Little Miss Rosie Couture’s tale is not just a story about a successful couture business, but it’s also an enchanting tale of a successful mother pursuing her passion and turning it into a business. Aya Daba illustrates a vivid example of a successful mother that would inspire other women around the world, and she does that through weaving children’s couture.
Aya divulges her journey and shares with us how motherhood became the reason behind the start of Little Miss Rosie Couture, her journey of becoming a business owner, how she invests in her passion and shares tips to help small business owners and entrepreneurs cut their losses during the pandemic and prepare for the relaunch.
The tale of the designer
Aya Daba was born and raised in Damascus, where she graduated from the University of Damascus. It was there where she acquired her first diploma in Languages and Literature, majoring in French Literature. Her love of other cultures is one of the reasons she studied languages. As she explains:
I fell in love with languages and cultures, as it made me feel like a citizen of the world.
Her love for languages — the French language, in particular — opened her eyes to the Haute Couture designers where she was attracted to the fashion world. As she was keen on entering the industry with zero experience and no knowledge of the field, she pursued an academic background. Aya acquired her Fashion Design diploma from Brentwood, London and then studied in Egypt, where she was trained by the best names in the fashion and Haute Couture industry, contributing to her experience that led to running her own business.
Her true passion for fashion was unveiled when her firstborn came. Loving, caring and devoting her time to her child was her top priority, and she was blessed with a second daughter. It was only a matter of time before Aya realized that her two girls, Zeina and Sofia, were going to change her career and that she was on the verge of becoming a successful mother and a business owner.
The faces behind her inspiration
Zeina and Sofia were Aya’s ultimate source of inspiration. In 2016, when her daughter was three years old, Aya was planning to take her daughter to a wedding. When she went shopping for the perfect little dress, she couldn’t find what she was looking for. She explains:
I wanted to enchant all the wedding attendees with a dress that would take their breath away. Back then, I wasn’t a designer. But I wanted to make the most outstanding dress ever for her. So, I did, and I managed to admire it.
Aya received many positive comments and remarks on her daughter’s dress, leading Aya to think about running her own business. She was struck by the idea of running something for children in Egypt, especially since children-based couture is a rare thing to find in the MENA region. Hence, she wanted to stand out in this field and become a successful entrepreneur.
Related: Women in business: Overview of female entrepreneurship in the Middle East
Little Miss Rosie: From passion to entrepreneurship
In Egypt, children make up to 40% of the population according to Egypt Independent, which provides a huge market for children supplies and accessories. Aya’s vision was to focus on creating exquisite designs for children, as she says:
The ultimate profit I have gained from my label is that look on the child's face on every first fitting - that (thank you mama) hug they give to their mother. This is my definition of success!
The start of her business experience was based on trial and error. As the concept is new in Egypt, Aya tried to research and balance parental desires with the needs and interests of the children. Aya started by creating mismatching designs to understand what people were really looking for. As she ran everything alone, her experience towards becoming a successful mother and entrepreneur was cultivating, and she finally found the right path.
Little Miss Rosie Couture now has a team of 4 seamstresses and pattern specialists. Additionally, being a successful mother and a full-time business owner can be exhausting, which is why Aya has 2 personal assistants. Soon, Little Miss Rosie is planning on running a gallery. As soon as the pandemic comes to an end, Little Miss Rosie’s team have big plans for the future and Aya is expanding her success beyond the Egyptian boundaries, which is already happening!
Related article: How to create a Mother’s Day gift guide on your blog or website
Website orientation for a successful mother
As her digital identity is crucial for the success of Little Miss Rosie, Aya’s presence started with an Instagram account. The start was on Instagram because she believed that was where she’d find her target audience. It is very organized and very visually based, unlike other social media platforms.
And two years later, when her page was overwhelmed with 200 different designs, viewers also would get overwhelmed with the number of posts, as they couldn’t go back and check all these designs easily. GoDaddy was able to help in this particular area.
I needed to organize each collection in a category, and that couldn’t have happened without a website
At first, Aya, a successful mother with two daughters and a business to run, was unsure about the best way to create a website without any technical background.
I feared that the process of building a website would be a burden, especially since I couldn’t afford the cost of a developer, the running costs and hidden costs. But then I heard about GoDaddy.
After speaking with a support specialist from GoDaddy’s support center, Aya started building her website. She explains how smooth the process is, and that the GoDaddy Guides were very helpful during the creation process, which turned out to not be that hard.
To build littlemissrosiecouture.com, Aya used the Websites + Marketing tool, GoDaddy’s domain name, SSL certificate and professional email.
When Aya had any difficulty or issues building her website, she was met with a phone call from GoDaddy’s technical assistance, which came as a surprise to her.
The support team guided me through the steps to prevent similar difficulties in the future so this issue would not appear again. I am very happy with the whole experience.
Weathering the pandemic
Despite Little Miss Rosie’s struggle during the pandemic, it is important not to underestimate successful mothers. Yes, COVID-19 has hit the fashion industry quite hard and has affected many of those in the industry. Events, big or small, weddings, fashion shows, even birthdays - everything was either postponed or canceled, and everyone is still unsure of when it will be over. The first wave forced Aya and her team to pause the business due to the lockdown.
What was learned during this period put us on the current path of Little Miss Rosie.
Knowing that the business couldn’t be put on hold forever, Little Miss Rosie started adapting to the pandemic. For example, although events were non-existent during the lockdown, some people were interested in home wear or throwing a small birthday at home for their little kids. So, the direction shifted from luxurious, big dresses to cute home wear or low key, special birthday dresses. The idea was simple, creating small things to make people happy. Adapting is the key and small businesses ought to adapt to the conditions in order to survive all governmental measurements in various countries. And until then, Aya’s message to all entrepreneurs is the following:
Morally, I believe that businesses shouldn’t be thinking of commercial gains but serving those around them, in their community and field.
Final words for successful mothers
Little Miss Rosie’s tale is merely one of the thousands of successful mother’s stories. To all the mothers out there: don’t be put off from following your business passions. Motherhood is one of the most difficult full-time jobs there is, and millions of women continue to do that job willingly.
A successful mother is every single mother out there. For those mothers who take the additional steps and pursue their careers and business goals, we at GoDaddy support you all the way: you are a hero. Happy Mother’s Day!
For more inspiring stories, check our blog.
