Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Fadia O Chaker, Founding Principal at Fadia O Chaker Design
How could you describe your career path in few words?
If you do have a solid road map to where you are going and a strategy of how to get there, all the hard work will pay off eventually. Long working hours in different architectural companies, job training and the right certifications, helped me from a young age move up the ladder in my career to a team leader position at one of the top architectural companies in the Middle East.
In 2009, I decided to open my own firm FOC DESIGN in Lebanon despite all the obstacles I faced at that time.
14 years later, FOC DESIGN became one of the top interior architectural and design firms in Lebanon. The company offer both residential and commercial services and has received many international awards in design and sustainability.
What was your most challenging experience and it has changed your mindset?
I believe that being a Lebanese, you cannot have one but series of immense challenges. Starting with the October 2019 Lebanese revolution due to the corruption and with the economic crisis, things turned upside down overnight. Then, Covid 19 pandemic started and after that the most devastating explosion in Beirut in August 2020 and the result was no access to our bank accounts or possibility of money transfer, a stressful and unsafe environment and chaos in governmental sectors.
All of these situations changed me to a tough, resilient person with an urge to reinvent myself, to challenge my fears, focus on my aspirations, be patient and do the work differently at the company and this affected the whole team work strategy. We even opened another branch in Cyprus and collaborated with partners in Dubai and KSA and we have have expanded our team while giving them the opportunity to work remotely or in premises.
Based on your experience, what skills should an entrepreneur develop in 2023?
Every successful entrepreneur should have a strong sense of mission and goal focus but in 2023 he/she need to develop their financial skills, they should know how to stand out in a crowded marketplace and differentiate themselves from other competitors. Everyone is fighting for the attention of customers; they must have a solid business plan and ready for development and taking risks and most importantly, they should have the skill, knowledge to hire the right people especially in marketing; Business communication skills are a must to market the products or service.
Based on your recent experiences, if you had one piece of advice for an entrepreneur's success, what would it be?
Running a new business take a lot of time and require exceptional hard work and dedication and you should do work that you truly believe in.
Therefore, good business partnership is able to strengthen the company and make it recognized in the market faster. But It is important to look for reliable partners, with similar values and business trajectories and with similar personalities so there are no major differences of ideas.
