Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashed Ahmed.
Hi Rashed, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story began in August 2014, landing as an immigrate in the United States with my family, a lifetime of savings, and a dream. Like many immigrants, I came with hope, determination, and the belief that hard work could create new opportunities.
After spending years working for other business owners, me and my family decided it was time to build something of my own – to write our own American story! That opportunity came in the form of a small, struggling print shop in Gaithersburg, Maryland. While others saw challenges, I saw potential. Taking a leap of faith, I purchased my very first business – my very own!
By focusing on aggressive marketing and a commitment to serving our customers better and faster than others, that small investment grew into something greater than I had imagined. Today, I proudly own three print businesses across the Washington, D.C. area, serving more than 100 businesses with graphic design, printing, and mailing solutions.
What started as the dream of an immigrant family has become a growing business and a testament to taking a chance on own’s own dream and capabilities, and believing in the possibilities coming from commitment to serving others in meeting their needs, everyday, consistently.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Coming to a new country and starting my very first business could not be without challenges – and there were many.
The biggest challenge was gaining confident of clients, being new in the businesses. I had to win over my own doubts if I was able to make it. Everyday, I had to face the doubt if I know enough to run the business and whether I will be able to guide my team to have the confidence on me to lead them to a greater height.
On a more operational level, learning the local rules, regulations and business requirements were a big challenge. It was not easily accessible at state level. So I stumbled a few times, learned some of them in hard ways, sometimes ending up in paying more than what I should have.
Gaining access to finances with no local credit background is another big challenge for an immigrant. I had to pay high cost to access funds, simply because I did not have enough credit history which is a faulty that comes with every immigrant. Eventually we recovered from it but initially we paid a high toll for it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I bought this business, which was going through difficult periods due to lack of drive and focus of the previous owners on client servicing, and growth through sales and marketing.
It is a B2B business model, serving small and mid sized businesses in meeting their print needs. Having a good understanding of clients’ needs and what we call “pain point’, in other words, the need they have for an easy solutions to design an items that they need, and print them with easy and highest quality is the fundamental part of our business. Once we made it our motto, we started seeing recurring clients and renewed growth for the business.
So we are known for customer services – offering our clients the easy and assurance to meet their needs. Each project is assigned to a dedicated team members, so client will not have to explain their requirements repeatedly. Through this our team gain better understanding of client needs and clients feel more confident in reaching out to us with more requests.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The biggest risk I took was buying a struggling business with all my saving, with the steadfast confidence that I will be able to turn it around. I did not know how but I knew that if I give the very best of me, I will be able to find solutions. I hired the right team who can connect with me, and belief in my ambition and mission and I let them gain their presence in the business by empowering them in decision making and bringing in new ideas, even if the idea is yet be validated. We made mistakes along the ways but as we continue to learn in everyday with every project, we made sure we deliver more successes and making mistakes.
Pricing:
- Competitive pricing but we are not the cheapest as we deliver the best.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.agshadygrove.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agshadygrove/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alphagraphics-gaithersburg/?viewAsMember=true
