Key Idea #1: Focus On One Idea At a Time
Ahmad says he can't resist a good idea. It is
the entrepreneur's fire, but it can cause problems.

Topic for discussion: Have you ever met a person who is all ideas and no action?

Answer: If the answer is "yes" you probably met a person who has never started a business. Just thinking about something gets us no where but frustrated. Most business owners are like Ahmad and have to continuously weigh ideas to decide if they are worth investing time, money and attention to develop. The plague of too many ideas is that it can take us off path so that we never complete or succeed at anything. Fortunately for Ahmad, he stuck with Omnex until it was able to generate the cash needed to start other ventures and to buy real estate.

You think about it: Are you able to stay the course until you achieve difficult goals?

Key Idea #2: Start Someplace With a fresh college degree in accounting, Ahmad took a job for $5 an hour and he felt blessed. You might think that Ahmad settled for less than he could have gotten had he set higher goals for himself. We met the man who paid Ahmad $5 an hour and we're confident that this was as much as the nonprofit organization could afford at the time. It was the mission of the organization that drew Ahmad in, not the pay.

This turning point in Ahmad's life was critical and we learn from his that who and what he was involved with is more important to him than money. Over and over again we find here at Small Business School that people who are focused on a worthy mission can accomplish great things in their lives and that has proved to be true for Ahmad. After working for the nonprofit for a few years he decided that to provide for his family he needed to earn more money and he is a wealthy man today. However, by being willing to work for a good cause and a small amount of money he got training and experience which he used as a stepping stone to become a business owner.

Topic for Discussion: Why would anyone with a college degree take such a low-paying job?

Answer: Colleges graduates can be as young as 21 years old. They may be single and still living at home with their parents. They may be still trying to figure out what path their lives should take. Who a young person is around is more important than how much money they make. The mentoring and friendships gained by spending time early with good, hardworking people will do the young person more good than money.

You think about it: How would your life be different if you would have focused on spending time with good people working on a worthy cause rather than just making money? Who would you like to spend time with now? Who could teach and inspire you?

Key Idea #3: Recognize Opportunity In his $5 an hour job Ahmad saw the struggle his fellow immigrants were having learning how to play by the rules in a new country. He spent many volunteer hours before he was able to find enough clients who could afford to pay for his services. After putting in 40 hours a week at his job, Ahmad would help people with their tax returns and other paperwork associated with immigration and American citizenship. He recruited other accountants to help him on weekends.

Topic for Discussion: What made him think these new Americans would ever be able to pay for his services?

Answer: Ahmad was convinced that immigrants come willing to work hard to make a life for their families. He understood the loyalty he could engender and he was happy with his life as he worked toward his own goals. Some of his clients could barely speak English while some were born in the US, however, the bond shared by Ahmad and his customers is their heritage. In 1987 the Arab-American community in Dearborn didn't have many wealthy folks so he decided that all Arab-speaking Amercians needed help and that they could pay something eventually.This instinct paid off for Ahmad. More and more of his clients are growing substantial companies and they are loyal to the person who did their tax return for free when they were unable to pay.

What do you think? What could you accomplish if you gave yourself 20 years to achieve your goal? Why do you think Americans are so impatient?

Topic for Discussion: How did Ahmad build such a strong accounting practice?

Answer: He did not compete with existing firms. He did work for clients others could not or would not serve. It became clear to Ahmad that he could build an accounting practice by simply focusing on Arab-speaking Americans. Also, he was patient. He stuck with clients who were working hard and as their income increased, Ahmad's did too.

There are thousands of accountants and they all have the same training. By sticking to serving the Arab-speaking community, Ahmad found his unique selling proposition. The only way for a small company to grow is to have a unique product or service. All tax forms are alike. By law, all Americans earning income have to file a tax return and many do this on their own. With the language barrier faced by most immigrants and their desire to do things right, Ahmad had a group of potential clients who were thrilled and relieved to have him by their side.

In conversations that didn't make it into this episode, we learned from Ahmad that older Arab-Americans recommend Ahmad to their sons and daughters. Because in their culture the parents are respected and obeyed, Ahmad has dozens of clients he probably wouldn't have if his practice was an ordinary one. So parent pressure has helped to build Omnex.

Topic for Discussion: Would Ahmad be as successful today if he had left the Arab-American community?

Answer: We would say, "yes." The discipline and focus we know he developed just to be able to make a living in the US would have taken him to the top of any corporation and probably to the top in any field he would have chosen.

You think about it: What could you accomplish if you committed to serve people who are not now being served? Where is that niche you could serve?

Key Idea #5: Work On Your Entire Ecosystem All of us need an enivronment in which to exist. When you step back and see how you will grow your business, it probably has much to do with your local economy, the school systems, the tax structure, the traffic patterns and dozens of details you as a business owner could influence.

Topic for Discussion: How is Ahmad working on the big picture of his business?

Answer: First of all he is an organizer. Working with a few close friends, he lead the effort to form the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce. He knows the elected officials and lobbies them on behalf of the neighborhood causes. They are listened to at City Hall and there are new plans for paint to spruce up buildings, parking to accommodate customers and plantings to make Warren Street look more attractive.

