LATIDO LEATHERS FOR NEPAL: BILAL AHMED SHAH

1. Let us know about you.

I am a drop out student. I didn’t complete my Bachelor studies. When I came back to Nepal, my father and I had a conflict. From that day, I thought to do something. As my father was also a businessman and I always wanted to be a businessman. In 2014 A.D., I started off a new business named “Latido Leathers”. I chose leathers because I had been familiar with it since my father also had engaged in same materials for his business in a traditional way.

2. What are your morning rituals? What do you do to keep yourself healthy?

Health means both physically and mentally fit. I usually take a deep sleep for 8 hours a day. I start my day with reading blogs and articles, and the social media purposes of Latido Leathers. Recently, I have joined a gym and for myself healthy. I play a futsal 2 times in a week.

3. What ignited a spark in you to start a new business? How did the ideas for your business come about?

I always wanted to be a businessman like my father. After I came back to Nepal, my parents were against my idea. I made them convinced and established Latido Leathers in 2014 A.D. In the first year of establishment, most of the time I engaged to understand the technique and process of business, learned about entrepreneurship because my educational background is Science.

4. How do you find the manpower and customers? As making a leather product is supposedly challenging.

Yeah! It was somehow difficult to find out the manpower and customers. Considering the situation I started with a small manpower of 4 or 5 numberswho were already engaged in my daddy’s industry. And, through friend circle people knew about the Latido Leathers and customers increased remarkably.

5. What kind of challenges you had during your initiation?

Challenges were from every aspects for me during my new business. As I am from Science background, I didn’t know about much more about the products, techniques and process. With time I learned about those things. Today, I usually spend time to learn more through online and offline process of business.

6. What is fashion in your opinion?

Fashion is “Be who you are”. It is not about to show, it is how you feel and make comfortable in sense yourself. Like I feel high in drug when I wear my favorite leather jacket, one should also feel the same when they do fashion. Fashion is all about to do what you feel, not to copy. If it is copied, you might fail.

7.What are favorite accessories and outfits?

I’m a leather fan so I mostly use leather jacket and leather boots.

8. How do you generate new ideas?

“Be who you are”. This is the slogan I mostly use to emphasize how I generate the ideas. It means the new ideas are generated from product to product and according to the desire of customers.

9. What 3 skills to be a good entrepreneur?

One should be practical; realistic, focus in one product and patience.

10. What do you suggest to youths who want to become entrepreneurs?

It sounds good to choose the career in entrepreneurship. You should work harder and know the value of taker and giver. It is the best when you feel happy implementing your interest practically. Happiness can be gained with hard working and devotion. So, you should learn to go through the way of mistakes and never give up.

11. What is your favorite Latido Leather’s product so far? Like the jackets with superman pattern?

I am a Leather lover so I obviously use customized Leather Jacket as my favorite Latido Leather’s product.

Mr Saurabh Jyoti with his newly customized Latido BatmanvsSuperman Leather Jacket.

12. If you are given a chance to start a new thing, what do you want to do differently?

I have not planned yet. I believe in focusing on one product will result better, so I have not made a diversion to start a different business. But, with time if I am given a chance, I would do something different in Leather product as far or in writing.

13. Who is Bilal Ahmed Shah?

Bilal Ahmed Shah is in the journey of two parts of a coin; winner and failure. Winner leads to learn more new things differently and pull the failure part to gain the perception of success again.