Most commonly witnessed in children and teenagers, scoliosis is a condition that is explained by Mayo Clinic as the abnormal sideways curvature of the spine, typically taking the shape of an ‘S’ or ‘C’.
The condition has been known to cause chronic back pains in adults if the irregular untreated for a prolonged period of time, and may potentially even result in noticeable changes in a person’s anatomy, such as uneven hips and shoulders, more prominent ribs, and a shifting of the waist and trunk to a side.
M’sian with scoliosis starts carpet cleaning business with brother
And despite the potential challenges that she may face as a result of the condition, that has not stopped Ms Afiqah Yusof from going out of the way to help support her family and supplement their income by kick-starting a carpet cleaning business with help from her brother.
Taking to Twitter, she recounts her experiences in running the business and mentions how clients often have their doubts about her abilities when they first meet her, owing to her gender.
“Every time I go to a customer’s house to deliver or pick-up a carpet, people will always have their doubts because I’m a woman, and a skinny one at that. Carpets are heavy! But I’m used to it.
Of course what I can’t handle, we have a team of guys to help out. Alhamdulillah, all hardships are a source of income.” she said.
Father’s stroke prompted them to reconsider their income sources
Speaking to WauPost about the venture, Afiqah explains that their family had solely depended upon the income of their father in the past. However after he suffered a stroke, it prompted the siblings to look in hindsight and realise that their fixed-income jobs simply did not bring in enough to support all of them. Thankfully, their father is now fine, if not somewhat weaker from his stroke.
Consequently, this led them to dabble in a number of small businesses, from selling stickers to bedsheets and macaroons.
“We Googled a lot on what businesses we could do and decided to try our luck in cleaning. Turns out this one worked out the best despite the hardships.”
Of course, it isn’t always smooth sailing where running your own business is concerned, with Afiqah sharing that there have been instances when they forget to deliver or pick-up carpets from their clients, or have been too busy to respond to them resulting in a loss of potential business.
“The toughest is to actually find customers. We don’t know that many people. We sometimes get no customer at all. So we’re still struggling and learning until today,” she admits.
Scoliosis has not gotten in the way of her physically demanding work
As for how such a physically demanding job affects her scoliosis, Afiqah said that it hasn’t made a huge impact on her condition. She adds that back in 2014, she had corrective surgery and currently still has 16 rods in her body as a result.
“Back pain here and there but it’s bearable. My brother has scoliosis too, mild, and he didn’t do surgery. He’s also fine.”
But it all pays off when she sees the satisfaction on the faces of her customers, and that they are happy with the work. Not to mention the joy in being able to pay off their family’s expenses with their own income.
As for those who are looking to start their own enterprises, Afiqah advises them not to spend too much time on debating whether to do it, and to take the plunge immediately instead.
“Let your future self worry about what happens in the future. When you fall, the only way to go afterwards is up.”
For those who are keen on hiring Afiqah and her brother for carpet cleaning services, you may reach out to them via their company’s Facebook and Instagram accounts here!
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