WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.320 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% Hello, my name is Shams Al-Qassabi, also known as “Shomoos”. 2 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.480 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I’m the first businesswoman to be established in Souq Waqif 3 00:00:06.520 --> 00:00:08.680 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% and the first woman restaurateur in Qatar. 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:14.440 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I was ambitious, I wanted to have a job, but I wasn’t that well educated. 5 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:16.800 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I liked the idea of starting a business. 6 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:19.680 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% At the time we had three lemon trees in our garden, 7 00:00:19.880 --> 00:00:23.320 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% and so every day I would go to the trees and pick some lemons and pickle them, 8 00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:24.960 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% then give them out to my neighbors. 9 00:00:25.400 --> 00:00:28.560 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% They all loved the pickled lemons so much, they asked me 10 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.720 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% to sell it to them instead of me giving them out for free all the time. 11 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:35.360 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% So I thought to myself, why couldn’t I start a business with this? 12 00:00:35.440 --> 00:00:37.960 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I didn’t put in a single riyal starting out, 13 00:00:38.080 --> 00:00:42.720 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I just had my lemons, some vinegar, salt and pepper already in my kitchen, 14 00:00:42.720 --> 00:00:48.600 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% and the other ingredients in my fridge which I used to create my product. 15 00:00:48.800 --> 00:00:51.720 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I then sold it, and before you knew it, 20 riyals here, 20 riyals there, 16 00:00:51.760 --> 00:00:52.960 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% suddenly I had 500 riyals. 17 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:54.240 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% That was my first big investment into my business. 18 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.800 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I faced down obstacles so as to make it easier for others to follow this path. 19 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.880 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I focused on expansion and building my reputation and now thank God 20 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:04.840 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I’m Qatar’s first culinary innovator, 21 00:01:04.880 --> 00:01:08.880 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I’m well known for my creations with regag bread and Qatari cuisine, 22 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:12.600 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I oversee everything in my restaurant from A to Z, 23 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.640 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% whether that’s mixing the spices or making the regag bread, 24 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:19.320 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% of which I’ve created over 25 different varieties of. 25 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:22.520 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% What makes me keep going to work every day, day after day, 26 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:25.320 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% is my creative drive and culinary ideas and inventions I want to bring to life. 27 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:28.880 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% You have to have self-confidence, to tell yourself that you’re able 28 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.800 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% to get things done. This is the secret to success. 29 00:01:32.960 --> 00:01:36.800 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% I wanted to represent Qatar’s cultural heritage and traditions through 30 00:01:36.960 --> 00:01:40.720 line:93% position:50% align:center size:100% the preparation of traditional Qatari cuisine through my restaurant at Souq Waqif.