Diamond Package INFLUENTIAL A W A R D S BUSINESSWOMAN 2 0 7 1 Design and Digital Agency 2017 - Ontario Weprofile the firmandFoundingPartnerFarzanaAbdulhusein to findoutmoreandexplore the secretsbehind the firm’s success. I N T E R N A T I O N A L PhotoCredit:PhilipCastletonPhotography Inc. • Main front cover image and headline • Four pages of editorial • 4 x crystal trophies • Personalised digital logo • Bespoke digital certificate • Six-page bespoke e-brochure • 12-month interactive web banner on AI homepage • Full page advert in every issue of Acquisition International throughout 2018 what’s included 4 Acquisition International - InfluentialBusinesswomanAwards2017 CreativeFaze isadesignanddigitalagency thatproducesonline andoffline solutions indesign,marketing,architecture,businessand information technology.Nomatterwhat theproject,CreativeFaze focuses on the value itprovides, thepotential ithas for revenuegenerationand its long-termevolutionwithin thebusiness.Weprofile the firmandFounding PartnerFarzanaAbdulhusein to findoutmoreandexplore the secrets behind the firm’s success. arzana launchedCreative Faze in 2007. Believing strongly that a company is only as good as its people, she was on amission to find thebest talent. Itwasn’t long before she realized that themost effectiveway to do that was to develop what she likes to call a virtual distributed business model. In other words, she acquires top talent nomatterwhere it is. There are no boundaries. The end result is a global team that brings international intelligence to the work Creative Faze does. They’re familiar with global trends and the nuances of localmarkets –whether thatmarket is located inKensingtonor theSouk. Like so many other entrepreneurs, Farzana left a high-paying corporate career to start Creative Faze. “Deepdown, I know I’vealwayshadanatural business sense.Youeitherhave itor youdon’t,and quite frankly, I don’t think you can be a successful entrepreneurwithout it,” saysFarzana. With both a grandfather and a father who owned several companies throughout the course of their careers, it’s possible that entrepreneurship was always part of her DNA. But before she made her own business dreams come true, she was employed by Brookfield Financial, a global investment bank, as a Vice President where she developed and delivered marketing strategies for both online and offlinemedia platforms. In the early Company:CreativeFaze Inc. Contact:FarzanaAbdulhusein ContactEmail:
[email protected] m ContactNumber: 1-844-WOW-FAZE (969-3293) WebAddress: www.creativefaze.com F stages of Creative Faze, she worked diligently on eveningsandweekends tobringherplan to fruition. She promised herself shewouldwait until she had somany clients and somuch work that she could not possibly keep up her full time job on top of it all. That isexactlywhathappened. Commenting on this success Farzana states, “I’m a big believer that every experience in our lives influences those that come after. Some have a more significant impact than others. For me, my lifelong commitment to volunteerism has taught me important skills, qualities and values that shape who I am today. And my experience at Brookfield Financial has contributed heavily to the success of my business and to the kind of professional I have become. ItwasatBrookfieldwhere I learnedhow to grow a company,manage staff, dealwith the ebbs and flows of business, and implement large-scale, revenue generating campaigns catered to specific internationalmarkets.” Throughout the course of her time at Brookfield, Farzana built strong relationships with several key players and stakeholders in the industry –many of whom have become clients of Creative Faze. She was also fortunate enough to have found several mentors and rolemodels,who she is still in contact with to thisday. “If I takeamoment to reflectonmyworkexperience as a woman in the corporate world, I can tell you that I had towork twice as hard as somany others – not necessarily only because Iwas awoman but also because Iwas young and didn’t have a single connection to get me going. There’s no question about the fact that within the investment banking and marketing arenas, most of my counterparts have been and still aremen.But I am lucky to have always been in an environment where the ideas, hard work and results I have produced have been rewarded. Even though my career with Brookfield Financial progressed quickly and I was appointed Vice President at the age of 30within just 6 years, “...Farzana severalkeyplayersandstakeholders in the industry – many of whom have become fortunateenough tohavefoundseveral mentorsandrolemodels contact with to this day.” IW170007 Most InfluentialWoman inMarketingSolutions& BestDesignandDigitalAgency2017 -Ontario Main Front Cover Image and headline Four pages of editorial <<Award>> <<Company Name>> This is toCertify: HasBeenNamed: CERTIFICATE Bespoke digital certificate Personalised digital logo 4 x crystal trophies Acquisition International - InfluentialBusinesswomanAwards2017 5 my journeywasn’teasy. Iwasaveryyoung female in amaledominated industry. I feltasenseofpressure to provemyself constantly in order to demonstrate that I did, in fact, belong. Early on,my ideas were often ignored. I had to make myself one of the smartestandmostcapablepeople in theboardroom untilmonthsand yearsdown the road, the company recognized my perceptiveness and foresight, and began to relyonme tobring solid insights,”Farzana explains. As the President, CEO and Founder of Creative Faze, Farzana dabbles in every aspect of the business, be it a complex project such as designing an automation process for a website, or a rudimentary task like answering the phone. While she makes her mark across the company, she also knowswhen to entrust thework to one of her experts. “Make nomistake about it,withoutmy talented,hardworkinganddedicated team,Creative Fazewouldn’tevenbea fractionofwhat it is today,” Farzana saysemphatically. To women at the start of their careers or who are looking to take their careers to the next level, Farzanaoffersheradvice: “You don’t always have to follow the rules. Even though rules are there for good reason, sometimes it’s important to break free. Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re blindly adhering to preconceivednotionsofwhat is “the rightway” todo something. People don’t always welcome change, but if change is what is needed to succeed, you need tobeboldenough to take that step. “Surround yourself by people smarter than you. It’s common for our insecurities to get the better of us when we see exceedingly talented people in our place of work. Will he take my job? Will she get promoted instead of me?Will I be left in the dust on this team? Challenge yourself to think on the opposite side of the spectrum. Surround yourself with experts who are more knowledgeable, more driven, more skilled…. Why? Because you can “...without my talented, hardworkingand dedicatedteam , wouldn’t even be a today.” 12-month interactive web banner