There is a wrong assumption that everything has already been invented before us. That all ideas have been monetized by experienced entrepreneurs and released by talented marketers. We get a false impression that lucky ones are being blessed by ideas that only wait to be brought to life.
History of true success exposes hard work, numerous mistakes, doubts and — hard work again. That so-called “luck” reveals a long way towards your dream, many ups and downs, many moves and decisions made. And only for those who are not afraid to start again and again despite difficulties there’s always a chance.
There is a starting point for business, but we cannot talk about business without telling a story about a person.
Arslan Gabidullin was born 40 km away from Kazan, in a small village in Tatarstan Republic. He lived an ordinary life of a country boy; he was fond of National Geographic programs and outer activities that developed his passionate and easy-going personality. From childhood Arslan had very ambitious and global dreams about changing the world and helping nature. But big changes demand many resources, including money, so Arslan decided to become an entrepreneur.
At the insistence of his family, he studied and graduated from Kazan State Agrarian University as a land surveying engineer. Arslan wasn’t satisfied with the prospect of working in the cadaster chamber office for a small salary, so he searched for another way of raising money for the future business. He started working on the construction site, then tried his hand as an affiliate marketer of Kazan Fat Plant and even worked as a taxi driver. The last job let him save money to invest in his own business.
Coffee business
In 2014 Arslan started his coffee business in Coffee Like franchise – small coffee shops network with coffee machines, baristas, disposable cups and so on. In 6 years Arslan opened 15 Coffee Like spots in Kazan. In 2020 Arslan planned to open his own coffee brand, but that was the time the pandemic began and everything got complicated.
“Any business rookie should be prepared to face challenges and overcome obstacles”
In that time all coffee shops operated at a loss rather than made a profit and it was a difficult test for Arslan and millions of other service companies. But with the support of his family, he could rethink the whole idea of the coffee business and start all over again.
The Coffee Like experience helped him to understand that dreams can and should be changed if circumstances demand so. A flexible approach in today’s world is the key to staying afloat. Arslan opened his own coffee shop brand – Lifehacker Coffee – using the maximum of his entrepreneur experience, desire to have more personal time and child’s dream about changing the world.
“To live happily the life will have to be hacked”
Lifehacker Coffee is a network of self-service coffee spots that brings profit even with only one customer a day. Lifehacker Coffee uses coffee making equipment that stands apart from traditional vending machines, and makes coffee taste comparable to what a barista makes. Combined with Peru coffee beans and Italian cream of premium quality Lifehacker Coffee occupied a new niche in the local coffee market.
Thanks to the absence of personnel and the necessity to pay the rent, Lifehacker Coffee spots allowed Arslan to lower the price of the final product. It also made his business more stable to market turbulence.
Rules of success
For those who want to develop their own business Arslan formulated 3 components of success: action, faith and knowledge.
He states that you should always move forward learning from your mistakes but not letting them disable you.
The second important thing is to base the business on your personal values, that will make a clear vision of the result you want to get and will guide you along the way.
And the last one – you should always learn or be ready to learn something new. That will keep you up and make you always ready for changes.
Arslan also says that every business to run demands wide and deep analysis of the market situation and people to rely on. When his Coffee Like business began to make a loss, Arslan admits, his family and his wife supported him greatly and convinced him to push forward.
It was the time to pay back to the nature all we got from it
Running Lifehacker Coffee Arslan could embody his long-standing desire to help the environment. At first, he is planning to start from biodegradable lids then switching to using only biodegradable or recyclable materials.
«People have taken a loan from nature on which it is long overdue to pay»
Also, Arslan participates in Alexander Brat’s Green Billion project, which involves planting a billion new trees. The project is to plant as many new trees as the old tree has stood for. That initiative is supposed to compensate for the huge number of cut down trees. The project started in the Perm region, but now spread widely out of it.
