“If you sell one, you can sell 10. If you can sell 10, you can sell 100. If you can sell 100, and it goes on. That has been my entrepreneurial philosophy. So to anyone listening to anyone who’s interested about entrepreneurship, sell one. Don’t be concerned about selling a million.” – Dr Sassan Dieter Khatib-Shahidi
Dr Sassan’s story is incredible. From fleeing a revolution, to searching for truth through politics, to becoming an Attorney at Law, and finally becoming an entrepreneur – the twists will leave you in awe.
He has managed to grow German Imaging Technologies (GIT) for 24 years, despite these stats being stacked against him:
The average age of a business: 14 years
The % of businesses that reach $1M in annual revenue: 5%
The % of business that exceed $5M: 0.6%
GIT has become a printing solutions powerhouse in the Middle East and in Africa, while facing challenges like a paperless economy, a pandemic that shut down offices and numerous low-priced competitors.
It’s not easy being in the top 0.6%.
As I do with my guests, Dr Sassan and I travelled across a wide variety of topics, but the most beneficial part of this interview is when he delivered a short masterclass on how to set OKRs, you wouldn’t want to miss that.
Apart from that, we talked about:
00:15:26 🤔 Identifying A players and C players
00:20:01 💖 Loving to solve the challenges of business
00:36:28 ❌ Failure is not an option (unless it’s a controlled experiment)
00:45:59 🤝 Importance of being transparent to your employees
01:01:11 💰 Focus on selling one first
01:09:10 😊 Leading people with a smile
01:16:15 💡 Setting the right vision and purpose
01:23:11 🌟 Understanding and defining the North Star
01:34:33 🪖 Revolution in 1978 that changed Dr. Sassan family’s life
What I love about Dr Sassan is that he’s sharp in business, but yet works hard to remain spiritually grounded – I wish I’d recorded our coffee conversation after the interview for you guys to hear. He’s got the German efficiency mixed in with Buddhist concept of accepting suffering – it’s a real fun mix, he’s really quite a treat to share a room with.
I don’t think there was a single dull moment in the whole interview, and I can’t wait for you to listen to it!
Where to find the podcast:
▶️ YouTube
🎙 Spotify
🎙 Apple Podcasts
🎙 Google Podcast
Where to find Dr. Sassan:
💼 LinkedIn
📸 Instagram
💼 Business LinkedIn
📱 Business Facebook
📸 Business Instagram
🐣 Business Twitter
▶️ Business YouTube
🌐 Business Website – German Imaging Technologies (GIT) Dubai LLC
Where to find me:
📸 IG: @the.naeem.parvez
📸 IG: @myfirstbusinesspodcast
💼 LinkedIn
🖥 Website
This episode is brought to you by Entrepreneur’s Organization – U.A.E.
EO U.A.E. is a community which provides an effective platform for networking, education, and support to business owners and entrepreneurs in the country.
Established in 1997, the organization currently has 119 members from a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, oil & gas, real estate, hospitality, jewelry, communications, logistics, travel, and more.
With an economy that changes on a dime, it can be hard to know what your next move should be. That’s where EO comes in with their support.
Being a member of EO UAE provides access to:
-workshops
-social events
-learning opportunities
-networking
-learning from experts in different types of field
The organization also offers a mentorship program that pairs members with experienced business leaders who can provide guidance and support as they grow their businesses.
So if you are a business owner, tired of taking on your challenges all alone and are looking for unique networking opportunities along with structured support through accountability groups and mentors, this community is for you.
To learn more on how to become a member, visit https://eodubai.com/ or reach out to EO UAE Administrator admin@eodubai.com.
Details about the EO membership:
https://eodubai.com/member-benefits-new/apply-for-membership-new/
