Below is a brief description about my journey in life, how I started, what I am doing for a living, and what are my passions.
At the beginning..
In 1986, I started my career as a computer science and graphic teacher at Dar Alfikr Schools in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. A year later, I became the Head of the Computer and Communication Department. Besides teaching, which I loved most, I developed computer graphic-based curriculum, teaching kids as young as 10 years old, 2D animation and programming. I still think of those years as the best years of my life. Seeing some of the students excel beyond expectations felt great and rewarding.
What I do now..
In 1994, I made the decision to try something new. I left my job, a country that I loved, my family and moved to Malaysia to start Click Grafix. I had no vision or a big picture of what I wanted to do other than make a living out of something that I love and that is teaching and computer graphics. A few years later, Click Grafix opened an office in Singapore. Click Grafix is now an award-winning company that provides content driven solutions that help companies communicate their message more effectively to their stakeholders.
My true passion...
I like what I do now, which is coming up with innovative solutions or creating content that solves problems or tells a story. But, I find myself the happiest when I am either learning something new or teaching. I have been a subscriber to Lynda.com (now called LinkedIn Learning) for more than 15 years. I have finished more than a hundred courses. Since Covid-19 pandemic started, I made a commitment to finish at least one course per week. I have taken all types of courses, including programming, graphics and design, business, cloud computing and digital marketing, to name a few.
Jack of all trades.... a master of some
What a bragger! What else can I do? Many things, but it is easier if I tell l what I can't do though, like sing any of the Bee Gees songs, or play any musical instrument. I have tried , and have failed. Even I did not like what I heard. Seriously, I started my career as a teacher, teaching programming and computer graphics. Almost 9 years later, I left Saudi for the unknown, to Malaysia to start Click Grafix, with no vision other than making money from work that I like. 26 years later, the company still running. I started other companies, like a content development company, and a media company that sells advertising space on digital screens out of home. I made every mistake an entrepreneur could make. This is why I believe that if you are building a start up, contact me, and I will help you avoid the mistakes that I made, and show you where I did well.
Education - Online
Although, I was not trained as a teacher, it became my calling. I taught students of all ages, including university, elementary, secondary and even kindergarten students. I developed computer graphic based, programming curriculum throughout my 9 years working as a teacher. Since I left teaching as profession, I have always continued to train, but spend more time learning. I became engrossed and totally immersed in the amount of free and paid online courses. I have answered more than a hundred questions about e-learning online.
Starting or running a business!
If you are thinking of starting a business, or you need advice on ho w to run your business, I may be the right person. The company that I started is more than 26 years old. We have made every mistake in the business. But we learnt from those mistakes and still learning. If you need to start a business in Malaysia or Singapore, I could help you navigate and advices you how to go about it, and where you should start. As a founder, I had to learn the hard way to run everything. I learnt book-keeping, fixing computers, attracting talents, how to sell, how to buy, how to take care of my partners and customers and most importantly how not to waste your time and effort.
Software developments
I do not code as much as I want or as I used to do when I started my business, but I know what it takes to design and develop software applications. Most of the applications that I design are vertical, and meet the needs of ours and our customer needs. I can manage a team of software developers remotely or locally. Check our website to see some of the applications that I designed and are used by many clients in South East Asia and the Middle East. It is also worth noting that one of the applications that I developed more than 25 years, is still being used by us till today.
Latest Courses Reviewed
I love learning. Platforms such as Linkedin Learning, Udacity, Udemy, Skillshare, YouTube, and others make it possible to learn anything and master many things. I spent over fifteen years taking courses online, some paid, and some free. Below are some of these courses that I took and had time to briefly review them.
