I left college after studying advanced business and got straight into mobile phone sales, after reaching accolades of best sales person in the area I looked for a career in recruitment.
At the age of 18 I wrote my first business plan and at 22 I set up my first business in the medical recruitment sector. The business was a massive success which led to the inception of our first company under the Emporious Group and since then 3 more.
When did you decide that you wanted to become an entrepreneur?
As I said I wrote my first business plan at the age of 18, so I would say that was the age when I made a definitive decision to go into business, however even before that I had this ability to look at a business like a website, restaurant or a retail store and see what I would do which would make it better. I think that ability coupled with an extra high level of curiosity, made me fit for only one thing.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Creating new things, I love building new businesses; nothing is more exciting to me than that. This also includes taking a talented individual and helping them become a great sales person and then to a great director; to me that also part of creation. I also love getting involved in new ideas especially web related, this is why online marketing is something I take a great interest in.
What was the most difficult part in getting started?
Finding the right people I would say is by far the most difficult thing to do, and in my opinion is the fundamental difference between success and failure. I could not have hoped for a better board of directors at Emporious, we got that absolutely perfect. We have all the support and guidance we need and we have an extremely high level of trust across the entire senior management team. However our difficulties in the past have been finding the right people at the ground level so to speak. In hiring recruitment consultants we have unfortunately had some issues with people who can talk the talk, but not walk the walk. To solve this issue, we now have our own assessment centers were we find our own talent and we no longer hire recruiters; we train our own people, instilled with our values and ethics.
What is the top skill (or skills) needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Vision and clarity of purpose, there is no shortage in this world of people who either have no idea what they want or have too many ideas of what they want to do, in my view one should never have more than 3 goals at a time and then plan the execution of your goals down to the smallest detail, so the vision of your goals is as clear as day in your mind.
Once you have got that the second most important skill for a successful entrepreneur is to implement your goals with persistence, passion and steel like focus. You must be very resilient in order to never submit to failure and overcome any obstacles that come in your way, take decisive action at every turn on your journey to success in order to avoid procrastination.
Finally strike while the iron is hot, momentum is everything; this will carry you further than anything else, when the opportunity is there and the hunger from within is there… strike! Do not delay, do not wait, success goes to those who take it.
What motivates you and/or keeps you motivated?
I am blessed with a great deal of self belief so unlike most entrepreneurs, the fear of failure does not drive me. I think for me it’s about being the best you can be, I want to reach my full potential, and I believe that once I am there I will know I have done the best I can and then I would look to add value to the world in a different way. I cannot think of anything worse than to look back at your life knowing you could have been so much more than you are.
What do you think is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Easy answer, self motivation! Every single entrepreneur I have even known or read about is a self starter they do not need to be motivated by anyone else and they are harder on themselves than anyone else. In my view, those people who are likely to stop working hard as soon as the boss walks out the door can never be entrepreneurs.
What has been one of your failures, and what have you learned from it?
There is a thin line between having self belief and being arrogant. The second you start believing your own hype you’re in trouble. That happened to me once and cost me dearly, since then I have promised myself to never let my ego convince me that I am better than everyone else and never think I cannot fail. Real success comes from humility I know that now.
Jack Welsh once said that "An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage." What are your thoughts on that quote?
I agree, especially in the information age if we are not getting better we are getting worse. Knowledge is power and in this age the organizations that continuously learn new things and implement them will always be ahead of the game.
Greg Norman once said that “Our success is a direct result of knowing how to market a brand and having the right people representing the brand.” What are your thoughts on what quote?
Absolutely, especially in my experience, my greatest successes have come from creating new and exciting brands and finding great people to lead them.
Albert Einstein once said “I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.” What are your thoughts on what quote?
Again I agree, in my view that is exactly how entrepreneurs think, in observing facts of today one is only observing the result of past thoughts and actions, for us as a species to move forward we must constantly challenge what is impossible today to make is possible tomorrow.
Excluding yours, what business or company do you admire?
The Sthree Group is a phenomenal success in the professional services recruitment sector, we could all learn a lot from them. Michael Page and Harvey Nash are also great companies that I think lead the way in innovation within the recruitment industry. Outside recruitment the Virgin Group and of course Google are phenomenal businesses.
What was the most crucial thing you have done to grow your business?
Find the right people, if I could do only one thing in my business to add value. It would be talent acquisition. Find great people, find what motivates them and give them the opportunity to achieve it. I would put looking after your people, inspiring trust and unleashing talent to be at the top of the list of priorities of any good CEO.
What advice would you give an entrepreneur who is just starting out?
1) Plan what you want and why do you want it, your reasons have to be strong enough to withstand the barrage of obstacles that will come your way. In my view wanting to be an entrepreneur just for the purpose of getting rich is not a strong enough motive to survive the journey ahead.
2) Find out what resources you need to be successful and then go find them, if you need a mentor go get one, if you need finance go get it, whatever you need is available for you and is easier to obtain then you think. If you have a good enough plan and a good enough reason to succeed then there is no shortage of people who will gravitate towards you and support you.
3) Focus, many entrepreneurs suffer from the curse of too many ideas. A good idea is a like a belly button, everybody has one. Once you have thorough planned what you want, and you have the resources to implement it, then apply steel like focus with relentless passion and do not stop until you have reached your goal
4) The time is now, if you can achieve the above then the final thing I can advise is just go for it, do not procrastinate do not allow fear or doubt to paralyze you. It is always better to have tried and failed then to have never tried at all.
Company Description:
Emporious Plc is an investment company supporting start-ups within the professional services recruitment industry. Our foundations are built on the principles of inspiring and supporting people to achieve excellence. We offer investment, start up and strategic support to ambitious, motivated individuals and groups who want guidance in taking the very difficult leap from employee to employer
Website:
www.emporious.com
www.midasmedicalrecruitment.com
Interview with Affi Khan
