Lonely Expat turned Empowered Leader: Healing with Connection & Purpose

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Welcome to Low to Grow, the podcast transforming life's toughest moments into personal motivation.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I'm Annie, a Forbes under 30 technology founder, whose entrepreneurship journey ran alongside a mental health awakening.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: In each episode, I sit down with inspiring individuals who have each faced incredible challenges, tackled it head on and emerged stronger on the other side.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Together, we'll explore the stories, unpack the lessons that they have learnt and also understand how they managed to turn challenges into opportunities for personal growth.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Whether you're navigating uncertainty in your personal life or simply looking for motivation to keep going, this is your space for the honest conversations that you will want to hear.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: If this resonates with you, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: And if you know someone who's struggling, share this with them.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: You might just prompt them to take the first step towards better mental health.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Now, let's dive in.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Welcome to today's episode of Low to Grow.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I am delighted to welcome Sam, the Dubai-based Early Years Educator and also founder of Shino's Best, a vibrant online community dedicated to empowering women through shared experiences and also anonymous support.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Sam is passionate about nurturing young minds whilst also advocating for female empowerment.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Through Shino's Best, Sam aims to provide a sharing platform online that gives the encouragement many women need and reminding us all that we are never truly alone in our struggles.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Sam, it's such a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Let me start by asking you, who do you want to be listening to our conversation?

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Sam Minhas: Annie, I think that I would like my podcast to be a lifeline to anyone who is feeling isolated.

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Sam Minhas: And I hope by listening to our podcast today that people will feel that they have real advice from my real life story to help them build meaningful connections and reclaim their sense of belonging.

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Sam Minhas: I want them to know that there is someone out there and through my story, we can navigate loneliness and social anxiety together.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: What brought you to your personal Lowers point so far?

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Sam Minhas: I'm somebody that I don't mind being alone.

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Sam Minhas: I quite enjoy my own company.

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Sam Minhas: But I think for me, being based here in Dubai, I moved from the UK roughly 10 years ago.

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Sam Minhas: And I realized when I moved to Dubai and became an expat that as much as I love my own company, I also was extremely lonely.

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Sam Minhas: And with that, I mean, I was lacking meaningful connections with other people that allowed me to resonate and connect with them on a deeper level.

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Sam Minhas: Being an expat, especially here in Dubai, there are lots of different people that you meet through your daily walks of life.

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Sam Minhas: But I was longing and wishing and hoping to meet somebody who would connect with me on a deeper level instead of, well, we're both British or we're both teachers.

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Sam Minhas: And I think for me, Annie, I realized that I had got to my lowest point when I left work on a Friday, and I returned back to work on Monday, and realized that I hadn't spoken to a single human being throughout the whole of the weekend.

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Sam Minhas: And I found myself making things up when my colleagues would ask me, what did you do over the weekend?

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Sam Minhas: And I think personally for me, that's when I realized that I'm really lonely, and this is uncomfortable for me.

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Sam Minhas: So as much as I like having my own company, where I can work on my personal growth and self-reflect, I'm also really lacking those connections with other people.

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Sam Minhas: And I think, Annie, for me, that was my lowest point when I reflect back on my journey, that realization that I haven't had any connection with any human being for 48 hours.

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Sam Minhas: It really affected me and made me feel really sad.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: That sounds like a really isolating situation to be in, Sam.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Just moving a bit earlier in your journey, what prompted the move to Dubai and what's the loneliness aspect, something that you even anticipated before the move?

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Sam Minhas: You know, Annie, I'll be honest with you, through therapy and through different coaching sessions that I've been a part of, I realized that loneliness has been a part of my life from a very young age.

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Sam Minhas: When I was in the UK, I come from a very small and close-knit family.

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Sam Minhas: I almost felt that growing up, I didn't need friends, I didn't need connections because I've got my sisters and my mom, and I don't need anybody else.

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Sam Minhas: But you know, Annie, I soon realized that there's a big wide world out there, and I had a desire to travel and to excel in my career.

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Sam Minhas: So, you know, at school, I was quite lonely.

