Lauren Frasier
My Business Training
Hasin Nasir
Quick Facts
Hasin Nasir, nicknamed "Commander," is a dedicated 22-year-old barber from the Federal Low Cost area of Bauchi State.
Coming from a large, close-knit family where barbering is a multi-generational business, Hasin was forced to cut his secondary education short to ease his family's financial burdens.
As the oldest of eight siblings, he stepped up to support his parents, proudly funding his younger brother's schooling and managing the household.
Trained under his father and an experienced mentor, Hasin has mastered professional haircuts and hair treatments. Inspired by his successful uncle, he is determined to launch his own modern barbershop.
Hasin Nasir
Business Goals
Hasin aims to build a modern, high-end grooming business, Hasin Command Barbing Salon, providing expert haircuts, hair dyeing, styling, and hair treatments.
Targeting style-conscious students and working professionals in urban neighborhoods, he focuses on reliable technical skill, fixed prices, and an inviting atmosphere.
Hasin plans to run his shop from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, accommodating the evening rush after normal office hours.
Ultimately, he wants to use sleek, creative branding and digital marketing to build customer confidence and prestige, making his salon the top destination for quality, affordable male grooming in Bauchi.
Hasin Nasir
Business Obstacles
Hasin consistently delivers sharp, professional haircuts despite currently operating with only a single clipper and a smoother.
To support his parents and siblings, he works incredibly hard, but his main roadblock is a complete lack of independent salon space and professional grooming gear. Relying on basic equipment limits his daily speed, making it tough to expand his client base beyond ten customers a week.
Additionally, frequent community power cuts stall his work, while a lack of bookkeeping experience complicates his growth.
Overcoming these equipment shortages and securing a steady power backup is essential to stop operational delays.
Hasin Nasir
Vulnerabilities
Hasin seeks support from Leadership Initiatives to launch his independent salon, requiring rechargeable clippers, a hair blower, a sterilizer, a towel warmer, and a hair-washing basin.
This partnership will provide the necessary startup capital to secure a main street shop and stock essential products like hair oils, tissues, and powder.
With this assistance, Hasin’s workspace will transform into a polished, white-walled salon featuring sliding glass doors, a large mirror focal point, and neat shelving.
This critical collaboration guarantees business independence, empowering Hasin to easily pay his brother's school fees while offering quality barbering services.
My Business Proposal
Throughout the program, we worked closely with Hasin Nasir to develop a clear understanding of their business goals. Though they have leveraged their skills and years of experience to create their business, they face obstacles hindering the expansion of their work.
Guided by their vision, we created a proposal detailing the infrastructure materials necessary to support the growth of their business. We devised a plan that would allow Hasin Nasir to optimize their business through a new financial tracking system.
This new budget enables Hasin Nasir to allocate funds toward essential materials and equipment, supporting the improvement of their services. Effective financial tracking will be crucial for managing increased revenue and preserving assets, ensuring the business’s long-term growth and stability.
My Business Proposal Presentation
As part of the International Leadership and Business Internship, I collaborated with top development experts to strengthen my business partner’s operation and finances.
At the conclusion of the program, my team presented our final proposal to a panel of judges from the Leadership Initiatives Grant Committee. This formal pitch allowed us to demonstrate our entrepreneurial skills, showcase our strategic plan, and advocate for meaningful change in our partner’s business.
Our team was awarded grant funding to support the implementation of our business partner’s plan, providing life-changing support that will expand operations, strengthen financial stability, and create new growth opportunities. Over the next year, this grant will help transform the future of their business and improve the quality of life for both the entrepreneur and their community.
Internship Highlights
- Business Partner Meeting
- Visit To The Embassy Of Lithuania
- Diplomacy Briefing At The El Salvadorian Embassy
- Professional Mentorship
Our business development journey began with a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our partner, Hasin Nasir, and our Nigerian project coordinator. This initial conversation laid the foundation for strong collaboration. It allowed us to better understand our partner's background, family, goals for the business, and the specific challenges they were facing.
Hearing directly from Hasin Nasir provided the insight we needed to begin brainstorming practical, personalized solutions. Each morning, our team held focused discussions to refine our ideas, reflect on expert advice from the day before, and adjust our timeline to move our plans forward efficiently.
Throughout the process, on-staff project coordinators and business development experts offered guidance, helping us ask the right questions and turn our ideas into meaningful, actionable strategies.
I had the unique opportunity to visit the Embassy of Lithuania, where I gained firsthand insight into the role of diplomacy in fostering strong relationships between Lithuania and the United States.
The embassy serves as a center for international collaboration, partnering with countries and global organizations to address pressing issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and climate change. Through this visit, I learned how diplomats engage in meaningful dialogue and policy development to create sustainable, people-focused solutions.
Officials from the Embassy of Lithuania shared how they collaborate with local communities to identify needs and implement programs that empower individuals and strengthen long-term development. This commitment to community-driven impact inspired my team and me as we worked to develop our own business proposal focused on creating lasting change.
During my visit to the El Salvadorian Embassy, I gained insight into how diplomacy shapes international cooperation and development. The experience deepened my understanding of the embassy’s role in promoting peace, fostering economic partnerships, and addressing shared global challenges.
Embassy representatives discussed how their work supports cross-cultural exchange, advances policy priorities, and strengthens relationships between the El Salvadorian people and the United States. I learned how embassies serve as bridges, connecting governments, communities, and organizations to create innovative solutions for global issues.
This visit broadened my perspective on international leadership and inspired me to think critically about how collaboration, cultural awareness, and strategic planning can drive meaningful progress- principles that our team applied while developing our business proposal.
Throughout the internship, our team had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with leading experts in business and economic development from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
One of the highlights was a session with Carla Brooks, Business and Development Officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
My team also worked directly with a personal mentor. Our mentor provided us with career insights, project support, and feedback for our business ideas. The meetings we had throughout the week with our mentor provided critical insights from the initial business ideation phase through our project presentation.
With support from Ms. Brooks and other global leaders, including Eric Rosenstein, we refined our ideas, strengthened our strategy, and developed a powerful and polished pitch deck to present at the end of the week. Their guidance helped us take our business proposal to the next level, creating a plan designed not only to launch a venture, but to transform our business partner’s future.