Mrs. Nurliana Sahibu from Manado, North Sulawesi

We’ve heard a lot about that expression above, which has become the dream and desire of almost everyone. Who doesn’t want to be good and love their job simultaneously? Of course, that will make it easier to achieve our goals. Mrs. Nurliana Sahibu proves that her hobby became a successful business she runs.

Mrs. Nurliana, a 54-year-old woman, fought alone to raise her kids after her husband passed away. Suddenly, she became the family’s backbone, and the circumstances made her strong and kept her fighting. She never surrendered to the circumstances. Either way, she rose from the ashes and started thinking about whether she wanted to resume the business her husband started or not.

“My husband ran a gold trading business before. But this is a hard business; it can only be run by a man. I chose to sell this business and start a catering business, which aligns with my hobby, cooking,” Mrs. Nurliana said while trying to remember when this business started.

She started the business by selling in front of her house. Mrs. Nurliana prepared some food with a simple menu, like fish with sambal cakalang in a box with a small amount. She tried her luck by offering her products to her neighbors. Not only that, but she also entrusted her food to her kids to bring to their school. Surprisingly, many people were interested in and liked Mrs. Nurliana’s food, and they even asked to add another item to the menu, like chicken. This was the beginning of Mrs. Nurliana’s business progress by getting a lot of orders for the family events.

Mrs. Nurliana was very concerned with the people around her. She was not only thinking about herself. In 2007, she saw a lot of parents who had difficulties sending their kids to school because of the relatively high cost in their neighborhood. Mrs. Nurliana was moved to alleviate their challenges. Armed with her education as an educator, she intended to open her own Early Childhood Education School (PAUD – Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini). This good intention was immediately executed by inviting parents, religious leaders, and local community leaders to discuss. It didn’t take long for Mrs. Nurliana to realize her dream. In 2008, she officially opened PAUD Melati Mahawu.

Mrs. Nurliana had known KSP Sahabat Mitra Sejati since 2019. She secured a loan to develop her catering business by buying cooking utensils, plates, and several buffet utensils. We pray that Mrs. Nurliana’s business will progress further, and hopefully, we can learn positive lessons from her story.