Fouad Fares spent 18 years with PC
Group, where he worked his way up
the corporate ladder, learning a thing
or two along the way. ‘The new millennium
is the era of services,” he says. In January he
established Mindsmaster, a consultancy firm
that focuses on IT auditing and consulting,
management training and quality assurance.
Fares audits companies’ IT environments
and designs solutions for them. “But I don’t
sell programs,” he says. “I tell them what’s
available for their needs.” Management
training involves auditing companies and
presenting in-house workshops on topics like
management techniques and customer care.
Mindsmaster also prepares companies for
ISO 9000 and 14000. Fares, who is a certified
lead auditor for both, says he has a unique offer
– the option to buy Quality Mapping
Solution software, which sells for $2,889.
The charge for IT and management consulting
is generally $600 a day. For ISO it’s
·$400 a day, while the cost on long-term contracts
ranges from $8,000 to $25,000.
Mindsmaster has done IT consulting for
National Shipping Company and a customer
care workshop for Skaff. He has done
a number of ISO audits and is preparing
Crown House and Crepaway for ISO 9000.
According to Rafi Semerdjian, a professor
of quality management systems, the stagnant
economy and tough competition have led to
reduced pricing for ISO consulting. “That’s
why we’re targeting markets abroad,” says
Semerdjian, who is also the director of CSP
Middle East, a big player in the field.
To raise the profile of his company, Fares
organizes ISO workshops and management
seminars. The workshops haven’t generated
profits, but Fares isn’t concerned: “It’s a marketing
tool.” He’s also involved in preparing
a campaign to highlight environmental
issues. Fares is turning Mindsmaster green –
he’s preparing it for ISO 14000. “I am setting
a policy to reduce risks on the environment.”
The initial investment into Mindsmaster
was $15,000. Because it’s a one-man show,
monthly overhead is only about $1,000,
though specialized consultants are employed
on a project-basis. To date turnover stands at
$50,000. Fares is negotiating with international
consultancy companies to enter
regional and European markets.
A photo opportunity
S even years ago Sevag Seropian started
a small photography business. He
went from wedding pictures to advertising
photography. That led to graphic
design services – a move motivated by frustration.
“If brochures weren’t good the
designers blamed it on the photos – now I have
full control of the job,” he says. In November
1999 his company, Photo & Printing
Promoters, expanded further by becoming
an advertising agency offering media booking.
The transition was the idea of executive
manager Haig Tatarian, who was hired to
take over operations when Seropian
accepted a position as in-house photographer
for a Lebanese multinational. The
new job keeps Seropian busy traveling, but
he still does photography for his own firm.
The company employs three other freelancers
– two graphic designers and a photographer.
The price per photo is usually
$100 or $150, depending on whether it’s
done in the studio or not. Other photographers,
such as Roger Moukarzel, say prices can
range from $100 to $2,000 per photo at other
outfits. Photo & Printing Promoters charges
about $1,000 to $2,000 for brochures, including
photos and graphic design (not printing).
About $100,000 has been invested into the
company. Cameras recently purchased
include a $20,000 Sinar (4X5 inch format
slides), a $10,000 Nikon FIOO 35mm (with
various lenses) and a $7,500 Marnia
(medium format slides). “If clients don’t
want to pay a lot, we use the Marnia not the
Sinar,” says Tatarian. “And the 35mm is
good for fashion photography.” Moukarzel
says he has $300,000 worth at his studio.
Photo & Printing Promoters has 30 regular
clients and does numerous single jobs.
The monthly overhead is roughly $1,000,
and annual sales are about $100,000.
Photography generates 30% of business
and 50% of profits. Graphic design services,
which increased business by 40%,
make up the rest. With over 100 advertising
agencies offering media bookings, the new
activity has yet to bring in business.
