NAME: Sama Soltan
AGE: 36
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @dolceefiore
JOB TITLE: Founder and CEO, Dolce E Fiore
MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2020
Sama Soltan is the Founder and CEO of Dolce E Fiore, an upscale floral boutique based in Dubai known for its handcrafted arrangements and a well-curated selection of other thoughtful gifts including chocolates, dates, and nuts.
From a young age, Sama knew that creating something beautiful would be a big part of her life. She was always drawn to anything related to beauty, fashion, design and décor, and believed that anything is possible as long as you carry that passion in your heart and work hard.
Sama, even while building a career in the corporate world, kept her entrepreneurial spirit alive, never straying far from her passion of pursuing her creative joys. Inspired by the many successful business people she had encountered at her workplace, she moved to Vancouver, Canada to pursue a diploma course in international business management.
Family life had then given Sama the opportunity to travel to the UAE and live in Dubai. It did not take long for her to recognize the endless opportunities the country has to offer to create and build something new.
Today, Dolce E Fiore stands as a testament to Sama’s lifelong passion to spread love and joy through all things beautiful. Dolce E Fiore is not only a fulfilment of Sama’s dream, but also her way of celebrating every precious moment of life.
What does her day look like..
7 AM: The first order of business is trying to get out of bed and steal some time to quickly check on my emails and messages. Most mornings, I make it a point to do a few minutes of stretches or exercise then breakfast preparations for the little one begin. Afterwards, I’ll be with my daughter – start her day with lots of snuggles while getting her ready and dressed. I make it a point to spend at least an hour with her before dropping her off to the nursery. It’s an important routine for quality time for both of us.
9AM: Breakfast time with my hubby. This is our cozy start of the day, our together time before getting busy for the day. It’s a good opportunity for us to sit together over a nice breakfast discussing about family, checking in on each other, talk about our plans for the day or just about anything.
10AM: Getting ready for the day’s work by reviewing my to-do-list. For me, it is important that I carefully plan what I need to do and when I will do it so I won’t get further behind. Around this time I also go back to checking/replying on my emails and messages. Then I head out for the office, or attend meeting/s with partners or clients, if any.
12NOON: After some work in the office (or meetings), I go straight to Dolce E Fiore in Avenue Mall in Nad Al Sheba. I am very hands-on with my business so visiting the shop on a daily basis is important to me. This also gives me a great opportunity to spend time with my team, discuss the status of orders and deliveries, double-check on all the important details about the shop and confirm that everyone is on the same page.
4PM: After the shop visit, I swing back to the office, mostly to complete non-peak hour work. This is the best time for me to handle the paperwork and focus on other administrative parts of the business. Most of the time, I also discuss projects and plans with my design and marketing teams.
7PM: Time to be home. It’s important to keep that life and work balance, especially when you are a mum entrepreneur. I'm a strong advocate for having work/life balance so sticking to a specific ‘work time’ is a must for me, while allocating a certain amount of time exclusive to myself and my family is equally imperative. At around this time, I spend some more quality until about 8:30pm. Singing and reading bedtime stories are daily routines she has grown to love and really enjoy so I ensure I am round for this to complete her day before tucking her in for her bedtime.
9PM: More me and family time. This includes some chill time, like watching TV or listening to my favourite relaxing music. Also, this is a time for my husband and I to focus on one another and talk about the day’s events. Our evening routine includes discussing work too as we both value each other’s opinions when it comes to business.
10PM: This is the time for me to continue work left for the day. This includes checking daily sales reports and talking with the accounting team if needed. Once done, I pore over my checklist for the day to see what I have accomplished or if there is anything I have missed. I also review my schedule for the next day, making mental notes of how to maneuver through my tasks tomorrow. This helps me enrich my mood as well as put a full stop to my working day.
12AM: Lights out and recharge so I will be ready for another day’s adventure.
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