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Sam Minhas: I didn't have many friends, but again, my family were at home and my sister is only two years older than me.

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Sam Minhas: So I felt that I was, you know, who needs friends?

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Sam Minhas: However, I think when I had decided that I would like to move to Dubai, I was ready to spread my wings, Annie.

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Sam Minhas: I was ready to explore the world and, you know, try something new.

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Sam Minhas: And that's what I really wanted to do.

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Sam Minhas: But don't get me wrong, Annie, I was absolutely terrified of doing that.

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Sam Minhas: And I remember just before I was about to get on my flight to the UAE, I remember Annie saying to my mom, I had packed all my suitcases, I'd sold my car, I've left my job at this point.

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Sam Minhas: And I said to my mom, mom, if you say to me, like, stay, Sam, you don't have to go, I'll unpack everything right now.

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Sam Minhas: Even up until that point, I think that that feeling of loneliness and growing up and not having many friends around me, it didn't really hit me until I was on my own and I had moved away from my family, that I realized that I don't actually have a supportive circle.

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Sam Minhas: I don't have a network of anyone that I can reach out to.

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Sam Minhas: So as much as I wanted to explore the world and spread my wings, I hadn't actually appreciated how much loneliness had impacted my life already and how much it was going to impact my life, especially moving so far from my family.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think it's really amazing how sometimes things about ourselves only really become clear when we have the time and space for them to materialize.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Unfortunately, it's sometimes when we have spent enough time by ourselves to reflect.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think your story of someone as a young professional moving abroad to a new country where you don't really know anyone, and leaving all your family and knowing friends behind, that's something that a lot of people can relate to right now, because after university or after you leave school, jobs are only in so many cities and you do sometimes have to make the move in order to set yourself up to be the best position that you can be in for your career.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: So Sam, when you first arrived in Dubai, how did you feel?

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Were you swept up in all the new activities?

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: How long did it take for that sense of deep loneliness to really come through to you?

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Sam Minhas: I'm going to be completely honest with you.

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Sam Minhas: It set in quite quickly because a lot of the people and my fellow colleagues that moved over, they had formed friendships quite quickly and I started to develop a lot of anxiety about that.

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Sam Minhas: And, you know, I'd go to networking events, Annie, I would be invited to certain social events.

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Sam Minhas: But I realized that I would go and I wouldn't speak to anybody at the events, or I could feel that my body was starting to, the anxiety was definitely starting to creep up.

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Sam Minhas: And these were feelings that I'd never quite acknowledged or felt before, you know, pacing my living room, talking myself out of actually leaving the house.

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Sam Minhas: For me, I realized that, OK, something isn't quite right here.

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Sam Minhas: And I think as well, Annie, there is a misconception that life in the Middle East is glitz and glamour and you're forever busy and you've got a huge social network and you're rushing from your job to a glamorous party in your lavish apartment.

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Sam Minhas: When for many of us, that's not the reality.

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Sam Minhas: And for me, Annie, I think the moment that really affected me is, as I mentioned, leaving work and not having any plans, nothing to do, nobody to talk to.

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Sam Minhas: And that huge sense of regret of moving away from my family, they were my safety net.

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Sam Minhas: And I very early on started to question whether this move was right for me.

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Sam Minhas: I noticed people around me were, you know, they had an awe about them.

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Sam Minhas: They were forever busy and had lots of plans.

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Sam Minhas: And I just couldn't figure out how is this the case?

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Sam Minhas: Oh, I started to question myself, Annie, am I unlikable?

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Sam Minhas: Am I not making enough foot with people?

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Sam Minhas: Am I awkward around others?

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Sam Minhas: Are they able to see that?

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Sam Minhas: I would start picking myself apart after events.

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Sam Minhas: Should I have spoken to that person a bit more?

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Sam Minhas: Should I have not, should I have said this?

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Sam Minhas: It started to become just, I just became so self-critical and so self-conscious about being with others that again, it just fed my anxiety.

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Sam Minhas: And there was a post I saw, Annie, I think about a year in to me starting to feel this way.

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Sam Minhas: And it was a fellow expat who had just moved to the UAE.

