Greenhouse Conversations – Lamya Al-Saleem
My name is Lamya Al-Saleem. I am the founder of Lamya Social and the owner of Old School Planner. After graduating college with a finance degree I worked at an investment company in a risk management department. I left the company after 6 years not knowing what exactly I will be doing next. I just knew it wasn’t the right place for me. During my time off, I worked on a full business plan for this idea I had in mind for a while. I worked so hard that I exhausted myself in the process and I ended up not going through with it. As the pandemic hit, things became more difficult.
During the lockdowns I went back to writing journals and dug up my highschool diaries. I realized I’ve always been the kind of person who carries notebooks and pens wherever they go. The feel of paper and pen have always helped me feel grounded and more focused. That’s where the idea for Old School Planner came from. I started with one product which is an agenda, then gradually expanded to full office sets, mugs, tote bags, even digital planners and printables. As Old School became more successful, it opened up unexpected opportunities for me and got me into social media management.
It started off with a conversation with a colleague at niu who was looking for social media marketing advice for his business. I remember discussing a few ideas and giving him a tips I learned along the way. The next day I get a call from him asking me to handle their business social media account. I was a little anxious because I’ve never done it before, but incredibly excited to try it out. Now, I offer social media consultations for small businesses and share tips for startups on Lamya Social. I help them stand out from the crowd and reach their audience in this increasingly competitive landscape. Rather than purely focusing on followers count, I help them create the right kind of engagement to establish a loyal client base.