First (briefly) who are you and what do you do?
My name is Ahmed Al-Khayyat, I’m 31 years old and I’m living in Espoo. I’m studying service business management at Laurea UAS, and I also work two full-time jobs: as a full-time entrepreneur in the company called Barber Mobile Oy and as a food delivery carrier in Wolt. I’m also interested in trading and investing. My company Barber Mobile provides a unique barber experience by being the first barber service in Finland to be fully mobile which means that the company delivers services to customers location in the capital area. Barber Mobile also provides outdoor display advertisements, which are screen advertisements attached on a Barber Mobile van that travels in the capital area. The company can provide advertising services to companies or individual people.
How is your company doing at the moment? What are you working on?
The beginning was a little challenging, but it’s getting easier over time. I founded my company, Barber Mobile Oy, in 2019, and it officially began operations in 2020. The business is currently doing well, and we are selling more of our services. The business is also well-known and trusted by both our customers and the Finnish market. We look forward to continually growing the business and expanding it in the future. I am the board chairman for Barber Mobile Oy and my work is primarily administrative, including communicating with other businesses, organizing events, managing our social media accounts, and creating advertisements, and helping with accounting. My brother Mohammed Al-Khayyat works as a barber in our company.
What kind of help has EnterpriseEspoo offered you?
From the beginning of my company idea until today, my advisor Matias Holmqvist has provided me with the best service and advice. Matias helped me with the company’s business plan and business calculation, as well as advice on how to apply for a loan for my company and also how to apply for a start-up grant. Additionally, I also got advice on which departments I needed to contact both before and after establishing the business.
Summarise a piece of advice or insight that has been important for you. What would you like to say to a new entrepreneur?
The most important things for the new entrepreneurs who wants to start their own business in Finland is that they first need to get to know the business market well and also the competitors and also the market fluctuations. They need also to be patient, do not give up and try constantly and hard to build a job market and gain the trust of customers for their company.
