Rizwan Sajan, 49, is a self-made man and it's obvious from the way he goes around his company Danube Buildmart's showroom in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, that he's truly a hands-on person. His eye is knowing, quickly spotting any mistakes in the display of items, even though as chairman of the global company trading in building materials, he hardly spends a lot of time in retail outlets any more.
"I came up from the bottom so I know that, however successful you may be, if you forget the little details, that's the beginning of the end," he says.
This attitude extends to his staff too. Rizwan knows the names of all the employees in the Ibn Battuta outlet, which is just one of the 12 he has spread across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India and China. "I very rarely forget a face," he smiles.
The secret to Rizwan's success - Danube recorded 46 per cent growth in 2010, and Rizwan expects a turnover of Dh12 billion this year - is sheer hard work. That's what is making his business grow even in difficult times. While several other companies are looking to curtail operations, Danube is looking to expand in Africa, Libya and Sri Lanka.
Work
Work is what defines me. It certainly is the most important thing in life. My colleagues and family call me a workaholic! But I believe there's no short cut to success.
I got this approach to work in childhood. Ours was a middle-class family in Mumbai, India, and my father, Asgharali Sajan, made it clear that if we needed money we had to work for it. From the age of 12 I used to sell books when schools reopened after the holidays, and fire crackers during festivals... whatever I could capitalise on to make a little extra money.
This perhaps prepared me for the future as my father died of a heart attack when I was 16 and still in school. I was the eldest and, with a brother and sister to look after, suddenly I was the head of the family.
Luckily my father, who had worked as a supervisor in a company dealing in building materials, used to discuss his office matters with us often, which gave me an insight into the commercial world. That coupled with my own experience in selling helped me a bit.
As my father died while in service, the company offered me a part-time job. So I would go to college from 7am to 10am, and then go to work. Life was very difficult as my salary was only Rs700 (around Dh50) a month. Despite some savings, it was very hard to make ends meet. So I approached my paternal uncle, who ran a business in building materials in Kuwait, for help. He offered me a job, so at 18, when I was doing the final year of my commerce degree, I moved there. I started as a trainee salesman and by the time I was forced to leave following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, I was the number two in my uncle's company. When I started working there in 1981 my salary had been Dh1,500, and when I left, aged 27, it had grown to Dh20,000 a month. My uncle taught me everything and he made me what I am today. If it were not for the invasion, I probably would have continued with him. Overnight we had to leave everything and move back to Mumbai. I had to leave everything behind - my savings, furniture, car... I was back to zero.
It didn't keep me down for long. I decided to move to Dubai in 1991. Initially, I was working as a commission agent liaising between my principals in Kuwait and a few business houses dealing in building materials in Dubai.
Two years later, in 1993, I started my own business with Dh100,000 I had saved. I told my wife Samra, who I'd married in 1987 while in Kuwait, that we'd give it six months. If I didn't succeed I decided I would take up any other job that would pay me a decent salary!
My wife was my first employee. She acted as my secretary as I could not afford to employ one. She took care of the home as well so I could concentrate totally on the home building materials business. I was working around 18 hours every day but she never nagged me about it. When work picked up I brought over my brother Anees to help me.
We opened our first store in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, then set up our first warehouse in Sharjah, and from there we expanded to Abu Dhabi and Oman.
The Danube Buildmart concept - where anybody, from an ordinary customer to an interior designer or a small contractor can shop for all their needs under one roof - came to me in 2008 at the peak of the boom period. I opened my first Danube Buildmart store outside Dubai in 2009 in Ras Al Khaimah. It was a success and by 2010 we managed to open 10 more stores across Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Fujairah.
What is the secret to success? Sheer hard work. It's important to remember that things happen step by step, not overnight, - it's the same whether you're playing cricket or running a business. You should also have a vision of your future, that you can work towards. Of course, luck matters too. I believe in being very friendly with my staff. Nobody calls me boss, they call me by my name. That's probably why most of my staff have been with me for 15 to 20 years. I like to delegate work; you will hardly see any papers on my table. Now, I am only involved when it comes to taking strategic decisions.
Play
I am used to working between 16 and 18 hours every day. I used to tell my wife that I would retire at 45. When I reached the signpost I moved the retirement age to 50! I guess I will never retire. As my wife says, it's good if you are busy doing something. That for me is the sure sign of a healthy life. My work is giving me happiness so why should I give it up?
I am fanatic about my daily yoga, and go swimming at least five days a week.
I enjoy watching cricket with my friends, so I typically invite about a hundred of my friends to watch a cricket match with me.
I am a very sociable person, so you will see me doing a lot of things with my very large circle of friends, even going on vacations together. When I first left for Kuwait there were almost a hundred people to see me off at the Mumbai airport!
My wife and I love going to the cinemas, and we party almost every week. We vacation twice a year and also go on pilgrimage every year. I'd say I have a very balanced life.
Luxury doesn't matter to me at all. I bought a Rolex watch when I was in Kuwait because I was expected to. But I don't wear it; it's lying in my locker. Then my brother presented me with a Rolls Royce car. I didn't use it for a year, and my family got angry and told me if you don't use it we'll sell the car!
Luxury doesn't mean anything to me because I believe in simplicity.
After my father, I would say it's my uncle Moses who's been my inspiration. My father was the first person who taught me the intricacies of human relationships and how important mastering them was to succeed in business. You must always be open to ideas, be friendly with your juniors, delegate judiciously and don't stint on hard work.
Later in Kuwait, my uncle, who was already an established businessmen, taught me how to survive in the real world. One of the things he told me was to have a goal and be focused on it. Don't get sidetracked by anything.
Fatherhood didn't mean more responsibility for me, as I'd already been through supporting a family at the age of 16. My son Adil was born after my wife suffered a couple of miscarriages. So he was the best thing that happened to us. He's 23 and been working in my company for only six months, but he's already a pro. The reason is that when he was 14 I gave him the same training I'd undergone at that age. During vacations, I sent him to apprentice in our stores, then in the warehouse, and later on the sales and accounts departments. So by the time he actually started working for us, he already knew the company in and out. Luckily for me our staff has also started accepting him.
More than a father-son relationship, Adil and I are friends. That was the way my father brought me up. We even party together.
Dream
I always knew I was going to be a businessman, how big or how small it didn't matter. I guess I knew it in my bones. More than dreaming I was able to recognise my talent and put it to good use. It's not something everybody can do. It's a talent like any other.
I have achieved everything in life that I dreamed of. Now my dreams are to expand my business even more.
During the boom time in construction many people advised me to get into it as I had already cornered the construction material sector. I refused because I knew that was not my core business. Making money is not the object, but recognising and using your talent properly is. So my dream is to retain focus of my goals and work to achieve them.
The sky is the limit for expansion, and there are a lot of markets that still need to be tapped, like Sri Lanka, Africa, Libya and Pakistan. One of my big dreams is to double the business in the next three years.
I want my son and my brother's children to take this business to a different level.
Other than that I am quite satisfied. Even if I lose money I wouldn't lose my head. We had a major fire in our main factory in 1997, but I took it in my stride.
Tomorrow if I lost all my wealth I'd still retain my equanimity. I had nothing when I came here. It'll just be an impetus to go to work again!
