Shoaib Khan

In Canada and across the globe, entrepreneur Shoaib Khan is making his mark and setting high standards in business and philanthropy. The founder of Toronto-based Clearoute, he also leads Humaniti, the charitable organization he established in 2016 as a way to empower and support people in developing nations, and promote social justice and human rights.

As he describes it, the organization is built on the idea that “humanity is the shareholder, the customer, and the beneficiary” of each charitable initiative. The overarching goal is to “etch a positive mark on the fabric of humanity.”

Shoaib Khan also founded One Parent to support single-parent families in Canada and worldwide, as well as The Good Group, whose international mission focuses on fostering income and wealth creation in distressed communities.

As CEO of Clearoute, Shoaib Khan provides exceptional consulting services to new and established Canadian companies. With three decades of experience, and a talent for identifying trends and opportunities, he often partners with major brands, such as Google, AOL, Dell, WB, Nestle, Unilever, Pepsi, Oxford Properties, Lennar, W Hotels, Tridel, Honda, General Motors, Audi, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Aeroplan, RBC, BMO, Ericsson, BlackBerry and Sprint.

Shoaib Khan has also created an extraordinary record of achievement at M Worldwide Inc., where he has personally managed a billion dollars in investments and ventures in real estate, media, marketing, technology, consumer goods and social enterprises.

Recently he sat down for a wide-ranging interview, which explored his success in business, his dreams for improving the world through his charitable foundation, and his long-term plans in both business and philanthropy.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I get up around 5am every day. It’s the holy hour. My first thing is, I thank God for giving me another day to live, and give me life and health. So I start with gratitude, and then I kind of move into prayers, just asking God for whatever I want for that day. And then I wash up, and there’s actual formal prayers I do. And then after that, I’ll head to the gym. Come home, get the kids ready for school, take them to school and I’m off to my day.

How do you bring ideas to life?

For me, I’ve always believed that ideas without execution are all delusions. So I’m big on the fact that having an idea is just the first step. You have an idea. Great. Now do some preliminary research to figure out the pros and cons of it, and really move into product mode or concept mode, and find a way to get the product on paper. Build a team around it, get some resources, and figure out a way to execute it. But any idea, you can’t do anything without people.

So I think the key is that you have to be surrounded by really good people who are motivated to work on an idea to bring it to life. Ultimately, I don’t think much of people who have ideas who can’t put their money where their mouth is, or can’t put their time and energy into something. Because there’s no shortage of ideas. But an idea can’t come to life unless you have a rigorous process. You have a clear vision, you have a team that you’ve assembled, and you have some financial incentives for those folks to kind of get involved. And when you identify and inspire this team, you get things done. That’s the only way that I’ve found bringing ideas to life. If you don’t have that process and that rigor and those key elements, nothing will ever get done.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I  think the trend of people using technology and data content insights, and this conversation between people, data technology, and artificial intelligence – as much as it’s interesting, it could still be dangerous. But I think it creates some really exciting opportunities to see what the future holds. I think that those trends of innovation around technology, and people being immersed and open to embracing technology – that trend has been around my entire life, and I’ve always had to be 3-5 years ahead of most organizations to figure out what’s coming next.

But what I find interesting is that more mature folks in the technology industry don’t talk about technology. They just talk about what they want, what they need, what they expect, and all those things. And so technology’s become a part of our life. Technology is not front and center of conversations. It’s just a reality, it’s part of the sandbox. Now you’re not going to organizations that are focused on radio, print, and television and talking about technology, and convincing them to invest in digital transformation and to get ready for it. It’s like you have it or you don’t. And people should invest in technology. They already know that, they’re already there – it’s more about what technologies, and how much, and what can we expect. A lot of organizations have already invested heavily, and they’re seeing the rewards of it. It’s an exciting trend.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

