One habit that increases productivity is a constant exchange of information within the team. Consistent updates keep everyone on task and keeps their eye on their daily goals.
Nabeel Mushtaq is passionate about creating products and services that makes the world more sustainable. HIs forte is building top-notch technology and product teams from the ground up. Primarily responsible for refining the product idea down to its essence, shipping products on short deadlines, taking metric-based decisions, and managing teams.
Mushtaq is COO & CoFounder of AskforTask.com, Canada’s leading platform for completing day-to-day tasks and to-do list items. Since 2012, he has headed-up operations in terms of development, design and marketing strategy for the entire company. Once operating out of his own home, Nabeel (along with CoFounding brother Muneeb) has elevated AskforTask to over 200,000 service providers across Canada, with over $8 million in jobs created. AskforTask now operates in the heart of downtown Toronto’s Financial District.
Now, Mushtaq and AskforTask are looking to further cement themselves in every major Canadian city to keep up the ever-rising demand, especially as of late. Once this is accomplished, the platform will make a jump into the ultra-competitive U.S. market. Having already launched beta testing in select cities, along with positive press surrounding the testing period, the future is looking bright for both Mushtaq and AskforTask.
Where did the idea for AskforTask.com come from?
The idea of AskforTask came from when I had to find a repairman for a leaking faucet in my home. After hours of searching and unsuccessful referrals, a serviceman finally made his way over and didn’t perform the job properly despite what I felt to be an overpriced service. It was then my brother and I realized there had to be a better way to connect consumers and the service industry without lengthy estimates and strangers coming into your home.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My typical day consists of handling all daily operations. From statistical analysis to front and back end development, I ensure everything is running smoothly while production/operations are consistent and up to standard. I am also the main point of contact for the team.
How do you bring ideas to life?
The process for which all of AskforTask’s best elements have been implemented is by way of brainstorming, testing and implementing. We collaborate on ideas, hammer out all necessary details, test it out with a targeted group, get feedback and then make changes.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The fact that people are embracing the sharing economy across the globe is really exciting. Collaborative consumption helps remedy struggling economies, wage gaps, and lack of available resources. It is a positive direction for society and we are glad to be a part of it.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
One habit that increases productivity is a constant exchange of information within the team. Consistent updates keep everyone on task and keeps their eye on their daily goals.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Luckily, as a young entrepreneur I have never had a job I’ve hated.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
As an entrepreneur I always write down my goals/targets. I encourage everyone to write down their goals, when you achieve them it keeps you striving towards new ones. I try to keep yearly, monthly, weekly and even daily goals. We have implanted this in our workplace as well and so far it has worked very well.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Our best strategy has been ensuring customer satisfaction. Our team is always reaching out to our users to get their feedback to address concerns, get reviews and listen to any other thoughts to improve our platform.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
While I was operating my first marketing startup company, I made the mistake of trusting the wrong people. I made sure from then on to make more careful and intelligent decisions regarding who I am doing business with; looking at multiple factors and personality traits when I am making those choices.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
While all my focus goes towards AskforTask, one business idea could be an app for HR professionals. I conduct the hiring for AskforTask, therefore I think an app that suggests potential candidates based on categories that you input such as: years of experience, previous job titles, skills, location, mutual connections and things like that could be of great value. Information could be aggregated from LinkedIn and resumes.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
On a recent business trip, I spent a little extra money to upgrade my hotel room. I ended up staying a few days longer than expected, and the upgrade made my trip a lot more comfortable than it would have originally been.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
At AskforTask we use Asana and Slack Chat. Asana is great for assigning tasks to team members and uploading important documents and files to ensure they don’t get lost in email inboxes.
Slack is a simple messaging tool for the team to communicate with one another. Missed messages are forwarded to your email so you are always in the loop.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
‘How to Win at the Sport of Business‘ by Mark Cuban is an interesting read. For those who don’t know, Cuban sold his first business for $5.7 billion and is still working when most people would just drop off the planet. He details how to build a successful business, and when Mark Cuban speaks others should listen.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Richard Branson and Elon Musk are two names that immediately come to mind.
Connect:
AskForTask on Facebook:
AskForTask on Twitter: @askfortask
AskForTask on Instagram: @askfortask
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.