(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Mohammad Miya, also known as Pir Mohammed, is a hardworking and humble person who has found success in Qatar.
He came to Qatar in 2006 to work as a sales assistant in a clothing store. He now owns two perfume shops of his own, and employs 14 Nepali expatriates.
Sharing his success story, Miya says that he worked his first job for about a year before moving on to a perfume store. There he stayed as a salesperson for two years, gaining experience.
In 2010, with enough knowhow of colognes and sprays, Miya opened two perfume stores. His passion and knowledge of perfumes convinced his sponsor, Saad Faleh al-Hajri, to invest in his stores. Many of the perfumes he sells in the two stores are manufactured at his own factory in Sahalia.
Miya recalls the start of his journey in Nepal, where after graduation he took up a low-paid teaching job. Unable to support his family, Miya decided to move overseas. He says he never imagined that he would find such success in Qatar. "Since childhood, I have had this love for perfumes. I used perfumes through my school and college days, and during my years as a teacher," Miya recalls.
He says he would save up his lunch money as a student to buy body sprays and perfumes. Miya is particularly grateful to his sponsor, who trusted him with the shops. "For my hard-work and honesty during two years, [Saad Faleh al-Hajri] trusted me as his own son and gave me the sole responsibility of his stores."
Al-Hajri, Miya says, sent him to Dubai to be properly trained before he handed his shops over to him to run. Miya is now globally connected, importing ingredients for his perfumes from countries such as Spain, Switzerland, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Mongolia.
Some of the products he sells in his shops include Al-Majalis, Maliki, Mussmoon, Fawwa and Ajwa, Al Tiwan, Al Amiri, Al Fakhama, Vip, Majali, Golden Oud, Hayaat, Al Dahabi, Aaliah and Sheikha. Many of these products are household names in Doha.
During the initial phase of setting up the shops, Miya recalls that he would sometimes work for up to 20 hours. He would scour the Internet to learn management skills. He would stay at the store all day and then go to the factory at night.
Miya hasn't let the success go to his head, however. He wants to ensure the continued success of his business and is always keen on learning about and investing in new tools and techniques.
His clientele primarily consists of Arabs and Westerners. Recently, however, Nepalese and members of other South Asian communities have also started coming to his story.
Miya thinks he may have inherited his business skills from his father, who was also a businessman in Nepal. Even though politics, frequent strikes and unnecessary hassles led to the eventual shutdown of his father's business, Miya dreams of opening a perfume shop in Nepal one day.
He says Nepal is full of aromatic plants. "Here the quality of woods we import is lower than those in Nepal. Ultimately, I aim to [give proper due to the] beautiful aromatic plants of Nepal."
Miya is also an active member of the Nepalese community in Qatar. His contributions for the earthquake victims of Nepal are particularly noteworthy. He is also an adviser of Gorkha Welfare Society and contributes to HIV-affected people in Nepal monthly through an organisation led by Binod Lama.
With business flowing through his veins, Miya says he has only started and aspires to expand his stores even further.
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