Written in partnership with Ascend
Photo Credit: Jad Kantari
Living in Beirut, Lebanon meant teenage Jad Kantari would not have that many opportunities to become very successful. Like many children his age in his social strata, he dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player in Europe one day. However, the further he went into his teen years, the more interested he became in becoming an entrepreneur running his own business. He saw his uncle pull it off and believed he had what it took to achieve the same.
Realizing going pro as a soccer player was not going to happen, he placed his focus on following an engineering career path in the United States. If he was unable to be a famous soccer player, then at least he would get to make a decent living being an engineer. When he turned 18, Jad decided to pursue an engineering degree at the University of South California.
Embarking on this journey would take a great deal of courage. Jad would leave behind everything he knew, and everyone he loved. He left Lebanon and flew to America by himself. He needed to navigate a foreign country and culture completely alone. Yet, he was incredibly determined to succeed, and so he did everything he needed to do.
Jad graduated with a civil engineering degree and landed a job at an engineering firm. Most people would be satisfied with achieving this. However, he was not as fulfilled as he thought he would be. The entrepreneurial spirit was strong in him, and he simply could not ignore it. That is why he decided to start his own e-commerce business while he was still working as an engineer.
Starting his own business would present Jad with a new series of challenges and obstacles. However, he already had experience with that. After moving from Beirut to Los Angeles, he had experienced adversity along the way that helped him become better at responding to it in the future.
Every entrepreneur knows that the path to success is filled with obstacles and failures. In fact, they are a prerequisite for success. For Jad, this came in the form of things like racking up $10,000 in credit card debt due to trial-and-error with Facebook ads. However, Jad is not someone who turns away at the first sign of adversity. Instead, he pushes through and comes out on the other side of setbacks.
After six months of mounting debt, Jad began seeing his business thrive. He had his first six-figure month soon after taking a calculated risk of spending a lot of money on running Facebook ads. This success proved to him that he was right in not giving up and persevering amid challenges. Jad, who was once a teen living in Lebanon, has become a successful entrepreneur in the United States running a multi-million dollar e-commerce business.
Jad’s success, even when faced with challenges and adversity, demonstrates that anyone can rise above setbacks in life to unlock success.
You can follow Jad on Instagram @jadkantari.
Entrepreneur
February 7, 2021Cory Muroff - Fulfillment Is Critical For The Success Of An
