“Revolutionizing Tailoring Education: Masoumeh Mohammadi’s Vision with Doukht Bartar in the Middle East”

Women’s entrepreneurship in the Middle East is marked by more significant obstacles compared to other regions. While female entrepreneurs around the globe often face considerable challenges when starting or managing a business, the situation in the Middle East is particularly daunting. Our exploration of women in entrepreneurship in this area led us to Masoumeh Mohammadi, a notable Iranian entrepreneur specializing in tailoring education. She has made a meaningful contribution to online tailoring education in Iran and is working toward transforming the tailoring sector throughout the Middle East and potentially worldwide.

The inspiring journey of this entrepreneur, who established the online tailoring education platform “Doukht Bartar,” is both captivating and motivational.

Masoumeh Mohammadi embarked on her journey in 1994, almost three decades ago, by teaching tailoring in schools and training centers across Iran. She launched a magazine named Doukht Bartar fifteen years later with the aim of offering tailored educational content. With a small team of four, she successfully turned Doukht Bartar into Iran’s leading tailoring magazine. However, the advent of social media presented a significant hurdle for her business.

**The Challenges Faced by an Entrepreneur**

Reflecting on this transition, Masoumeh Mohammadi shares: “When social media platforms like Telegram channels and Instagram pages emerged, no one bought magazines anymore. People were looking for educational content and videos on social media. Those were tough days for us. In 2018, four trucks of unsold magazines were returned to our office. These unsold books cost around four billion Tomans (400,000 USD then), but we sold them in bulk for only four million Tomans.”

Consequently, Doukht Bartar magazine came to an end, prompting her to return to teaching tailoring in educational institutions. Nevertheless, Masoumeh Mohammadi did not relent. In April 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she envisioned a way to teach tailoring online. With the closure of schools and training centers, she began offering remote instruction and decided to sell the educational videos she was producing.

**The Introduction of Masoumeh Mohammadi and Doukht Bartar to the Digital Realm**

On May 10, 2020, she initiated an Instagram page named after her magazine, Doukht Bartar, and began recording educational courses using just her phone and a tripod.

“After a while, I realized I couldn’t manage everything on my own—teaching, recording, posting on Instagram, and replying to direct messages. I also wanted to answer every single direct message. In the first month, my sister came to assist, and by the second month, I enlisted two of my students to help respond to comments and messages,” explains Masoumeh Mohammadi.

Within the first three months, Doukht Bartar evolved into a team of four. Masoumeh Mohammadi was responsible for content production and publication on Instagram, whereas the other team members managed comments and messages and coordinated the sale of full-length videos via Telegram.

**The Remarkable Expansion of Doukht Bartar**

By the fourth month, Doukht Bartar’s Instagram account had garnered 60,000 followers. Subsequently, Ms. Mohammadi’s son joined the team, focusing on expanding the workforce. He began hiring four individuals for marketing and sales, training them in sales techniques. Soon thereafter, a videographer, editor, and accountant were also incorporated into the team. Their first sale of educational videos, consisting of two professional courses, attracted 150 buyers, generating 30 million Tomans within just a week.

Not long after, the Doukht Bartar website went live. A defining feature of these courses was Masoumeh Mohammadi’s commitment to providing real-time answers to student inquiries as they watched the videos.

Ultimately, she pledged to assist students with their questions for up to a year after their course purchase.

The Doukht Bartar team expanded, establishing robust sales and support divisions. Now, with 250 individuals working around the clock online, they offer extensive support to students, guiding them through their educational journeys and assisting them in launching their businesses.

**Exclusive Offerings from Doukht Bartar for Students**

Today, Doukht Bartar’s Instagram account boasts 1.2 million followers, and the website features over 18 various courses, seven unique physical products, and specialized sewing patterns that enjoy a vast customer base. These patterns are unmatched and unavailable elsewhere.

Starting with just 150 online students, Doukht Bartar has significantly transformed online tailoring education in Iran. Currently, more than 85,000 students have participated in Doukht Bartar’s professional courses, receiving thorough training and support that enable them to excel in their chosen tailoring fields and enter the job market.

Masoumeh Mohammadi is now focused on reshaping the tailoring landscape throughout the Middle East. She envisions expanding the Doukht Bartar model into countries like Turkey and instigating a substantial transformation in the Middle Eastern fashion and tailoring sector—similar to her achievements in Iran.