An Entrepreneur Since Birth: Ahmed Raza's Journey

Welcome back to Entrepreneurs Galore! 📝

Don’t want to read? Here’s the full interview: 📺

Today we had the pleasure of sitting down with one of my oldest friends, Ahmed Raza; an entrepreneur whose journey started when he was a teenager. From jailbreaking Xbox 360 consoles in high school and flipping items on eBay to managing sub-one million dollars in a private equity fund to building a social media app; Ahmed always has had entrepreneurship in his blood.

This early start and love of entrepreneurship always compelled him to find his own ways of making money rather than the traditional 9-5. Even though he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and worked at Bank of America in New York City, Ahmed never really wanted to climb the corporate ladder forever.

Ahmed’s biggest complaint about it? Someone else was in charge of his time.

Ahmed wanted to make sure that he was in charge of his time all the time (silly pun, I know). But that was one of the biggest reasons for leaving corporate America.

Even though Ahmed is a full-time entrepreneur now, he was once upon a time working on his business projects as a side hustle while still having a full-time job. And this is something that he recommends that everyone does before quitting their job to run their business or side hustle full-time. He recommends not quitting your job right away but rather working on something on the side and when you have made it into something substantial enough THEN quit your job and work on your business full-time (if you want).

Ahmed professionally actually helps people evaluate and buy the right online businesses. His company name is Rapid Diligence and they do exactly what their name says; they do due diligence on any online business their client wants to acquire and serve as the last line of defense between the deal being done.

This obviously comes with some very heavy responsibilities since most of the time he is dealing with people’s life savings and Ahmed was kind enough to share some advice with us on what businesses to potentially pursue and some pieces of advice:

1️⃣ Look for something that has a positive cash flow. While buying a business that is sinking may be cheaper, it’ll take a lot of effort to turn it around and make it profitable and is probably more work than you can fathom.

2️⃣ Don’t buy a business that is “trendy” buy something that has been around for a number of years. Stay away from businesses that are based on dropshipping and trendy products like fidget spinners.

3️⃣ When buying a business, please don’t try to change everything when you become the new owner. This will disrupt the already existing employees’ lives and can affect your bottom line right away. If you have just bought a business, come in as a learner and deem the employees as the experts as they have been around this company longer than you have. Leave your ego out the door and just LEARN, LEARN, and LEARN.

One of the other things that we discussed is how tough it actually is to be an entrepreneur; Ahmed and I both agreed that entrepreneurship is not all sunshine and rainbows or Lamborghinis and travel destinations. Being an entrepreneur is HARD. It is time-consuming and the life that you are shown on social media is not accurate. There is a lot of hard work that one has to put in to be successful and one might not see the return of their efforts months or even years down the line.

With this grueling and work-filled journey, you have to understand what your “why” is. Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Why do you want to build this idea of yours? It is very important and almost necessary to know why you are doing something. And the stronger your why is, the more likely you are going to continue through when times get tough.

You have to be patient and consistent but according to Ahmed, it is extremely rewarding.

To hear more of Ahmed’s thoughts on life, business, entrepreneurship, therapy, mindset, and just some jokes all in between, make sure to check out the full interview on YouTube.

If you’re interested in buying a business and want some expert help, make sure to reach out to Ahmed and his team at Rapid Diligence:

Website, Twitter 

Stay tuned for more engaging interviews and valuable insights from Entrepreneurs Galore. Remember, the entrepreneurial path is brimming with limitless possibilities, and you possess the potential to make a meaningful impact. 🚀

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