One Stop Shop..

Stepping out from the corporate scene to look at the issues and problems of expatriate communities here, I find so many little problems and concerns in people. Those that are never addressed. I also find people lost when searching for solutions to those issues.
From a simple thing like finding reliable domestic staff to getting closure to a case of abuse, many suffer quietly.
Not that the government would not help. They would, if only they knew. Language barriers and simply the wrong perceptions about how and what authorities can do or not creates this barrier and gap.
ASCS will now operate on all levels. From the smallest of tasks to the biggest projects.
this decision was taken keeping in mind two things:
1. The large number of untrained, jobless and ‘purchasers’ of ‘free’ visa expatriates that have become an issue.( Please note, free visa is not authorized by the Saudi Government. It is illegal.)
2. Employment for Saudis. Because of our launch of ‘Wakeel Sharai’ and ‘General Services’, at least 10 locals are immediately hired.
This also enables us to bring cases to light in front of authorities.

My personal objective is to create and promote as many SMEs as possible to counter unemployment. I am very happy that because of this action, three new small local companies have been formed by our Saudi employees. They will now act as our agents and associates. Thus, the ASCS policy of: no competition, just cooperation.

Wish us luck..and call:)

The new ASCS Look..

ASCS website is being redone to include newer services and will be more interactive and dynamic.

This change comes with a new logo.

New from ASCS

Companies that operate in Saudi Arabia cannot say much about their human resources departments because each one faces a variety of issues and grey areas they spend lots of money on to get through.

Almost every single corporation is suffering from a number of issues they frankly cannot get out of. They just keep paying for them to remain minor, manageable issues and not gigantic problems that destroy business eventually.

ASCS has finally launched it’s ‘wakeel sharai’ service to guarantee smooth running of the HR department of any company, any scale…Finally!

With a large group of Saudi experts, expeditors and legal advisors, ASCS is able to resolve any issues corporates may face in Saudi Arabia.

What do you want?

Everyone wants success, money and excellence in their life. Some want it to belittle others. Some want it because they fear exposure and vulnerability. Some want it to do noble things. Intention. We want, we have a goal but what is the intention behind it? This is a question you must ask yourself when you set out to achieve these goals. What is your INTENTION of being self-employed or owning a business. Just to make money is not a bad intention. To judge an intention, you need a criterion. You choose that criterion. God help you if you chose the wrong one though!

Now, in business , we want to own companies and run setups that ARE successful and excellent. We have many models of the perfect business setup. We have many examples. We copy strategy and we adopt systems. However, we often do not find success even when we replicate the system of a successful company. Why does that happen? One reason is that company XYZ is a known brand and we are not. Another is that the owners had a vision we do not. So, copying a setup or going by a text-book maybe an option but not always a good one.

Recently, someone told me that for them success is ensuring strong clients and regular clients. I argue that this is an objective and success is a goal. Do not mix the two. Someone may not have very strong clients and many clients, yet they may be more successful depending on their criteria of success. The reason why I would not talk about my criteria for success or my vision is because I would not want anyone to adopt it. I would rather have each person DISCOVER and UNVEIL their own definitions and goals and then make them come true. What I have may look great, but it may not be what you want or need. Our minds are different. Each one of us is unique. So, how can I educate anyone in business with my own experience. My experience was strictly mine.

My experience, however, was given to me so that I can go to the depth of the mind and define the starting point in business. And, that is universal and not specific to me.

Business processes, marketing , strategy, operations and displays are not rocket science. Any tom , dick and harry can adopt those or even create those. It is Intention and then Goals/ missions. When these are defined, objectives become obvious and the strategy reveals itself. That is the magic of life. I can tell you from now, the TOP business owners of this world did what they WANTED because they believed they could have and they INTENDED well.  You will see that these people also became the biggest investors in Humanitarian causes around the world. Whereas, just the money minded, strategy copy cats and show offs DID achieve some level of success but disappeared after a while or went totally broke because of some law suit. Do you see the simplicity of Donald Trump? I do.

When you set out to earn a living in this world through either a job or a business – discover yourself and define your goals and missions first and ask yourself WHY these are your goals and missions. I would even go to the depth of asking you to ask yourself : Why do I want a million dollars? Do I want to have a lot of money or do I just love being independent financially? HONESTY with the self. All these WHY’s will get you answers. These answers will bring about definitions and clarity and remove the nonsense and illusions. And that is growth. Whatever you own will not grow , until you do.

So, What do you want?

Risk Management

I have been dealing with a very rich person for 7 months. I have been advising him of investment opportunities and showing him the way to make his money move so that he benefits and others benefit. But, this man fears too much. He wants a risk free business. There is , of course, no such thing.

After many months of frustration and patience, I advised this gentlemen to put all his money in a trunk and sit on it and until he dies. There is no other solution for him!

Fear of loss enables us to manage risk sometimes, but this same fear can cause the loss too. Risk management should be renamed and called “fear management”. Fear is part of intelligence and it remains undefined. The few people who have been able to define it , have been able to overcome it. And those that overcome fear find themselves in the position to decide outcomes.

I am trying to develop a course which would enable investors to make the RIGHT decisions and not base decisions ONLY on reports and numbers presented to them.

Unethical

I can guarantee , point out and show plenty of proof that MOST companies are filled with unethical people. People they have trusted and delegated authority to. This is common in the Middle East and South Asia. Why?

