AS GLOBALISATION ACCELERATES, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO STRESS ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE EVER CHANGING WORKFORCE. FAEZATUL ASYIKIN, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF D GRAND STAGE SHARES ALL ON HOW SHE IS MAKING WAVES IN THE EVENT INDUSTRY, IT BEING A PREDOMINANTLY A MAN’S WORLD, AND HOW WOMEN EXIST OUTSIDE A STATE OF MEDIOCRITY.
Managing a company has become second nature to Faezatul Asyikin, who founded and runs her own company, D Grand Stage. Like most business owners, she does all the work, from groundwork, to the management of the whole company. “As the founder of the company, I learn and master the know-how of the process, from planning and workforce coordination, to equipment set up and housekeeping of the workplace. Our team always keeps our company motto in mind – committed to providing the best service and continuous innovation for guaranteed customers’ satisfaction.”
To guarantee the smooth sailing of the company’s daily operations, Faezatul developed her own business strategies and the implementation of those strategies are overlooked personally by her. “To facilitate achievements, I provide strategic advice to my team members as well as coming up with preparation and implementation of a comprehensive business plan. I am the crew’s leader, as well as the director!” she said enthusiastically.
Of course, many women have reasons why they chose a certain profession in their chosen industry. The same goes for Faezatul. Like many industries, while there are more and more women filling up the quotas in the workforce, yet many industries are still mainly dominated by men. “I am here to fill a void left by a lack of female touch in the event management industries. I may not have the strength of a man to lift heavy equipment, but my teams are always prepared to assist me.”
Being one of the industries’ leaders is already an achievement, be it personal or professional, especially if it is helmed by a woman. However, for Faezatul, what she considered an accomplishment slightly differs from the masses. To her, being able to successfully pull off projects, especially a large scale project. “My personal accomplishment is when I managed to organise a large-scale concert back in 2018. I gained a lot of experience through that event. I did the paperwork and applied for the event’s venue, permit, licensing, ticket sales, participating in marketing and even being in charge of the concert merchandise.” For many, the job is oftentimes physically and mentally demanding, but for Faezatul, the experiences she gained is invaluable. According to her, the concert is a huge success, much like her profession in the event management industry. “Aside from all the above, our company’s ability to adapt from a physical event to a virtual event is one of our major accomplishments in the new norm!” she added.
Like all industries, even D Grand Stage was not able to avoid the devastating economic effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, by embracing the changes and adapting to circumstances of the situation, she managed to handle her company well despite the pandemic. “The event industry is one of the most impacted by the pandemic. But thank God, we are among the lucky ones to be able to supply and maintain the sound system for Covid-19 Quarantine and Low-Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC). We took it as an opportunity to expand our service. In the new normal, our company does more investment on equipment to make sure that we are able to cater to current demands. We now have a green screen studio and we are able to do a virtual event and live streaming production.”
In every industry, a healthy competition among companies is a given. But what sets Faezatul apart from her competitors is perhaps being the only female owner of an event equipment company. “I am the sole female owner of an event equipment company. I am also the only event company that can guarantee that all my employees have received Safety and Health Induction Training.” If that wasn’t enough to convince you how accomplished Faezatul’s company is, her team has had plenty of experience, having organised corporate events, government events, and concerts. It is not an exaggeration that she and her team have what it takes to pull off any event.
Now that the world is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, every company that was impeded due to that, finally has a chance to pick up the pace. As for Faezatul, she sets her sights on making D Grand Stage the best in the industry at providing dependable event equipment to its clients. Recently, Faezatul was awarded the Emerging Women Entrepreneur Award in the Event Management Industry at the Women of Excellence Awards 20211/22. Receiving this award was an accomplishment for Faezatul and it also serves as a benchmark for women in the event supply industry. “Ladies, if you have a strong will, you can achieve success in any field. This award is a dream come true for me; my presence in this industry is visible and acknowledged,” she said, brimming with pride.
One can hardly reach success if they do not hold a goal. The same goes to Faezatul. In our talk, she shares how she has several life quotes to motivate her in her life. What influenced her at the start of her career was ‘Our body can stand almost anything, it’s our mind that we need to convince’. “As time passed, I realised that dreaming is free, and chasing dreams keeps me alive and moving forward. I will continue to dream beyond my limits in order to achieve extraordinary results.”
