#ShopSmallSaturdays feature digital nomads and expats with small businesses.

Hi Izzy, thanks for having this interview! Would you mind telling our readers a little bit about yourself?

Izzy: Sure! I’m from London, UK but I left at the in of 2016 and I’ve predominately been based here in Chiang Mai aside from a few trips to other countries in Asia. I’m 27 at the moment and I don’t plan on moving back to London for the foreseeable future!

You have been an expat in Chiang Mai for a few years. What do you love about this city?

Izzy: It’s a really beautiful city, and the local people here really bring out the beauty even more. It seems to also attract a really nice bunch of expats so the energy is often really positive which really aligns with the beautiful nature that surrounds Chiang Mai.

There’s recently been a big wave of expats among young professionals. How do you feel about that and what do you think draws so many people abroad?

Izzy: I think it’s good! I think once you move abroad, to the right place of course, the routines and stress you’ve become accustomed too subside. So working just to live/survive, saving, and financial stresses are easily replaced with time freedom to travel and invest time and money into ideas.

So tell us, how did Kaji headwraps come to be?

Izzy :Well for a while after I left home I was still trying to figure out what I could do to sustain myself, and I’d received come compliments for Headwraps I’d been wearing, which is some material from the local market. After a trip to Bali I came back to Chiang Mai and decided to look into finding more material and perhaps opening an online store. So at first one of my friends named Elu and I took a few basic photos and she was super helpful, then I got even more encouragement from other friends living out here. So, we decided to put all of our ideas together to work on a project called ‘Queens Inspire’. This mainly included Love, Lindsie who is a really hardworking photographer, Jazz who is also a fashion entrepreneur and Elu who is an artist and this campaign was a big part of shaping the direction of Kaji and helping to drive it forward. I’ve been very blessed to continuously cross paths with people who have ideas and want to help and share their skills, for example a good friend of mine and fellow expat Michelle built my website and continuously supports and has ideas that she shares with me.

What is the most challenging part of the export business?

Izzy : From here in particular I’d say it’s finding a way to ship economically and to find delivery times and costs that are fair to customers. Finding a fulfilment centre can be difficult as most of them have a large starting minimum which isn’t always great for small businesses with little to no investment.

What’s your key piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?   

Izzy: I would say to just start rather than procrastinating over an idea. Ask for help if you’re struggling to start and find the balance between things happening at the right time and just going for it. Also, don’t worry about losing money .

Where can we purchase your beautiful headwraps ?

Kaji Headwraps

use code: BDN10 for an exclusive deal for BDN readers!

Thank you for your time, Izzy. It was a pleasure speaking with you.

Check Izzy out on social :

IG

We would like to feature small businesses of nomads and expats every Saturday.

If you’d like to be featured please email us at info@blackdigitalnomad.com