Fast food entrepreneur Amir Afsar has come a long way since his beginnings as a young part-timer. The McDonald’s franchise owner tells CHRISTINA FINN how hard work and dedication, not to mention quality employees, are the keys to his success.
Fast food entrepreneur Amir Afsar has come a long way since his beginnings as a young part-timer. The McDonald’s franchise owner tells CHRISTINA FINN how hard work and dedication, not to mention quality employees, are the keys to his success.
Prospering fast food ntrepreneur Amir Afsar is an inspiration to all who dream of succeeding in Irish business. Having emigrated from Iran over 13 years ago, he has proven that it doesn’t matter where one omes from – with hard work and determination, anything is possible. At 14 years of age, Amir went to oarding school in England, where he started working part time in a local McDonald’s. When his schooling ended, he began climbing the McDonald’s ladder, and now is owner/operator of two McDonald’s restaurants in south Dublin, one in Nutgrove, Rathfarnham, and another recent €500,000 investment at the Cranley Centre on the Naas Road. Amir employs a total of 100 people across both locations, and credits his team with the success of both businesses. “I worked in McDonald’s for a number of years and worked my way up the ranks, eventually becoming a consultant,” he explains of his background in the fast food trade. “I was then asked to come [to Ireland] and help with the expansion of the company in Ireland. The opportunity came up to buy a franchise, and the rest is history.” The entrepreneur is adamant that “McDonald’s is a great company to work for. I think it offers great opportunities to everybody. If you are keen and dedicated you can move your way up, there’s no doubt about it.”
Amir also feels that it’s not a difficult thing to prosper in a foreign country, once one has the drive to make something a success.
“I don’t think Ireland is any different to any other country,” he says. “If you are willing to work hard and have the ambition to achieve something, I don’t think it matters who you are or where you come from. “In my country, Iran, I think it is a lot more necessary to have capital in order to go into business. Over here, however, I have found that money is not as relevant. You can actually move up the ladder with dedication and hard work; money does not seem to be a total necessity if you want to make it.” With the current economic climate, one might assume that making a success in business might be that much more difficult.
Although admitting his business doesn’t seem to be directly effected by the economic downturn, Amir says
that anyone can make a go of it in business here. “I don’t feel it is more difficult to succeed in Irish business in this economic crisis, I feel it may be more challenging. It all goes back to how persistent you are, you have to keep at it and work that little bit harder. “Our business is a lot more recession-proof compared to other Irish businesses,” he says. “Everyone still wants to eat and McDonald’s serves over 150,000 people in Ireland every day.” Amir also believes that McDonald’s was one of the first companies in Ireland to actively pursue diversity in the workplace. “When I arrived here, I did find that McDonald’s was one of the few companies here which had a more diverse workforce,” he notes. “It seems that our company is purely based on performance and hard work. Depending on what business sector you’re in, it can often be who you know,
not what you know, and in McDonald’s that wasn’t the case. That’s why it has been voted employer of the year for the past four years.”
Amir is quick to credit his diverse staff for his astounding success in the fast food business. “I employ people from 11 nationalities, and I think that is beneficial to my business, as they all bring different outlooks to the business with their different cultural influences and backgrounds. “Also, I think it’s a great place for teenagers to work as many simply just don’t get the opportunity to mix with different people from different countries.” When asked what the defining key moment has been in his career, Amir is clear. “It would have to be the opening of my first restaurant. It was a great milestone for me and was a measure of my success
as not everyone is given the opportunity to open their own franchise.” He counts himself extremely fortunate to be content in his work life, adding: “At the moment I enjoy what I am doing, it keeps me busy and I look forward to going to work in the morning which not everyone can say, so in that regard I am very lucky.”
When it comes to advice for other budding entrepreneurs, Amir is happy to oblige. “The best advice I could give to someone hoping to succeed in Irish business today is decide what you want to do and don’t give up on it. Give 100 per cent, make it the focus of your life and there should be no reason why you can’t succeed.”
