Not everyone can say their first job was running a mall kiosk. However, for the Mustafa sisters, owning a business is a regular thing.

“At first, it was my uncle’s business in California,” sophomore Insia Mustafa said. “We used to go there and work over winter break, but we decided to bring it to Texas where my family took over.”

In California, being allowed to take yearly trips to Disneyland and hanging out at the mall all day were what motivated the sisters to help with the family business. The family owned kiosks in several different malls within the state.

“It was really fun having a place to go everyday,” Insia said. “I got to eat whatever I wanted in the mall food court.”

The Mustafa family’s kiosk is called Globe Gardens, and sells terrariums of air plants which live off the oxygen of the environment.

“I don’t see many kiosks selling plants; it’s very unique,”  Insia said. “They are very low maintenance, so that’s what attracts a lot of people.”

Even though their family moved to Texas, they still use their suppliers located in California.

“The plants are native to South America, but our plant supplier is from Los Angeles along with our glass supplier,” Insia said. “So we buy shipments in bulk, and then buy sand and other decorations locally.”

The terrariums are custom-made so that each plant and glass case are unique.

  “I usually handle talking to the people, while my sister deals with the money,” senior Butool Mustafa said. “I convince people why they would need an air plant in their life. My mom helps with the packaging and is my right hand, while my dad handles the financial work.”

It can be challenging to keep up with the high foot traffic in Stonebriar Mall.

“Customer service is our number one priority,” Butool said. “So it’s hard to get to everyone if I have five people around my kiosk looking at products.”

It may seem expected for the sisters to stay in the family business, but it isn’t the case for the Mustafa family.

“My family is all for me getting my education and focusing on myself,” Butool said. “It’s a wonderful career for somebody who loves business, but it really takes up a whole life.”

When it came to planning for the future, both sisters agreed on their view of the future.

“I don’t see this as a life career, but more as of a fun thing to do during winter break and as a high school job,” Insia said.

Feedback is vital for the family business’s success.

“It’s a very tricky putting myself out there for people to see my products,” Butool said. “But when I see how well people respond, it’s all worth it. With no risk, there’s no gain.”

With hundreds of people coming to the mall and by the kiosk a day, they run into people they know frequently.

“I see people I knew from school and they would come up and say hi and ask questions,” Butool said. “I would tell them about the business and what we sell.”

The business sells live cacti and tillandsia that must be sprayed with water one about every two weeks.

“What really blows my mind is that some people will buy a $70 air plant and will think it’s fake,” Butool said. “It’s crazy to see how people can spend their money so freely.”

Butool uses her experience with the business to her advantage towards her collegiate future.

“I wrote one of my college essays over the business and SMU mentioned it in my acceptance letter,” Butool said. “It’s really cool to see how my hard work is going toward something.”

Even though the sisters don’t receive a paycheck, they feel rewarded for their work in the kiosk.

“There are other things that make up for not being paid,” Butool said. “We get to eat whatever we want in the mall food court, get to go on trips and, last year, both my sister and I  got laptops.”

The sisters learned from the experience that money isn’t everything.

“While my sister was working with my uncle, they offered to pay her and she declined,” Butool said. “It’s a family business so really the money is our family’s. I learned that not everything is about the money, but putting out products that I am proud of.”