Other Women's Jobs // A Day In The Life & Career Of Naila Rahim

NAME: Naila Rahim

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: https://www.instagram.com/lightofsakina/

JOB TITLE: Founder, CEO, and Creative Director

Naila Rahim is the Founder and Creative Director of Light of Sakina, a luxury niche fragrance brand rooted in spirituality, sustainability, and timeless craftsmanship. Since launching in 2020, she has grown the brand from her kitchen to a flagship boutique in Dubai Mall’s Fashion Avenue, with a prestigious client base including CitiGold, Atlantis the Royal, and Neom.

She also serves as Executive Director at Mirath, a family office, and brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the FMCG and petroleum industries. Naila holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the International Center of Photography, and an Executive MBA from London Business School.

A devoted mother of four, Naila is also a passionate practitioner of yoga, nature lover, and student of scent and spirituality.

Today Naila shares a typical day in her world with us:

4:30 AM – My day begins with quiet prayer

5:15 AM – I’m sipping tea, surrounded by the quiet company of my cats.

5:45 AM – Yoga session to start my day with some movement

6:45–7:30 AM – I keep this next hour for myself — reading, journaling, or quietly preparing for whatever the day will bring

7:30 AM – I start to have my breakfast. Spending time with the kids when they’re around.

8:15 AM – Jane arrives — my personal PA and the quiet force who helps carry the day forward

8:30 AM – I’m deep into work: responding to Dhana, my executive PA, syncing with our leadership team — Jenita, Aamna, and Jim — and tackling any urgent client requests before heading to the office. I’ll usually carve out space for creative work as well — concept development, scent direction, or visual notes.

9:00 AM – I call my parents. It’s a small ritual, but one I never skip. It keeps me grounded.

9:30 AM – Official workday begins. I spend three days a week in the office — especially when meetings fill the calendar. The rest of the time, I’m out. I meet clients. I spend time with our product team, trying to build something better each week. Sales is my focus, but people are really the heart of what I do.

Despite my packed schedule, I always find moments to pray.

7:00 PM – I wrap up the workday, though things don’t really stop.

7:30 PM – Dinner with family. We pray first, then we eat.

We spend some quality time after. Just for an hour. Phones down, eyes up.

Then I’ll check back in with the team — review a proposal, send a voice note, complete a few work related tasks.

Sometimes to unwind and release the stress of the day, I’ll go for a swim or take a short walk.

9:30 PM – I begin to wind down. A little reading, a bit of scrolling often for work or a spark of inspiration, maybe a call with a friend.

11:00 PM - That’s when sleep usually finds me

Weekly Highlights

●      ⁠Thursday – Dedicated to client meetings and market visits

●      ⁠Friday afternoons – Visits to the Dubai Mall store

●      ⁠Evenings (occasionally) – Attends work-related events or meets some friends sometimes

●      ⁠Saturday – A day reserved for rest, recuperation, and more creative work before the week starts

●      Sunday mornings - I begin with a session with my spiritual coach

●      Sunday afternoons - I spend time with my parents; it’s grounding and deeply important to me