neither praises nor insults
July 13, 2018I haven’t been blogging about work much lately because (a) so many things are happening so fast and at the same time so by the time I’m on it, it’s already old news and I’m on the next thing and (b) work is taking up a lot of my time, for good reasons. In a super duper brief nutshell, we had two big institutions invest in the FashionValet Group this year for our Series C funding, we opened more retail outlets, we restructured the other business units under the group like private labels and brand acquisitions, we are focusing on building more brands. As for dUCk, it’s been doing amazingly well – we opened at KLCC (next to Chanel and Dior!!) and dUCk Cosmetics even got into Sephora which is something unheard of for the local cosmetics industry.
Personally, Fadza and I had to step up and grow up as leaders and make difficult decisions like cutting unprofitable projects and letting go off members who weren’t performing. It’s been a real “welcome to the real world” half year so far, and as much as there were good times, there were tough times too. On top of it all, being dubbed “young icons”, we are constantly being watched and scrutinised by the public for every move we make and every word we say. There was an interview that I did at an event and the interviewer asked me “Would FV ever IPO in the future?” and me being me, I was like “Yeah never say never, it would be one of the options definitely.” And bam, the next day, big headlines in the newspapers “FashionValet is listing.” I received so many congratulatory messages that day, and though the attention may be good, it also put a lot of pressure on us unnecessarily. Fadza was very uncomfortable that day. #oops
Even small ridiculous things like me unfollowing people on Instagram becomes a viral thing – I actually regularly follow new people and unfollow accounts I no longer enjoy, I didn’t know that was something juicy to the public! Because social media is a huge part of FV and myself, people who work at FV also tend to grow fame if they choose to be public. And they also tend to get hit with gossip or if they decide to resign one day, it becomes hot juicy story for the public – people start coming up with theories that FV must be horrible or I must be horrible or anything at all that they can think of. I’m like wow there are 200 people working in the group, and because a few move on to other things, we are suddenly horrible? Isn’t employees coming and going normal in a company – their companies don’t have resignations? People move on and that’s ok! One employee resigned and unfortunately had a miscarriage after, and the story came out that I must’ve caused it – like wow, how did I suddenly get in the picture? I have 10 other ladies in the office who got pregnant and gave birth – but no one wants to talk about that? There are always two sides of the story, but I’ve learned that more often than not, I should never engage. It’s all very biased to whatever is juicier to talk about and the social media world is craving new juice to talk about everyday.
Another thing that recently happened also was that after a meeting with a group of important people, I was swarmed by reporters with mics and recorders to my face asking me what are my suggestions to better the youth. I recapped some suggestions I had pitched earlier, and one of it was improving English usage to improve our confidence so we can expand globally. A few media channels took just that as my only suggestion and bam, people starting bashing me saying there are more pressing matters and that I was just being arrogant because “dia terer speaking dia boleh la cakap cam tu.” You just can’t win, even if you have good intentions.
All of these (and other stuff too like people accusing dUCk of buying in bulk and relabelling – which we don’t at all, and that people were so unhappy that dUCk got into Sephora they just couldn’t accept the fact) happened in the span of maybe 2 months and I have to admit I was really reflecting on myself. It’s like people love the idea of a rising Malay entrepreneur, but they secretly don’t like it either. I just have a dream to have this amazing business and working crazy hard for it, and while that’s on the journey, I also have to deal with being a public person that people love to love but love to hate too – for no reason at all. I confided in my parents and Fadza a lot, and I felt a whole lot better because I realise that I was just being extra sensitive (blame the pregnancy!). I refocused on what mattered most and suddenly bammmm everything seemed brighter, clouds cleared and I was ready to kick butt. Of course I can’t stop people from talking, so I should just expect them to and be ok with it – because whatever people say, nothing really changes because I still have to go to work and I still have challenges to face in life. Neither praises nor insults will change anything in my life – I shouldn’t be proud of praises and I shouldn’t be pulled down by insults, I just have to keep a good head on my shoulders. I had this revelation and I even wrote an article on NST about handling it. It became one of the most popular articles that week which shows that a lot of people actually go through this too.
But all these incidents put together were a blessing – I felt like it matured me. I needed to face them to make me a stronger leader. That’s also when I learned that sometimes it’s best to talk less and just do more. Let people talk, and they always will, so just do your thing and let them watch you rise from afar. It’s really not that hard to be happy, actually – fill your time with useful things like work, surround yourself with good people and be grateful for everything in life. That’s all!
I’m trying to make it a point to jot down small wins and exciting things happening in my life so I don’t lose the memories, so here’s one for the album.
