Anika-Kumar
Anika Kumar
My Jumpstart Training
Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad
About Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad
Faisal Muhammad Sa’ad is a dedicated and skilled auto-repair professional with over 22 years of hands-on experience in the automotive industry. Known as “Master,” his passion for cars began at age 10 and has grown stronger over time.
Faisal dreams of establishing a modern, fully-equipped auto-repair business that offers high-quality and trustworthy services to all clients. Beyond vehicle repair, he aims to empower his community by creating jobs and providing mentorship to youth.
His vision is for the workshop to become a vital hub of innovation, learning, and opportunity in auto repair within Bauchi State.
Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad
Business Goals
Faisal’s business is grounded in honesty, professionalism, and service to others. He aims to create a peaceful environment where his work and client relationships reflect mutual respect and trust.
His long-term vision is to lead the local auto-repair industry by delivering quality service and empowering the next generation through mentorship and skill development. Faisal plans to transform his modest workshop into a state-of-the-art center offering tire repair, electrical diagnostics, and spare parts sales.
Serving private vehicle owners, commercial drivers, and transport companies, he wants clients to feel confident leaving their vehicles in his capable hands every time.
Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad
Obstacles
Faisal is a skilled technician with over twenty years of experience, having started as an apprentice. He is known for his problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and efficiency.
Faisal’s expertise includes converting manual cars to automatic transmission, a service that distinguishes his shop from others. Customer satisfaction is his top priority.
He faces challenges such as working in an open-air workshop without proper shelter or protection from the weather. Faisal’s journey has been challenging. After losing his father and leaving his mentor’s workshop, he began as a mobile mechanic, saving enough to rent his current space and overcome financial difficulties.
Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad
Our Partnership
Faisal is seeking support in funding, mentorship, and essential tools to expand his growing business.
He requires a hydraulic jack, pumping jack, drilling machine, updated tools, extra parking space, and a computer for diagnostics and recordkeeping. Help with branding and financial tracking would greatly boost his efficiency and sustainability.
Faisal dreams of building a larger home, establishing a bigger, well-equipped auto-repair shop, and selling spare parts to diversify income. He aims to create jobs for youth, mentor apprentices, support his wives in starting businesses, and buy a borehole, washing machine, and gas cooker to ease family life.
My Jumpstart Proposal Presentation
During the Jumpstart Program, I worked directly with some of the world’s leading developmental experts in order to expand my partner’s business and brand identity.
At the conclusion of this internship, our team pitched the final proposal to Bill Stefan, Leadership Initiatives Board Member and Deputy for Enterprise Management for the Department of Defense. This formal pitch allowed our team to practice our skills and utilize our entrepreneurial toolkit, all while showcasing our efforts to transform the business we partnered with.
At the end of the pitch, we were able to receive feedback on our proposal for our business partner. Over the next year, Faisal will utilize our proposal to propel sustainable growth of their business.
My Jumpstart Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad to gain a clear understanding of their business goals. Though Faisal has leveraged their skills and years of experience to create their business, they face obstacles hindering the expansion of their work.
Guided by their vision, we crafted a proposal detailing the infrastructure and marketing materials that would support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Faisal to optimize their business through a new budget, financial tracking systems, and logo.
This new budget enables Faisal to allocate funds toward essential materials and equipment, supporting the optimization of their services. Effective financial tracking will be crucial for managing growing profits and preserving assets, ensuring the business’s long-term growth and stability. Investments in a logo and marketing materials, such as signs and flyers, are also vital for establishing a strong brand identity and expanding the customer base.
Career Exploration
Our team began the business development process by having a one-on-one Zoom call directly with our business partner, Faisal Muhammad Sa'ad, and our Nigerian project coordinator to ensure productive collaboration.
After discussing important considerations for our marketing materials including local populations, family situations, and prior experience, we began our exploration of the business industry.
We received briefings on marketing and branding tactics from Carla Brooks and Nikki Hendricks.
Outside of the classroom, we received a personalized tour of the Embassy of Austria where we learned about Austrian culture, US/Austria relations, and international business.
To begin our exploration of the medical field, we learned about patient histories and doctor-patient interactions from Dr. Zainab of the Kidney Center of Kano State, Nigeria.
We also got hands-on training for building plaster casts. After receiving this training, we had the opportunity to build model casts and practice assessing damages and breaks.
At the end of the week, we got to put our medical skills to the test through a demo EMT scene where we used triage and emergency response.
To explore the legal field, we received a briefing on legal advocacy from Professor Sarah Stiles, an experienced educator and leader in advocacy and leadership.
I also got to meet esteemed DC District Judge, Adam Hunter. Judge Hunter taught us about questioning, data analysis, and evidence collection.
I also received a personal tour of the University of Maryland Crime Lab where I learned about forensics science, evidence viability, and how to assess crime scenes.
We got the opportunity to learn about different aspects of the intelligence community from an active government investigator, Kesha Middleton. Ms. Middleton taught us about the role of investigators, how careers in government work, and the process for entering the government and intelligence fields.
Outside of the classroom, we took a tour of the International Spy Museum. Throughout this tour, we learned about intelligence and counterintelligence equipment.
We also got the opportunity to discuss topics related to global affairs and government relations through our meetings with the Austrian Embassy officials, government officials from the NSA and DoD, and through collaborations with representatives of universities including Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, American University, and more.