My Why

Nine-year old Amirah at dance class

Hello to those who are meeting me for the first time and “hey there” to those who’ve met me. My name is Amirah, co-founder and CEO of The Home Dispatch.

I decided to take a leap of faith and start my journey as an entrepreneur just as the coronavirus pandemic began to shut down the world early in 2020. What was I thinking? Who decides to start a business during a global pandemic? This woman!

I didn’t plan it that way – but that’s how it happened. The decision was really a culmination of many moments in my life – the pandemic was a catalyst. I used my quarantine time to reflect. It was also when my kids (and my conscience!) asked questions that stopped me dead in my tracks.

Before I share those questions with you, I’ll take a step back to help you understand my journey a little better that led to this point. After college, I spent the first part of my career building and leading sales, operations, analytics and customer-facing teams. I worked for Citibank, Trulia, NerdWallet and Opendoor. I thought that was what I wanted to do and all I needed to be “happy” in my career. Yet my heart said “there is more” to do.

One day, I came home from work and was fussing at my kids about their school work. I hopped on my pedestal and said, “You must have a great education so you have the tools and skills needed to fulfill your dreams by doing the work you want to do. Work shouldn’t feel hard. It should be a joy.” In closing out my speech, I shared a few examples of people I viewed as role models who were following their heart. I think they got the hint, or at least they said they did so that I could move on. Smart kids. :)

Not long after this experience with my kids, I went on a work trip. While on the plane, I reflected on that conversation – and felt a sharp pit in my stomach. (And here are the questions I promised to share with you!) Was I doing what I told them to do? Was I really doing what my heart told me to do? I mean, I was doing “well” and life seemed fine. But was my heart filled with joy?

The next few days brought more reflection. I recalled the nine-year old Amirah. She was tenacious and fierce. She thought she was going to be a famous dancer on Broadway with lights around her name. She took classes and thought that was her dream, until a brutally honest teacher told her she wasn’t talented enough to make it. Oof! I guess it was pretty clear watching other kids skyrocket to advanced classes, but it still stung.

I was in beginner ballet class for a while and it didn’t click that without dancing on my toes like the other girls, I wouldn’t be the world’s next great ballerina. While I was daydreaming in class about my future stardom, I was also noticing the office outside wondering why it was always so chaotic. It was messy and noisy – I could see so much potential to make it run efficiently. One day, I asked the owner if I could help in between classes by answering phones. The owner, who didn’t seem to find joy in office work, gladly said yes and that’s where I found my happy place.

Turns out I didn’t need the dance room or ballet shoes. I enjoyed running that office, handling the calls, making schedules, filing, and filling out forms. I enjoyed helping people, and giving the owner ideas. I wanted things to be easier for the teachers, parents, and students. I remember pitching the idea of selling branded sweatshirts and offering snacks for kids and parents to buy while waiting in between classes. Seemed super easy and the owner loved it. I remember that look she gave me at that moment. It was the look she gave to the best dancers. She “saw” me in a whole other way. So the owner told my parents that if I helped her in between classes we could have a few free classes in exchange. Yes – after crushing my dreams she wound up keeping them alive. Go figure! I still had my fun in dance classes, and my excitement came from the office work. Over the years, I went from helping out occasionally to running the office on the weekends and ultimately managing all of the recitals and shows. Truth be told, I wanted to run that dance studio more than perform. At the time, I didn’t have words for what I liked but I knew what it felt like and I was great at it.

Throughout my life, I’ve had many moments similar to the dance studio. In experiencing a product or walking into a store, I’d have ideas to enhance the user experience or clearly see other income streams for the store owner. And then it came to me - I was a natural, creative problem solver. A fixer. I didn’t design it this way, but my life's work became just that. When I worked at a bank, I ran branches and territories – they always gave me the ones that had “potential.” I didn’t fully appreciate how good I was at quickly assessing what was needed, then building a stellar service experience, hiring and training great people, and ultimately getting the business profitable. I resented it at one point because after I would create my ultimate team, I’d be sent to another place to rebuild. I understood the company's needs but it became clearer and clearer that I needed my needs fulfilled as well.

Fast forward a few days after giving my kids that pivotal speech (well, I know it was pivotal for me!), I realized I wanted to feel the way that nine-year-old Amirah felt. Enthusiastic. Passionate. Invigorated by work. Not to mention tenacious and fierce. I wanted to model for my children what it’s like when you’re working and your heart is energizing you in the process. So, here I am – a new entrepreneur with 20+ years of work experience ready to build my own company. My heart is in full throttle and I have all the energy to build something transformative.

So…what am I building? Let’s just say a house fire and dealing with the aftermath inspired the idea. More next time!

Best,

Amirah

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