Famous Immigrant Entrepreneur from Pakistan in USA Essay

Edible Arrangements is a U. S. -based franchising business that specializes in fresh fruit arrangements, melding the concept of fruit baskets with design inspired by the floral business The company is headed by Tariq Farid, who partnered with his brothers to open the first Edible Arrangements store in Hamden, Connecticut in 1999. After designing the computer systems, training manuals, production and profitability tracking and supply chain management process, they began franchising the concept in 2001. As of 2008, the business had grown to more than 900 stores serving locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. In March 2008 Edible Arrangements was reported to have annual revenues of $195 million Netsolace Netsolace is a technology company that provides groundbreaking technology solutions for the franchise industry. For franchisors seeking the ultimate control over their businesses, both in terms of relationship management and operational efficiency, Netsolace offers a suite of proven software solutions that enables better monitoring, communications and data management at each stage of the franchise lifecycle. Our comprehensive suite of convenient and flexible web-based applications can be accessed from anywhere. They are designed to support both the franchisor and franchisee business needs and provide real time information for comprehensive data analysis and management reporting. To see how we can help you, please review our site or contact us. We will be happy to answer your questions and demonstrate how our solutions can help your business and its bottom line. Life History Tariq Farid was born near Lahore, Pakistan, in 1969, the oldest of six children of Glulam and Salma Farid. His father immigrated to the United States in the 1970s, working in Connecticut as a machinist. Tariq Farid arrived in the United States with the rest of the family in 1981, when he was 11 years old. As a teenager, Tariq mowed lawns and worked in a McDonald’s restaurant. In 1986, when he was 17, the family bought and began operating a flower shop in East Haven, Connecticut. While working in the family business, which expanded to additional locations, Tariq developed a computerized point of sale system for floral shops, and struck out on his own in 1991 in a business selling computer systems to flower retailers. Tariq launched the first Edible Arrangements ® store in 1999 in East Haven, Connecticut. He was inspired by the convergence of three trends: Americans’ growing consumption of fresh fruit, the robust growth in the specialty food market and the increasing amount of money Americans were spending on gifts. Edible Arrangements ® was named one of America’s fastest-growing privately held businesses in America by Inc. magazine and one of the top franchise systems in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500. Tariq has four pending U. S. patents for proprietary fruit-cutting equipment that he designed. Achievements In 2009 Tariq was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by the International Franchise Association. IN 2009 Tariq was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He spoke at the 3rd Leadership Summit held by the council for the advancement of Muslim Professionals and at the Small Business Summit held by The New York Times. Tariq Farid was born in Pakistan in 1969 and immigrated to the United States at age 11. He grew up in West Haven, Connecticut and became a U. S. citizen in 1986. He developed the Salma K Farid Academy, a non-profit learning and community center, to honor the wishes of his late mother whom he credits as the inspiration for his success, and the Salma K Farid Foundation to provide for those in need Current Capital 700 Million Dollars His Interview Published in New York Time I WAS born in Pakistan and came to the United States in 1981, when I was 11. My grandfather owned a farm in Pakistan and we had been fairly well-to-do. We started at the bottom when we came here. My father found a job as a machinist during the day and worked at McDonald’s and Burger King at night. All five of my siblings pitched in. I delivered newspapers to 300 houses. Instead of putting the paper into the mailbox, I’d deliver it to the door. I got great tips. When I was 13, a flower shop hired me to water the flowers. Soon I was taking care of orders. By 16, I had learned a lot. One day my father found a flower shop for sale in the paper. The owner wanted $6,000. My dad asked me if I could run the shop, and I said sure. We got a cash advance and a loan from a friend. I thought I’d negotiate, and asked the owner what terms he was offering. He looked at me as if to say, â€Å"What can this kid possibly know? † We opened a week before Easter and earned about $50 a day. I stayed open until 7 p. m. , seven days a week, because few other flower shops did. I thought $350 a week was wonderful. Soon, sales doubled, and I was shocked. Five years later, we had three shops and were making close to $1 million a year. I said we needed to make more, about $5,000 a day. My mother asked me if I remembered when I was making $50 a day and she suggested that I relax. I told her that it never really ends, and that I could achieve that goal. It was a lot of work. I didn’t really have a social life. We stayed open on holidays. On my way to high school, I’d drop off my mother at the shop. She spoke no English, so I told her what to do to supervise the two employees. After school I’d make flower arrangements and deliver them myself until I could hire a driver. I attended college part-time, but I started weighing the benefit against what I was making. I decided to put off school, and I never finished. I was so young when I started a career that I blindly jumped into it. Edible Arrangements, which I started in 1999 with my brother, Kamran, goes back to our roots. In Pakistan, my father always brought home tons of fruit for us. When we started the company, we created basic fruit arrangements that included fresh pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe and more, and later added extras like chocolate and cinnamon toppings. We got 30 orders the first day. We had learned from our flower stores, so this time did everything right. A stranger asked about opening a store, which gave us the idea to franchise them. I knew nothing about the franchise industry, so I contacted an association for the names of experts and found Michael Seid. He gave great advice. I’ve started several other companies. One is Frutation by Edible Arrangements, which includes salads and fruit drinks. They’re sold in Edible Arrangements stores and stand-alone stores. I also started Netsolace, which provides software for the franchise industry. Another, Berry Direct, offers containers, vases and other products to our Edible Arrangements franchisees and other companies. I just started the Farid Capital Corporation; a financing company that helps franchisees buy equipment. When I was starting out, I used to give my mother $50 a week. When I wanted to buy a building for our second Edible Arrangements location, I needed $40,000 more than I had. My mother had saved the money I gave her over the years and handed it back to me. She asked only that I do something in her name someday and give her $20,000 for my sister’s wedding. When my mother passed away in 2000, I started a foundation in her memory. The organization built a hospital in Pakistan for needy people and an Islamic school in the United States.