Travel agency owner is going places

Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

Seems this guy is leveraging on his parent's "empire", rather than starting from scratch and building his own? that's my impression. And why can't ST find some local people to interview, instead of interviewing a super-rich foreigner from Dubai? Run out of local entrepreneurs who got wealthy?

Jul 17, 2011
me & my money
Travel agency owner is going places
He is looking into setting up overseas offices and opening a shisha outlet
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Mr Mohammad Fayyaz Buwt knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur since he was young. Growing up, he watched his father and the elder of his two brothers run the family carpet business, and helped out in the family's retail outlets in Dubai and Singapore during school vacations. A Pakistani, Mr Buwt, 24, was born and brought up in Dubai.

After his A levels in 2005, he came to Singapore about a year later to pursue his tertiary education. His younger brother was already here since 1996 when their father set up Handmade Carpet Gallery at Tudor Court in Tanglin Road. In 2009, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in banking and finance from SIM-University of London.

Although Mr Buwt had a choice to continue in the family's business, he decided to start boutique travel firm Fayyaz Travels, named after his father, in September last year. He and his younger brother, together with their father, invested an initial sum of $100,000 in the venture. With no prior experience, he had to start from scratch learning how to handle the complicated travel reservations systems.

Now, Fayyaz Travels offers everything from flights and hotels to tours and cruises. 'We specialise in travel design where we design the whole trip according to the clients' interests, likes and expectations, ensuring complete satisfaction,' said Mr Buwt.

Besides his business, he helps to look after his family's extensive property portfolio, which includes a factory in Dubai and two bungalows in Pakistan.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

Currently, I'm more of a spender as I am single, and also because I am looking to expand my business. I don't save a fixed amount every month but I do try and put aside some extra cash. I do believe that one should save as life is unpredictable. In the last two years, I started noting down all my expenses.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I have a credit card only for my company expenses. I charge about $7,000 to $11,000 a month. I do not believe in credit and pay off all my dues on time. I try to spend only the money that I have. I also have a debit card for my personal expenses. I withdraw more than $2,000 a month for food and entertainment. I love gadgets like mobile phones and iPads.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have a hospitalisation plan and critical illness insurance of about $400,000 as my family has a history of heart and kidney diseases.

At the moment I am focusing on my business, expanding it to related areas like inbound tours and corporate customers. I am also looking into the feasibility of setting up overseas offices. Of the initial investment of $100,000 into Fayyaz Travels, half came from my father while the other half came from my younger brother and me.

I consider myself a conservative investor as I will take into consideration all opportunities and do the necessary research before making my decision. I plan to invest in stocks at a later stage. My family's investment portfolio comprises stocks and forex.

I'm looking into setting up a shisha (Turkish smoking) outlet with two friends. It is a healthier option than smoking cigarettes.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

I have three sisters and two brothers. I am the fifth child in my family. My father has lots of experience in his family business of manufacturing handmade carpets. He helped my grandfather in the business in Pakistan before expanding into carpet retailing in Dubai in 1974 and in Singapore in 1996.

My mother is a housewife who controls the household finances. I was blessed with a loving family and enjoyed a comfortable childhood. We lived in a 2,500 sq ft, three-bedroom condo in Dubai. Our parents did not spoil us. I was never really given any pocket money by my parents as a child. They managed our spending until they thought we were mature enough to understand the value of money.

My elder brother is in the family business and my younger brother just graduated with an aerospace engineering degree in Dubai. Two of my sisters are in Dubai while one is in London.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

My father has always told us that land is for keeps and it is an asset that only increases in value over time. My family has always been investing, but I first made a joint family decision to invest in an apartment in Dubai, which was of course with family money as I was 21 then.

Q: What property do you own?

I don't own any property in Singapore. My family has a portfolio of property investments which include a four-storey factory in Dubai, two bungalows in Pakistan and three parcels of land in Pakistan.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I guess for personal use, it would be watches. I love watches as they are jewellery for men and I believe they are for life, or that's what I tell myself when I buy them. Two years ago, I bought a Cerruti watch on my birthday for about $900. I also own a Tag Heuer, an Armani and a Nautica. Together, they cost me $10,000.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I do not have any plans to retire any time soon as I just started working. Besides, my father, who is 73, is still active. He still makes it a point to visit his offices in Dubai and Singapore. I really love what I do now. Keeping a lookout for other businesses to venture into is also in the pipeline for me. I aim to generate different streams of passive income from different businesses by the time I'm 40.

Q: Home is now....

Home is a 3,200 sq ft, four-bedroom apartment in the Orchard Road area which my family is renting for about $10,000 a month.

Q: I drive....

A black Mercedes E200.

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Quest for more businesses

'Keeping a lookout for other businesses to venture into is also in the pipeline for me. I aim to generate different streams of passive income from different businesses by the time I'm 40.'

Mr Mohammad Fayyaz Buwt, who runs Fayyaz Travels. He had always wanted to be an entrepreneur so instead of continuing in his family's carpet business, he decided to start a boutique travel firm.

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?

That would be the first property investment decision I made on behalf of my family.

We paid $2.6 million for a one-bedroom condo in downtown Dubai, near the Burj Dubai (renamed as Burj Khalifa). It qualified as the worst decision as we had paid for it just before the 2009 global financial recession.

The property's value plunged 60 per cent in two months.

However, I managed to trade it in for two freehold apartments at a higher combined value of $2.8 million, 18 months later. One is a one-bedroom, 800 sq ft unit and the other unit is 1,900 sq ft and has two bedrooms. My family is occupying one of them and we plan to rent out the other.

Q: And your best?

That would be my travel business. It has been only nine months and we are already looking to break even soon by the end of this year.

We try to stand out from other travel agencies by customising everything for clients based on their budgets and preferences.

We've introduced trekking, helicopter rides, jungle stays, horse riding and private sea planes. We started with outbound tours and we're now expecting inbound customers from India and Russia.