LADY OF THE MONTH – KHULOOD KHOURY – Ladies Who Online

Khulood Khoury has been thriving in her line of businesses simply by being confident in herself, and by giving 100% in everything that she does. She has achieved many successes in life by identifying where she is unique and where she stands out. She shared, “I am a firm believer that everyone is special in some way or another, and being your true self will lead you to success.” She is indeed a true testament to her victories.

A TRUE DUBAIAN AT HEART | The 35-year old Jordanian considers herself a true Dubaian at heart. The interior designer, partner, and co-founder of Ravioli & Co. lived with her family in Dubai for years. “I consider myself so lucky to spend my life here, growing up as a kid, meeting long-life friends from all over the world during school and university, working with inspirational colleagues and leaders, and finally getting married, all here in our city – Dubai. I thrived to achieve my dreams in this vibrant capital,” she shared.

www.ravioliandco.ae   –  @ravioliandco  –  @khuloodkhoury

WORK-LIFE BALANCE | The mother of one is an entrepreneur who currently runs her interior design business from home. She’s also a partner in a homegrown F&B outlet called Ravioli & Co. She and her husband have a small family that includes Jad, their lovely baby boy who just turned 1, and Vicki, their charming dog. Prior to following her dream as an entrepreneur, she was in the corporate scene for about 11 years as an interior designer. 

Balancing work and life responsibilities can be tough for her sometimes. “It gets challenging running two businesses, especially when there are people who depend on you. But what helps is knowing that I love what I am doing. I firmly believe that the key to success is to follow your dream. Having said that, achieving a work-life balance is not easy as I consider my family the most important thing in the world. I nurture it with love, which truly uplifts my family and me to be in a better place,” Khulood shared. Her journey so far has taught her that she can’t always be the best at everything. But she tries to balance between life commitments and making choices by asking herself this, “will I regret this later if I don’t go for it?”

SUCCESS HABITS | For Khulood, believing in what you do, working as a team, listening to others, and taking advice to help make her choices are all part of her success habits. She shared that “in every business, there are obstacles to face. But I learned to let go of things, to pass it on to the team, and to focus on other matters. It was hard at the beginning. But once great teams are developed, they can achieve far better things than me.”

Opening Ravioli & Co. was a milestone in her life. Jumping into the F&B business, and not knowing anything about it was a life-changing experience for her. “Looking back, I wanted to give up many times. I had sleepless nights. But I did not stop. I didn’t take anything personally, and I didn’t take no for an answer. The feeling of joy and success became evident when the project progressed, and when my customers’ appreciation started coming,” she shared.

SACRIFICES | There are sacrifices in every career or business. And for the successful entrepreneur, she too had to give up a lot to give way to better opportunities. “I had to put on hold my work as an interior designer, which is also my passion. I had to start a new journey and follow my dream to do something new to challenge myself.”

WORDS OF WISDOM | When asked if she could start all over again and do things differently, she replied, “I love all the experiences I went through. Each one led me to meet different people and experiences that directed me toward new life adventures. I truly would not change anything.”

Khulood wants the next generation of young women to succeed in the workplace or business, and she imparts some great advice for all the ladies who are dreamers and achievers like her. “Follow your dream and listen to your instinct. Life is too short to wait for the right opportunity. So go create it and make the best out of it. Finally, listen to others. Translate criticism to constructive pieces of advice, and utilize these to become better. Do things with love, share it, and feel it. It truly makes one shine as it unconsciously makes the environment around you a better place.”

Love and light,
Mai