Expand your company by training and empowering others to deliver your business services.

Four years ago, I began thinking about training women in self-defence. As a Taekwondo black belt expert, I was more than qualified, but I hesitated. Most women are not interested in the male-dominated martial arts. The idea of starting a business in Jordan, my home country, was even more daunting because of its male-dominant culture and women, especially from the rural areas, are not always free to express themselves.

I was not the only one who was unsure. Friends, family, even strangers, discouraged me from getting involved in a business that challenged society’s expectations of how women should behave. However, I took a chance. I taped a small paper ad for my business SheFighter to the basement of my house. To my surprise, I soon started getting phone calls.

My first two clients were young women who wanted to learn self-defence to feel confident and physically strong. Their interest and excitement gave me the push I needed to commit to making the business work. These two women enjoyed their first training, and returned with a few more friends each time. I started getting lots of phone calls and lots more clients.

I realized then that women need, and want, self-defence training more than any man in Jordan. The women of SheFighter had proved me and doubters wrong.

To me, being a leader means being confident enough to find your inner strength. Self-defence empowers women. It increases their physical strength, but more importantly, it raises their self-esteem. I have watched women and girls who felt powerless transform into confident leaders.

In 2012, after teaching classes in my basement for two years, I opened the SheFighter self-defence studio. It was, and still is, the first and only self-defence studio for women in the Middle East.

In 2013, SheFighter was more successful than any other gym or training studio in Jordan. By providing high-quality instruction and an environment that makes women feel comfortable, our brand and reputation has spread quickly by word of mouth.

We are well on our way to reach our goal to help empower three million women in the Middle East by 2020. Our Training of Trainers programme trains SheFighter students to share their self-defence skills to women living in rural areas, in my opinion the women who need our programme the most.

I became a leader by following my passion for martial arts and women’s empowerment. At SheFighter, we help other women become leaders by encouraging them to be who they want to be.

Every day I see women underestimate themselves. Many do not see the power they have inside to become amazing leaders. In these moments, I always start by sharing my favourite quote, “Speak up, even if your voice shakes.”

We started our first franchise in April 2014 in Armenia. The culture there is different from that of Jordan, but we are working hard to create an environment at SheFighter Armenia that fits with their society and culture.

I decided to protect our SheFighter brand in our first year of business, since I knew it would compete with many self-defence centres. I did this by registering and protecting it under Jordan’s intellectual property laws. We are still working on the possibilities of registering it globally.

SheFighter survives on its membership and registration fees; we have had no financial support from any other organization in Jordan or elsewhere.

In October 2014, I was awarded first place at the Empretec Women in Business Global Award. Receiving this award at the United Nations in Geneva gave my team and I a massive drive to continue, and opened my eyes to the possibilities of expanding SheFighter, and reaching out to the whole world.

Questions to the reader:

1. What is your passion? Can you transform that passion into the drive, energy and power you need to make your business succeed?

2. Have you considered how the business model you chose can help to grow your business? What model can you adopt to expand the reach of your products/services? Is franchising for you?

3. Are you keeping track of your competitors? Have you protected your brand?