About the Entrepreneur
Established in 1992, Chakwal International Hair Salon has earned its reputation as a top-rated salon in the Chungking Mansions. The salon is owned by a family that migrated to Hong Kong from Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan, in the 1980s. From a small shop with just one chair, the salon has evolved under the visionary leadership of its owner.
Initially opened by the Abbas family’s eldest son, the salon has been passed down to the youngest brother Nissar Abbas, who now manages a team of up to five full-time barbers. The skilled South Asian barbers specialize in fades, facial grooming, threading, shaving, hair styling as well as rejuvenating head massages. The family has exhibited unwavering dedication to business growth and customer satisfaction. With a clientele spanning all walks of life, from babies to university students and consulate generals, the salon’s barbers showcase their versatility in meeting diverse demands. Their journey from humble beginnings to becoming respected hairstylists reflects their commitment to evolving with trends and surpassing customer expectations.
Challenges Faced by the Entrepreneur
- Outdated Pricing List: The salon’s existing price list needed to be updated and redesigned to include new services and improve accessibility and readability.
- Inadequate Social Media Presence: Social media content required improvement, and consistent templates needed to be designed to effectively leverage social media platforms to promote their services and strengths to attract potential clients.
- Small Client Base of Local and Younger Customers: The salon desired tips and advice on how to effectively attract and engage local customers, particularly the younger demographic, in order to expand their customer base.
Direct Business Support Provided by CBI Interns
Through FSI’s CBI Program, Chakwal International Hair Salon received invaluable assistance in addressing their challenges. With the dedicated efforts of FSI interns, Saanvi Ravi Katyayan and Gia Anand, who contributed a total of 20 hours of work from September 2023 to October, the following objectives were accomplished:
- Update Business Profiles: Updated the salon’s profiles on platforms such as Google My Business and Instagram. This included optimizing the profile bio and ensuring accurate and compelling information.
- Suggestions for Social Media Marketing: Provided suggestions on enhancing social media presence. This included designing templates for engaging social media posts, creating a bank of captivating captions and relevant keywords, and drafting SEO strategies to improve online visibility.
- Redesigning and Updating The Price List: Redesigning the salon’s service menu, making it more visually appealing and user-friendly. This involved updating service information and creating a digital version of the menu, as well as designing small menu flyers for promotional purposes.
From the Entrepreneur
“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the FSI team and the interns who helped me accomplish some significant milestones. We were amazed to have this opportunity to receive business support directly from young students from the same background for the first time since we have opened. The new service menu design is really amazing, it gives a fresh and inviting ambience to the salon. My team was very surprised when they realized the Service Menu was designed for free. They also gave a lot of positive feedback saying the design is very appealing, and the formatting is user-friendly.
I am immensely thankful to FSI for their support and hard work. Their efforts in consulting us in our native language, and teaching us about social media content was also very helpful. “ – Nissar Abbas
From the Youth
I would definitely recommend this internship opportunity to other youths, especially those that would like hands-on experience in the business world and have a desire to create social impact, as you are able to help those that need it, while also developing your own skills. This opportunity also allows you to train your initiative and put yourself in the shoes of others when thinking about what the business needs help with and working on it accordingly. Even for those that do not wish to study business directly, this experience allows you to broaden your perspective within the business domain and gain transferable skills such as time management, creativity, and consulting. – Gia Anand
Get Involved
Here’s how you can help FSI support more grassroots businesses in mutually beneficial ways:
- Join our Community Business Support Internship to equip yourself or your students with business consultation skills to help under-resourced entrepreneurs;
- Sponsor and/or volunteer for our Community Business Support Internship, Impact Jams, Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneur’s Toolkit etc. to channel private-sector resources towards positive social impact;
- Check out GuideFong to find more grassroots businesses, try them out, leave reviews, and tell others about Hong Kong’s first online directory for ethnically diverse businesses!