For me, it’s been faith. I think in today’s time there’s a lot of distractions out there. You get distracted with friends and family at times, and the ups and downs of business and markets, and clients and staff. But I think that the one habit of constantly refreshing my faith and being grateful for what God has given me, and what the world has given me. But faith has been my kind of best friend, and it’s been my number one habit to go to when I’m down and out, and when things are good or when things are bad. My faith has been strengthened. That’s one habit that continues to preserve me.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I think to set realistic expectations, so that we remove or reduce the amount of pain we feel when things don’t meet our expectations. Something that I tell myself, is to expect the worst and hope for, and prepare for, the best. But just be on standby for the worst, so that you’re not being pessimistic, you’re being optimistic, you’re being hopeful, you’re an idealist. But to protect your heart and your mind. Don’t expect things to happen exactly the way you imagine, because if they don’t happen, I think a lot of times people sort of lose face, and they kind of get demotivated, and they kind of lose steam or momentum. I think in the startup world, or in life or relationships, you just have to realize that hey, it didn’t work out. Gotta suck it up. You have to learn from it and you have to keep going forward with your head up. But you can’t expect anything from anybody except for yourself. You do your best, and let God do the rest.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I’m an idealist. As much as I say, you shouldn’t have any expectations from people… I’m an idealist. I always believe that the world can be a better place. I think that people in the world have the potential to do great things. People are inherently good. They’re not born evil. I’m optimistic that if you have the right people and you inspire them correctly, and you’re honorable and you’re truthful and you do your best to show up in every single relationship that you’re in… you can move mountains. You can really leave the world better off than you found it, and leave a dent on the planet. So that’s kind of the philosophy I live by.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Never give up. Keep trying. You cannot give up, until God says it’s time to give up. You have to keep at it, whether it’s in business, whether it’s in relationships, whether it’s in a product or venture or client. I always believe that you’re there to serve. Just don’t take no for an answer. If you have good intentions, and you’re doing your best – never, ever give up.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

Take a break. It’s always good to turn it off sometimes. So you go for a nice walk, you enjoy nature. I spend time with my kids and my family. Just sort of appreciate the simple pleasures of life. Go back to the basics and you’ll connect with nature and God and family, and just remind yourself why you’re here and what you’re here to do, and surround yourself with really good positive people who share the same values and sentiments as you. So yeah, that’s what I do.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Always challenge the status quo. Just because something’s happening a specific way, does that mean that you have to do it the exact same way? Don’t look at things from the same lens. You have to look at things from all angles and see – is there a different way? We should never settle for anything. If there are trials and tribulations that come up, there’s a reason why they come up. We know that we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. We have to actually challenge the status quo and approach things differently. There’s always an angle, there’s always a model or an angle or perspective that’s unique to us as an individual.

Question things. If you don’t question, you’re not using your intellect. Challenge certain things. Not out of disrespect, but more to just wonder, why is it happening this way? Does it make any sense? If it doesn’t make sense, then you’re a changemaker, and you have to do something about it. Try an alternative. You may be completely wrong, but you should try to get the data, see what it is, and then learn from that and pivot. Everything I’ve done in my entire life has been from always trying to look at things differently and not just follow suit, because they did it this way.

So that strategy has worked for me very well. If you go into business and you’re doing a product or service that everybody’s doing… I mean, say you’re in the dry cleaning business and you see how typical dry cleaners are operating. But it’s like, how are they marketing? How are they getting customers? And you go deeper, and you go deeper, and you try to understand creative ways to get new customers or operate the business. But I have a perspective. I have a lot of development training. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve seen a lot. I think every industry today, and every business and every relationship, every department, every current business model needs to be challenged. We can’t settle for the status quo.

