Have you ever met someone who seems to be able to do it all? Someone who effortlessly wears many different hats and excels in each role they take on? Well, this is the life of Ahmad Khairul Ahmad Julaihi, who has undertaken various careers and, against all odds, excelled in each one of them.
Determination breeds success
Have you ever met someone who seems to be able to do it all? Someone who effortlessly wears many different hats and excels in each role they take on?
Well, this is the life of Ahmad Khairul Ahmad Julaihi, who has undertaken various careers and excelled in them.
Known as ‘Elol’ by his family and friends, the 33-year-old is the middle child of five siblings.
With over 6,000 followers on his social media accounts, Ahmad Khairul, who is now an Elite Coway Health Planner, actively shares and promotes how his life has changed since joining the household appliances company.
From taking his family on a getaway in Turkey to completing the family’s dream home and defending his top achiever title, he continues to be highly motivated and energetic in the pursuit of spreading the benefits of Coway products.
Career journey
After completing his studies at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for a Diploma and Degree in Quantity Surveying in 2013, Ahmad Julaihi received a call from his former lecturer, who inquired whether he was interested in becoming a part-time lecturer.
He said the call came three months after he graduated, so he decided to go for the interview and was successful in getting his first job.
“At first, I was very hesitant because I had no prior experience in teaching and thought I was not cut out to be a lecturer. I ended up becoming a lecturer for a year, and to start my career as a lecturer was unbelievable.
“To my surprise, it was a great experience because I got to meet students, and it was a great feeling to know that they look up to you and are filled with curiosity,” he said.
Ahmad Khairul admitted that after a year, he decided to leave after stumbling across a block that made him realise he needed industry experience.
“A student who was doing his final project (FYP) approached me and asked this question that I did not quite have the answer to. This made me realise that I need to have some ground experience in the industry because I cannot teach based on theory alone,” he explained.
Following this, Ahmad Khairul began job hunting, and he was offered a position as a management trainee at Naim Holdings.
After a year, he was promoted to quantity surveyor executive to handle a multimillion-ringgit project at Batu Lintang known as Naim Sapphire on the Park.
“I supervised the project for two years before I decided to move to a different company. But I got to witness the construction and completion of the first tower for Sapphire on the Park,” he said.
Ahmad Khairul then joined OBYU Realty Sdn Bhd for four years, and he said it was one of the best organisations he has ever been a part of.
While the pay was good, Ahmad Khairul admitted that he does not see himself in the corporate sector for a long time.
“Overall, I have about eight years of experience in the corporate sector,” he said.
Venturing into small businesses
Ahmad Khairul said he began venturing into small businesses in 2019 when he was looking for extra income to fund his wedding.
He started off selling fried oyster mushrooms at a stall in front of his house every weekend.
“I believe everyone has their own struggle when they are thinking and deciding to settle down. So, I wanted to look for extra money and decided to start a small business.
“I was very surprised that my small business was a hit. Even though it was only open on weekends, there were many customers, and my fried oyster mushrooms would sell out very fast,” he said.
Consequently, Ahmad Khairul was approached by a former colleague from OBYU who asked if he was interested in becoming an agent selling ketam kalok, or mud crabs.
This was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was motivated to look for extra income as his wife, Nurul Amira Ardi, was expecting their first bundle of joy.
He said panic kicked in when his wife was six months pregnant with their son, Eisa Fuzayl, and it prompted him to look for a side hustle.
“I am very active and visible on social media, so I utilised this to promote the products I was selling. Within two months, I managed to generate an additional income of RM2,000 to RM3,000,” he said.
Afterwards, Ahmad Khairul was approached by another friend who asked if he was interested in selling Dr Fresh Car Antibacterial Agent.
“Despite having a full-time job then, I was able to run two businesses at the same time. After I have completed my work, I will go and do cash on delivery (COD) for my customers,” he said.
Another small business that Ahmad Khairul ventured into was Kambing Perap Padu (marinated lamb), which he did not expect himself to excel in.
It took him some time to try the product before making the decision to become an agent.
“I am personally not fond of eating lamb, so the two packs of Kambing Perap Padu given by my friend stayed in my freezer for about a week before I decided to give it a try. While preparing the meal, I decided to make a short video for my social media posting.
“Upon taking the first bite, I told my wife, this is something I can sell. Through the postings I shared, many of my friends and followers asked me about the product.
