how do you envision expanding your business operations in the coming years?
One of the most important goals that I aspire to achieve is to become one of the most important training and life coaching experts, to provide my consultations through various social media channels, and to have many publications of important books that remain and are immortalized throughout history to serve as references to be used in universities and schools and important international TV channels to talk about my various influential achievements and successes that will leave an imprint in the world of training and live international coaching.
Also, my contributions in some different books, and my participation in various local and international conferences, in addition to presenting various and different programs, workshops, and courses through different channels, will contribute significantly. Great spread of the name of the chancellor, Tahani Al-Terri, the maker of happiness in the Arab world.
