He is as tough as they come and is never afraid to take risks even when others questioned his ambitions. A businessman with a never quit approach and an endearing ability to succeed regardless of the odds before him.That is Rizwan Nayeem Khan, a simple boy from afarming community in rural Guyana who invested in a shoed ream and is today redefining Guyana’s skyline through strategic acquisition of property.
Rizwan is an inspiration – a dedicated family man who made a name for himself at an early age, molded from the menacing city streets.With the help of his wife, Bibi S. Khan, Rizwan built an empire from the ground up; from selling shoes out of their home to eventually opening the popular Discount Store on Regent Street and changing the skyline of Georgetown by introducing several unique and modern mega structures toits landscape.EARLY YEARS At the prepubescent age of ten, Rizwan journeyed to Georgetown to attend school, leaving behind his mother and the modest farming lifestyle of his hometown, Caledoniaon Wakenaam Island, along the mighty Essequibo River.Upon arrival to the city, he was forced to share cramped conditions with several relatives in a single bedroom home on Wellington Street. Every day was a battle to survive;more so, because Rizwan and his young cousins most days had to fend for themselves.They assisted their aunt by selling vegetables, or as he puts it colloquially, ‘greens’ at Stabroek Market.This is where Rizwan cultivated his sharp business acumen.“Every day when the market closed, we came out on the road with what was left over from my aunt. Every dollar counted because my aunt used to take care of us. It was alot of us in that one house,” he recalled.Fortunately for Rizwan, he was not required to share his weekend earnings.It was on the streets in front of the iconic market that he also quickly learned how to cut deals with buyers.“People always wanted a deal. Greens is something that is perishable, so you had to sell out fast. Walking up and down, in no time, I sold out my share. I wanted to sell out fast, because as soon as I done, I would hit the cinema,” Rizwan recalled with a smile as he spoke about this love for Indian movies.Just as he had completed school, Rizwan returned to Wakenaam to help run his mother’s business. His mother had, at one time, concluded that he was an under performing student. To this, Rizwan wittily rebutted by stating that he was in the middle of the pack, and not at the bottom.While on the island, Rizwan also assisted his family inthe rice fields.TOUGH TIME Eager to earn more, Rizwan yearned to return to the city.“One day, I was in the rice field when the koker opened and flooded the field. My feet were deep inmud and water. The sun was sharp, so I said this is enough! I remember I had cut my hand also that day. I got vex, threw the grass knife in the water and I walked out of that field. I said I am notable with this thing. That was it! I went home,changed my clothes, packed up my stuff and left for town,” Rizwan related.However, when he returned to thecity, he met different circumstances.There was no space for Rizwan at his aunt’s house. It was the toughest time for the young lad.
He knew that if he wanted to survive, he needed to grow up fast. He opted, though, to press ahead instead of giving up and returning to Wakenaam. He, along with other relatives, including his uncle, Glenn Lall, Publisher of the Kaieteur News, slept at the back of the Stabroek Market.“We had fun in the market. We had no one to report to, so after we finished selling in the afternoon, we would go to the movies, Diwali fair and other events. At times, we came out of the movie at midnight, jumped over the market gate and went to the stand. We spread a cloth and slept,”Rizwan said.
As a market dweller, he was required to wake up before the crack of dawn to bathe, sometimes with the murky water from the Demerara River that flowed by the market and nearby boat landing. Rizwan recalled, “We had to get ready before the people started coming in the market. We bathed, got dressed and tended to my aunt’s stall in the market. In the evenings, we went to the cinema, returned to the back of the market to sleep and
then got up early again to get ready. We did this for a number of years.” Fortunately, he was also able to earn extra money by selling the political newsprint, ‘The Mirror’, which at the time was five cents per paper. Rizwan earned as much as 25 cents per paper because of his strategic approach to buyers. His tactic was to
allow some persons to take a free newsprint when they were unable to pay for it. “The next week, I would go back to them and they paid for two copies. Sometimes, they gave me 25 cents and told me to keep the change. I was making good money those days around the town,” Rizwan stated.
U.S. PURSU IT!
In 1985, when Rizwan was 19, his mom migrated to the United States. It was a time when many from rural communities in Guyana opted to leave in pursuit of a better life. Rizwan, however, stayed behind to oversee the family’s trucking business and to care for his grandmother. For three years, he trucked
rice and coconut into the city. Whatever little money he made, he banked it. It was only time, though, until he could no longer resist the migration wave. He decided to leave Guyana to join his mother in the U.S., but his pursuit hit a major bump in the road when he entrusted someone to secure the needed travel visa.
16 Guyana Inc. 35th Edition It was his first time applying for one. “I was conned,” Rizwan admitted.
He paid $5000 to a man who took him to the former Guyana Airways Corporation office just off Main Street. First, the man entered the nearby U.S. Embassy. “The man took my passport and entered the building. He must have talked to the secretary at the embassy,” Rizwan recalled. The man returned from the embassy and related that he needed Rizwan’s passport and a payment.
