Reading: #139: Azra Khalfan-Kermali (Going From Invisible To Visible When Taking Over The Family Business)

“When you figure out your ‘why’ everything else is smooth around you.” That’s what Azra Khalfan-Kermali says is the secret to success when taking over a family business. Her father, a commercial artist in Tanzania, was a successful sign maker. When he and his wife moved to Queens, NY, he opened a sign and plaque-making family business, naming it after his daughter, Plaques by Azra (https://www.azra.com/). “I grew up watching [my father and mother] balancing company, community, and business,” she says. “They were passionate…They socialized a lot…They were part of the community. It was nice having that childhood.” The business targets the Muslim community. “This is one of the only Islamic award compan[ies] in the world,” Khalfan-Kermali says. Though she didn’t grow up expecting to take over the family business, after a divorce from her first husband, she decided to get her college degree, apply for the Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Business program and the Tori Burch foundation. She negotiated a price for the business from her parents (“so it was fair to my siblings”) and they accepted. As a woman who observes the Islamic veil, Khalfan-Kermali says her biggest challenge was deciding to show herself outside the home because it might lose clients. “I didn’t want my parents to suffer a loss because I was going out to meetings,” she says. “Before Google, you can’t find a picture of me. I would talk to clients and no one knew who you were or what you looked like. It was like that for a long time.”