Scaled my company to 83 cities and felt…nothing like the media predicted.

On Tuesday, I woke up at 5 am and got ready for an 8 hour long drive. It was a monumental day, one that I had dreamt of when I was a college student. I had finally scaled my business to a level where I could see impact of my work reaching areas of Pakistan that are often left out of the conversation. This was the 83rd city. Ghotki. 83 cities of Pakistan where my business was trusted. /And yet I felt nothing like what I had daydreamt about all this time.

You see, it’s a big deal running a company as a girl in a business that is predominantly all-male. I mean I am the only female business owner I know of in my entire industry, AND in our sister industries too. So you can imagine the vision boards I would write 3 years ago for where I wanted TAYYAB to stand, and how it would feel awesome and super bad*** when I finally got there.

What I didn’t know, however, was that as my company was growing, so was I. I am writing this piece to reflect some of those changes and lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

Your Ego is Your Enemy

I’m a Duke grad. I speak 4 languages. I’ve built more than 8 companies and 7 of them were profitable. I lead multiple teams. I live in a way that I have nothing but gratitude for. I get to travel and learn and I am blessed enough to have a life on my own terms. And absolutely no one in the business world gives a care about any of this.

What do people care about? What value can I add to their life. What problem can I solve for them. How good is my word in the world of business. They do not care about my personal accolades, or any other signals of success (unless it’s about valididty of how good my company is).

I learnt early on that my craft should speak louder than my personal self. And if you are running any kind of business, I would recommend you check in with yourself and make sure your ego does not get bigger than the people you are in service to. If you make a mistake, which you likely will, admit to it, and rehabilitate instead of giving justifications (unless absolutely necessary). Don’t get accustomed to praise or criticism. Both are fleeting things. Focus on your work and keep doing great things.

Do things that don’t pay

This is my personal business philosophy. I have implemented corporate for good policies at TAYYAB where we do things just to give back to Pakistan and its community. The reason? I want to live in a country that is better than what I got yesterday. Business is a way for me to ensure I can do that. At TAYYAB I developed methods to ensure doctors from areas that are left out of development are not forgotten and can provide amazing services to their patients without them needing to travel hundreds of kilometers. I installed a CO2 FRACTIONAL LASER at Lahore Jinnah Hospital where more than 3 million patients get treated and where doctors can study and research on new advancements in technology. A generic business advice would tell me to focus on ROI, but ROI isn’t how communities progress. Human connection is. I’ve also launched a free webinar series, Let’s Talk Aesthetics, where I moderate panel talks inviting accomplished doctors who share their lessons in aesthetic dermatology with other doctors who want to learn. These are practical ways I can give back to the community and ensure the industry in Pakistan is on par with the world.

Play Infinite Games

This one is pretty simple. We do things that are not really measurable. The goal? Being the best company doctors can work with, with the best framework, the best quality in devices and the best experience doctors can get. Every decision we make is made keeping this in mind.

Business will Humble You

You will have to develop thick skin. Business will teach you a ton about yourself and the people around you. Keep an open mind to all these lessons. You will have to bite your own tongue many times, keep composure in times when it is TOUGH, and will have to deal with negativity from people who you would never hire or work with. Build tolerance for all of that. And persist.

Business will inspire you

Everytime you get stuck in a mental rut, or things are closing in on you, or everything is going wrong (and trust me when I say everything, it means everything) and you persist, you will push the boundaries of what you thought was possible and it will change you forever.

You will also meet countless inspiring people, genuine in their speech, honest in their dealings, while being the sharpest most brilliant at their craft. These people will show you what I believe every entrepreneur needs: a silver lining in Pakistan’s otherwise gloomy state of affairs.

Keep your mind and your heart open to these inspiring moments and let them feed your soul.

83 cities

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that my company has expanded this much. In all honesty, all I can really think of, is the list of pending things to do, the clients we have, and the next steps to ensure we can continue offering the best to doctors across Pakistan. All of this with a deep sense of gratitude that is hard to express in words.

To impact,

Zarfishar