We had a site visit to our new FV HQ in Damansara this week and I just couldn’t help but feel that we’ve come so far. Every couple of years, we outgrow our current size that we’re forced to relocate office to accommodate the growth. That glass building we have now was my dream office – I remember driving by with Fadza and thinking wow what if we had our office here – and we not only got our dream, we even occupied several floors there! Now it’s moving on to even bigger dreams.
This new office we took time to plan because there were so many departments and areas we wanted to have – there’s going to be a gym, shower, kids room, proper surau, cafeteria, moms room, laptop lounges, meeting pods, silent zones… it’s going to be AMAZING. I can’t really describe this feeling – excited, hopeful, happy. It’s the same feeling I had when I stepped into our current office for the very first time a few years back. We grew our business multiple times since then. I want to do the same in this new space and it was dejavu when I stepped onto these new concrete floors – gonna work my butt off to make sure we make it, Insyaallah. Make doa for us and our new home! 🙂
All the best Vivy … Love to hear that Duck not buying in bulk and re-labelling :)) … Vivy, fighting!
Good luck vivy!
So glad you gained clarity amidst all of the chaos and fluff in your everyday life. It is true – in this real world people love to love and love to hate at the same time. End of the day, keeping true to yourself and your loved ones is what really matters. Really. The rest of them are just… noise. You have a lovely day ahead, Vivy!
Tahniah Vivy , Fadza & FV Team. Semoga terus berjaya.
People are hating you because they want what you have and they don’t. Keep up the good work and keep being an inspiration! 🙂
Good luck Vivy. Just not to care about the haters & believe me u will happy ever after.
So proud of you!
You are so blessed. May Allah grant you strength and love.
This story is really inspiring. Thank you Vivy! =)
All the best Vivy, Fadza and FV and Duck Team!
Hi vivy. Dulu saya adore vivy. Tapi for the past few months saya perasan vivy makin arrogant, insensitive, etc. Dulu adore vivy sebab vivy berhijrah dari freehair ke hijab. Mula2 ok dah labuh tutup dada, tapi semakin hari semakin singkat. Vivy tahu vivy public figure, ramai look up to you. So vivy indirectly bagi bad influence pada orang lain. Of course vivy tak salah seratus peratus, tapi vivy ada menyumbang sedikit pada perubahan org lain. Teacher saya 10 tahun yang lalu tudung dia labuh. Tapi sejak kebelakangan ni makin singkat sampai nampak dada and dia cakap something about duck scarf should be styled like this and that (pendek). Sedih saya tengok.
Lagi satu vivy, sedih tengok vivy sgt selesa dgn kekayaan vivy. Merendah-rendahkan orang lain yang kurang bernasib baik. Pls be more sensitive, vivy. Ramai yang kecewa vivy tak sensitif dengan perasaan anak2 yatim sebab vivy peluk parents depan mereka dengan caption vivy masih bersyukur masih ada parents. That is so insensitivr, vivy. Please jangan jadi typical high class socialite yang tak pedulikan perasaan rakyat marhaen. It would be nice if vivy jadi humble sedikit. Even dalam blog post ni pun nampak vivy tak matang. Hope for better change, ok vivy? Hugs
I’m very proud of you, since you were still in college.
You are such an inspiration!
It’s natural for ppl to hate when they don’t have what you have. So they will look for avenues/loopholes to compel other ppl to believe what they want them to believe. I personally think you should have a solid PR team in FV and you should also be selective to whom you say stuff to. I also find it sad that the person whom you had previously depended on, who most likely sacrifice her personal time for, whom you dedicated a blog entry on, is now just a mere former ‘employee’. That is what got ppl talking. Perhaps you should curate your social media content to be more exclusive – that will give you some flexibility to friend/unfriend anyone or do anything for that matter without the public scrutinising your every move.
may Allah ease everything for you and everybody around you
Congrats vivy… all the best to you and your team.
Dear Maimaya. Here are my thoughts. Vivy’s choices are her own. Thus should people choose to follow her, it is their personal choice. From the little i know, the task of Judging a human, is a task that only belongs to Allah. So whom are you may I ask to judge those around you. This simply implicates that you think you are better than those around you and are therefore in a space to tell others what to do. Unless you are a subject matter, dont preach. Because would that not be ‘angkuh’?. What has been said before my those wiser than me – if you see less in others, and feel its your place to tell them what to do, check yourself first. Should you deem yourself as PERFECT, then only do you preach. However, note that no human is perfect
I love youuuuuu! So so proud of you, forever and always <3
Maimaiya, please stop judging Vivy. You said Vivy tak matang hello, Vivy n Fadza are the founder of Fashionvalet. Ang yet, they are humans too. Please respect them and stop telling them what they should n should not do. Sampai die nak cakap die bersyukur masih ada parents pun you nak judge as insensitive?? Oh my God..Please lah. Looks like you the one yang tak matang. All the contents in this blog are so inspiring and positive. All the comments also supportive n positive. But look at your comment. Why you have to be such mean and negative. Just live life ok. Take the good things and avoid bad thing, thats all.