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Sam Minhas: And she had written in her post on a popular social media platform that she was suffering from crippling loneliness and that she wondered if there was anybody out there within the Middle East that could give her some advice.

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Sam Minhas: Annie, I felt like I was reading something that I could have written myself.

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Sam Minhas: And I really wanted to reply back to her.

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Sam Minhas: However, it was a public forum.

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Sam Minhas: And I know that my comment would have been seen by employers, friends, family.

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Sam Minhas: And I don't think I was at a point where I could openly speak to those people about how I truly felt.

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Sam Minhas: And I really wanted to reply back and tell her that you're not a failure, you might be feeling that this wasn't the right thing to do, and that you're the only one feeling this way, but I'm here, I feel the same as you.

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Sam Minhas: I didn't comment on that post because I was very worried about others reading how I was feeling and almost judging me for what I was going to say.

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Sam Minhas: And so I didn't comment on the post and the woman stayed on my mind for weeks, months, years.

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Sam Minhas: And I think for me, that was the moment that I realized that actually there are others that are feeling this way.

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Sam Minhas: And this is not just about being alone.

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Sam Minhas: This is loneliness that is crippling our lives, stopping us from making those connections with other people, where we start to become very self conscious of ourselves in a social setting.

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Sam Minhas: And it's almost only like a vicious cycle where you want to make those connections with people, but your social anxiety is stopping you from doing that, that you don't even want to leave the house.

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Sam Minhas: So how do...

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Sam Minhas: It's a cycle that you almost feel like you can't break out of.

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Sam Minhas: So to go back to your original question, Annie, I think for me, that was the point that I realized that, okay, something is wrong, but I'm not the only one suffering.

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Sam Minhas: There are others out there that are feeling this way.

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Sam Minhas: And what am I going to do about it?

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Sam Minhas: What can we do about it?

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Were you able to recognize quite quickly that you are suffering from social anxiety and loneliness, or did it take a while for you to actually reflect and realize what those symptoms meant?

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Sam Minhas: Social anxiety and anxiety in general affects people very differently.

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Sam Minhas: And I think that throughout the years, I've had many people tell me to get a grip, you'll get over it, this will pass, do some breathing exercises.

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Sam Minhas: And it used to frustrate me because, and it was really difficult to explain to people how anxiety was affecting my life, and it still does.

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Sam Minhas: And I think it's a very individual phenomena that affects everybody very personally.

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Sam Minhas: And what works for one doesn't always work for everybody.

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Sam Minhas: And I think that I realized quite late on, Annie, that I had social anxiety because I found myself making excuses.

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Sam Minhas: I found myself making plans and canceling last minute.

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Sam Minhas: I found myself suffering from shortness of breath, you know, I had headaches, vomiting.

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Sam Minhas: And then I realized that actually this is my body's response to tell me that it is in a fight or flight mode because of something that I'm putting myself through, whether it will be going to, you know, my friend's house or trying to meet someone new that I've connected with through work or a friend of a friend.

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Sam Minhas: And that's when I realized, Annie, that actually my loneliness and my social anxiety is starting to affect my mental health, my physical health, my self-confidence.

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Sam Minhas: And I realized when others were telling me kind of that they were saying it from a place of love and I know that they were.

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Sam Minhas: But when I realized that others weren't feeling how I'm feeling, I realized that actually, okay, this is something that's affected me.

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Sam Minhas: It's a very personal journey that I'm going to have to work on.

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Sam Minhas: And I know that people are trying to support me in the best way that they can.

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Sam Minhas: But I need to get that help for myself to help combat this so that I can move forward with my life.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Did you speak to your family at all whilst you were going through this?

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Sam Minhas: I know that's a...

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Sam Minhas: It makes me upset because I didn't want my family to know that I was suffering this way.

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Sam Minhas: Because I know that my family, they really wanted this to work.

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Sam Minhas: And they really wanted me to go out there and try something new for the foot.

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Sam Minhas: It was almost like they were living through me.

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Sam Minhas: So there was a part of me that felt...

