In the Service of the Community: Khairul Azim

Twenty-two-year-old Khairul Azim has been running Ménage for almost three years. The Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Business and Marketing Management major from Segi College, Subang Jaya launched this clothing brand with a great intention of contributing a portion of his monthly profits to the less fortunate.

You started a clothing line at such a young age. Tell us about your brand. How did this business come out to be and what sets it apart from other lines?

I started off this clothing brand when I was 19 while touring with a band around Southeast Asia. I had an idea of making extra profits the band. So, I decided to print out 300 t-shirts to sell.

Six months later, I left the band and pursued a foundation programme in Commerce, so I can add more purpose to the brand. That’s why I came out with Shop and Give Back programme. At the end of every month, we use the money we earned to help less fortunate people in the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Ménage means a domestic establishment or household. We go by the tagline of ‘Live, Love and Appreciate’ because whether it rains or shines, these are the things keeping us together.

The brand aims to give back to the community. Every month, we set a quota for our target population. Then, we buy daily essentials such as food, drinks and clothes and send them to the needy. We also spend time with them because it is vital to make them feel appreciated.

Basically, Ménage is a value-centric brand. Nowadays, a lot of people wear things because it is trendy and mainstream. We want the people wearing our brand to be accepted and not to feel intimidated, in addition to feeling good about themselves because they are helping others.

How do you juggle school and business? What do you do during your free time?
It is never easy, but since my programme is 100% coursework, time management is relatively crucial. Prioritising goals also play an important part of my daily routine.

Putting up a business is full of obstacles and risks. Are there any challenges you had to face and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for any business is cash flow. There is no way to execute things without money. Production consistency has also been a problem for us. 

Another issue for us is the fact that when we sell our products to the market, it sometimes clashes with the purchasing power of our target audience, mostly students and young people who may not be able to afford an RM70 t-shirt. 

That’s when the value of our brand comes into play. There is a social cause behind it, and when you put your money down for our shirt, a certain amount goes back to something good. The purpose of our brand keeps me going on my entrepreneurship journey.  

I believe that continuous success is a good thing, but if you’re too comfortable, that is not a good thing as well. We need to be open towards failures and come across obstacles to step out of our comfort zone and grow.

What advice can you give to those students who would like to put up their own business, but afraid to take the opportunity?

Just do it! No one will ever know how to do something right until they begin. Eventually, they will learn from their experiences, lessons, and mistakes once they have the courage to start doing what they want.

Be open minded towards people. The youth should be open to other people outside their group - no matter where they come from, which race they belong to. They can learn more about the world when they open up to others.

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Read the rest of the interview in the upcoming issue of EasyUni Guidebook. Out on newsstands and leading bookstores in June.