When Farnaz Khan was younger she was encouraged by her strict Muslim parents to be a home-maker rather than pursue the glittering career she dreamed of.
But Farnaz’ determination to combine motherhood with business has paid off – today she runs www.PrizeBoom.com, a free to use competition website that generates fresh leads for advertisers. The site is one of the UK’s leading free competition sites with more than a million users – a figure set to double next year.
The 30 year old mum of four, who recently won the coveted Yorkshire Female Entrepreneur Award, launched her own home-based digital marketing business in 2006 and expects turnover to exceed £300,000 this year.
But Farnaz has had to overcome plenty of barriers to succeed. Brought up by strict Muslim parents, she was encouraged to become a home-maker rather than pursue her own career.
But a strong work ethic saw her take a Saturday job at a fashion store at 14 – without telling her parents.
‘My first day was going so well until the late afternoon when my mum came charging in, and dragged me out of the shop, say Farnaz. ‘One of my younger brothers had let the cat out the bag and told her I had a job. I was mortified.’
It was an inauspicious start to what would become a glittering work career. Farnaz later left school without formal qualifications and started to sell double glazing for a living. She had a natural talent for sales but after marrying at age 18 her career ambitions were temporarily placed on hold when her first daughter came along.
Farnaz said: “Before the arrival of my daughter, I took a job selling double glazing. I was the MD’s little star. I started to work my way through the phone book and was able to make endless appointments.
But Bradford born Farnaz’ route to success has not always been easy. A career in sales and finance at Abbey National was put on hold to care for two of her two sons’ health problems.
‘My eldest son was born with a kidney condition which later required surgery. Later my second son was diagnosed with the same condition, she says.
‘It bought a lot into perspective for me. Work was, and still is, a passion but the most important thing in my life is my children and family. I needed to find something that would fit and allow me to have the work life balance I craved.
‘I knew I wanted to do something online that would complement my background in finance and so I came up with the idea of sourcing fresh business leads for other firms.
In 2006 Farnaz launched Eresponse Media quickly signing up clients Ipsos Mori and running campaigns for Ladbrokes, RSPB.
‘I built up a reputation for supplying quality, bespoke and easy to convert leads, says Farnaz. ‘I realised I had developed a winning formula providing leads that converted for my clients on a pay per lead basis, these were leads that outperformed any mailing list, and were hot off the press, exclusively generated for the clients.’
Farnaz sources her leads through her competition website Prizeboom.com via permission based marketing and as a result can supply real time bespoke leads in an instant. Users can win cash, cars, holidays and gadgets – all for free.
‘I’m delighted with how the business is evolving and I have finally achieved the work life balance I need. I can enjoy time with my kids and wake up in the morning looking forward to tackling the challenges of running a successful business.’
‘In hindsight, my strict background has been the making of me. It fired my ambition and kept me focused during my teens. My mother has been a huge inspiration. She runs her own business and was one of the first in her generation to do that. She and the rest of my family have been incredibly supportive throughout.
‘As for the future, my goal is world domination. I’d love to sit on the panel of Dragons Den and help other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.
‘I’ll always encourage those with an idea to follow their dream and passion. If you believe in something, you can make it happen. I’m the perfect example of someone who’s done just that coming from a non academic background and am now looking forward to what the future has to hold for me and my family.’
Tags: back to work, Online Industry, small business, SMEs, successful women, work-life balance, working mums
No Comments on this post