Daastan’s CEO Mr.Ommer Amer was recently invited to Islamabadians live session hosted by Engr Farhan Javed (co-founder of Elegant Digital Signage). They discussed opportunities and threats businesses are facing due to COVID-19 and how to help your business to strive and survive under any circumstances
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Posted by Daastan on Thursday, June 18, 2020
COVID-19 A Blessing In Disguise?
Mr.Ommer explained how he landed in Plan 9 and later on in NIC Islamabad. While studying in NUST, Ommer got the opportunity to take part in a “Business Plan Competition”. It was perhaps a turing point for him for it inspired him to start his own venture in the world of entrepreneurs as “Daastan”. He put aside his bachelors (which was completed later) and got selected in Plan 9 in 2014. Coming back to Islamabad, Ommer got the opportunity to get into Telenor Velocity and then in NIC Islamabad. After struggling for five years, Daastan landed on a grant from USIP and launched a national campaign called “Shanaakht”. Right when the road was about to get smooth, Daastan like the rest of the world was hit by COVID-19!
Business Struggles Amidst COVID-19
Daastan has been holding up well during the COVID-19. As we all bear witness, covid has impacted businesses all around the world. This is true also for Daastan as their new business model is a premium version which relies greatly on memberships. The team faced huge obstacles when the pandemic struck such as losing regular customers and struggling to pay their employees. But nevertheless they prevailed. Ommer provides insight on how to help your online business flourish in the Covid pandemic. The key points he highlights are to go out of your way to pay your employees, because they are a valuable asset to every company. He also states that by laying off people, companies risk losing valuable staff members.
A World of Opportunity
Ommer goes on to explain in realistically simple terms, how quarantine is also a blessing in disguise. Instead of worrying too much about making money, the team used their spare time to focus on self growth. Daastan’s team members took online courses which prove useful in growing an enterprise. Ommer mentions that courses about SEO and adding value to your online business are available for free these days.
Farhan then asked Ommer about how people can do extra curricular activities during quarantine to which he replied that one should make time for such activities while practicing precautions and social distancing.
Reviving an Art
According to Ommer one of the main reasons why writing quality content is being abandoned is because the publishing process isn’t transparent or streamlined. Daastan aims to bring back the dying art of writing in Pakistan. By providing writers with a stage through which they can easily publish their work, Daastan aims to encourage the youth to raise their voices and mold our society into a better version of itself.
Viewers were compelled to use Daastan for publishing their content because of how promising and seamless the system is. Daastan opens gateways for writing enthusiasts and professionals alike. It is also Pakistan’s first ever publishing platform which provides customized options like printing on demand and self publishing.
Daastan is honored to be a part of such interactions. We hope to enagage the audience in a constructive discussion both online and offline. We are inspired by Ommer’s journey and we hope you all enjoyed the Live session too. To stay connected with our team follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts and get a daily doze of Daastan!
