Today we’d like to introduce you to Ahmad Kilani.
Hi Ahmad, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started my business journey in the food industry by opening my first food truck in 2015. I faced many obstacles throughout my journey, but this only encouraged me to keep going. Besides the hardships that any business owner faces, I also went through unfortunate experiences that were unexpected. One of these experiences includes one of my trucks being burned down twice. This was hard to get through, especially when I was just getting started with the food truck business. Looking at the bright side, this actually motivated me to come back stronger.
I worked hard to get another truck but it was unfortunate again, I got in an accident while driving the food truck, this loss was greater than I expected. Two hits back to back had to start from scratch all over again. However; I had a lot of faith in my business and knew I was going to get through these hard times. In 2020, I decided to open a new concept in the food truck business. After six years of being in the food truck industry, I am pleased to say that I am the owner of multiple Abu Omar Halal locations, Yalla Printing and Graphics, and Clutch City Cluckers.
It wasn’t an easy journey, but I am thankful for the hardships that made me who I am right now, learned many lessons from each single one of them. In summary, what leads you to success is not only effort, but the way of thinking and set your exact and clear goals does that.
My wife is the biggest supporter who helps me to grow my business in every single way possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it was definitely not a smooth road for me. However; I learned many important lessons throughout the obstacles that I faced.
One of the most important lessons I learned was that being successful isn’t reached by putting just money into a business, it takes a lot of thinking, creativity, marketing, and a strong team to reach your goals, good planning is critical to have a successful business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We work as a family. I take care of my employees, we learn together and we eat together. I’m always ready to help them achieve their dreams and their full potential.
We discuss the future and we regularly have small social gatherings, this helps me understand their personal side of this life, I believe this is why we have a family-friendly atmosphere. The majority of my team members have continued to grow within my company, I always like to hear from them how we can grow and continue to stand out, this helps set the blueprints of the future of the company.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters the most to me is to achieve my goals and hope my success story will inspire entrepreneurs nationwide and maybe worldwide. Opening locations across the nation creates job opportunities and helps support our American economy.
Especially in my hometown Houston, my success story began in this great city. Houston gave me a great opportunity to build my own business and overcome many challenges I faced at the beginning of my journey. So I will work harder and I will keep grinding until I reach my goals while living the American Dream!
Contact Info:
- Website: clutchcitycluckers.com abuomarhalal.com yallaprinting.com
- Instagram: @clutchcitycluckers, @abuomarhalal, and @yalla_printing
