Young entrepreneur talks business – “My ultimate advice: create value”

Trading the medical field for entrepreneurship, young Guyanese Rosh Khan, holder of a medical degree, is now sought after by many renowned international companies for his practical advice on business success.

At 24, Khan decided he would create a social media agency, and in January 2011, he officially launched SocialRank Media. His company has since developed from a bedroom business catering to local New York clients to a global operation with hundreds of clients around the world. His new head office is currently under construction in Georgetown.
In an exclusive interview, the business strategist shares his success, recommendations and plans for the development of Guyana.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What you can recall about childhood?
Rosh Khan: Childhood was an interesting time! From living in a basement in New York to living in a beautiful home in Guyana, I was able to witness the hard work of my parents. I was always inspired by this, and it has instilled a work ethic that enables me to remain highly productive today. In elementary school, I was always the curious and talkative, A-student. However, during high school, I became more involved with making my school a better place, and decided to run for president of the Student Council and Science Club. After a successful campaign, I spent my days in office creating new policies and enacting new initiatives.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: Why did you switch from medicine to pursue entrepreneurship?
Rosh Khan: From the very beginning, going to medical school was fuelled by the passion to change the world and make it a better place. However, I realized that through entrepreneurship, it would be possible to do even more at a larger scale. With a booming business, I could use the profits to focus on people and community. Company profits would also translate into the establishment of hospitals and funding for humanitarian aid, research grants, community projects, and much more. In November, we’re launching our first medical outreach programme solely funded by my company, SocialRank. I should also note that as an entrepreneur, you’re responsible for creating jobs – something much needed in Guyana today. It is my dream to create an ever-flourishing Guyana, and I believe that with my approach to entrepreneurship in our digitally-connected world, solutions for mass employment can be created.

Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What does your present job involve?
Rosh Khan: The truth is I don’t have a “job” in the traditional sense. I live, eat, breathe, and sleep my passion- it’s more of a lifestyle than a job. There’s also never a typical day at SocialRank; but if I had to outline the things we do on a daily basis it would involve an initial team meeting, hours of strategy and development for ourselves and clients, creating personalized ‘wow’ experiences for our customers, and a quick team meeting to wrap up the day. We’re a close-knit group that enjoys what we do, but at the end of the day we want to know we’ve created undeniable value for everyone we come in contact with.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What are some business strategies for success you would like to share?
Rosh Khan: Regardless of the type of business you’re in, these three simple principles will be relevant to you:
Find Your Purpose. Creating purpose for your life and business allows you to keep the “big picture” in mind. If you don’t have one, ask yourself these two questions: “If someone asked you why you want to achieve the things you want, what would you say?” and “If someone asked you how your business ties into the socio-economic fabric of the country, what would you say?” Just being aware of these two simple things gives you direction and makes you appreciate your social responsibility.
Never Give Up. Every day is not going to be a winning day. In any business, there will be setbacks. The key is to remain positive and more importantly, stay nimble so that you’re able to adapt for any situation. With inevitable failures, remember that you “fail forward,” which means you learn from the setbacks and keep on going.
Empower Your Human Capital. One of the most under-appreciated assets of businesses today is the human capital. Every day I see employees mistreated and abused – emotionally, physically, and/or financially. If more businesses realized that happy employees mean increased goodwill and better productivity, we would have a healthier private sector. Quite frankly, if you show your employees that you genuinely care and then take care of them, even when they don’t ask for it, they will be there for you each and every time. Even more so, they will start to adopt a company culture that’s focused on overall success – they’ll come to realize that when the company does well, they do well.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: Who are your clients?
Rosh Khan: We work with a lot of Fortune 500 companies such as Armani and Ford. We also work with hundreds of small and medium business is across the globe.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What’s your ultimate business advice?
Rosh Khan: My ultimate business advice would be summed up in two words- create value. There’s a huge misconception that money is simply the outcome of a transaction. In reality, this is incomplete since money is the by-product of the value that you create. If your business sets out to create value, that is making life more stress-free, offering a solution that works, creating more time and freedom, saving money and so on for its customers, the by-product of that process is money. The more value you create, the more money you make. Stop thinking about, “How much more can I charge?” and start thinking about, “How can I enhance my offer to make it more valuable?”
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What do you love about your job?
Rosh Khan: One of the fantastic things about what I do is that I’m able to run my business from just about anywhere. Whether I’m using my laptop or smart phone, the work gets done. But even beyond the geographical freedom that I enjoy, I just love working with people from around the world. One minute, I’m discussing strategy with clients in Singapore and 30 minutes later, I’m implementing social sales funnels for projects in Dubai.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: Will you ever get into the medical field again?
Rosh Khan: I love medicine and will certainly return to this field. There’s much room for improvement with healthcare in Guyana, and I will eventually offer solutions for the general population. However, for the immediate future, I’m focused on numerous medical outreaches across the country.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: Other than your job, what other interests you have?
Rosh Khan: I say this all the time, but I absolutely love reading and strategizing for the future. I’ve adopted the philosophy of “never stop learning” so I’m almost always consuming knowledge in some form. I also love exercising, travelling, and have recently picked up archery.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: Any projects you’re working on?
Rosh Khan: Currently, I’m working on software projects for my company. However, I’m also working on two other projects which are very close to the heart. The first is www.EducationForTheNation.com that will bring free online education to all Guyanese. This will enable any student, parent, or teacher to log on to the website and access video tutorials geared for Common Entrance, CSEC, and other subjects. I’m also a co-founder of JobSpark Guyana, which is soon being launched as an employment website with a difference – focusing on actually securing jobs for the unemployed in Guyana.
Guyana Times Sunday Magazine: What’s your advice for future entrepreneurs?
Rosh Khan: For future entrepreneurs, let me say that it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. However, if you break things down, create a plan, have a strategy in place, and focus on doing one thing at a time, you’ll grow much faster than trying to do it all at once. The big mistake many entrepreneurs make is biting off more than they can chew. Take the passion you have and funnel it into doing one thing really well – learn the skills, implement, evaluate; and only then do you repeat the process. Success in business is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So fill up your water bottles, have a few shoes lined up, pace yourself smartly, and before you know it, you’ll be smiling at the finish line.