Meet Zaina Moussa! Proud owner of an Instagram account with ten thousand followers and the brains behind the female-empowering event, Run The World.
Read about her take on social media, fashion and event planning below!
How do you stop yourself from becoming too involved with social media to the extent that it overpowers your life?
I don’t. It’s hard. When you’re starting out, I think you spend a little more time on Instagram to build your personal brand compared to someone who already has a large following. Sometimes my mum will be like okay that’s enough, its time for us to hang out. I kind of just have to remind myself to give myself time to disconnect. Some people disconnect for 4-5 hours in a day but I try to take breaks in the day.
How do you deal with trolls and negative comments?
I don’t have a lot, thankfully, but I did have a bunch of comments where people were like this is not the hijab blah blah blah. I have a strong personality and I am very sensitive with people I care about. I can get very impacted by what they say, but with people I don’t know, I have a thick skin because they don’t know me. The second I see a negative comment I delete it. There are a lot of people who might not have a thick skin so its a reminder that if you put yourself out there you have to deal with it. Its a mental thing.
How do you balance it all? Running a business, doing a degree, running an Instagram page?
I kind of look at my Instagram as a business. I don’t really separate the two because when you have a strong following and large base you can do anything. I always knew that I wanted to do my thing. I didn’t want to work for anyone. I wanted to start early so I said, why don’t I start an Instagram page to connect with people? School is school. You get the hang of balancing it with everything. I am super thankful for my agenda. It is my life saviour! I could never plan my week without it.
Where did the idea for Run The World come from?
California has a very tight-knit Muslim community and when I was down, one of the girls I know hosted an event for women, only hers was for modest fashion. It was an event to bring together Muslim women which was awesome. She was young so to see someone young do something on a large scale inspired me and made me think about what could I do, what could I bring to the table. It was a good type of jealousy in a way. She encouraged me to do something of my own. It made my creativity and passion fuel up.
Where do you see Run The World going? Do you see it going beyond Toronto? International aspirations?
I don’t know whats going to happen after graduation. I might be making a move to Dubai. That’s kind of the plan so wherever I am, I want to be doing event planning. I’m just taking it one step at a time, and because the event is coming up in a month my mind is there not thinking about the long term.
Be sure to grab your tickets for what will truly be a fantastic event, happening April 28th in Mississauga!
Visit this link to buy tickets and get more details: Run The World Ladies Event: Night Market
Follow Zaina on Instagram: zaina.moussa