Ahmed Rashid

Take me back to the very first time someone handed you money for this.

It was a Sunday bazaar in Johar Town, March 2017. I had collected 15 broken table fans from scrap dealers in the Shadbagh area and repaired them in my uncle's workshop. A shopkeeper bought 3 fans at Rs 800 each - that was Rs 2,400, my first sale ever. He came back the next week and ordered 10 more for his hardware store. That repeat purchase told me this wasn't just a side hustle - people actually wanted affordable appliances if the quality was right.

What were you doing before this, and why did you leave that behind?

I was working at a fan manufacturing factory on Multan Road, earning Rs 35,000 a month as a floor supervisor. The owner was importing motors from China and the margins were insane - I could see exactly what everything cost. One day I realized I could buy damaged or returned appliances from factory outlets, repair them, and resell at half the retail price. I didn't quit immediately though. I ran the Sunday bazaar stall for five months while still working the factory job. Only quit when I was consistently making Rs 25,000 on weekends alone.

What does the money actually look like? Walk me through the real numbers.

My best-selling product is the automatic washing machine - the 7kg Chinese brand one retails at Rs 28,000. My cost per unit is roughly Rs 19,000: that's Rs 14,000 for the unit from the importer, Rs 2,000 for transport and customs clearance, Rs 1,500 for testing and minor repairs, and Rs 1,500 for warranty reserve. So I'm making about Rs 9,000 gross per machine. On smaller items like irons and blenders, the margin is thinner - about Rs 400-600 per unit. Monthly revenue right now is between Rs 800,000 to Rs 1,200,000 depending on the season. Wedding season and before Eid - that's when we do 40% of our annual revenue because everyone wants new appliances for their homes.

When did the business first feel financially stable?

Honestly, not until year three. The first two years I was reinvesting everything. I took a Rs 500,000 loan from my uncle in 2018 to rent a proper showroom space in Kot Lakhpat. That location changed everything - foot traffic went from 50 people a week to 200 a day. But I was still living on Rs 25,000 a month personally until mid-2019. The stability came when I landed my first bulk order: 25 washing machines and 15 refrigerators for a housing society in Bahria Town. That single order was worth Rs 1.2 million and the developer became a repeat customer for his other projects.

Where do you actually source your materials, and how did you find those suppliers?

Appliances come from three main sources: the factory seconds and return stock from Chinese manufacturers who have local representatives in Lahore (I buy directly from their warehouses in Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate), auction lots from shipping companies when containers get damaged or abandoned at Port Qasim, and trade-in units from customers upgrading. For spare parts and components, I go to Hall Road - there's a shop called Asif Electronics that gives me motors, PCBs, and heating elements at 30% below market rate. I found them through a repair technician in Anarkali who I bought chai for every week for a month before he shared his supplier list.

What's the biggest supplier mistake you've made?

In 2020, I switched to a cheaper washing machine supplier from Karachi who was delivering via goods transport at almost half the price. First three shipments were perfect. Fourth shipment had water-damaged units mixed in - nearly 30% of the batch had electrical faults. That ruined my reputation with three customers and I had to refund Rs 80,000 in returns. The lesson was brutal: never switch from a trusted supplier just for price, and always test appliances before putting them on the floor. I now have a dedicated technician who tests every machine with a full wash cycle. That costs me Rs 25,000 a month in salary but has saved me lakhs in returns and reputation damage.

How do your customers actually find you?

Three channels, in order of importance: first is referrals from real estate developers - when someone buys a new house in a society, they need everything from washing machines to microwaves. Second is Instagram Reels showing before-and-after repairs. One Reel of me fixing a completely dead refrigerator went viral in Lahore - 65,000 views - and brought in 20 direct customer inquiries. Third is the local contractors and interior designers who recommend us to their clients. These guys take a 5-10% commission but they bring in bulk orders. We don't do any paid advertising. Zero. Haven't spent a single rupee on Facebook ads.

Who is your ideal customer and why?

Middle-class families moving into new housing societies, specifically in areas like Bahria Town, DHA, and LDA City. They're furnishing their first home and want reliable appliances without paying Metro or Hyperstar prices. I sell them complete kitchen packages - fridge, microwave, blender, and iron - at 20% below retail because I bundle and don't have their overhead costs. The other big segment is landlords who own 5-10 rental properties. They need durable, affordable appliances that won't break and tenants won't steal. I've tried selling to luxury customers but they only want branded imports with warranties, and I can't compete with Alfatah or Shaukat Electronics on that.

Tell me about a moment where you thought the business might actually fail.

