(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — An Arabic teacher, turned food producer, Hana Sartawi said: 'It is important for successful women to be role models for their children, by setting examples of starting your own business and following your passion.'
Since she started her home based dairy production business, Sartawi has been able to put her three children through university, one of whom recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
'Living in a small village in Zarqa, I realised that I could make use of the pastoral nature of my surroundings to help support my family with an extra source of income,' she recounted, remembering how 'at first, people were not very accepting of the idea but I was determined to keep going, and I persevered in developing my own business'.
In 1997, Sartawi started making cheese and dairy products from home, quickly earning a reputation for making fresh, good quality products among her neighbours and friends.
Despite her dedication, she said, 'it was not always easy' as she faced many challenges in her business endeavours. 'As a small-business owner, it is hard to market my products as I do not have much access to networking and business linkage opportunities. It makes it much harder to gain new customers and build a strong customer base,' Sartawi told The Jordan Times.
One of the hurdles has also been to get customers accepting that, as a small artisanal producer, she must keep her products at a certain price to continue making money. 'The community is more used to mass-produced food prices, which are much lower than artisanal food,' Sartawi said.
Started in 1997, her home-based business has been growing exponentially after she received support from USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support Project (LENS), which provided her with both a small business grant and intensive business training through its 'Home-Based Business Upgrade' initiative.
Three years ago, she received a grant from the USAID LENS project, which targets small businesses in local communities. 'This really helped me take my business to the next level,' Sartawi stressed, noting: 'I went from only having my entourage and neighbours buy my products to a much wider customer base.'
'The grant enabled me to expand my business by buying new equipment and reach more customers though business training in marketing, packaging, starting a business from home, and food hygiene standards,' the businesswoman explained, pointing out that 'thanks to the refrigeration and storage equipment I acquired with the grant money, I have also been able to preserve the quality of my products by keeping them fresh for longer'.
In addition to a local woman she hired, Sartawi's two daughters are now working with her, as well as her son who recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. 'I am planning to involve him in my business so we can work together on developing new approaches and growing the business, based on his culinary training,' Sartawi noted, expressing excitement for the future prospects his expertise will bring.
She already started working on a new ready-made meals product line to add to her current production, which is expected to launch this summer. 'With the training I undertook, I have learned how to conduct a small market survey prior to launching any new product, which is what I am currently doing before I can be sure about launching this line,' Sartawi highlighted.
Planning to expand the scope of her business to provide more job opportunities to the local community and better support her family, she stressed the need for aspiring entrepreneurs to 'never give up and always do their best'. 'This is the way to succeed,' she underscored.
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