Master Franchise Focus Shafiq Mohamed And Art Working Smartand Hard

It’s scary running your own business, but there’s something
romantic about it, too. The late nights. The rush of adrenaline as you race
the clock to nail down a deal and keep the cash flowing. Wondering if you’re
going to be a big success or someday be full of regrets.

Having recently bought his own Stratus Building Solutions Master Franchise based in
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Shafiq Mohamed is going through all of
that now.

“If you had asked me a month ago, if I was glad I had joined
Stratus, I would have hesitated,” Shafiq admits, chuckling. “If you ask me
today, yes, I’m very glad.   Things are picking up, and FAST! We
literally brought on three new Unit Franchisees yesterday!”

It’s probably appropriate that Shafiq Mohamed became a Master
Franchisee for Stratus Building Solutions. After all, for years, he has been
building his career, slowly but surely, and he is a very
solutions-oriented business person. As for the Stratus
part… well, you can only take these analogies so far.

Shafiq, 52, got his start in the restaurant industry. He worked
his way up to operations and area manager at Cara Operations (now Recipe
Unlimited Corporation), which overseas several restaurant chains, including
Swiss Chalet, which was where Shafiq was focused. He stayed with that for 12
years before taking on a couple jobs until he became a franchise owner with
Fully Promoted, which used to be called EmbroidMe (nothing stays the same,
does it?), which offers branded products and marketing services.

Shafiq ran the business with his wife, Monika Lapinski, and things
were going well. But then one day, Shafiq was approached by Stuart Erskine.
 Erskine, a former Canadian-based master franchisee for EmbroidMe, had
taken over as the driving force behind Stratus Buildings Solutions Canadian
expansion. Erskine wanted to know if Shafiq would be interested in becoming a
Master Franchisee for Stratus Building Solutions territories throughout
Ontario.

“I wasn’t that interested because EmbroidMe was doing well, and if
it’s not broken, why fix it? So I left it at that,” Shafiq says.

But he started doing research on Stratus and discussed it more
with Erskine and started rethinking his stance. “What I like about Stratus
and being a Master Franchise is that I can help others grow their businesses.
They can take the Unit Franchise opportunity and I can help them succeed.
I’ve spent 30 years in the restaurant business, helping people become
managers and managers become owners. It’s bred in me to help
others.”

There were other elements that attracted Shafiq to Stratus
Building Solutions, however. For one, he liked the idea of continuing to
advance his own business and career and possibly – if they were interested –
bringing in a second generation to the family business when his sons were
older. (Justin Lapinski and Zachary Lapinski are ages 22 and 17,
respectively.) Ultimately, for now, Shafiq and Lapinski decided that she
would focus on running and growing Fully Promoted while he would throw his
energies into launching/building Stratus Building Solutions.

So, Shafiq told Erskine that they were in, and Shafiq and Lapinski
became the Master Franchisees for Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario. Shafiq
hired four employees, including a sales manager, and for the last four
months, there have been the aforementioned ups and downs – and in general,
while he ramps up, the days are full.

Shafiq says that a typical day often starts with waking up early
(very early) and heading to spin class at 5:30 a.m. Then, he generally will
work on Fully Promoted from 7 to 9 a.m., and for the rest of the work day, be
involved with Stratus – sometimes wrapping up his evenings by helping new
Unit Franchisees tackle cleaning projects.

It obviously isn’t always a glamorous life, but Shafiq is excited
about what’s ahead. “While I’m getting the business going, I’ve become the
accountant, the lawyer, the sales person, the trainer – and the cleaner,” he
says, laughing. “All of them. But I know that at the end of the day, this is
the right path we’re on.”

He says that one thing he has loved has been the freedom Stratus
has given him to grow his business with a work-life balance he’s always
desired. Yes, he sounds crazy busy, but Shafiq says that unlike some of his
previous occupations, such as when he was an operations manager for a Tim
Hortons, he now gets to choose how he spends his time.

In fact, incredibly, he finds the time to be a Rotarian in
Burlington, sit on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Hamilton,
Ontario, as well be the chair of the new membership committee at
the Burlington Chamber of
Commerce.

Furthermore, as demanding as his schedule is, Shafiq says, “Thanks
to Stratus, I’ve had far more time for family life, which is very important
to me. When you’re the general manager of a 24-hour doughnut restaurant,
you’re on call every minute.”

Now with weekends free, and his schedule fluid, but flexible,
Shafiq may still occasionally wield a broom, but like all business owners
working to improve their bottom line, he believes that before too long, he
will really clean up!

Are you ready to take control of your future as a business owner,
like Shafiq Mohamed?   Does the Stratus Building Solutions
franchise opportunity sound like it could be for you?   If so,
learn more at https://www.stratusclean.com/.