Q. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Canada Auto Experts helps clients obtain low rate financing on their auto loans, by connecting the customer to the right bank and dealership for their approval. Depending on the client’s financial situation, Canada Auto Experts will connect the customer to the proper dealership who is going to help them obtain low rate financing on their newer vehicle.
Canada Auto Experts is located in Calgary Alberta, but services all of Canada. We are affiliated with the major dealerships across Canada, this allows us to help our clients obtain the best rates depending on their situation.
Q. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: Hasneen Jalil is the CEO of Canada Auto Experts, a graduate of Dalhousie University, with a major in marketing and minor in Law. Started his Career in the Financial industry and help clients obtain credit repair and restoration through various credit improvement programs.
Hasneen Jalil is the president of AFLT (Advanced Financial Literacy Training) where he provides training on Financial Literacy to Canadians. Having built the company from the ground up, with his team of experienced financial specialists, his aim was to help clients avoid high interest by helping them apply for financing at the right banks.
Q. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: Working closely with Dealerships across Canada, made me realize that there is a big gap between clients and the dealerships helping them get the right financing. We decided to start Canada Auto experts with the notion of helping clients save money and rebuild their credit, simply by referring them to the right place. Sometimes it is as simple as processing the application at the wrong bank that could be the difference between getting 6% interest or 29% interest. So, with our Marketing experience, we were able to capture the customers who are looking to obtain an auto loan, but might be facing financial challenges, and direct them to the right financial institution for approval at lower rates.
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: Advice 1 – Nothing comes easy, challenges are in every industry, as an entrepreneur you either find a way to push through the challenging times and see the success at the end of a long dark tunnel or you find a creative way to overcome that challenge.
Advice 2 – Change takes time but happens suddenly. When you are expecting changes in your company (whether its growth or whatever change you are waiting for) patience is key. Although you might not see a low of change in your business for a long time be patient because when the change does come it will come suddenly. So, don’t give up just because you don’t see the necessary changes right away.
Advice 3 – My number one Rule of All, whenever you are making a big decision for your business that can affect your business dramatically. Make sure you take at least 24 hours to think through the decision before making it. This is simple advice but very effective, sometimes you might see the opportunity, but you might not have thought about all the challenges that come with it.
Q. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Determination – sometimes you are going to be challenged in ways, where you might want to quit. But being determined to complete the tasks and push past the ‘pain’ will help you succeed. If you are not determined to win, most times you will lose.
Consistency – Being an entrepreneur means you are your own boss, you make your own hours, you decide whether to show up or not. Having a consistent schedule and following through with that schedule will determine your success. No one should do more than you.
Bravery – with starting any business there is a certain level of risk that one must take. Having the bravery to take that first leap is very important in being an entrepreneur. As your business grows there are also a lot of opportunities that will come your way, it is up to you to be brave and jump on a new opportunity for growth. Having the guts to take the first step is always the hardest step.
Q. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: I don’t count hours; I count my tasks. Every day a set a list of things that need to be done that day, so some days my hours could be 18 hours of work a day, and other times I could be working a regular 8-hour day. But If I counted every hour, I put into my business I would lose track.
Q. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Having grown up in a very difficult situation I always was able to see how much work my parents had to put not only to get us to Canada but also to survive in a such a different country.
We came to Canada in the early 2000s with the hope of starting a new life together. We escaped a War-torn country and ran for our lives. This very experience taught me so much about how life can change so drastic. It was up to me to make something out of it, I attribute my success to seeing the darker side and knowing how grateful I am to be alive and well. So, I wake up every morning hungry to do more for my family and to give back to the community that gave me a second chance. I want to create a change for the better, to allow people to have a second chance at fixing their financial situation and help them overcome their financial struggle.
Q. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: Canada Auto Experts specializes in marketing through various channels. Starting with social media advertising Canada Auto experts was able to capture a fair share of the market by connecting with customers who are in the market for an auto loan. Platforms such as Facebook, Google, and other social media accounts are able to account for the majority of our customers.
By helping Canadians repair their credit situation, we were also able to help them obtain new lending to improve their credit. The success of those customers intern brought us back a lot of word of mouth customers.
Q. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: The funding requires to start Canada Auto experts was invested by Hasneen Jalil who had used his personal savings to launch the business. There was not a big risk to take as the business model was already tested and proof of concept was also complete. Hasneen Jalil took the bull by the horns and decided to take on the venture of opening Canada Auto Experts, and since then has seen some amazing growth.
What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: The best way to achieve long term success is to provide a service or product that helps the client better his/her situation. Valuable savings in the case of Canada Auto Experts is the reason customers choose us. We help them obtain lower rates, save money, improve their credit all Free of charge.
Q. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: We believe in helping our community, as we grow, we connect with other companies who have the same goal for customers financially. To help them reestablish their credit situation and provide them with fair financing. We have already taken steps to involve our selves more in the community and in giving back. We started a free seminar for high school students all over Canada, to educate them on the importance of financing.
As we grow, we want to connect ourselves with more government programs that help educate customers on financial literacy. We believe that financial education is the main reason as to why so many Canadians are making financial mistakes. There aren’t any courses or school classes that teach credit and we plan on changing that to keep the customer more informed of their situation.
