Two's a Company

Through the power of positive thinking, hard work and sheer determination, IDr Lokman Hakim Ahmad Subki and IDr Rabiatul Adawiyah Rasol of IDW Design & Build have led their business to thrive, not just survive the pandemic

Luck is the intersection of opportunity and preparation, so says Seneca, and for husband and wife team, IDr Lokman Hakim Ahmad Subki (Hakim) and IDr Rabiatul Adawiyah Rasol (Bee), the founders of IDW Design & Build, their remarkable success at a time where many SMEs are folding is a culmination of 15 years of preparation. The young dynamic couple, who are now in their 30s, met while pursuing their interior design degrees at UiTM and took on their first project at 21.

Since then, their business has flourished, a result of their shared passion for interior design and unflagging can-do attitude. Their career sparked while they were still students, when a friend recommended two adjacent semi-d house projects that needed to be transformed. Despite their inexperience, Hakim and Bee seized the opportunity. “Even though we didn’t have much experience, we said yes to everything because opportunity doesn’t knock twice,” reminisces Bee. “Yes, our mindset for that first project was to say yes, then find a way to execute,” adds Hakim. This attitude served them well because the client (who knew this was their maiden project) was pleased with the results.

They then started IDW Design & Build in 2007 but said frankly that they did not make the kind of progress they desired in the following seven years because they were scattered in their energies. Not only were they running IDW, they also opened a printing shop and lectured at UiTM in the Architecture faculty. Their business started to bloom in 2014, when the couple chose the right Menthor to guide them in handling the business side of interior design by focusing on the right business model and client satisfaction.