We were lucky to catch up with Lina Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

The most important factor behind my success is believing in the work that I do. The brand is just the outward label of whatever it is you do.

There are lots of people going to mundane jobs every day because they feel they need the income to pay their bills, rather than doing what they believe in. Having a fulfilling job where you want to get out of bed and jump into every morning, is what I wanted for myself much more than the income it would bring. Interestingly enough, when you practice what you preach, the income seems to magically appear, and that lends credence to the whole project!

My brand consists of a monthly menu which is posted online, and tends to be seasonal with a varying assortment of Homemade Authentic Malaysian Cuisine of mainly sambals (sauces), pastes, cookies, cakes, pastries and kaya (coconut jam).

Lina, 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?

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

My husband, also being an entrepreneur, managed to take care of me and my young daughter for quite a while, but eventually as I started making friends and seeing how other people lived and worked, I realized I wanted to create my own path and occupation. Part of having a social life included inviting friends over for meals and going to other mostly asian households for gatherings. As many of my friends wanted to eat Malaysian food I started to think that I could do something like this as an occupation.

With time, I realized that food could be a vehicle for me to interact not only with people in my city of Atlanta, but with many more people across the country and even back in Malaysia. The unique types of sauces and foods native to my culture could be replicated here, and as I developed a following, I began to understand that being authentic to the tastes of my country was something that could earn a good deal of respect, and that made me feel wonderful about the work I was doing. Taking the time and using only the finest ingredients assured that Malaysians across the country would enjoy the products I made.

Getting my business going was a bit of a roller coaster, as it is for most businesses I suppose. Learning about food is one thing, but even more of a challenge was the tech part of figuring out how to grow in a balanced and responsible way. I had the luxury of working from home and growing slowly which was advantageous, and even now, I’m not particularly interested in hiring others to work with me as I keep everything within arms length. My main advice to others trying to build a business is to take it easy, and allow the business the time to grow organically. Of course, your own story should be about you and not what someone else is doing. Personally, I’m the turtle: slow and steady!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Coming from Malaysia about 18 years ago,, I’ve always had a connection with my culture and the people there. I found the best platform to stay in touch with my origins has been Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, where I presently have several thousand followers. Most Malaysians are interested in American culture and are happy to learn more about my experiences and see what my daily walk though life here is like. It is really important that a real perspective is given, sort of on the ground-level, so they can see what it is really like rather than the pseudo image which is portrayed in magazines and TV. They want the real deal regardless of the ups and downs that come with the territory, and I attribute that portrayal as the reason for my rather large following. Presenting can be a bit of a tightrope too as there are restrictions as to what you can show. For instance, I once showed a portion of a hydroponics store which was reselling CBD which resulted in my being banned for a period of time. Live and learn!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As we all know, being online is the best way to make an impression with the people we would never meet in person. The platforms even offer tiny monetary incentives to be online “occupationally”. This isn’t for everyone, and your partner may find it an issue that you want to spend that much time not with them! Some platforms are becoming controversial too, like Twitter, with an inclination towards the political while letting go of such a large part of it’s workforce. Recently, my husband and I moved away from the big city to a smaller town and I am finding the change refreshing in the sense that people here are more genuine in their ideals and more interesting to talk to. It hasn’t altered my online habit, however, it has reframed how I interact with others, which is giving me food for thought about the way I meet people, and may play a role in the why I do business.

Contact Info:

• Website: My website is under construction at the moment. I can be reached via email at lina6990@gmail.com I typically respond within 24 – 48hrs.
• Instagram: Jars of Joy by Lina / mrs.lina.thomas
• Facebook: Jars of Joy by Lina Thomas
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/lina-thomas-192
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sedapliciouskit
• Youtube: 6990lina
• Tiktok: MommyLina.USA

Image Credits
Image by me: Lina Thomas