COVID lockdown, April 2020. Showroom foot traffic dropped 80% overnight and 70% of my revenue evaporated. I had Rs 400,000 worth of inventory sitting in my Kot Lakhpat showroom with no buyers. I couldn't pay my staff for two months - two of my best technicians left and went back to their villages in Kasur. I survived by pivoting to repair services and contactless delivery. I posted on local WhatsApp groups that I'd pick up broken appliances from people's homes, repair them, and deliver back. That pivot kept the lights on for six months and actually built a new revenue stream - repair now accounts for 30% of my income.

What's the closest you've come to a legal or regulatory problem?

In 2021, a customer claimed I sold them a defective refrigerator that caught fire. It made the local news in Lahore - 'Faulty Fridge Burns Kitchen' - and people started posting negative reviews saying my appliances were dangerous. The investigation showed the customer's wiring was faulty, not my fridge, but the damage was done. Sales dropped 40% for three months. I hired a lawyer and issued a public statement, but what really saved me was offering free electrical safety inspections with every purchase. That transparency rebuilt trust. Now every appliance I sell gets a safety check sticker from my technician, and customers can verify it with a QR code.

What's something about this industry that nobody tells you before you start?

Nobody tells you that the appliance repair business in Pakistan runs on relationships with the Hall Road parts dealers. These guys control the supply chain for components. If you don't build personal relationships with 4-5 reliable parts suppliers, you'll always be scrambling when you need a specific motor or PCB. I buy chai and lunch for my regular suppliers every Friday. It sounds small but when there's a shortage of refrigerator compressors or a new model comes out and parts are scarce, my guys source it first before selling to the bigger shops. That's how I get hard-to-find parts when my competitors are waiting.

What would you do differently if you started over today?

I would start with repair services, not sales. The profit margin on repairs is almost pure labor - 70-80% margin - and it builds customer trust. Sales are nice but repair work pays the bills and creates a steady cash flow. I'd also register for GST and get a proper commercial license from day one - I waited two years and missed out on corporate contracts because I wasn't registered. Big housing societies and rental companies won't deal with unregistered vendors. Early registration also gets you access to bank financing, which I desperately needed in year two but couldn't get because I had no formal documentation.

Walk me through a typical day at the workshop.

I get to the main showroom in Kot Lakhpat by 8:30 AM. First thing is checking the previous day's sales log and any customer complaints that came in overnight via WhatsApp. By 9, my technicians arrive and we test any new inventory that arrived - washing machines get a full cycle test, fridges run for 4 hours to check cooling. After lunch, I handle deliveries to bulk customers and visit the repair workshop to check on complex jobs. I personally inspect every appliance before it goes out for delivery - if I wouldn't put it in my own home, it doesn't leave the showroom. I'm usually done by 8 PM but during peak season before Eid or wedding season, I'm there until 11.

What tools or systems keep your business running?

Honestly, a WhatsApp Business account does 80% of the work. All orders come through WhatsApp, all supplier coordination happens there, and I send delivery confirmations with photos through it. For accounting, I use a simple Excel sheet that my cousin who's a CA helped me set up - it tracks inventory, sales, repairs, and receivables. I tried using proper accounting software but it was overkill for our scale. The one real system I invested in is a multi-meter and pressure tester - cost Rs 8,000 from a shop on Hall Road. Refrigerator compressors and washing machine motors can look fine but have hidden faults, and before I had proper testing equipment I was losing 15-20% of production to warranty returns.

What can you tell just by looking at something that a newcomer would completely miss?

I can tell if an appliance is worth repairing within 30 seconds of looking at it. A newcomer would plug it in, test it, check the compressor - all wasting time. I look at the model sticker, check the age, and examine the overall condition. Chinese brands from 5+ years ago usually have obsolete parts that are impossible to find. I also smell the motor - a burnt electrical smell means winding damage that costs more to fix than replace. The body condition tells me if it was maintained well or abused. A dented, rusty washing machine drum means hard water damage and bearing failure coming soon. Took me about three years to develop that instinct.

What's a decision you make regularly that you can't fully explain to someone else?

Pricing for repair jobs. When a customer brings me a broken appliance, I have to quote on the spot. The real calculation involves the brand, the likely fault based on symptoms, parts availability, how busy my technicians are that week, and whether this customer could become a repeat buyer or refer others. But I don't actually do the math in the moment - I just know. If the appliance is a premium brand and the customer seems educated, I quote higher because they expect quality and will pay. If it's an old basic model and the customer seems price-sensitive, I quote lower or suggest replacement because the repair won't be worth it. I've gotten this wrong maybe twice in the last three years, and both times I undercharged for difficult jobs.