ABDOLBARI GOOZAL:  LEVEL CURRENTLY ACHIEVED WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT RISK

 

Caspian Energy (CE): Mr. Goozal, what was you path to business?

Abdolbari Goozal, President, Azersun Holding: Because of the exchange of prisoners in 1970 my father Reza Gozal was released from the Russian jail and handed over to Iran. After the return to the native land the government provided him with a plot of land where he started agribusiness. In addition, the scope of his activity covered food commerce and wholesale trading in rice, granulated sugar and button. As our family belonged to low-income people I had to cease educating so as to help my farther. When being a teenager I felt the need to undertake some duties. For a man who spent 15 years in Russian jails it was very difficult to bear the whole burden of business and so we started trading.   

At that time the city of Maku opened up wide trading opportunities as it was the region with a high need in foodstuffs. The then priority export line of the state was trading in meat. Therefore, the goverment was especially interested in purchasing local cattle. So, I concluded appropriate contracts with the state. We experienced a lack of money and thus were able to invest only 15,000-20,000 UDS equivalent to today's 200,000 USD. Due to the difficult financial position and the intention not to lose the invested money I undertook a serious responsibility and offered cooperation to the people engaged in this industry. My conditions supposed reselling cattle to the state on the contract basis on conditions very advantageous to people. Everybody including heads of the clans supported a twenty-year-old youth whose decency was out of question. This project was backed by the Turkish entrepreneurs and later by the Iraqis. At the same time everybody was interested in small cattle sales business. People waited for money for sold cattle for 3-4 months, whereas I intensified this process. Trading has entered the path of development and according to the contract signed in 1975-77 the state was handed over 1 million heads of sheep. As a result, the financial status got improved along with expanded financial opportunities. The exchanges in Van, Istanbul, Erzurum and Iraq traded in my certificates of indebtedness which were affordable for cash for each person with low income. After 1-2 months the owners of these documents received their money. Surely I succeeded as the trust gained by me served as a fundament for this business.    

   

CE: What difficulties have you faced on this path?

Abdolbari Goozal: It was not an easy business to bear all this responsibility as there were many people, mainly from the bureaucratic circles, who put serious obstacles. But thanks to the support of people, diligent labour, the 20-hour working day and the help of Allah we managed to achieve the set targets. It was very difficult as the emergence of one problem only would have deprived me of the ability to rid of debts. The presence of debt creates an opinion about your cheating. As to me, it is better to die than to be reputed as a cheater. I would not want people to say such words even after my death.

 

CE: What was the ground of your capital base?

Abdolbari Goozal: As I stated above, I earned my first capital while dealing with trade using scantly opportunities of my father and enjoying growing trust to me. At that time I gained trust of many merchants who handed their funds under my management and became my partners. I honestly shared the gained income with them.

 

CE: Are you pleased with the current level or you still intend to do much?

Abdolbari Goozal: Of course, I thank Allah every day. I have great opportunities, wealth and the opportunity to help various people as not everybody has such advantages. I am honoured to be among such people. But in view of my life principles I am pleased with the current level. There are many things to learn. Along with this I want to improve my business and create favourable conditions for a rational use of fundamental grounds handed to future generations.

The project I am thinking over at the moment suggests making a contract between an employee and an employer that satisfies contracting parties and gives confidence to both sides. I am working on building up this bridge. As soon as this project is completed I will get a bit pleased with the current level. But, on the other hand in our changing and developing world a man recognizes scantiness of the done and moves ahead. This process is endless and will ever continue. Otherwise, a man will stop developing.

 

CE: Do you like risk? How necessary is this factor for Entrepreneur?

Abdolbari Goozal: I like risking very much but I never do risk using others' money or when I have debts. I recongnize the possibility to loss all I have at once. By this reason I have to possess a sum sufficient for a year of 6 months. This is enough as I believe in a successful start from a small amount of capital. That is why I always run risks using exceptionally own money and the potential possessed.

I recommend this factor to all businessmen: one must not risk others' money. It would be better to risk 50-60 % of own means. Problems will never occur if there is a necessary potential and own capital to recover probable costs. Risk is justified if you have absolute confidence. To earn without risking is very difficult. The level currently achieved in my business in Azerbaijan would have been impossible without risk. 

 

CE: What features should a skillful businessman have?