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Sam Minhas: There was a part of me that felt that I really didn't want to let them down.

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Sam Minhas: So in all honesty, Annie, I wasn't open with them about how I was feeling.

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Sam Minhas: And I think that exacerbated how I felt within my loneliness and my social anxiety.

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Sam Minhas: Because I was putting on a front to the people that were the closest and nearest to me.

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Sam Minhas: And that hurt me because I didn't want to be open with them.

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Sam Minhas: I didn't want to let them down.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Wow, that's such a touching recount of your experiences.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: As someone who is the only person from a really close-knit family who have gone overseas on this new adventure to explore these new possibilities, definitely a relative experience or feeling, sometimes you do need to put on a front almost to protect your own family because you want to succeed because you know that they want you to succeed and you know that you're feeling sad or to make them feel sad.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: But yeah, I'm really sorry that you had to go through that by yourself.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: How did you get yourself out of this mindset and this headspace?

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Sam Minhas: I'll be honest, I sat in it for a long time and thought that this is me.

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Sam Minhas: This is my life and I recently had a conversation with somebody who asked me a very similar question and I said to them, Annie, that loneliness became my normal and that is all I knew for years upon years upon years and I met my fiance roughly two years ago and he asked me about my time at school and I got very upset because I mentioned to him that it was a very it was a passing comment, Annie, where I mentioned that I didn't really eat much at school and he he said what school dinners were the best in the UK.

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Sam Minhas: What do you mean?

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Sam Minhas: And Annie, I said to him that I didn't really eat much at school because I didn't have anybody to eat with and he just he looked up at me and then I said to him, so when I did eat, I used to eat my sandwiches in the toilet.

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Sam Minhas: And now that I think about that, you know, I know I know that that sounds strange, but that's what I did.

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Sam Minhas: And he looked up at me, Annie, and it really and to this day, I still can see his face looking at me.

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Sam Minhas: And he he said to me, Sam, that's really sad because that's what you see in movies.

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Sam Minhas: And it was your normal.

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Sam Minhas: And I think for me, that's when I realized that I need to take action, not just with my with helping to heal from my own journey with loneliness, but to be told from somebody who loves me and cares for me, that actually, Sam, that's really sad.

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Sam Minhas: Like, this cannot be your normal.

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Sam Minhas: It was the wake up call I needed, that, okay, am I going to face this huge dilemma that has been lurking around in my life for years?

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Sam Minhas: Am I going to accept that this is my normal?

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Sam Minhas: And am I going to let it affect my future with this man who is trying to tell me that this, that's really upsetting to hear.

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Sam Minhas: So, Annie, for me, I think that that was my wake up call when he looked up and said to me that actually that's not.

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Sam Minhas: Eating in the toilets is not normal, Sam.

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Sam Minhas: Feeling the loneliness and the way that you do is not normal.

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Sam Minhas: And the fact that it's made you feel so uncomfortable and still brings me to tears, Annie, when I speak about it with you, is a true testament of the fact that this is a problem.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think it's fascinating how your partner's reaction to a memory of you in childhood actually then spurred you to take action and do something so that you can change your present and also your future.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think that's really interesting.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: So, like, you know, after you had that conversation, you've had that wake up call to a conversation with your partner.

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Annie Wenmiao Yu: Like, what were the steps that you took to improve your well-being?

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Sam Minhas: I'm very excited to tell you about the steps that I took because not only have those steps helped heal me, but they've helped heal others around me as well.

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Sam Minhas: The first thing that I think I took from that conversation with my partner is that, right, Sam, you're facing this head on now.

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Sam Minhas: You can't run from this anymore.

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Sam Minhas: You can't hide in your house anymore.

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Sam Minhas: What are you going to do about this?

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Sam Minhas: I thought about the woman that had written on the social media post about her feeling lonely.

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Sam Minhas: I thought of her and I thought about what my fiance had just said to me.

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Sam Minhas: I said to him, I know there's others like me.

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Sam Minhas: I know it.

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Sam Minhas: I don't know where they are.

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Sam Minhas: I don't know who they are.

