Here’s the story of Hasin Bin Hanif, Who is perfectly balancing between fulfilling his dream while also making a name for himself.
Q. Hope you are doing well. Could you kindly give a brief introduction about yourself and your background?
I am HASIN BIN HANIF. I am an entrepreneur and traveller. I have completed my undergraduate from Independent University Bangladesh and while I was studying, I started my own business and stepped into achieving my dream job of traveling to amazing places in this world. I am currently working as Managing Director at HASIN TRADING; it is a motorbike and bike accessories import company that I started in 2018. Along with that, I also own a restaurant name ALOUSH which I started in 2019; it’s a Lebanese fusion restaurant. Having said that I would like to extend certain further information about my hobbies and interest, I have been and still am extremely passionate about traveling and I also have my travel blog page on Instagram that goes by the user Id hasinmh23.
Q. Tell us a bit about Aloush Dhanmondi.
Aloush is a Lebanese fusion restaurant. It has a wonderful variety of dishes that will please the tastebuds of a customer from different age groups. Our signature dish is our Kebabish wrap, in which we use our special in-house sauce that makes it unique from every other wrap that is available. We also have different dishes like lasagne, beef cheese fries, Kebabish extreme rice, and many more. We have recently added Super Shakes to our menu, where you will be getting a variety of interesting drinks.
Q. With so many restaurants and fast food go-to places, what is different about Aloush Dhanmondi?
Aloush is situated at the heart of Dhanmondi, which makes it very accessible for in-house customers, takeaways, or home delivery. We provide great quality and quantity of food at a very budget-friendly price, which makes it a win-win situation for the young crowd who loves eating Lebanese foods. Our main difference is that you will get a lot of taking away restaurants nowadays that will give you food at this price, but here we not only provide you the food at the same less price, but we also present you a very comfortable, luxurious environment to seat and enjoy your meal with your loved ones.
Q. Where do you want to see Aloush Dhanmondi in the future?
We are currently serving only at Dhanmondi Dhaka, but in the upcoming time, we have plans to open our new outlets at Bashundhara and Banani. Our goal is to reach out to all the cities over Bangladesh with our delicious and fulfilling dishes.
Q. Going through your link tree website, we learned about your traveller side. Would love to know how did you manage to be a traveller and an entrepreneur simultaneously especially in the growing stages of your business?
Travelling has always been my passion; it is something that motivates me to work hard every day so that I can achieve my dream of it. Being an entrepreneur and looking after work can be hard at times, but when you have a dream, I think you need to make it work. I usually have everything set, from my work to managing my workplace; all stays sorted even when I am out of the country. I have a great team of people that helps me to run smoothly. I stay connected to my work via my phone and my laptops, so no matter where I am around the world, I am constantly connected with my work and stay updated.
Q. What is your favourite traveling destination?
My favourite traveling destination will be anywhere in Europe, but Norway has my heart; seeing the northern lights have always been my dream and number one on my bucket lists, and Norway is one of the best places to see them. Many locations in northern Norway allow you to see the lights in all their beauty. One of my favourite traits of Norway is that the country has different seasons, but also that during the summer you can ski and play in five feet of snow.
Q. What is the one place everyone must visit once in their lifetime?
I think for me, it will be Thailand, hands down. Thailand truly has it all–the chaotic charm of Bangkok, the epic tropical jungles, some of the best street food in the world, and palm-lined beaches that seem to go on forever. Whatever your reason for escaping to the Land of Smiles, Thailand won’t disappoint you.
Q. What is the last good book or good movie you saw?
I recently saw Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs movie; it was a very different movie that consisted of the time loop. Someone living the same life repeatedly, was a big relates to me and it relates to all of us, I guess. Because this is the life, we have spent during the pandemic in our house, living the same life again and again. But there, I have learned that sometimes it’s a bad thing and sometimes it’s a blessing because I know a lot of people within this same recurring schedule in this monotonous life many of us have acquired skills that we are glad that we did. After all, now we can work more efficiently so that movie portrays that in a very different way, but it was a wonderful movie I saw.
Q. Who would you say has been the biggest inspiration in your life?
I think it won’t be a single person that has inspired me. I believe that you learn a new thing at every step of your life. So, for me, I have learned a lot so far in my journey till now from different individuals and situations and there is a lot more to learn ahead for sure.
Q. What do you think of the future of the Bangladesh Business sector and the aspiring entrepreneurs or business enthusiasts?
Bangladesh government and regulations that are being imposed are helping the new entrepreneurs to build their plans and ideas but individually taking about entrepreneurs they should study about how entrepreneurship or read books about famous entrepreneurs they make the differences because it’s very easy to think of an idea about a business, but it is very difficult to execute. We all need to focus on the whole process and the whole procedure of execution, and I would ask every of the upcoming aspiring entrepreneurs to look into it before diving into that world.
Q. What has been the best advice you ever got?
One of the pieces of advice I have gotten is that it matters what you intend to do; actions come from intentions. Sometimes we fail to act on our intentions but understand that intentions matter, and whatever you do you should have a pure intention and that particular action have the best of results. So, whenever I start anything, I try to keep the purest of intentions, and by the grace of Allah everything works out well.
Q. What advice would you like to give to someone who is just starting and has no clue about life?
This is a very unpopular thought, but I would say, many people say that jack of traits master of none is a bad thing, but I think for someone to start, he/she should be the jack of all trades knowing everything that they want to choose their career then accordingly.
Q. What trait do you believe a person must have to be a leader?
A person to be a leader must be an extremely good follower. A person who knows how to follow a mindset or a person or an ideology can be a true leader. A Leader should possess all the quality of a follower and understands that leading is not about only taking power; it’s about growing along with your followers or along with everyone you’re working with.
Q. What do you believe is the one trait that has helped you come this far?
Resilience and consistency are what I believe in myself are the particular traits have which brought me to where I am today because I have been consistent with my growth even it’s one percent, I made sure I grow every day and resilient in a way I knew, that I was patient. I was resilient with what I wanted to achieve. I know nothing happens overnight, and I took my time and was resilient with it.
Q. I believe the pandemic has been a big challenge for all of us. How did you overcome the challenge both personally and business-like?
The main head that I took during the pandemic is dealing with mental stress because I have always been a people person; I was always there among the crowd, and this once in my life. I found myself locked in my room, so dealing with my inner demons and thoughts is something that I was challenged with every day, and I think I know myself better now because I know what drives me mentally. Everything I know about myself is because of my time alone fighting my demons.
Q. If you are given a second chance what would you do differently?
I would make much better use of my time and as I know now how I want my life to be. I would have acted accordingly. Like, choosing my education in a more precise way.
Q. What was the biggest fear you ever overcame?
The biggest fear that I still overcome is not taking a chance, where I would rather take a chance that has 30/70 odd, but I just fear not taking the chance is that something I usually fear.
Q. What would be your biggest achievement till now?
I have been doing business for a long time, but as of now, my biggest achievement would be getting into the restaurant business or being a restaurateur who I have been looking forward to for a long time.
Q. Do you consider yourself successful? If not, then at what point will you consider yourself successful?
Success is determined by driving factors such as peace, state of mind, and also by achieving personal goals. So, I believe that I haven’t yet reached the panicle of my life because my goal is to become financially independent by the age of 34 or less. So, when I get there and when I know that I have my family and my close once secured under one roof, for me that is the point I will feel that I am successful.
Q. What mistakes did you make on the way and how did you compensate them?
Mistakes I have made will be investing most of the funds in one business that showed more return in an early stage of the business rather than I should have invested in my small start-ups to make more progress and growth.
