Heidi​​​​​​​ Nazarudin

Not your average girl-next-door, Los Angeles-based Malaysian Heidi Nazarudin, has secured a high position on fashion’s list of digital influencers with her blog, The Ambitionista. Azza Arif caught up with the globe-trotter in Milan (where Heidi had collaborated with Marie Claire Malaysia online during Fashion Week) to talk about how she turned her passion for fashion into an ever-expanding business.

- Azza Arif

Just a few short years ago, Heidi Nazarudin decided to move from investment banking into blogging, launching her digital portal The Ambitionista. She hasn’t looked back since. Now, the 35-year-old isn’t just a successful online personality, she is also the creative director and consultant to various brands, out to conquer the world in style.

How did it all begin for you? I just wanted to write about fashion. It just happened that 6-7 years ago, fashion blogs were also gaining popularity and I had started writing about fashion on other people’s blog. I liked sharing my thoughts on fashion as well as about my life as a working woman so I guess you can say it started from there.

What sets The Ambitionista apart ? I think it’s the fact that it’s a fashion blog focused towards sophisticated and successful women. I think my typical reader is just like me—she is strong, sophisticated and stylish, and would like to see content that adds to her life like how to choose a power suit for a board meeting, or a great hotel for vacation that also allows you to get some work done efficiently. I never want to post things like 12 Looks That Would Make Him Fall For You. The Ambitionista reader is the type that, if she wanted the guy to notice her, would ask the guy out and charm him with sparkling conversation.

At what point did you realise The Ambitionista is more than just a hobby? When I was making as much money from the blog as I did from freelance writing.