“Taking risks as an entrepreneur” with Hajeer Nainan | Entrepreneur & Lawyer

🚀 Join us in this riveting episode as we delve into the dynamic world of entrepreneurship with the incredible Hajeer Nainan – a seasoned entrepreneur and lawyer who has successfully navigated the highs and lows of the business landscape.

Hajeer, an entrepreneur, lawyer, and sportsperson with an insatiable drive for innovation and a passion for creating impactful change. With a keen eye for opportunities and a knack for turning ideas into successful ventures. His journey is marked by bold decisions, relentless determination, and a commitment to excellence.

From humble beginnings to founding and leading thriving businesses, Hajeer’s story inspires and motivates aspiring entrepreneurs around the globe.

I started my career with my uncle, who was conducting business in the UAE. When I finished my course in Bachelor of Law, I practiced maybe in the high court of Kerala for maybe one year, and then I went and joined him for some time.

Dee:  Interesting! I’m sorry to cut you, I have a question: you practiced it for a year and then switched to being an entrepreneur. Is there a reason why?

Hajeer: well… I never wanted to practice law, and it was more like my family and all these people. There are a lot of lawyers, and my grandfather was also one of them, so I had to do it.

It’s been quite hectic, so I made the decision that I won’t be pursuing law and will focus on businesses instead. I am heavily involved with two companies: Alam Alal, an established company where we are mainly engaged in construction activities, and Inspire, a newer company we launched in 2020. Both of these are my ventures, and I want to emphasize that Inspire was my innovation, representing exactly what we do.

Hajeer: When it comes to business, how we present ourselves to establish credibility on social media and the internet is crucial. However, there is a boundary between personal space and the public image we aim to cultivate.

Personally, I prefer to keep my social media accounts private, as I’m a private individual and do not wish to share my personal life with those who know me as an entrepreneur. This is different, though, when it comes to business. Business requires publications, marketing, and other activities that should be conducted at a different level. As an entrepreneur, I believe it’s necessary to have a presence on LinkedIn.

We are currently pursuing this initiative on our website. However, due to the constraints of our industry, we are unable to promote our services through traditional marketing channels. Instead, we rely on platforms like LinkedIn to connect with individuals and identify potential talent.

My approach is to conduct business with a risk-neutral mindset. How can we achieve this? Essentially, there’s an opportunity and a business, and if we want to seize it, there will be some level of risk and uncertainty. Concerning the question of neutralizing risk, there are both high- and low-risk areas in Kuwait. We will be operating in sustainability mode for new projects. There is minimal risk involved as we are engaging directly with major players in business and industry. This minimizes the level of uncertainty as we collaborate with multinational corporations and government entities.

And so, the minimal risk is acceptable, which is why we are establishing a company in Dubai. The risk will be higher in Dubai, but we are fully committed to pursuing business opportunities and potential partnerships with other companies. As a new venture in a new territory, our risk will naturally be elevated. However, once we are established and have projects running with a capable team in place, we aim to achieve sustainability within a few months.

In autopilot mode, the business should be self-sustaining, covering all overheads such as salaries and other expenses. Once this is achieved, minimal monitoring is required, allowing for the exploration of new opportunities. When expanding into markets like Dubai, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia, high risk is inevitable, but as an entrepreneur, risk is inherent to doing business. The focus is on minimizing risk and losses.

Dee: I would like to ask you the following question: Let’s say you decide to move a project forward for a period of time. If, for some reason, after six months the project has not generated enough revenue to cover its expenses, would you take another risk and continue, or would you consider this the red line and start looking at other potential business opportunities?

I analyze available opportunities before entering new markets. If any issues arise, I work with my team to assess the root cause and make necessary changes, whether they’re related to the business model, team, or country-specific factors, and then take the effort to establish things accordingly.

It’s amazing that your ability to recognize the right opportunity, especially as an entrepreneur, means you have a keen vision and unique gifts. The fact that you never shut down an operation is truly impressive.

Thank you so much for your answer. It has been so insightful, honestly,

Hajeer: I see challenges as opportunities to grow, and without challenges, there is no growth. This is my ideology. When a challenge arises, it is an opportunity for growth. It’s about how you approach the challenge and see it as an opportunity for self-improvement. There will be times when we may feel like it’s all over and that we won’t be able to overcome the situation or the challenge will ruin everything. However, when we set our mindset to face it regardless, that’s when true growth occurs.

Yes, I feel the need to take on challenges that I love and want to pursue. Without embracing these challenges, life would lack meaning and value for me. I thrive on challenges because they push me to outperform my previous accomplishments. Each challenge helps me evolve and realize my true self, both in business and in life

We find ourselves in situations where we realize that we may not be able to improve our circumstances or achieve better outcomes. We start to believe certain patterns that make us think, “I can’t go any further.” This exact moment is when we face challenges. We tell ourselves, “I have to do this. I don’t want a mediocre life or a regular job. I want to grow, make a name for myself, and influence others’ lives.” It’s at this point that we embrace more challenges.

Dee: For me personally like whenever I  have those days because I can relate to  it so much you know like uh nothing is  going to change you know it’s like a  huge wall it’s  like a barrier of a dam okay and there’s  a hole in it so you try to close one  hole and then the other one burst and  then you’re closing this and then the  other one burst and you’re just holding  and then you realize you know what you  can never actually stop the dam from  coming in exactly and it’s going to keep  going on and within like you said that  stress within that stress you decide  every day you know what I’m still going  to go on I’m still going to let’s say  take care of my health I’m still going  to eat right I’m still going to sleep  I’m still going to one two three and  those tiny little decisions you make  between that challenge that make all of  the difference because sometimes it’s so  overwhelming a exactly just feel like  it’s the end of the world I wish I never  did this I wish I didn’t exist you  know all of those oh my goodness

Hajeer: One fine day, you will awaken to find that everything has become irrelevant. You are good enough to face whatever comes your way. Once you make that decision, everything changes.