We were lucky to catch up with Jannah Wasiyyah recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The JannahFIT brand has been the most meaningful project I have worked on since I began in the Fall of 2020. As we all know, that was the year of the pandemic where everyone was in survival mode. If you could have worked a miracle, you should have; my miracle was JannahFIT. While it only sounds like a fitness and sport brand, it’s meaning is multi-dimensional. Jannah translates to “Paradise” in the Arabic language. Paradise, for me, coincides with the most ideal & peaceful state of being. I created my brand for two reasons: to fill the need of modest athletic wear for women & to create a better me, from physical to spiritual to mental & vibrational. I could not afford to downward spiral financially or mentally, so I gave myself something to work towards. I started honoring myself by showing up at the gym consistently like I used to but now with respects to the modest standard of my religion, advocating for both my basic & secular needs, & filling online orders as a new stream of income. JannahFIT is a lifelong promise to myself. It’s a stylish, modest, chic & unique athleisure brand for women of all traditions & a foundation of self-elevation.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I like to refer to myself as the “Muslimah with the self-entitled brands”. JannahFIT, CocoD’s Italian Water Ice, & the Jannah Means Peace Foundation were curated with self-elevation in mind. As a gift to myself, I named my businesses after myself, honoring the meaningfulness behind it. I make sure to instill my beliefs & values into the work of each brand. I started off influencing about 15-20 pre-schoolers in a classroom; however, I wanted my outreach to be more personal so I began nanny services as a branch of the Jannah Means Peace Foundation. I organize clothes drive & food giveaways to honor my religious duties of a Muslim. The role of a leader has always fallen into my lap since a child, so coming into my 20’s, I had to accept my mission & what it’ll all entail. In order to be a momentous leader, there is a huge amount of inner peace that needs to be achieved to work efficiently. Ive always been a writer & utilized the importance of journaling to sort out thoughts, plans, & problems. The Jannah Means Peace brand sells journals by topic to potentially help the next person keep organization & keep a clear head. As for CocoD’s water ice business, Coco is a personal nickname given to me by my sister-in-Islam, Dior. We used the inspiration of our friendship to invest into a business full of love, passion, hard-work & liberation. I love applying the same tactfulness, consistency, & care to CocoDs & all of my business ventures as I do with my dearest relationships. I am most proud of my willingness to elevate & I want my supporters to value that as well; everything I do is done with positive direction in mind. JannahFIT is a healthy reminder to myself & anyone who feels the comfortability in my clothes, books my holistic exercise classes or becomes a member at my future health & fitness centers. Ive created a life-long mission to serve others, create generational wealth, and share knowledge.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a faithful audience on social media is hard work! You stop posting for 2 days, your following & engagement goes down. It can feel like a job more than an app for entertainment & connection. I had to start being my most authentic self to receive the genuine support. Nobody likes a fake. Actually, faking it until you make it as has gone out of style. You have to present you in full; from your morals, to your swag, to your intelligence & listen to what your spirit tells you to do or not do when interacting on social media. I noticed that when I posted carelessly & my content represented an “idea” of me, my following was as at 6,500. The truth is those people were attracted to an idea on me & rightfully sold on it. But when I started adhering to who I truly am & showing up in that manner, my engagement in my story posts decreased & eventually my follower count. It didn’t phase me though because I knew that my real supporters were gonna pour in as the false ones left unsatisfied. “Do What You Love & Love What You Do” is a motto I’ve created & a consistent hashtag for my content. I live by that in every way & I’d advise the same when trying to make true impact using social media platforms.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Non-creatives have a hard time understanding timing. Most people have a hard time submitting to Divine Timing, so it makes sense. However, I think us creatives get offended by the disregard of timing when people try to race us or ill-advise our plans. Most creatives I know go with the flow naturally because of the shakiness in revenue. We are forced to submit, listen & obey our spirits or gut intuition directly influencing our projects. I say people with jobs, honor & appreciate the timing of your scheduled check because there are some who are waiting for their next blessing straight from God. It’ll always look different: the process, the patience, the passion & the purpose. No one person is better than the next & the reality is that everyone’s pace to “success” is different depending on a plethora of factors. A person who has a different lifestyle may not understand why I take on a project that will only give me financial benefit later down the line while I still need the help now. It’s called faith. Faith has gotten me from the worker position to the CEO position & then to the creator/influencer position. Keeping my mission in mind, I train myself to attain longevity in my ventures. The now is important but it’s already taken care of and for the future as well, but I only know that because I have faith. Faith in God, faith in Divine Timing & faith in my work ethic.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jannahwasiyyah

Image Credits
SK Visionz Abri the Photographer