Member Article

Asad Shamim's Rises to Successful Sport Management

Success and entrepreneurial spirit are not foreign terms to Asad Shamim; in fact, Asad is known to have built a Furniture e-commerce business, from the ground up, and two years ago, he dived into the world of Sports Management, to take on a life-changing challenge for an amateur boxer seeking his professional licence. Asad Shamim is known to the public as the owner of the highly-successful furniture business selling contemporary Furniture from his brand labelled Furniture in Fashion. He built this brand to a recognisable and respected level, and excelled in this market through utilising several mediums of advertising, coupled with his public relation abilities. Asad, with his experience in brand management and commercial public relations, expanded his professional portfolio by using his incredible people management skills in sports. In 2013, Asad started offering his expertise in sports management to athletes - he takes pride in working with some of the most high-profile and reputable athletes to date and has had a hand in building some very successful brands out of sport personalities.

Rising to challenges since the start of his first business: Asad started an online furniture business in 2007. At that time, Asad recalls his father questioning the idea. “How can you sell furniture online? People will prefer a brick-and-motor shop where they can feel and touch the furniture they buy, is what my day said to me” mentions Asad. Asad believes that things had changed with the way businesses were run from his dad’s era. He says: “With established niche shops in every town, it was easier to set up an online business to provide consumer ease. I had a gut feeling that e-commerce was going to be big, and the trend showed it growing. Rather than having one shop in one city or town, and waiting to open a second branch, I knew my internet business, could gain much bigger exposure on a national level, with the right type of marketing.” “Of course, I was hesitant at first because my father wasn’t keen on the idea, but I decided to start off with a vigorous marketing strategy, which included, advertising in the newspapers, and utilising Google as a platform to advertise our services. In 2007 the competition wasn’t as fierce as it is now.”
Pursuing his passion of sport management “After six years of solely concentrating on Furniture in Fashion and building a furniture business from scratch and seeing it rise to success very rapidly, I decided to pursue my passion for sport”, says Asad. He decided to begin by taking on the management of an amateur boxer by the name of Muhammad Ali. Having worked and proved himself with other athletes, Asad was very well placed to bolster Ali’s career in the boxing field. “I believe too many fighters are led down the wrong path because the business of managing them isn’t as straight forward as some may imagine. A boxing manager’s job is to guide and advise the fighter on career moves, sponsorship opportunities, to protect them and to ensure they get the very best out of them.” Says Asad. Asad has always been very fond of sports and talks of his natural intrinsic quality to help athletes. “I want them to prosper in the right direction. I saw Muhammed Ali believed that his career was at an end, but I knew he had vast potential, so I saw an opportunity to step in”. “I was doing all my e-commerce business work and at the same time I was working alongside a young boxer who suffered from type one diabetes because sports is my passion. The challenge was, that current boxing regulations had no provision for type one diabetics to compete on a professional level. So, when Ali went for his licence application, he was given a rejection straight away. When this happened, Ali felt defeated. He went on to sell off all of his boxing gear and decided that this was the end of his sporting career.” Asad Shamim considered the merits of the case and with the equality legislation to hand, soon discovered that the denial of a licence was unfair.
This was when Asad Shamim helped Muhammad Ali make British Boxing History after fighting the case through legal channels and winning Ali a licence. Ali became the first boxer in the United Kingdom with type one diabetes to be granted a professional licence by the British Boxing Board of Control. The 25-year-old is delighted that things are now finally back on track, and he is thankful to those around him who have helped him get to this point. How Asad Shamim got the professional boxing license for Muhammad Ali: “My team who worked closely on the case, thought it was against human rights – and we based our case on an unfair decision. I chose the best dieticians in the country for Ali, to ensure we got the professional advice we sought”. Asad also confirmed and wrote to the board that there was no reason why Ali shouldn’t be giving a boxing licence. Asad Shamim, then took the story to the local press, and obtained substantial publicity through Diabetes UK. After a three-year battle, the pair celebrated the outcome of a professional boxing licence. Asad says: “We worked with some amazing people to achieve this record breaking outcome. Our solicitor did a phenomenal job – so we thank Marium Razzaq of JMR Solicitors in Manchester. She fought the case legally for Ali. Subsequently on 9 May 2018, Ali was granted his licence. Ali is now seen to be an ambassador for Diabetes UK and International Diabetes Federation (Worldwide Society). He will be featured in the Diabetes UK Magazine and the International Diabetes Federation publication. Doing it for the success: It is clear from this; Asad’s successful streak has carried on from his e-commerce business to his sports management and consultancy venture. When asked, what gets him up in the morning, Asad replies:

“For me, it’s about being successful. Money isn’t my motivator. Money doesn’t give me the same joy Success gives me. If I can make a person successful then that is what makes me happy.” “At the moment, the most important thing I’m working on is Ali, and my objective it to make him a world champion.” It’s safe to say, we know by now, that when Asad sets himself up on a challenge, he will ensure he meets it!

About FurnitureInFashion

FurnitureInFashion is a UK-based online retail business. It supplies furniture from its German-based warehouse and has a showroom in Bolton, UK. The company provides everything from umbrella stands, wall art and room dividers, to bedroom suites, bar stools, and computer tables. FurnitureInFashion offers free delivery within the UK and is rightly proud of its excellent customer service.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Asad Shamim .