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Sam Minhas: But I guarantee you, there are women out there like me.

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Sam Minhas: There are people out there like me.

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Sam Minhas: And I said, Sunny, I'm going to find them.

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Sam Minhas: I'm going to bring us all together and I'm going to help us heal all together.

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Sam Minhas: I had an idea that I would like all those people to be able to come together.

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Sam Minhas: But to also be sensitive to the fact that some of those people might not be able to come together, even with the best will in the world, whether that be because we're in different continents, whether that be because we suffer from social anxiety or physical disabilities.

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Sam Minhas: But it doesn't mean that we can't all come together in this modern age where technology allows us to overcome some of these difficulties.

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Sam Minhas: I had an idea that I wanted to create an online platform where women predominantly could come together and they would be able to speak openly, freely, honestly, in a safe space with no judgment or bias from anybody else.

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Sam Minhas: And through that safe online platform, women would be able to share, receive and give advice to one another in order to help women feel guided, valued and heard.

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Sam Minhas: My beginning steps were I needed to find out, are women going to benefit from this?

00:21:17.800 --> 00:21:19.360

Sam Minhas: Do women need this?

00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:23.200

Sam Minhas: So I just went out there and I spoke to people around me.

00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.200

Sam Minhas: It was daunting at first, Annie, because again, this is not a made up story.

00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.400

Sam Minhas: This is my life.

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:35.420

Sam Minhas: And these are moments of my life where I haven't shared with many people at all.

00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:38.140

Sam Minhas: And I had to be brave and honest.

00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:51.540

Sam Minhas: And I spoke to them about my battles and how my loneliness had then formed into a type of social anxiety that didn't allow me to go out there to make those connections with people that I wished and longed for.

00:21:51.540 --> 00:21:54.640

Sam Minhas: And women told me that they felt exactly the same.

00:21:54.640 --> 00:22:16.440

Sam Minhas: And I asked them, Annie, if you're going through a tough time, like you've had a bad day at work, or you're suffering from a particularly bad mental health day, or your mental health is poor for that day, you're in a particularly difficult marriage or relationship, you have financial worries, who do you talk to?

00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:21.100

Sam Minhas: And so many of these women told me that they have no one to talk to.

00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:26.640

Sam Minhas: They suffer alone, they keep it inside, and they just plod along.

00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:33.060

Sam Minhas: I said to them, what about if you had somewhere to go?

00:22:33.060 --> 00:22:34.660

Sam Minhas: How would that make you feel?

00:22:34.660 --> 00:22:40.220

Sam Minhas: And they told me, Annie, that they would love that, but they would want to remain anonymous.

00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:59.840

Sam Minhas: And for me, I think that that's when I realize this is the birth of She Knows Best, because the woman's post that I saw on social media all those years ago, what stopped me from actually giving her my advice and sharing my own experiences was that it wasn't going to be anonymous.

00:22:59.840 --> 00:23:06.000

Sam Minhas: I was worried that my employer, my family, my friends would have seen what I had written and the implications of that.

00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:11.240

Sam Minhas: Whereas if it had been anonymous, I probably would have spoken more openly and freely.

00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:19.720

Sam Minhas: When the women told me that this is what we need, I was a woman on a mission and I went out there and I spoke to website developers.

00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:27.360

Sam Minhas: I spoke to different coaches, therapists about how could we get this off the ground?

00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:52.540

Sam Minhas: I'm super proud, Annie, that since then, literally five months ago, I have launched She Knows Best and we have over 70 women using the platform regularly to ask for advice, to share, receive advice completely anonymously and these women are opening up about areas of their life that they have not spoken to anybody about before.

00:23:52.540 --> 00:23:57.620

Sam Minhas: It's about empowering women and helping them to realize that you are not alone.

00:23:57.620 --> 00:24:06.500

Sam Minhas: There is somebody out there that can resonate with how you're feeling and they want to genuinely give you advice based on their life experiences.

00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:09.640

Sam Minhas: It's a sisterhood and I'm super proud of it.

