Nada Baeshan will be one of the speakers for the Together We Stand panel at the ITP Live 2021 Conference – ‘The Power of Female Influence’ on March 30, 2021. Baeshan will be joined by Lama Alakeel to discuss how female content creators are increasingly using their platforms to discuss important social issues.
Nada Baeshan is a fashion entrepreneur and influencer. With a background in marketing and management communications, Baeshan has had a successful career in both investment banking and in founding her multi-brand, Jeddah-based boutique Huntress. On social media, Baeshan documents her daily life and shows that a woman can successfully be both an entrepreneur and a mother. Baeshan also uses her platform as an informative hub – where she interviews renowned industry leaders across beauty, medicine, and mental health – making her social media both entertaining and extremely valuable.
Prior to the conference, Baeshan sits down with ITP Live to exclusively discuss everything from the role social media played in growing her business to her experience doing investment banking and fashion buying simultaneously.
You’re the founder of Huntress – a boutique based in Jeddah. Your background – however – is a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management Communication, and 10 years in investment banking. Can you explain your journey from an investment banker to a fashion boutique owner? Was there a key moment when you decided to leave investment banking to start your business or was it a gradual transition?
“I have always been into clothes: however – when I was younger – I always treated it like a hobby and didn’t think i could create a career out of it. I started my career in Investment Banking – and worked for banks and firms such HSBC for over 10 years. I killed it when it came to finance and sales – but my heart was never truly into it. I started my boutique company as a side-hustle and actually spent 8 years juggling between it and finance.
At first, my boutique business wasn’t self-sufficient enough where I could leave my job. It was the hardest thing: I’d finish the work week on Thursday and would spend my whole weekend [plus holidays] fashion buying. Although I was overworked, I had the will and the drive, so I could manage and accomplish anything. Plus – I loved the buying side, so it was worth it.
Once my boutique was generating enough profit, I left my career in investment banking to focus solely on it. I also ended up fashion buying for the BinDawood group, one of Saudi’s biggest retail companies and then for Harvey Nichols after”.
What was the role [if any] of social media in growing Huntress?
“I began Huntress 13 years before social media. However, when I did join – it did help my business immensely. When the market was down, social media helped me boost my sales by 30% – which is pretty significant. The following for Huntress’s Instagram is also very niche and high-end: that makes it a lot easier to do targeted content and ads that eventually lead to sales”.
In your opinion, how has social media played a role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship amongst females in Arab societies?
“As a general statement – social media has truly provided a free platform for marketing and accessing a wider audience. Before social media, you had to do all of your business marketing through magazines or word of mouth. For Saudi females, social media has had a huge impact: in Saudi Arabia, things are very conservative. Social media has given Saudi women the opportunity to show a different side of themselves and to show everyone that we are not all the same in our part of the world. It’s given us the opportunity to be more outspoken and to be our true selves – whether that’s through starting a business we’re passionate about or exploring topics we love”.
I’ve had a look at your social media and a lot of it focuses on healthy living and your daily struggles as a mother and a business owner: what are the key messages/insights that you try to communicate to your audience?
“At first – I was very lost. I didn’t know how to go about it. But what I did know was that I like to share information and that I wanted to make my platform valuable. I tend to host different guests from a wide range of industries – such as beauty, health, and wellness – to discuss interesting topics. For example, I’ve spoken to Kim Kardashian’s Doctor and Dr Will Cole – a famous Functional Medical Practitioner from Texas. At the end of the day, I am not some shallow influencer who only posts photos of themselves: I want to post valuable content. A lot of my other content also focuses on skin care, retail, female empowerment, and Saudi women in business”.
So you’re obviously speaking on our Together We Stand panel for our ITP Live 2021 Conference: can you give a brief overview on what your thoughts are about females increasingly using social media to speak up on social issues such as mental health and sexual harassment?
“As long as they are using their platform to discuss or promote something meaningful – I am all for it. Social Media is the perfect platform to bring awareness to an issue and have it go viral. I think anyone can use social media for anything – whether it’s for fun, to promote your business, or to discuss an important issue: just focus on you and your story”.
If you are interested in hearing Nada Baeshan speak on our Together We Stand panel, RSVP for in-person or online attendance to the ITP Live 2021 Conference here.