Interview: Pakistan’s Top entrepreneur Abid Beli
Entrepreneur: Abid Ali
Nature of business: E-commerce Consultant
Company : Offset & Flexo
We would like you to introduce yourself briefly?
My name is Abid Beli, Entrepreneur since 18yrs, Ecommerce Consultant and Social Media Strategist; Dozens of small biz owners, entrepreneurs achieved success by following my non-traditional proven business and marketing techniques. It is my passion to help people to see things in another way that they generally would not have seen things before. I have never had a client take my advice and fail. I have worked with some of the biggest companies in Pakistan and now I am available to help you on your path to entrepreneurship. I am turning ideas into reality.
At the time of starting the business, what was your primary motivation?
I started my journey by joining my father’s construction business in early 1996. This was the start of my career which gave me several opportunities in our family businesses of plastic recycling, manufacturing & construction.
I fell in love with my future wife, and lost my lavished life when I told my parents about it. Back then, I realized that I had to start my own business to earn my own. The only person I could trust was my own self. I required investment to start my own business, I started freelance Offset & Flexo printing business with equipment support from a friend. This business proved to be a very profitable one and gave me a clientele including Konica, Siemens, PSO, Saya Industries etc. and this ultimately helped me to get married.
How can you make the company better?
In order to make my company better I groomed the skills of the people I hired and helped them to trust themselves. I took their confidence to a higher level and gave them responsibilities from time to time which made them independent. Throughout my business i tried to insist upon the fact that the people under me should work independently, which made my company better by consisting of trustworthy people.
What makes a good private equity investment?
— Unique & workable Idea with safe exit strategy
— Visionary leadership
— Scalable on nation or international level
— Strong base and an inquisitive motive
When did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
As I told you before that I started my own printing business to get married and at that time I was 20yrs old, at the age of 21 I got married and after a few months I faced a terrible loss in my printing business and as a result I closed it.
My education was intermediate which was unacceptable for a reasonable job and secondly, I belonged to a Memon community and we believed in running businesses rather than jobs. So again, I took a risk and started Pakistan’s first cybercafé in 1998 and that was the trigger to my entrepreneurship journey.
Did you have any role models when growing up?
I did not have any specific role model, but I encountered many people in the different fields and various companies which motivated me to carry out my profession as an Entrepreneur.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
— You have to be confident in your idea even if the whole world thinks it’s useless.
— Either if someone helps you or not, you should take your idea ahead
— Never Give-up and Trust your instincts
What sort of resources (not just financial) did you have when you started the venture?
— I am a true believer of ALLAH and that is the strongest resource which I have throughout my journey as an Entrepreneur
— The second recourse is that I have trust in my own self
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I would not do a love marriage just kidding. I think I’ll do the same because I am a believer of an old saying and it’s my life mantra too “Smooth roads never make good drivers! A smooth sea never makes good sailors! Clear Skies never make good pilots! Problem free life never makes a strong & good person! Be strong enough to accept the challenges of life. Don’t ask Life Why me? Instead, say Try Me!”
Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
If my future does not contain any fall, then my business will be one of the top 500 businesses of the world but I myself will not change.
In the end, Any tip or suggestion for all the young entrepreneurs out there?
Don’t be afraid of people who make you push around, because something will always make you get up. If you dream, then work towards that dream to make it happen. Be gentle with your clients and have patience and last but not the least that love humanity and respect elders.