Anis Sajan: From a salesman to head of Milano at Danube

I arrived in Dubai on November 12, 1992, when I was 21 years old. The moment I landed at the airport, my brother, Rizwan, took me to Kamat Restaurant and I noticed that the place was full of Indians and instantly felt at home. Before that, I lived in Kuwait, where the environment was quite different as there were few Indians and less connection to home. However, Dubai did not make me feel like I was abroad but in a "refined" Mumbai.
My first major surprise was at the Dubai immigration department. When I went to get my passport stamped, the immigration officer asked me in Hindi: "Kaisa hai aap?"
I couldn't believe it because during my time in Kuwait, I had never experienced something like this. I quickly realised how well the Emirati culture had blended with the Indian culture and it almost felt surreal. I moved here to help my brother set up Danube Group and my first salary was Dh1,500. I spent a major chunk of it on buying a suit from Raymond for my brother and a salwar suit for my sister-in-law from Bur Dubai.
I was a door-to-door salesman in Mumbai with Eureka Forbes and then made my way to the UAE. I wanted to do something I was familiar and had experience. Hence, I started the sales of jet sprays 'Shattafs' in Dubai. My first business venture was setting up the sanitary division at Danube Group. Rizwan was busy setting up the timber division and I wanted to do something I had experience in and wanted to venture into the sanitary division, which marks the beginning of my time at Danube Group.
For starters, I began to gauge the conditions of the market to see what was available in the sanitary division. I made trips to stores in old Deira to see all the variations of goods available and then decided on how to set up my own enterprise.
Back in the day, it was much easier to do business as the supply did not match demand and businessmen like myself could set up easily.
However, I feel in those days, we lacked financial support as banks weren't willing to give credit.
Today, the business environment is much tougher and companies have to constantly innovate to stay relevant and grow.
To those who land in the UAE today, make the most of your time in the UAE. This is a great place to learn and grow and don't lose out on time. I am very active on Facebook and post videos, articles and pictures of myself, my family as well as things that interest me such as cricket. My favourite book is Sunny Days by Sunil Gavaskar, favourite movie is Deewaar and favourite place is Dubai. The more I travel, the more I fall in love with this place.
Life a roller-coaster ride but exciting
Anis Sajan, who started off as a door-to-door salesman at Eureka Forbes in Mumbai, today heads the Milano sanitary division at Danube Group. But what made him successful in life?
Sajan told Khaleej Times: "I believe my life in the UAE has been a roller-coaster ride with some exciting bumps. I think all my achievements have come from clear vision, hard work and calculated risks.
"The best advice I ever received was to value time and save more than what you spend. I also do everything with integrity. My brother, Rizwan, who has been a father figure in my life, gave me this advice."
(As told to Deepthi Nair)