Dr. Anosh Ahmed is a practicing internal medicine physician and active member of his local community. Despite his success in the medical field, he has always taken a keen interest in the business landscape. Prior to completing medical school, he owned and operated various important/ export businesses, nightclubs, and restaurants. As a thriving entrepreneur he attributes much of his success to his outstanding work ethic and attention to detail.
Dr. Anosh Ahmed obtained a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership before attending medical school. He eventually completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.
He is currently focused on several real estate projects and has been coined as an angel investor.
What do you love most about the industry you are in?
There is not a ceiling when you are an entrepreneur. Opportunity is all around you, and there’s always room for growth.
What keeps you motivated?
I’m pretty involved in Houston and Chicago in doing things with the community. There are programs and scholarships out there that I have put into place to help people. Besides doing the free clinic, I think my main focus is kids. If there’s any families out there with kids who don’t have money for school supplies, books or laptops, it’s been one of my missions for the last ten years to help alleviate that problem and to make sure that kids get the proper education they need to be successful. I have reached out to churches and local groups in Houston and Chicago to see if there’s any kids or any families who need help.
How do you motivate others?
I have been able to motivate others by sharing that I started working at such a young age and by the things that I’ve accomplished. I’ve been going to schools and talking to the youth and telling them they can accomplish their goals by starting early, too. They just need to get out there and start working hard.
How has your company grown from its early days to now?
The company has definitely grown into a pretty big portfolio, but I think what I am more proud of is how becoming a self-made entrepreneur means the value of my company is not actually within the company. It’s within myself. So, I think the more that I grow, the more that my company grows.
Who has been a role model to you and why?
I’ve held my father as a role model from a young age because of the fact that he worked day and night to provide for his family. I know it sounds like I should be saying Bill Gates or someone out there like that, but my dad is a real live example of someone that I’ve seen who can work hard all day and night. He became paralyzed from the waist down because of a disease.
How do you maintain a solid work life balance?
It’s definitely hard. My phone is never off the hook. As far as I am concerned, there’s no such thing as a decent work/life balance if you truly have the passion that I have for my work. Until now, I have not mastered how to balance myself and my work, and that’s one of the things that I’m currently working on.
What traits do you possess that makes a successful leader?
I think it starts with being open and honest and being able to communicate exactly what you want to communicate. It also means being good to people, treating them well. People will trust you if they understand you, and it makes it a lot easier to do your job as a leader.
What suggestions do you have for someone starting in your industry?
Entrepreneurs should anticipate failure early on and always plan for the worst outcome so that they’re not surprised. And it’s okay to fail and it’s okay to fall down. I think the best way to learn is from your failures. Then you can stay away from making the same mistake over and over again.
What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?
The fact that I felt that I was in school forever between middle school, high school, college, going to medical school, and then going into residency training. I think other people that I know have always had the luxury of focusing on school and school only, but with me I was always running a full-time business and going to school at the same time. That balance has always been really difficult. Still, I would not change one thing.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
Getting my medical degree and being an actual, licensed physician has been a big accomplishment for me, but I also think just being able to have a stable family was more important. I look back at the fact that at the age of eight we were eating ten-cent cheeseburgers at McDonald’s and trying to make ends meet. Finding a way to stabilize the family home and for me to put my brothers through school and college meant so much. I think that’s probably my proudest achievement.
What is the biggest life lesson you have learned?
When I was starting out as a young entrepreneur, I felt like I knew everything. I know now that ignorance is definitely something that can blind you. So just always keep your mind open to learning new things. I went from a phase of knowing it all to a phase where right now I feel like I don’t know anything at all and I want to learn as much as possible.
Where do you see you and your company in 5 years?
I want to retire at the age of forty-five. I think I worked enough in life. So, I think I do want to just relax, slow down and enjoy things at that age.