Dana Ali: Every job I've ever had since I was younger there was a boss. I just always struggled with it. I always thought to myself, I want to make my own money work to grow my own business. I was looking for my own wedding invitations and I realized that there's not a lot of cards that are very modern. It was very important to my family to have the Arabic in it as well. I definitely thought I can't be the only one that feels like this, that wants that experience that I can give with Paper Boutique, I work very closely with a good friend and she does all of our Arabic designs.
Having Arabic on the wedding cards is very important because a lot of the older generations, they can't read English, including that. They can actually feel like it's for them. What makes me excited is I'm not the only one in Dearborn that is a female entrepreneur that has their family as well, and I think women are definitely taking over Dearborn because there's a lot of great businesses and great business owners as well.
Being a business owner is new customer inquiries, taking orders, filling orders, putting the carts together, designing everything, creating new ideas, marketing, advertising, accounting. I do all of it. I've shipped everywhere in the US except Hawaii, Alaska and Minnesota. It is something that makes me really proud, especially when it became full-time with my son and now with my daughter, so I'm very proud of myself. Definitely taught me to find a way to balance so that my business gets the best of me, but also my kids get the best of me too. He knows his whole entire alphabet by the time he is like a year and a half, because he would watch me and I tell him, mommy, what I'm writing.
Just because I'm at home with them does not mean that I can't also do something that's bettering myself or bettering their future. My future. You can stay focused and passionate about something you really want and you can make the time for it if you really want to do it.