“He told me don’t come to the airline with him, so I was across the road waiting. I assumed that the door he was going into would be the door that he has to come out from. I did not know at the time that there was a side door at Guyana Airways. The man gone through there and gone with my passport, money and
everything,” Rizwan said. Deflated but not defeated, Rizwan returned to his mom’s trucking business
while he waited for his new passport to be processed. He maintained a good financial record at the then Chase Manhattan Bank. This, along with a few trips to nearby Trinidad and Tobago, he believed allowed him to secure a multiple entry visa to visit the U.S. Many of his friends and family were excited to have him in the foreign
country, but Rizwan felt a deep need to return to Guyana. It was winter season and Rizwan had started working at a Hess gas station on Hillside Avenue in New York. For two weeks, he braved the blistering cold, often times questioning why he had relocated to earn $3.75 an hour as a pump attendant. By this time, he was convinced that the U.S was not his calling. “The money I collected in those two weeks was small compared to
what I earned with my mom’s truck. I decided to return to Guyana to roll my truck. I earned $2,000 a week on the truck,so why not?” he decided. During his short stay in the States, Rizwan rarely saw his mom, who
worked as a babysitter in New Jersey. She was upset with Rizwan’s decision to return home, but he held to his conviction. Before leaving New York for Guyana, he went to Manhattan and invested all the money he made as a pump attendant in the purchase of two suitcases of shoes along with two barrels of clothing. “I have no regrets, although I believe that if I had stayed, I would have become a major successful investor in the United States. I made a good decision,” Rizwan stated.
TRADING PLACES
His return to Guyana was the start of what became a viable trading business. He quickly flipped the Manhattan purchasesinto profit. Although he was experiencing more success, he maintained
connection with Wakenaam. On his second trip to the states, he purchased a television, video cassette player and a small generator. These went to his grandmother’s home on the island and served as a form
of refreshment and recreation for his family and neighbours, something that was otherwise missing in the community. It was the first television in the village. “I would borrow seven Indian video cassettes – that is one
movie a day. My grandmother made lime drink and shared biscuits with villagers who gathered at the house. Every night around 6, the house was packed. It was movie time. I enjoyed the fun with neighbours
and other persons,” Rizwan said. After his U.S. visa expired, Rizwan then set his eyes on Curacao where he
sourced shoes and clothes, items he would return to sell in Guyana. Some were sold from a stall at Stabroek Market, while he walked the streets looking for lucrative contracts. His immediate markets were Fogarty’s and GuyanaStores.
In whatever he did, he always ensured that he was saving his money. “If I come today and made money, before I go back home, I banked the money. When you’re making money, you have to put up the money or it will go away. You should not be spending all of your money. Save some for emergencies or for
investment opportunities,” the seasoned businessman encouraged. At this point in his life, Rizwan lived in Eccles along the East Bank of Demerara. And when he would travel overseas to trade cash for goods, a friend managed his operations at the market stall.This gave him the freedom to be the roving sales man seeking out major deals.
BIG BREAK
Rizwan kept searching for greater opportunities, using the skills he had learned from his time in the market and others he had picked up along the way.One day, he took a big chance. Rizwan decided to pack all the shoes he had and walked into Bata on Water Street, determined to close a deal. He was, instead, directed to the store’s Beterverwagting Branch where he met a Senior Manager. The two haggled over prices and eventually reached an agreement on a truck loaded with footwear. Rizwan said that the price he got in that first deal was more
than expected. At the age of 21, Rizwan began a long-term lucrative relationship with Bata. He
started buying a minimum of one container of shoes per week and made as much as three trips per week to Curacao. “When I brought my shoes, I took it to Bata. Sometimes, I did not bring enough
of them. I even bought raw materials for Bata while still supplying Guyana Stores, Fogarty’s and individual customers,” Rizwan recalled.
TWO BECOME ONE
In 1990, when his business interests were taking flight, Rizwan decided to pursue the heart of a quiet girl from his home island. During a birthday party, he laid eyes on Bibi. He was good friends with her father, but he never said much to her, only the occasional greeting although the two lived just about a mile apart. In the traditional Indian way, Rizwan decided to approach her dad to ask for her hand in marriage. Eight months later, the two tied the knot. Together, they spent three months in Eccles before unforeseen circumstances forced them to seek alternative accommodations. Through a lifelong accountant friend, they bought land in the city and constructed
a two-storey house at 42 Boyle Place. The lower flat served as a bond for shoes
and clothing. Bibi took over some accounting aspects, ensuring that, financially, the market stall was properly stocked and monies were accounted for. “I, for one, had a lot of things to do because I was still selling and trying to maintain the larger clients. When wholesale clients wanted stock, they dealt with her at the bond,” Rizwan said. Business was good. They even employed a driver and bought a small van. As fate would have it, his accountant friend alerted him to the sale of the Red Rooster, a popular joint on Regent Street, the centre piece of the city’s vibrant commercial zone. The asking price was US$250,000, but Rizwan only had US$100,000 banked. He withdrew the money and made a downpayment, but the owners kept increasing the price. For two months, he waited. At one stage, he was told to collect his downpayment or lose it, but he held out. Eventually, the deal came through with the help of a bank loan.