Q. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: I look up to Apple Corp. as they are great innovators, they created a product similar to one that is already in the market but created a product that has value through great marketing tactics. I believe that a strong product/service sells its self, and that is the reason why we can relate to Apple, as they believe in having the best performing product, we believe in providing the best service to the customers.
Q. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: At Canada Auto Experts we believe in a family environment. Our team is excellent and attribute our success to the hard work of every individual in our company. We work together and help each other every step of the way. Without the hard work of our Canada Auto team, our company would not have made it this far. I am forever grateful for the Canada Auto ‘A’ team.
Q. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Before deciding to follow through with an idea, we sit together as a team and brainstorm the concept to figure out all possible outcomes. Once the brainstorming is complete, we start testing the concept. If proof of concept is accomplished, we follow through with the idea full launch. Sometimes some ideas require more time then others, the important part is to always ensure you keep up with the process and success of that idea.
Q. What motivates you?
Ans: Helping others motivate me, I have been a rich man, and I have been a poor man, and money is not the answer to happiness. So, money does not motivate me, the success of making an idea come to life, and having so many people believe in that idea is a huge motivator. Knowing that the business you created is not only helping you, but thousands of other people are benefiting from your business motivates me to grow and influence more people.
Q. What are your ideals?
Ans: The ideal situation of our company is to be the major institution that customers obtain their auto lending and other financial needs through. Canada Auto Experts want to ensure that every customer receives the rates on their loans that they deserve, a fair chance to recover from their previous mistakes.
Q. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: Having a strong team of individuals who have good experience in the industry allows for great brainstorming. We have weekly meetings where we discuss customer challenges and how we can create better processes and as a team, we come up with many ideas.
Q. How do you define success?
Ans: I define success through helping customers achieve their financial needs. As Canada Auto Grows and we help our employees grow as we will achieve more success with our customers. Success is knowing that the customers who utilize our program will end up improving their financial situation and better their lives overall.
Q. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: It is important to provide a fair service, something that is going to benefit the customer in the long run. If the client sees the improvements in their situation due to the nature of your business, you will have return customers. So, at Canada Auto, we always put the customer first.
Q. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Creating new concepts and watching them come to life. Putting in the hard work of making an idea work is the best and most challenging part of being an entrepreneur. Sometimes you might come up with concepts that might seem like they will be a great success and they might not. But when you make an idea come to life it is a great feeling.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Knowing that this business provides for so many people an opportunity to not only grow but also make a living. I appreciate all the people on my team and knowing that together we make a big difference in our community.
Q. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
AnsAt the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether you work for someone else, or you are an entrepreneur what matters it that you love what you do. If you love what you do, it won’t matter if you’re doing it for yourself or someone else, what will matter is that you would want to do the best that you can to grow. Personal growth can be achieved through both scenarios. I don’t see myself as the owner of the business, this corporation is its own person, I am a member of this organization and I have a duty to fulfill like everyone else. So I don’t see a difference between the two.
Q. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: We have a very family-oriented culture, where everyone looks out for one another and helps one another as much as we can. We see humans first in our business and never put the work in front of any one individual.
I believe in setting the example in our establishment, we are all equals and should be treated as such no one person is better than another because of position or experience, and with that, we ensure our culture is one where everyone is treated the same.
Having such a diverse team allows us to come together in such a unique way. We also have often attributed our culture to what we do together outside of work. As we are all friends, we have fun outside the workplace to bring people closer together.
Q. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
AnsDriven
Q. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I believe mistakes help us grow, and we would not have gotten to this point without making the mistakes that we did grow as a company. The only thing I would have done differently was started this company much sooner then waiting a few extra years to ensure that I had proof of concept. If I would have taken a much bigger step sooner, we would have been at much better stage in our company. But we will get there in time.
Q. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: Having put my heart and soul, into this company, it has also taken all my personal time. I have sacrificed a lot of event and moments in my life to ensure that the business grows. My family is supportive, and I appreciate that this also allowed me to grow.
Q. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: Fear is an idea that is in one’s brain, it is not something that comes to life unless the person with that very fear makes it come to life. For Me, I don’t make my decisions based on what I am afraid of, but I ensure to do enough research that I don’t enter into things blindfolded. Being afraid that something might fail is very normal but being brave to overcome that fear is what makes you a great entrepreneur.
Q. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: My father is my greatest inspiration, he went from being the editor in chief of a newspaper, and sacrificed his career of 40 years, to stand up for his people and tell the truth. He taught me to stand for what I believe in.
Q. What makes you happy?
Ans: Knowing that people are being helped every day, because of a program that I was able to put together, makes me happy. My goal in life was always to help people over come obstacles in their life, and having financial experience just made me realize that this was my destiny to help people overcome the financial deficit.
Q. What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I gave up a very easy job, where I made a lot of money and was comfortable with what I was doing. The reason I decided to take on creating my own business was because I wanted to be challenged and wanted to make a difference. I could have stayed at my previous Job as a VP of marketing where most tasks were already delegated and could have spent my time traveling the world and having fun, but I wanted to challenge myself.
For more information visit us at https://canadauto.ca/.