We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aisha Daraja a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aisha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

As a kid, I had a thing for decoding acronyms and, in all honesty remixing lyrics based on whatever I thought I heard. I was known for twisting words, sometimes to hilarious effect. That’s exactly how Through My Rare View came to be.

Flashback to the early 2010s: I was deep in my Tupac era (I even jokingly called him Uncle Pac). One day, I discovered his song “Starin’ at the World Through My Rear View”, and it got stuck on a mental loop. As I hummed it throughout the day, I started thinking he was saying “rare view” instead of “rear view.” Naturally, I was intrigued. The wordplay hit me. I had, once again, unknowingly done what I always do—remixed the lyrics. By the time I realized my mistake, I had already fallen in love with the phrase. So when it came time to start my travel blog, Through My Rare View felt like the perfect name tying my adventures through my own slightly offbeat, one-of-a-kind lens.

Aisha , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

At the age of six I visited Ghana for the first time and immediately fell in love. The vibrancy, community, and love that I was surrounded with was unmatched. In that moment, I made the executive decision to ask my mom to let me live in Ghana. She granted my wish and I stayed there for the next three years. Since then I latch onto anything that keeps me going back. In 2021 I was looking for a way to combine my passions of traveling and deep love for Ghana and landed on creating travel accessories inspired by Ghana’s vibrant culture. Furthermore, I wanted to make the products in Ghana to support local artisans given the unstable market.

My travel products are limited edition and made using sustainable fabric that is hand/machine washable- and the catalog ranges from passport holders, travel pouches, totes, duffel bags, backpacks, and more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

My first experience in Corporate America was in 2015 when I landed a job in HR as an Onboarding Specialist. I was genuinely excited about the role because it allowed me to meet new people every day and deliver great news and updates to new hires. As someone who loves to talk and connect, it felt like the perfect fit. I found a sense of comfort and energy in the day-to-day interactions, always looking forward to who I might meet next. After about a year, though, things started to change. My responsibilities shifted, and the new structure of my service line didn’t involve as much in-person interaction. I began to feel disconnected from the parts of the job I had once loved. Wanting a change and enticed by growth, I made the leap into the IT industry.
The salary increase—over 15 percent more than I had been making—was definitely a win on paper. But in practice, it just wasn’t the same. I missed the dynamic nature of HR and the ease of connecting with people. In hindsight, I wish I had taken more time to weigh the pros and cons, or at least spoken with team members to understand the work environment and personality fit.
Ultimately, I learned that following the money without considering the full picture can come at a cost, especially when fulfillment is on the line.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I had no idea how this book landed in my path, but in hindsight, it was preparing me for my travel business—which, at the time, was just an idea floating around in my mind.

In 2019, I read The Muslim Entrepreneur, and several points in the book deeply resonated with me. One, in particular, focused on the concept that our rizq (sustenance) is already written. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to work hard for it, but it does mean that what is meant for us will not miss us—as cliché as that might sound.

The book reminded me that I can share resources, offer tips, and even help someone in the same field as me without fear of losing out. Allah’s (God) bounty is limitless, and passing on knowledge doesn’t deplete my share—it only adds to the collective good.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shoptmrv.wixsite.com/website
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/throughmyrareview
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aishadaraja