Second, he is a visionary. His goal is for Warren Street to become a destination. When he arrived on Warren Street it was run down and did not have a good reputation. Rather than assume it would stay unattractive, he set a goal to change it for the better. We know that Ahmad and Michelle are building a new home in the neighborhood even though many Arab-Americans move to the traditionally affluent parts of Detroit when they become wealthy. Ahmad has a long-range goal to impact the ecosystem of Omnex.

You think about it: What is the ecosystem in which you operate? What impact do you have on it now? What action can you take to improve it?

Key Idea 6: Find Ways To Help Your Customers Succeed Ahmad teaches us that you only succeed when your customers do. This means many things and includes fair pricing of your goods and services, sensitivity to a customer's deadlines, understanding the pressures your customers face, etc.

We said that Ahmad does more than number-crunching for his clients. He's a business advisor. He helps them value their assets, tangible and intangible. He shows them how they compare to others in the same industry. He provides real estate cost-analysis, employee wage and benefits data. He puts a bankers with clients who are ready to expand. While many accountants think about giving advice, most do not. They tend to think it is not their place unless asked. Ahmad thinks about every client's company as if it were his own. When he sees a way for the client to grow or save money or meet the right people, Ahmad is the catalyst.

Topic for Discussion: Why don't more of us do more for our clients?

Answer: We're too busy with our own company. We're afraid to stop to take the time to help. We think our ideas won't be useful or that our ideas might cause the client problems so we play it safe and only do what we are asked to do.

You think about it: What bold service and or gesture of kindness could you deliver to your clients? How could you really impact the profits of your customers?

Key Idea #7: Diversify Carefully This is very tricky and we have never suggested this here at Small Business School. With a company as small as OMNEX, we would not have thought the owner could execute as Ahmad has.

Topic for Discussion: Why is Ahmad able to run his real estate, imaging and magazine businesses without doing harm to OMNEX?

Answer: He is smart, business-saavy, he gave himself time to solidify OMNEX and he is a strong leader. At each of his companies we found talented people who are able to work with little day-to-day direction. Ahmad sets the agenda and the tone then lets others deploy. However, it took him years to get to this level and he used profits from OMNEX to fund his expansions.

You think about it: What business could you start that would not distract and at the same time help your core business?

Key Idea #8: Grow Your Own Team Teaching young people to do things your way is probably easier than teaching workers who have many fixed patterns. You can have success hiring and teaching older workers who come from a different work experience also! For example, hire a retired school teacher to run your customer service department .

Topic for Discussion: Would this idea apply to every business owner?

Answer:After you have put in place good pay and benefits, of course this will work for any company. No matter what business you are in, things are changing and employees have to be taught how to deal with new technology or new ways of doing things.

We have already said that there are thousands of trained accountants and Ahmad has decided Omnex does best when he is recruiting young people right out of college. We heard this also at Mir Fox Rodriguez, the accounting firm we studied located in Houston. This means Ahmad must be a teacher and you heard many of his employees say that he is indeed an excellent teacher. If you want to build a company, it is more important to be a teacher than a boss.

You think about it:What can you do to become a better teacher?

Key Idea #9: Be The Person You Want Your Employees To Be If you don't like your employees or how they are doing things, look at yourself. Every business is a reflection of its leader. Period. The team you build will be like you because subconsciously you hire people like yourself. The way you get better as a team then is to work on yourself.

Topic for Discussion: Does this mean that an employee doesn't add much to the mix?

Answer: No. It's just that bad leadership has the power to undo good work done by good people and good leadership can mask poor performance in the trenches. Position power is so strong that you can't build a business without the right person at the top. This is why many business owners remove themselves when the company they are trying to grow stalls.

You think about it: Do you respect your employees as human beings? Are you the person who can grow your business? If your business is stuck, what can you do to work on yourself? Find a mentor or coach? Take a class? Go to therapy?

Key Idea #10: Set Goals And Measure Yourself Against Them The progress Ahmad has made in his life is attributed to this old but not tired idea. We said that Ahmad inspires us. Where would he be if he had not set goals for himself? He would still be a busboy in Chicago. He had no one to teach, guide or mentor him and he had responsibility for his brother.

Topic for Discussion: Why is it so easy for the business owner not to set goals?

Answer: Because we have no one we have to report to! We can set goals for employees and hold them accountable but that is actually easier than setting goals for ourselves. Ahmad never lets up. He doesn't rest. He keeps on keeping on. That is why in just twenty years he has accomplished so much.

You think about it: Where would you like to be one year from now? Tip: Put Ahmad in your thoughts and use him as your goal-setting mentor.

Key Idea #11: Ask Customers What They Think Texas Jet is not the best at what they do by accident. Note: See the entire episode we did on this company to learn much more about its extraordinatry customer service.

Topic for Discussion: What does Texas Jet do to make it easy for customers to provide the company with ideas?

Answer: Every pilot who stops in to re-fuel is mailed a thank you note along with a customer survey card. The survey is printed on a card with return postage paid. The response rate is 33%! This is an amazing percentage and we think it is due to the simplicity of the process. The pilot first is flattered because of the thank you note then asked to check some boxes and maybe write a sentence or two. The pilot doesn't have to find an envelope or a stamp either.

The big problem with most customer feedback is it either takes too long or it looks like it is going to take too long. As we all know: perception is reality. If your system for acertaining how customers think is bulky, complicated and time-consuming you're dead in the water.

You think about it: What do you do now to illicit customer thinking? What could you do to improve it? If you don't do it, why not? Should you?

We invite your comments, suggestions and questions.

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