37-year-old woman, Zoreen Kabani, made a surprising career change after working for over a decade at financial giants like JP Morgan (also known as “JPMorgan Chase”) and Goldman Sachs in California. Instead of sticking to her high-paying job in finance, she decided to start selling clothes online through live streams. Despite the drastic 180-degree turn in her professional path, she achieved remarkable success with monthly income often exceeding $100,000. How did she manage to do it?
One of the reasons that led to Kabani’s success is her passion, a strong energy that drives her forward.
Originally from Pakistan, Kabani currently resides in Las Vegas. She immigrated to California with her family at the age of 14. Influenced by culture, she initially believed she would follow a traditional career path.
According to CNBC’s report, Kabani mentioned that in Pakistan, there’s a cultural expectation to either work in finance, engineering, or medicine.
She started on this path, studying finance during her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She was hired by Goldman Sachs in 2010 and then by JPMorgan Chase in 2013. However, these roles never fulfilled her. Therefore, in April 2022, she made a bold decision to resign from JPMorgan and pursue a job that truly ignited her passion, particularly something creative.
A few months later, her brother introduced her to the auction app Whatnot. Sellers can live stream new and second-hand items on this platform. Kabani found herself drawn to the women’s fashion section on the platform.
Thus, she started selling clothing through live streams on Whatnot via her website zkstyles as a full-time job, with monthly earnings often exceeding $100,000.
While most sellers go live a maximum of two times a week, Kabani is different. She strives to showcase her business features on Whatnot. Firstly, she set a live streaming schedule from Monday to Friday, not unlike the typical corporate routine in the US.
Moreover, unlike many fashion influencers who simply display their products, Kabani provides fans with styling advice during the live streams. For example, when showcasing a black sweater from Macy’s, she might suggest, “You can pair it with jeans and Dr. Martens, it would look very cute.”
Her efforts paid off, and in the first month alone, she exceeded $12,000 in income.
Currently, she strictly adheres to a live stream schedule six days a week, typically starting around 7 PM Pacific time. The stream lasts between two to seven hours, depending on inventory and her own endurance.
In June 2022, when Kabani decided to dive into the selling industry, she knew she would focus on women’s fashion, as it’s her personal passion. She has always enjoyed shopping.
Growing up as an immigrant child, she was very thrifty and loved finding deals. She mentioned that her first live product show had around 50 viewers, with 20 to 30 eventually making purchases.
Having worked in sales in the finance industry for about 13 years, standing in front of the camera and discussing products came naturally to Kabani. The difference now is that she’s not selling stocks, bonds, and investments but cute shirts and trousers. “I absolutely love what I do,” she said.
After scheduling several live streams, Kabani began to see an increase in income. “My goal was not to touch my savings,” she said, “and through live streaming on Whatnot, I have achieved that.”
She explained that as the business expanded, sometimes she would ship out 2,000 items a week, necessitating her to increase sourcing. She currently uses websites like Boutique by the Box, where sellers can buy brand-name clothing in bulk from companies like Madewell and Aerie. She also collaborates directly with suppliers who inform her of brand clearance sales.
In October 2023, her monthly income exceeded $100,000 for the first time. Up to now in 2024, her income has surpassed $900,000.
Kabani’s journey echoes that of 29-year-old American woman Vienna Hintze. In 2017, Hintze graduated from Syracuse University in New York and worked in advertising and marketing for a company. Three years later, seeking a change, she set up her digital marketing agency in 2020. However, she still felt the need for more. She then came up with the idea of selling flowers from a truck, which turned out to be massively successful. This eventually led her to abandon her previous marketing business and devote all her time and energy to the flower truck business.