00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:29.380

Sam Minhas: And through that, Annie, it's been a journey of healing for myself as well because I know that 10 years ago, young Sam would have absolutely wished for a platform like She knows Best and here I am 10 years later and I've made that.

00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:36.360

Sam Minhas: So it's almost like the little girl in me is almost saying, thank you, I'm sorry, it makes me upset, but.

00:24:36.360 --> 00:24:53.720

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Don't apologize, I think that's an incredible mission and I love how in creating this platform for other women, you have created something that soothes the historical youth so that she was the first move by herself to Dubai and was experiencing all of that loneliness and social anxiety.

00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:59.300

Annie Wenmiao Yu: So I'm really, really thrilled that you've managed to create this for other people who are going through the same situations.

00:24:59.300 --> 00:25:00.060

Sam Minhas: Thank you, Annie.

00:25:00.600 --> 00:25:00.960

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Thank you.

00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:08.540

Annie Wenmiao Yu: I read online that on your platform you also worked hard to partner so that you could give women free access to legal knowledge.

00:25:08.540 --> 00:25:12.380

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Could you explain why that's so important for your platform?

00:25:12.380 --> 00:25:20.120

Sam Minhas: She Knows Best is all about providing advice, emotional advice to women everywhere and anywhere.

00:25:20.120 --> 00:25:25.740

Sam Minhas: No matter how big or small that you think that your need is, She Knows Best is there to help you.

00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:44.000

Sam Minhas: However, I started to notice that women who approached us with concerns around domestic violence, starting a business, financial freedom, not only were they looking for emotional advice, they really wanted to have expert knowledge to help them plan for the next steps in their life.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:26:09.160

Sam Minhas: And I'm so honored to share that mohame.ae partnered with She Knows Best five months ago to offer free legal advice to women where they can connect with legal experts who can provide them with expert knowledge to help them understand their legal rights and next steps so that women are supported, again, not just emotionally, but legally every step of the way.

00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:13.940

Annie Wenmiao Yu: And for those unfamiliar with the region, can you explain what mohame.ae does normally?

00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.780

Sam Minhas: Mohame.ae, mohame in Arabic means lawyer.

00:26:18.780 --> 00:26:32.640

Sam Minhas: And it's essentially a network of lawyers and solicitors around the Middle East that are willing to work with women using the She Knows Best platform to help them access the correct legal advice.

00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:36.060

Sam Minhas: In the Middle East, the laws are changing quite regularly.

00:26:36.060 --> 00:26:51.240

Sam Minhas: And I wanted women to feel empowered that when they use She Knows Best, they're going to be connected via mohame.ae with somebody that knows exactly how to advise them in terms of their next steps and directions that they can go.

00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:57.360

Sam Minhas: Women have come to me and told me that through mohame.ae, they've been able to navigate a tricky divorce.

00:26:57.360 --> 00:27:01.620

Sam Minhas: They've been able to understand their rights as an expert and how that might affect their rights.

00:27:01.620 --> 00:27:13.040

Sam Minhas: Moving back to the UK, for example, they've been able to set up wills and put things in place that could help their repatriation back to the UK.

00:27:13.040 --> 00:27:23.780

Sam Minhas: It's a very powerful partnership and I'm super proud of it and I hope and I know that women are empowered through our partnership.

00:27:23.780 --> 00:27:40.480

Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think it's fantastic that you were able to link your platform that provides the emotional support to something that also gives quite tangible real world actionable help to the women on your platform and it's incredible to hear about the 70 active users you have already within five months of launching.

00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:43.720

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Could you give us an idea of where those current users come from?

00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:45.060

Annie Wenmiao Yu: What sort of demographic are they?

00:27:45.060 --> 00:27:46.460

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Where are they based?

00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:50.420

Sam Minhas: Most of our users are based in the Middle East.

00:27:50.420 --> 00:28:04.860

Sam Minhas: We have women from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, but we also have a growing number of users in Europe and the US, which is super exciting.

00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:17.000

Sam Minhas: And I can see that when I started She Knows Best, I wanted it to be that it was not something that was just solely helpful for women based in the Middle East.

00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:22.280

Sam Minhas: I wanted it to be a global platform that women everywhere can use.