It has a lot to do with social setup, requirements and the ever-growing rat race. Few people have the grace, strength and honor to be completely honest, do their job properly and fairly, take their salary and go home happy. Very few. I have met only some. Everyone else wants to make money from their own companies in any way they can , even if it mean the company faces loss.

There are two reasons for this:

1. People compete with people they should not be competing with

2. People want to own things they cannot really own

3. People are no longer realistic, original or creative

4. Everyone is after one thing: Money.

A perfect recipe for a failed society. Doctors, teachers, engineers, manager and all other professionals focusing on what the finance guy should be working on: Money. Quality of service has gone down. Quality of people has gone down. And, this affects the most vital resource of any nation. Human Resource. An unethical human resource is what we are left with. Money hungry people willing to do anything for more money. The wild west was better!

 

Detachment and Creation..

Yes, have not written here for a long time. That is because there is not much business news to share. Also, I have been pretty disgusted here.

You create a business. It becomes successful. And, then one day you realize that all you do is accounting. You just count how much you make and how much you spend. And, that gets pretty depressing. Especially for a creative person.

I do love to make money. Lots of it. Money is a means. I love to spend. I love to buy things and I love to give to those who need it. I love to invest in people. That is why I need money. But, I love to create things too. I have ideas. MANY. I have also declared many times, invest with me – YOU WILL NOT LOSE. And, I have proven it many times over. Alhamdulilah!

What disgusted me though is the general business atmosphere of Riyadh now. Very standard activities. Nothing creative. Nothing OUTSTANDING happening. Nothing new. Just the same services with a different face. The same talks. The same meetings. The same old…

The corporate world is starting to bore me too. Too much frustration and anger amongst people. Too much corruption. What has happened is that people are not happy with whatever they make. They want more. So, an employee getting 30K a month wants 50K a month. He wants to be a businessman AND keep his job too. Fair? No. What about that guy who created a business from SCRATCH? He never had a salary. The employee cannot compare himself to the owner. Period. You want to be owner? Resign and create a business. Don’t have the guts? Be happy with your salary. Otherwise, you will make a monkey of yourself soon. And , many do. Then they get fired.

So, looking at all this disgusting behavior of educated idiots of society, I become very disgusted. And, in this condition, there is only one thing to do. Detach from everything.

But Lo and Behold! In being detached, newer and more creative business ideas emerge in the mind…

Yes sir.. will be launching something new..:)

Unhealthy!

Though the Middle East is blessed with many resources, there is one thing that totally destroys the goodness of it all. Racial Discrimination. And, even though all this discrimination and prejudice does not really affect individuals if they are destined to be successful, it does create a lot of tension at work places and in discussions.

The greatest prejudice is IN the ARABS  against each other. Tribal differences, regional differences , ancient conflicts and so many other things remain a part of their mentality while doing business and it shows somehow.” Oh , he is Palestinian, be careful”.. ” oh, he is egyptian, watch out”.. “oh , he is Sudanese, he is lazy”.. from such insignificant remarks to complete wars and conflicts that destroy the positivity in the work place.

I really do not care where someone is from, what tribe they belong to , how many battles their forefathers won, what their color or race is.. I don’t even care if they are arab, indian, short, tall or tiny!.. I care about the ability, productivity and performance of a person. I care about their contribution to a setup and I feel rewards should be accordingly. Only this sort of perception will create good working environments.

I urge company owners to make it a part of their policy that Discrimination and Prejudice will be punished by one thing: Termination of contract!

I will do so.

Investors

Everyone that is spending money in KSA is an investor in KSA. Any person that is paying for an Iqama from his pocket, spending on visas , renting a house, paying for bills and spending on transport in the country is an investor.

Let us now admit and realize that this has become a capitalist society. Your expenses, buying power and potential to spend is what categorizes you.

I think it is about time that people get the service they PAY for.

ASCS, my works and activities bring good amounts of money into the kingdom. We have many Saudis on our payroll. We are contributing to this economy and society. And, our financial activity is transparent. This means, all transactions are bank transactions and so easily traceable. No grey areas in our work.

Let us just say that if we spent half of what we spend here in ANY other country, we would get a 5 star status.

Every expatriate that is spending money here is an investor. They should have these privileges:

1. No exit-reentry – a person should be able to come and go as many times as they want during the validity of their Iqama

2. No sponsor : Visa and stay should be granted on financial capability and dependence analysis ( is the expatriate dependent on sponsor or is the Sponsor financially dependent on the expatriate.. in most cases the sponsor is 100% dependent on the expatriate)

3. Longer Iqama status.  Investors and Spenders in KSA should not be pestered constantly with renewals. Thus, duration of iqama should be at least 3- 5 years.

Fair ENOUGH?

Western Union – Challenges

 

Soon, Western Union may not enjoy the position it has been enjoying in KSA for some years. Two reasons:

1. Insufficient Marketing Personnel

2. Other money transfer services

Banks that could have been agents or ARE agents of the Western Union service in KSA are now seeking to have their own remittance and money transfer services. They are planning on their own brands now. Also, existing agents such as Enjaz are putting more stress on their own services while holding the WU agency in KSA.

In the early years of WU relaunch in KSA, they feared Moneygram. In some time, this competition was no longer here. But, now, it is back.

Solution? We have it, of course.