Earlier this week, I had the chance to interview a 20 year old successful entrepreneur out of Toronto, Canada, named Sameer Khan. Sameer is successful in multiple e commerce businesses and is now coaching other young entrepreneurs how to be successful in similar avenues as him.
-So Sameer, what exactly do you do?
Sameer Khan: “I have learned and mastered the art of drop shipping and digital marketing. After doing so, I brought together a group of my closest friends to form a team and then founded a digital marketing agency called “The Wifi Lions”. Apart from drop shipping and digital marketing I also mentor up and coming entrepreneurs to monetize drop shipping and a few other methods of online income.”
–Did you go to college? Do you recommend college to other entrepreneurs?
Sameer Khan: “No, I think college is broken. There is big propaganda around college being the “Golden Ticket” to success in our society. The reality is we live in a very different era than people did back when college was a safe route to a good career. If you look into the history of higher education, it was really made to pump out the finest employees our society can offer. Nowadays things are changing rapidly, in every industry, more jobs are being taken by machines, physical location stores are being replaced by online stores, but the education system remains the same! Meanwhile people attending college are going there with the hopes of getting a high paying job afterwards, and racking up enormous amounts of debt! Obviously higher education is necessary, we all need doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professions, where much more applicable knowledge needs to be learned to perform these jobs. As far as a career in business, I think the higher education is extremely outdated and needs a lot of reform. If you look at some of the biggest companies in the world today like Apple, Google, and Facebook – a lot of them are not even requiring a 4 year college degree anymore to work for them. The days of staying up all night to memorize answers to a test that will be shipped off and graded elsewhere are coming to an end. Things are changing fast and the shift happening in the career field and higher education system should cause everyone to be more open to adapting to change now more than ever.”
–So what made you want to become an entrepreneur?
Sameer Khan: “My biggest motivation was my parents, mostly my father. I grew up watching my father working hard days and long nights to accomplish his dreams was one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen in my life. Watching someone invest all of their heart, time, and soul into something without looking at the clock really showed me how someone can become passionate about making their dream come true. To be successful as an entrepreneur you have to provide some sort of value to other people, and I love the idea of bringing value to the world. I’ve always wanted to have complete control of my life, having control of my own time, not having to worry about being late for work or what day of the week it is to schedule my own personal things, having to worry about when I can get vacation time, time off, or just time for myself. Being an entrepreneur has a lot of perks but the main thing is you control you, and you don’t have to worry about someone else making your fate.”
–So I saw that your company is called “The Wifi Lions” what does your company do?
Sameer Khan: We use the power of social media to grow and expand other businesses by getting them the right leads, pushing their products or services to the right audience, and doing it in such a way that really connects with the consumer. PPC Marketing, Web Designs, Google Ad Words, and social media management are just a few of the services we offer at The Wifi Lions.
–What are 3 tips for someone in E-COM?
Sameer Khan: “Be patient, Rome wasn’t built in a day and businesses don’t take off over night. Find a good mentor for yourself, it will really help shrink the learning curve. Be consistent and never give up, most of the time success is right around the corner, even if you can’t see it.”
–What are some core principles and habits that you live by and suggest to others?
Sameer Khan: “Your work has to be something you’re very passionate about, because the life of an entrepreneur is very difficult in the beginning and any rational person would give up , myself included. If you are doing what you enjoy, it no longer becomes work but rather a way of life. Also don’t let other peoples negative opinions bother you, they are only trying to bring you down. If you know what you want to do and who you want to be, spend as much time as you can with the people that are already at where you want to be in life. I try to come up with 10 new ideas every day to keep my brain active and sharp. I also take time every morning to journal, I write 3 things I’m grateful for, which starts my day off with a deep sense of gratitude, 3 things on my to do list for the day, and only 3 no matter how much stuff is on my plate for the day, I do this so that my list is always achievable, which helps me avoid confusion and procrastination, then at night I check them all off which gives me a feeling of achievement. In addition I try to do as much networking as I can, more than just talking to people to make friends, but building long lasting relationships that are mutually beneficial. The last thing I suggest to everyone is to read as much as you can. As someone who never really finished a book past high school, I was never a big reader. I think part of that could be I was never presented books of my interest and perhaps never had the drive or motivation to begin with. Throughout my journey, however, I’ve been deeply impacted by a variety of books and now truly see them as the best mentors out there. One can practically learn from the best for whichever field they are specializing in, as most successful people are also published authors. What better way to learn from them than by simply reading all the secrets and information they have poured onto paper?”
– Sameer, this has been a wonderful interview and I’ve taken away a lot of golden nuggets, so thank you. Any closing comments?
Sameer Khan: “Do you and always stay true to yourself, life is too short to try to fit into someone else has pictured for you. You have to believe in what you’re dreaming of, even if no-one else believes it. People will try to discourage you, but always follow your intuition.”