Hassan Mahmood: The road to success is never easy

With most people opting for self-employment, entrepreneurship is no longer a new term.

In order to start and run a business, one must be well conversant with the industry and learn strategic ways of approaching the market space.

Hassan Mahmood, one of the leading entrepreneurs with a convenience store, subway franchise, and gas station, shares why originality and planning are important in a business's success. His family has been in the retail business for over 40 years, which gives him an advantage when it comes to an understanding of the industry. His goal is to have his brand of convenience stores and fuel industries and to be able to open branches across various states. He is also considering venturing into real estate.

According to Hassan Mahmood, having a business plan will keep you focused on your goals. Also, it makes it easier to calculate the capital required and attract investors to fund your business. A business plan generally helps an entrepreneur test feasibility of the business. Hassan advises start-up entrepreneurs to have a business plan in place as it will be a major driving force for the business.

Conduct market research, as it will help you understand your customers better. The research helps in identifying the market gap, which will give you easier penetration into the industry. Hassan emphasises coming up with unique products and exemplary customer services, which helps the business stand out. Being original is what you do to increase your creativity, thus coming up with ideas no one has.

The road to success is never easy and, as they say, it is better to fail in originality than succeed in imitation. Failures in businesses are normally there but what matters after that is your courage as an entrepreneur to keep moving forward. Hassan says, throughout the 40 years, they have had setbacks but their resilience is what has seen them grow.

Proper planning helps manage cash as you will be able to account for each cent spent. In his business, Hassan Mahmood has a plan that helps analyse the business's performance, the milestones achieved, and how it’s adapting to the industry, among others. With this plan, he is able to suggest changes that will positively affect the growth of the business.

The employment industry is a bit overwhelming and involves a lot of pressure, considering Hassan Mahmood`s take on entrepreneurship. The importance of planning and originality in starting and operating any business is much easier once you understand the industry and come up with a proper plan.

(Disclaimer- This is a Brand desk content)