Imran is helping small businesses reach 6 figure growth in just 12 months! Their success is what drives him and his business.
What’s your story?
I am an author, entrepreneur, coach, husband, father and your number one fan. My personal mission with my business Street Smart University and our brands is to empower one million lives for more wealth, freedom and happiness. I also coach solopreneurs to add six figures in under twelve months for more impact, independence and income.
What excites you most about your industry?
Education has been democratised – where information used to be scarce and expensive, we’re in an age of over information. Seeing people’s lives change through our programs, events and consulting work is what I love.
What’s your connection to Asia?
I’m born and bred in Singapore. My ancestry originates from south China and Java. My wife is Vietnamese and lives with me in Singapore. We love travelling and also conducting business around Asia – I personally have run events and spoken in several cities in Asia including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Bali and I look forward to many more.
Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
My favourite city for business is still my home town, Singapore. It’s very accessible to travel and connect to and it’s a great place for anybody to enter Asia because of it’s speed, it’s proficiency with English and the connectivity to businesses and markets big and small.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best piece of advice I have received is to go straight to a mentor or advisor who has done and is currently doing what they want to achieve and get advice, pay to learn, or partner with a mentor to get your results in the fastest way.
Who inspires you?
Entrepreneurs who go out to make a difference. I understand the demands of business, clients, family, social life, personal life and the stresses that solopreneurs or small business owners face. It can be a lonely and taxing journey and the reason they do it is because they believe in something bigger than themselves and want to take care of their family and community. These people inspire me!
What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
I spent some time with celebrity internet entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk in Sydney and also invited him to Singapore to talk. He shared why he was able to grow businesses SO FAST – he took his family wine business from $3M a year to $60M and his media company in 4 years to $100M a year from scratch. He talked about a concept called attention arbitrage – which is knowing where your audience is focusing their attention on, which is new and cheap because all your competition is not focusing their attention there. An example would be Gary pouncing on Google ads when it first came out – and paying as low as 5 cents a click for all the wine keywords. Today people pay upwards of $10 per click – meaning the cost per lead has gone up 200 to 300 times. Another example is, brands are spending huge budgets on Facebook to build up a fanpage only to realise that they don’t have access to their list. Their organic reach is somewhere from 1 to 3% of their list. Brands that build on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat enjoy 100% organic reach as the platforms are not as mature. Just understanding where the trends of attention are going and the context of these platforms to engage your audience allows you to create quantum leaps of engagement.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would create a clear picture of success in my head and know why I want to achieve it. I would then go straight to a mentor and figure out whatever way to work with him or her and I would obsessively focus on my business 100% to get it off the ground – revenue first.
How do you unwind?
My primary mode of unwinding every day is good exercise and meditation. Sweating it out and creating headspace is super important for me to keep grounded and maintain my priorities in business and life! I also love cooking, massages, music and intimate conversations with my family and friends.
Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
Da Nang, Vietnam. I fell in love with the city when I went there for my honeymoon. It’s Vietnam’s 3rd largest city, without the chaos and pollution of Ho Chi Minh City. It happens to have a beautiful river running through the city. Twenty kilometers of unspoilt and empty beaches and also mountains by the bay. Absolutely beautiful, perfect weather and a perfect place to relax and not meet tonnes of people.
Everyone in business should read this book:
I love the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. While not everybody aims to be a lifehacker or freedom entrepreneur, the techniques he shares in this book outline the new reality that entrepreneurs live in. Internet, attention arbitrage, price arbitrage can create significant advantages and freedoms that weren’t available just 10 years ago. Anybody can very quickly create wealth and win high-paying clients while running a remote team based in the Philippines. This is not only available for huge global companies who set up whole call centres in countries like the Philippines or India, but it is also now available to the solopreneur, allowing him to create leverage, less infrastructural costs and oversight and more time and location freedom. If a business owner’s objective is to create a lifestyle of design and help more people, then this is a great reference.
Shameless plug for your business:
I help solopreneurs and small business owners add 6 figures to their business in under 12 months with my Fast Business Growth coaching and consulting. Industry or niche is less important than the fact that I work primarily with entrepreneurs who sell information and expertise – consulting services, trainers, IT services and more. I’ve helped people starting without an idea generate more than $10,000 in revenue within 2 months of execution and established partners coming into Asia for the first time, generate $350,000 in less than 12 months in a brand new market.
How can people connect with you?
Visit my website, www.FastBusinessGrowth.co and my page https://www.facebook.com/ImranMohamadTheFastStart where you can receive tonnes of resources and more than 10 hours worth of video stories, insights and business tips.
Twitter handle?
@imranfaststart
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This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:
Callum Laing invests and buys small businesses in a range of industries around Asia. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is the founder & owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 12 countries. He is a Director of, amongst others, Key Person of Influence. A 40 week training program for business owners and executives.
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