What is one failure in your career,  how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Trusting the wrong people. Making bets on the wrong people. I think that’s been my biggest set of failures. You expect things from select people. You go all in, you think it’s all Kumbaya, you’ve got a fantastic relationship. But you won’t be perfect, and you’ll make your bets on the wrong people, and unfortunately, those decisions can ultimately make or break you. And unfortunately, I’ve had a few of those in my life, personally and professionally. Those are the biggest lessons I’ve learned. As for how I overcame it – I had to learn that when it doesn’t work out, you have to sever the relationship. You got to move on. Some aren’t as easy as you think they are. So what I learned from that, is that in every relationship, you start small. It’s great to have intentions of long-term, sincere relationships. Because I’m an idealist, I hope it’s gonna be perfect, Kumbaya, all fantastic. But what I do now is, I’m very selective. I take my time with those relationships. Start with one hour at a time in this kind of relationship, and make sure that I put all my conditions all up front. Make sure things are clearly documented. Where we know, in the event that something bad happens – how does it work? And in the event that things are great – how does that work? And you spend the time upfront to make sure it’s all clear, all the different scenarios that you could possibly think of. We chat it all out, all those scenarios as possibilities, and pros and cons, whatever, and you document that. Then at least you’ve done your best to protect yourself, and both parties, from what can go wrong, if it goes wrong. And so I do that a lot now. And while you can plan it all and document it, you should still not rush into any relationship.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Find a passion. Find a purpose in your life, that is basically a stitching together of all the experiences you’ve had in your entire life. Zoom out of your own life, observe your entire life and what you’ve seen, and understand all the things that God and life have taught you, professionally and personally. You’re gonna need to then really go deep and understand – what is your purpose on this planet? It’s a soul-searching sort of process when you really think about why you’re on this planet. Then you’re gonna use all the experiences, all the connections and everything that you are blessed with, and channel that purpose into a product, or service or platform or whatever it is, and you’re gonna contribute. Then you’re gonna live your purpose. It’s gonna be full of passion because you’re gonna find something that you’re obsessively passionate about. If you can find that, then you’ve created a path to this business idea that’s gonna be reflective of the things you’ve seen, your perspective, the experience and skills that only you have, nobody else has that. You have seen the world. You’ve seen it from your lens and your experience. It’s unique to you. So when you reflect on all that, what is that purpose? Why do you exist? What legacy you’re gonna leave, what impact you’re leaving on the planet? Then when you kind of think about that, and you ask the Almighty to help you kind of steer that, you get His help and support, then the world will manifest an amazing thing around you, and you will uncover some very special gems. You’ll have so many moments. And you will uncover business opportunities.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

My iPhone is my life. It’s got my text messages, my WhatsApp, my conference calls, my email, my inbox. I run my entire operation, and everything I do from this device, the software’s there. So my Apple operating system. But as a corporation, our project manager software is critical. SalesForce or HubSpot. Client management software is all critical to me. And QuickBooks for accounting and bookkeeping. These are essential applications for you to run your shop. And I don’t know what I would do without any one of those.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

One of the books I’ve really enjoyed is called Good to Great. It taught me a lot about leadership, and how different forms of leadership are acceptable, and rewarding. I’ve been big on developing brands these days. I just read this book from Marcus Collins called For the Culture (The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be). And it’s interesting. I’ve kind of been practicing a lot of what he’s talking about. I met him at a private event conference, and I picked up his audiobook. And a lot of what he talked about – he just contextualized a lot of things that I’ve been practicing, and that I believe in. It’s all about brands and people, sort of cultures and tribes, and learning to speak to people in a way that’s relevant to them. So it was refreshing to see it from an author’s perspective. There’s so many different services out there. People really need to understand how to build their brand, and most importantly how to penetrate and connect with people. I think Marcus Collin’s book For the Culture is a fabulous book for people to read.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I watch Suits. Obviously Succession. I just finished watching Billions. All good shows – they’re inspiring, they’re about business. What I learned, especially from Billions and Succession – it just reiterates how, unfortunately, the business community is typically designed to be very cutthroat, and like hustle-bustle, conquer, compete, eat them up, take market share, all that kind of power-driven metrics which I’ve been trained by, and I get and I understand so… I like it because it just reiterates the truth, and we all sort of know about it. We ultimately speak about it. But I think the biggest takeaway for me has been from where I see the world now, and what I’m trying to do, and pursue my own narrative on things… is there a world that can have that, but also be conscious and good at the same time? Versus just trying to gobble up all your competition, and just beat everybody down. I like these shows, Suits, Succession, because they’re all business-centric, and I can relate to them.

Key learnings

• Never ever give up.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a break. Go for a nice walk or enjoy nature.
• Always challenge the status quo.