A Cup of Coffee Propels a Qatari Student to Entrepreneurship

A Cup of Coffee Propels a Qatari Student to Entrepreneurship

The official website of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) recently highlighted a success story in the world of coffee, featuring Khalid Al-Kawari, a Qatari student from the Class of 2024. Khalid exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit of the university through his innovative journey. Faced with the closure of a popular campus café, he seized the opportunity to unite students, faculty, and staff with the launch of his own coffee venture, Casual Coffee.

Khalid opened the café in 2023 during his third year of study. “I knew I’d have the support of the university community, which made the decision much easier,” he said. The name Casual Coffee was not a random choice. Khalid explained, “The name was originally my father’s idea for a café he had planned to open. When I decided to start my own venture, he suggested I use it. It felt like I was continuing a family legacy.”

Overcoming Challenges

Launching a business on campus was not without its challenges. With the support of Dean Safwan Masri, Khalid successfully secured permission to open Casual Coffee at GU-Q.

Another hurdle was balancing quality with affordability. Khalid, who is studying international politics, said: “As a small business, managing high operational costs while maintaining high-quality coffee was a significant challenge.” He added, “Fortunately, the university has a variety of coffee suppliers, which allows us to offer options that cater to different segments of the community.”

Building a Team and a Thriving Business

From sourcing suppliers to building a loyal customer base, Khalid attributes the success of Casual Coffee to his dedicated team.

“The experience of our baristas, Karyl Pasco and Haldane Alfonso, has been crucial in maintaining the high standards of the café,” he said. Additionally, Mohammed Ashraf and Jomaa Mohammed manage logistics and procurement. “Their expertise has been essential to ensuring the quality that defines Casual Coffee.”

Feedback from friends and students has also played a pivotal role. “Their input helped us refine our services and create a welcoming environment for everyone,” Khalid noted. To foster a sense of community, Khalid even introduced special drinks named after faculty members and students who requested them.

Balancing Studies and Business

Balancing academics with running a business has been a challenging yet rewarding experience for Khalid. “I follow a strict schedule that allocates time for my studies and business tasks. I also use digital tools to stay organized,” he explained. “Trusting my team with daily operations allows me to focus on my studies when necessary.” Khalid revealed that he is also working on launching new ventures in the real estate and food and beverage sectors, applying the same principles of time management.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is resilience,” Khalid shared. “From rejections to operational challenges, every obstacle has been a learning experience. It’s all about adaptability and finding creative solutions.”

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

For students considering entrepreneurship, Khalid offers the following advice:

  • Focus on effective time management and remain flexible, understanding that every business has its unique nature.
  • Create a structured schedule that balances academic commitments with business operations, starting with a simple, scalable concept.
  • Leverage university resources by connecting with professors, peers, and mentors for valuable guidance and support.
  • Listen to customer feedback to improve your services and ensure they meet market needs.
  • Stay resilient in the face of challenges, as every obstacle provides valuable lessons.
  • Don’t forget to prioritize self-care and allocate time for relaxation to maintain balance.

Future Plans

With plans to expand Casual Coffee beyond its current locations at GU-Q and Sidra Hospital, Khalid envisions the brand becoming a prominent name in Qatar. But his ambitions don’t stop there. Khalid shared, “I’m working on two other businesses in different sectors to build a diverse portfolio. It’s important for me to keep Casual Coffee at Georgetown as a source of inspiration for any student looking to start their own business. I want to show them that with determination and the right support, they can turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality.”

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Another part of our priority is adding protection for children while using the internet. We encourage parents and guardians to observe, participate in, and/or monitor and guide their online activity. Qahwa World does not knowingly collect any Personal Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13. If you think that your child provided this kind of information on our website, we strongly encourage you to contact us immediately and we will do our best efforts to promptly remove such information from our records.[:ru]Privacy Policy for qahwa world At qahwaworld, accessible from qahwaworld.com, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy document contains types of information that is collected and recorded by qahwaworld and how we use it. If you have additional questions or require more information about our Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact us. This Privacy Policy applies only to our online activities and is valid for visitors to our website with regards to the information that they shared and/or collect in qahwaworld. This policy is not applicable to any information collected offline or via channels other than this website. Our Privacy Policy was created with the help of the Free Privacy Policy Generator. Consent By using our website, you hereby consent to our Privacy Policy and agree to its terms. Information we collect The personal information that you are asked to provide, and the reasons why you are asked to provide it, will be made clear to you at the point we ask you to provide your personal information. If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you such as your name, email address, phone number, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you may choose to provide. When you register for an Account, we may ask for your contact information, including items such as name, company name, address, email address, and telephone number. How we use your information We use the information we collect in various ways, including to: Provide, operate, and maintain our website Improve, personalize, and expand our website Understand and analyze how you use our website Develop new products, services, features, and functionality Communicate with you, either directly or through one of our partners, including for customer service, to provide you with updates and other information relating to the website, and for marketing and promotional purposes Send you emails Find and prevent fraud Log Files qahwaworld follows a standard procedure of using log files. These files log visitors when they visit websites. All hosting companies do this and a part of hosting services' analytics. The information collected by log files include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date and time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. These are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. The purpose of the information is for analyzing trends, administering the site, tracking users' movement on the website, and gathering demographic information. Cookies and Web Beacons Like any other website, qahwaworld uses 'cookies'. These cookies are used to store information including visitors' preferences, and the pages on the website that the visitor accessed or visited. The information is used to optimize the users' experience by customizing our web page content based on visitors' browser type and/or other information. For more general information on cookies, please read the Cookies article on Generate Privacy Policy website. 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Third-party ad servers or ad networks uses technologies like cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons that are used in their respective advertisements and links that appear on qahwaworld, which are sent directly to users' browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. These technologies are used to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and/or to personalize the advertising content that you see on websites that you visit. Note that qahwaworld has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers. Third Party Privacy Policies qahwaworld's Privacy Policy does not apply to other advertisers or websites. Thus, we are advising you to consult the respective Privacy Policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information. It may include their practices and instructions about how to opt-out of certain options. You can choose to disable cookies through your individual browser options. To know more detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers, it can be found at the browsers' respective websites. CCPA Privacy Rights (Do Not Sell My Personal Information) Under the CCPA, among other rights, California consumers have the right to: Request that a business that collects a consumer's personal data disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal data that a business has collected about consumers. Request that a business delete any personal data about the consumer that a business has collected. Request that a business that sells a consumer's personal data, not sell the consumer's personal data. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. GDPR Data Protection Rights We would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following: The right to access – You have the right to request copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service. The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request that we complete the information you believe is incomplete. The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to data portability – You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. Children's Information Another part of our priority is adding protection for children while using the internet. We encourage parents and guardians to observe, participate in, and/or monitor and guide their online activity. qahwaworld does not knowingly collect any Personal Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13. If you think that your child provided this kind of information on our website, we strongly encourage you to contact us immediately and we will do our best efforts to promptly remove such information from our records.[:]
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