He was 27 at the time. He recalled standing in front of the property trying tocome up with a name for the business.
“We came up with different names. Rizwan Khan and Sherry Khan store, The Discount Store, The Super Discount Store… We agreed to go with The Discount store, but we kept The Super Discount name,” he recalled.
R i z w a n and his wife received much needed support at the time from a familiar supplier in Curacao that provided them a line of credit. Eight containers of goods were shipped to Guyana for the Khans. He was allowed to pay for two and pay for the remaining six as the store progressed. At this time, they still had the initial one stall in the market and had purchased four additional ones. Still looking to expand, Rizwan set eyes on an adjoining store property on Regent Street, D. Paul and Sons. He acquired the property, tore down the building and started construction on what would become a second section of the Discount store. On the very day they started the foundation for the second building, his wife gave birth to their first child, Ridwan, born on June 15, 1995. Rizwan said that the Gafoor family was very supportive in providing a line of credit on building materials. The couple sold two stalls to pay for the construction of the new building. By 1995, the business accelerated quickly. He went to China with the Curacao supply. They spent three weeks. In 1996, however, the family hit a difficult patch when Bibi was hospitalized. Rizwan shut part of the store until his wife returned.
“I did not have the patience to run the store. Everyday was something going wrong. So I just became frustrated and shut down a section of the store,” Rizwan said. When Bibi left the hospital, she renovated the store
and re-opened it. During this year, the couple also had their second child, Fariah Khan.
The children, too, became part of the business, working at the Discount Store after school and
during holidays. “I always feel that if your children don’t know the value of what they have, they aren’t
going to learn anything in life. So, it was important for them to learn the business,” Rizwan stated. He added, “I see a lot of people go down broke. Their parents had a lot of money, but if you don’t know the value of it, you will lose it. Easy come, easy go. The most important thing is to have a good partner. In business, you need a good partner who would be honest, children who will not steal from you; or your business will collapse.”
PROPERTY HUNT
The business grew and with it, Rizwan’s ambitions. Already with two properties in the Lot 102 Camp Street,
he pursued purchasing the other two properties. And then it happened. Ten years after, he purchased the first property on Regent Street, thereby becoming in control of the entire Lot 102 Block. His expansion continued,
purchasing two properties just north of Church Street along Camp Street for storage.
Then, in early 2005, the iconic wooden Metropole Cinema was destroyed by fire. It was a cinema that
Rizwan attended many times. It was located a few yards from his Discount store. “I liked the cinema too, but then it went up for sale a year after the fire. I could not resist. I bought it,” he said. The property now features a
modern structure that houses the American Home and Beauty Supply business. Four years later, the Kissoon
buildings on Camp Street became available for purchase. He sold the two properties he had bought for storage
to secure the Kissoon properties and the nearby Friends Hotel. Sadly, tragedy struck. Fire
destroyed the Kissoon property and Rizwan ended up using the insurance payout to pursue new modern
buildings. Two major buildings rose up at the locations. The construction of both,
Rizwan personally supervised, while his wife added the personal touches to the layout.
“We wanted to open 12 food courts there for rental, but as one of the buildings was completed,
Teleperformance wanted to set up a call centre in Guyana and they were our first client,”
Rizwan said. He recalls humorously that in his continued pursuit of properties, his wife always says to
him that she saves by the dollar and he wastes it by the millions. “We have an understanding. I
am always looking for new business opportunities,” Rizwan explained. As a testament of Rizwan’s will to succeed, his buildings stand as iconic structures in Georgetown. Their state of the art design lends modernity
and manifests the coming of age of Guyana’s capital city to compete
with other modern cities around the world, especially at a time when Guyana is under the spotlight due to
its tremendous oil finds.
BELIEFS
Rizwan believes in family; spending time on trips around Guyana with them or simply cooking
on the weekends. Rizwan holds dear to the principle of helping others and creating
employment for persons. When employees stole from him, he forgave them.
“I always try to find out from that person why they were stealing. I believe the more I give is the more
I get. If I got my last dollar, I would give it to someone who needs it more
than I do. Plenty time I got conned trying to help others. I have trusted the wrong people in life, but it never stopped me from giving. I believe in giving charity,” Rizwan said.He maintains that everyone must
be treated equally because as one climbs the ladder, there is a possibility that one can fall down.
“Who is at the bottom of the ladder? It is the same people you had no time for. We must remember that
the wealthiest people in this country come from very poor and humble
beginnings. Anyone can make it,” Rizwan shared. Rizwan’s life story is still being written. Major plans are still being discussed and, with the help of his wife and two children, where the business goes next is anyone’s guess.