For Vivy, please keep on inspiring us. We can never make all people satisfied. Just live the best we can and be happy.
I don’t see anything wrong with hugging one’s parents and being thankful that you still have them around. Are you trying to say that we shouldn’t hug our parents just because there are orphans around? That’s silly!
more reason to intern at FV!!
Congrats Vivy. I’m proud of u and fadza because both of you are malays.hihi. Been follow about FV’s story at this ‘proudduck’ since the day 1 FV had started.
Amin for all the good things you hope for. You’ve come this far I remember the day the online shop was announced. Allah is the best planner.
Can’t wait to see the post on your new office. I still remember reading proudduck at the old office, with the red carpet, and there were just desks and no rooms (for you and fadza). Keep doing what you do best, and keep inspiring!
This post reminds me of Siti Nurhaliza. She always says TAK HIDUP DEK PUJI, TAK MATI DEK KEJI
How come I late for this post!
People dont hate you actually, but they are so jealous you have a thing when they dont. Let them be, because a true good heart will always cheers on our achievements. I’m so inspired by your words, keep rocking and I want to dream big as you too. And pleaseeeee top of all these, dont forget to take care of your third one! Stay healthy!
Dear Vivy, i so relief that you spills out what ever that you feel.. people need to know rather just talk without knowing your feeling and facts.. (eventho some might say “dia kaya.. apa dia rasa”) no wrong to unfollow some insta acct. i do so few months back.. unfollow all insta famous coz i want to limit my insta usage.. i even unfollow you and Asma.. but that doesn’t meant that i hate both you, i still read your blog… i just want to limit myself from viewing other people daily life… so Vivy, just live normally.. an ustaz once said, “what’s important is how you preach than how people will accept it, we cannot control people heart and so do their mouth” i think, same goes to our daily life, we cannot please anybody, buat baik pon orang kata salah.. peluk parents pon kata menghina yatim piatu… i really wonder what’s wrong with all these people..
Last but not lease, i pray that all of us will receive abundant of healthiness, happiness and wealthiness. Aminnn..
Congratulations Vivy and FV team. Keep on moving 🙂
Spread the love guyss
Hi Vivy, hope it’s not too late to give some of my opinions on what you’re facing these days, since your DM will be flooded with followers’ comments, I hope you’ll found me here. First of all do stay strong. I’ve been reading tweets and nasty comments about you, trying to decide whether I should cancel you too or not (yes, kids nowadays call it ‘cancel’ lol). Then after many issues arise, I realized, it’s not entirely your fault. Sometimes what people see is what they want to see. And they want to see you as this over-privileged rich kid who gains success because you’re just rich. They block all other perspectives about you including the fact that you’re an educated determine BUSINESSWOMAN. So whatever statement you expressed online, they process it the nasty way. The telekung and fake item thing is the most obvious one that people are so easily hating on someone without trying to see it from the business point of view. They pour hates because ‘you have no right to talk about Islam’because ‘your scarf is too short for you to portray Islam’. Islam is not exclusive, Islam is for all. Please don’t let those people bring you down, just anggap they do not have the ample knowledge to understand business terms. Sometimes people’s hatreds are bigger than their knowledge. Just my two cents.
Stay strong & stay positive Vivy. Allah knows better 🙂
All the best for everything! <3
Vivyyy. *huggss You are my idol. <3 Keep going! May Allah blessed you. We can't satisfied everyone in this world & can't shut their mouth. My ustazah in school always remind me to just ignore the negative. Be yourself & have faith that if you are doing the right things, Allah will be pleased. Don't get pulled down by those haters.
go kak vivy fighting!
Salams
Hi Vivy,
I would like to say that you are such an inspiration. This post really resonates well with me. Keep doing your thing and may all your dreams come true. Yes, what you say is so true. Surround yourself with positive people and do not let other’s words and actions crash your dreams. Your intentions are pure. Allah will help.
wassalam,
Aisyah
Your blog is my happy place too. Allah is with you always. Continue to do your best and may all your dreams come true.
Menangis saya baca post ni and all the comments too. Bangga dengan anak Malaysia yang bersemangat n berjaya membina empayar perniagaan. Aware in life akan ada org will be at our side or the other way too. Life is up and down sebagai ujian. Tetiba relate dengan mak sendiri yg sedang bertarung dengan kanser stage 3. Ya Allah moga kau permudahkan hidup kami semua dan bersyukur dengan apa yg ada…. Aaamin….