00:28:22.280 --> 00:28:26.700

Sam Minhas: And I can see that that is happening, Annie, and it makes my heart so happy.

00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:35.000

Sam Minhas: Because in my opinion, a woman going through hardship, whether that be divorce, IVF, mental health struggles, it doesn't matter where you are.

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:40.660

Sam Minhas: Borders shouldn't be a barrier for you accessing credible advice from other women.

00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:44.300

Sam Minhas: Let's break down those borders and barriers and let's bring women together.

00:28:44.300 --> 00:28:47.240

Annie Wenmiao Yu: What's next for your plans of She Knows Best?

00:28:48.620 --> 00:28:56.700

Sam Minhas: Ooh, Annie, I've got lots of things up my sleeve, but right now, I am trying to spread awareness of She Knows Best.

00:28:56.700 --> 00:29:01.140

Sam Minhas: I want women across Europe and the US to hear about She Knows Best.

00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:05.800

Sam Minhas: I would like them to understand a little bit more about what She Knows Best can offer.

00:29:05.800 --> 00:29:12.620

Sam Minhas: And I'm working obviously with yourselves to share awareness via this podcast.

00:29:12.620 --> 00:29:15.960

Sam Minhas: There's a few other podcasts that I'm also going to appear on.

00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:30.980

Sam Minhas: I have been on magazine covers that predominantly aim to educate their female readership about ways that we can, as women, improve our mental health and how we can come together to do that.

00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:49.760

Sam Minhas: I'm also in talks with professional services, including coaches, psychotherapists, mental health experts, who would like to get on board with She Knows Best to provide professional advice for women who feel that they would benefit from coaching or therapy sessions.

00:29:49.760 --> 00:30:05.940

Sam Minhas: We are in the, it is in the pipeline, Annie, that we're going to be able to link those women, again, not just to legal professional advice, but professional advice from mental health experts so that women have a holistic experience using She Knows Best.

00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.900

Annie Wenmiao Yu: That's fantastic.

00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:14.760

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Really glad to see all the different types of resources, almost 360 resources, and we'll be able to access from She Knows Best.

00:30:15.120 --> 00:30:22.320

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Sam, it's been such a delight talking with you, and thank you for so candidly sharing your experiences.

00:30:22.320 --> 00:30:30.840

Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think from you today, what's really come out is, it's okay to be the brave one, you know, in your family or in your friendship group to do something that's new.

00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:33.020

Annie Wenmiao Yu: It's okay to find it difficult.

00:30:33.020 --> 00:30:36.520

Annie Wenmiao Yu: It's okay to struggle with it for months, years.

00:30:36.520 --> 00:30:48.380

Annie Wenmiao Yu: And I think what you can do really clearly today is that you have taken the action to create a better solution for people behind you and also for your younger self, which is fantastic.

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:52.660

Annie Wenmiao Yu: I'm going to ask you our staple question on the podcast before we wrap up.

00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:58.820

Annie Wenmiao Yu: What do you think will enable more people to have better mental health?

00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:03.160

Sam Minhas: I think that it's very important to know that you are not alone.

00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:07.260

Sam Minhas: And I know in those moments it is incredibly isolating.

00:31:07.260 --> 00:31:18.300

Sam Minhas: But I think that whether it's with your loved ones or strangers, it's important for people to be able to share their stories and ask for advice without feeling any judgment or bias.

00:31:18.300 --> 00:31:21.040

Sam Minhas: And I think this is crucial for our mental well-being.

00:31:22.100 --> 00:31:23.860

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Thank you very much for that, Sam.

00:31:23.860 --> 00:31:26.560

Annie Wenmiao Yu: I think it's a pleasure having you.

00:31:26.560 --> 00:31:29.880

Annie Wenmiao Yu: That's a wrap for this episode of Low to Grow.

00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:37.820

Annie Wenmiao Yu: If you learned something today, help more people to find this conversation by hitting the subscribe button and leaving a review.

00:31:37.820 --> 00:31:39.780

Annie Wenmiao Yu: Keep growing and until next time.