Ayoko Magazine — Business Spotlight
LAWN CARE NINJA BECOMES ONE OF WINNIPEG'S YOUNGEST HIGH-PERFORMING REAL ESTATE AGENTS
You often hear about born entrepreneurs. These claims are usually exaggerated, but that's not the case with Winnipeg real estate agent and entrepreneur Rahim Mirza.
Rahim [...] has multiple businesses under his belt and is a high-performing Royal LePage real estate agent. While real estate is his calling, his business career really began in Grade Five on the streets of River Heights.
"During elementary school I applied for a paper route," Rahim explains. "I used to have four blocks in River heights that I would deliver to once a week for about a year. The job was fun; it taught me a lot of discipline. After the winter season I quit. I couldn't stand pushing that cart through the snow-covered sidewalks any longer!"
Rahim decided to switch to warm weather work and began his own lawn care business at the age of 12.
"From the money I saved from my paper route I bought a new lawn mower and posted an ad on Kijiji," says Rahim. "Within a few months I had registered the business as Ninja Blade Lawn Care."
While trudging through the snow helped teach discipline, his martial arts training hammered it home. He is a Nidan (second degree) black belt in Shotokan Karate with ISKF Canada. His training had a huge impact on his early life, so it was only natural that it was reflected in the name of his first business.
"Shortly after registering the business, Ninja Blade Lawn Care had over 15 monthly lawn care contracts all around River Heights and Tuxedo," he explains. "My mom used to drive me from job to job every weekend and, instead of waiting, she would bring a weed whacker and start trimming around sidewalks and flower beds."
An immigration lawyer and partner with Fillmore Riley LLP, Rahim's mother Sofia and father Adnan have supported Rahim since he was a tot. From role model to lawn care chauffeur and support system, Rahim credits his parents for giving him the drive and push he needed.
Hard work, determination and creativity gave Rahim an edge, but it was his family that gave him his start. For Rahim, it goes back two generations to his 89-year-old grand-father Meraj, who passed his entrepreneurial spirit down through the Mirza ranks. An air mechanic for Canadian Airlines, Meraj began dabbling in property investment and management with Rahim's uncle Saleem and mother as something to keep him busy after retiring.
Dating back to when Rahim was ten years old, he remembers his grandfather picking him up from elementary school to take him along while he checked on his properties. Rahim remembers vacuuming the buildings, watching Meraj test the fire alarm systems and dealing with the day-to-day responsibilities that come along with managing a property and tenants.
At the same time, Rahim's lawn care business was bringing more and more success, but it also brought on a bad case of ongoing hay fever. Rahim made a shift into construction, building decks and fences with a friend, and he also began taking over the management of his grandpa's properties. During high school, he slowly became the main point of contact for tenants.
Always there to help, his mother Sofia assisted with all necessary legal requirements and paperwork until Rahim was old enough to take it all on himself. He then took over the management of the various trades, snow removal, advertising, lease agreements and day-to-day operations.
This was when his passion for real estate truly blossomed. At age 18, fresh out of high school, he got his real estate licence and began looking for a brokerage to join.
"I applied at a number of places, but they said I was too young to be in Real Estate — I should come back and see them when I was 25," he explains with a laugh. "I decided to go with Royal LePage Dyanmic on Corydon as they welcomed me with open arms, and they are a very well-known Canadian company."
Things have only gone up from there. Rahim has excelled as a real estate advisor, and loves helping people make the biggest purchase of their lives.
On top of his real estate brokerage work, he is the President and CEO of Mirza Properties & Developments, Chairman and President of Mirza Capital Corporation and Senior Director in ROC Capital Group INC.
An average workday for Rahim tops 12 hours and it's not unusaul for him to be working on deals at 11 pm. His real estate investment work adds to his workload, as his partners currently manage 18 rental units.
Why such diversification? Rahim explains, "They say the average millionare has seven sources of income, so that's my goal."