Abdolbari Goozal: First of all a skillful entrepreneur has to set a goal to be useful to the sociaty, nature rahter than to himself and own family. Of course, along with this aim he should satify needs of his own and his family's. It is necessary to treat with respect the rights and duties of his business partners and take into consideration their share in earnings. Through his work he has to bring profit rather than loss to his partner. The more you think of your partner's interests the more you benefit.

One of the distinguishing features of a skillful businessman is concentration on his job. He has to set correct near-term and long-term objectives and unite them so as to bring novelty to his business activity. Instead of thinking about the necessity "to enhance financial assets and opportunities" a businessman has to take care about his image's improvement along with the increase of his profits. The image should be in a directly-proportional dependence upon the growth of earnings no matter in what country, city, and region an entrepreneur does his business. A skillful entrepreneur has to know the opinion of other people of himself, what influence he exerts on surrounding people, positive or negative.

One more feature of a skillful businessman is that he has to know that the team he works with is his own reflection. In the faces of his employees he has to see his own face. If their faces laugh, he has to smile too.

 

CE: Do you have free time and how do you spend it?

Abdolbari Goozal: To tell the truth, I almost do not have spare time. I either do my business or meditate upon improvement of places I pass by. For instance, if I see a stone in the street I think how beautiful it would be if there were a flower or a tree there. When I come home tired I listen to news. I like historical literature and poems. Depending upon time available I try to read a book and pick up all necessary information because I have no time to read the whole book. Of course, this method does not yield a 100 percent outcome but anyhow I receive some valuable piece of information.

 

CE: Do you work at self-improvement?

Abdolbari Goozal: Yes, I constatly work at self-imptovement. I try to study various fields of life. At the same time, enjoying the achieved success I try to overcome drawbacks. I regard this as a priority task.

 

CE: What is your attitude towards ideals?

Abdolbari Goozal: Each person should have his ideal in life without conceasling it. He has to take pride in his ideals. A man without ideals is like a list without a root floating on the surface of water. Ideals are necessary for people along with affection towards some certain thing.

CE: What is money for you?

Abdolbari Goozal: Money is the means to make various ideas and thoughts a reality. In other respects it is nothing to me. I do not love money and rarely have it in my pocket. By this reason my attitude towards myself and other people I buid on the significance of implemented work rather than by the amount of earned money.

 

CE: How could you characterize yourself?

Abdolbari Goozal: All world creatures, no matter a human being or nature, are the part of me. Or I am a part of them. I believe it is so. This is the reason of my world ideology. I look in all directions from the same distance. All we are the part of a single wheel. That is why I have a positive attitude towards everybody and everything. I pay great attention to the quality of implemented works and manufactrured products. I believe due to this fact I differ from people surrounding me. Why did I mention namely this group of people? Becasue there are many people in the world that perform a better job. I have not reached such a level yet and thus do not have the right to take pride of me.

 

CE: Do you directly partiicpate in managing Azersun Holding or the Company may operate without your supervision?

Abdolbari Goozal: I do not directly participate in managing Azersun Holding. The company copes with the management itself, while I just approve its strategic aims and plans. I would like Azersun Holding to keep on being a true leader in the food industry of the country and as an Azerbaijani entity live long over centuries. I strongly believe in that. I do my best to make the ground of Azersun Holding healthier and as a strong company to prepare it for future.

 

CE: Do you have your own strategy? What does it rest upon?

Abdolbari Goozal: Probably my strategy was to become an entrepreneur and I have suceeded in it. If I had not become a businesmen I could have been a worker, an artist or even a scientist. But wherever I am I try to raise a mankind and a man's value.

I want to prove I am a creature that serves for the welfare of people, bears responsibility to surrounding people in the widest sense of this word as Allah provided a man with some responsibility.

 

CE: What features are important for Entrepreneur?

Abdolbari Goozal: First of all a business activity of an entrepreneur should be beneficial for mankind and nature and must not do harm to environment. The duty of a businessman is to minimize the harm caused to environment by technologies. Entrepreneur has to understand his responsibility and possess valuable human features. He must not cheat when manufacturing products.

This principle is reflected in our religion. I mean when you sell goods you have to do your best to provide them with better characteristics. However, it is necessary to inform Customer about bad quality of goods of own production. In this case people will trust to you. Entrepreneur is a responsible and sober-minded man with a good attitude towards nature and people. A man without these features cannot be regarded as a businessman.