“I was actually shocked that I managed to sell a record-breaking 100 boxes in less than a month, and this captured the attention of other agents,” he said.
From there, Ahmad Julaihi decided to just focus on being Kambing Perap Padu’s agent, and he managed to recruit others to become agents under him.
He said this was one of the most rewarding parts of the job, as he was able to help others generate additional income.
Being a part of Coway
It took some time and persuasion for Ahmad Khairul to join Coway; he was rather sceptical of multilevel marketing (MLM) just like everyone else.
One night, he came across his late friend and manager, Farizul Alan’s posting about how one can earn up to RM2,000 without any capital with Coway.
“This post triggered my curiosity, so I told my wife I was going out to meet Farizul to talk about business and Coway. That night, Farizul and his brother came to see me, and I told them I had only 30 minutes.
“They cramped a lot of information within that time frame, including how if you were to sell two to three units of Coway products, you could earn a certain amount. After that session, I did not immediately say ‘yes’,” he said.
The next thing that Farizul did was include Ahmad Khairul in a Coway WhatsApp group.
To his surprise, the people in the group were very welcoming and friendly; he loved the positive and high energy of the group members.
“I like participating in group chats, so I was intrigued by how they were motivating each other by sharing about how they successfully closed deals with their respective customers. This is something new to me, so I asked Farizul what was going on.
“He explained that whenever a Coway health planner closes a deal, they will share their achievement with others. This often creates a domino effect where others join in sharing and congratulating one another,” he said.
Subsequently, Ahmad Khairul called up one of his friends who had recently moved into a new house.
“After chit-chatting for a while, I asked if he would be interested in purchasing a Coway product, and then the rest was history,” he said.
When asked what the key performance index (KPI) of a Coway health planner is, Ahmad Khairul said closing deals for at least 10 products.
“To achieve this KPI, one must persevere because such products are not something that people would buy every day.
“Honestly speaking, nobody likes salespeople. The way I approach my potential customers is by telling them about the benefits of Coway products instead of doing a hard sell.
“In my logic, I want to help them. For instance, I have customers who used to carry heavy boxes of drinking or mineral water because they do not have a water purifier, so I would share with them about Coway’s water purifier,” he explained.
Ahmad Khairul admitted that telling his family about his decision to resign from his job and pursue Coway full-time was difficult.
His family members initially did not agree with his decision, as they questioned the financial security and stability of working with Coway full-time.
“My mother and wife were very supportive of my decision. It was heartbreaking that my father and siblings were not supportive at first.
“However, I took it as a challenge, and I wanted to show them results. Despite only being with Coway for two weeks, I really enjoyed myself and the nature of the job,” he said.
Future undertakings
In five years’ time, Ahmad Khairul aspires to climb up the Coway ranks and become a manager.
However, he said this is not his ultimate career goal, as he has plans to open up a company and venture into the world of business.
“Coway is a good platform to start a business, and it provides opportunities for you to build up your network. Nonetheless, I do aspire to have my own business where I will be in a position to provide job opportunities to others.
“I know this is rather ambitious, but I have set my mind to achieve this by the age of 40, InshaAllah (God willing),” he said.
Ahmad Khairul pointed out that feeling content and satisfied is more valuable than dollars and cents in the long run.
“I appreciate how Coway has shown me the beauty and power of being able to do things at my own time and pace. Having said that, this flexibility should not be taken for granted, so you must have a high level of self-discipline and motivation to push yourself further,” he added.
Words of advice
On his advice for those who are looking to earn extra income through Coway or other endeavours, Ahmad Khairul said it is important to give oneself a chance to try new things.
He admitted that he never expected to be in Coway or to be able to obtain the achievements he had gained over the years.
“To be honest, I never thought about going into sales, but it has been the most interesting part of my life thus far. Alhamdulillah (praise to Allah), not only did I manage to meet many new friends, but I also now have my own family, and we were able to have our dream house,” he said.
Ahmad Khairul pointed out that being in sales takes a lot of courage and perseverance because you will not be able to close deals every day.
“You must be strong and determined in the face of challenges like getting turned down or rejected by the people you meet and approach. I understand not everyone can endure the pain of rejection, but this does not mean you should just give up easily.
“Be creative in finding ways to engage with people and diversify the way you do things,” he said.
