Rahim Hassanally

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Rahim Hassanally provides a closer look at his professional success. 

A leading and award-winning automotive industry entrepreneur and philanthropist originally from Texas and now based in California, Rahim Hassanally reflects on his success as he looks back on more than two decades in business. 

Rahim Hassanally began his entrepreneurial journey at a young age. Turning down an invitation to attend a prestigious law school, the businessman had already established and built up his own highly successful automotive dealership well before reaching 30. 

Today, and following more than two decades in business, Hassanally has not only succeeded in living his entrepreneurial dream, but has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities and other good causes in the process. A keen advocate for breast cancer awareness, Rahim Hassanally has raised more than $10,000 for Susan G. Komen Northern & Central California as well as supporting both overseas aid efforts and local good causes alike, including homeless shelters in his area, and giving generously in the wake of last year’s devastating California wildfires. Here, and in addition to donating much-needed funds, he also further donated an abundance of vital supplies to the community during the fires. 

“My family has a strong hospitality industry background, but I knew at a very young age that it simply wasn’t my cup of tea,” Hassanally explains, turning the focus away from his philanthropy and back to business. The entrepreneur got his first taste of the automotive industry at just 16 years old. “I quickly made a name for myself in the new car sales field,” he reveals. 

Soon selling up to 30 vehicles a month in his part-time capacity as a new car salesman, Rahim Hassanally was very quickly ready to begin pursuing his dream of owning his own automotive dealership and succeeding as an entrepreneur. “By the time I was 28 years old, I’d bought my very own dealership,” reveals the businessman. 

It was the first of many for Rahim, who, over the next few years, went on to grow his own automotive industry empire. Hassanally places much of his success on a combination of entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. 

“I believe a number of key characteristics are essential for success, including a high level of business-mindedness, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and plenty of hard work,” suggests the California-based businessman. Optimism, passion, self-belief, and a readiness to take calculated risks are also important, according to the expert. 

“Personally, I’ve always been extremely driven,” he adds, wrapping up, “and, once I’ve set my mind to something, I simply won’t give up until I’ve achieved my goal.”

As this year’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month draws to a close, philanthropist Rahim Hassanally highlights important takeaways outlined by the annual initiative.

With the month-long annual awareness initiative now drawing to a close, entrepreneur and philanthropist Rahim Hassanally, a Texas native currently based in California, reveals three important takeaways from National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019. 

“As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019 draws to a close, three of the biggest takeaways from this year’s awareness initiative center around reducing risk, knowing symptoms, and keeping up with regular screenings,” explains Hassanally, an award-winning entrepreneur and a keen proponent of breast cancer awareness. 

All three points, he says, are staples of both past and present awareness initiatives, both for breast cancer and other forms of the disease. “They cannot, however, be reiterated enough,” explains Hassanally, “and what better time than when a large nationwide and international awareness campaign such as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the U.S. and Breast Cancer Awareness Month elsewhere around the world is wrapping up for another year.” 

Hassanally first points toward reducing risk. “While risk factors such as genetics and age can’t be avoided, measures to lower the risk of breast cancer can be taken, such as—and mainly—by staying healthy,” he suggests. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hassanally goes on to explain, recommend doing so by maintaining a healthy weight, aided by exercising regularly. “Exercising regularly, in itself, also comes with many added health benefits,” he further points out. The CDC also recommends limiting alcohol intake and, where appropriate, discussing the possible risks tied to certain contraceptives and hormone replacement therapies with a qualified medical professional. 

“It’s also important to know, in detail, the full range of symptoms of breast cancer,” adds Hassanally. Beyond abnormal lumps or masses which routine awareness campaigns educate the public to check for regularly, it’s also important, he says, to be similarly vigilant surrounding other abnormalities. “These,” Hassanally explains, “can include swelling and redness, pain, discharge, and a change in the appearance of the skin of the breast.” 

While these may not prove to be indicative of breast cancer, Rahim Hassanally says it’s important to be sure. “See a doctor if there’s any doubt,” advises the entrepreneur and breast cancer awareness advocate. 

Lastly, Hassanally reiterates the importance of regular cancer screenings. “Many breast cancer cases develop with no outward symptoms at all, which is why regular screening remains so important,” he adds, wrapping up. 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019 concludes on Thursday, October 31, 2019.

Rahim Hassanally is a Governor of California appointed Department of Motor Vehicles New Motor Vehicle Board member, a member of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, and a board member of the American International Automobile Dealers Association. An accomplished sportsman, a keen advocate for breast cancer awareness, and a supporter of a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, charities, and other good causes, Texas native Hassanally’s professional accolades include making the Automotive News ‘Top 40 Under 40’ list and receiving recognition as the 18th annual Urban Wheel Awards ‘Urban Dealer of the Year.’

Entrepreneur Rahim Hassanally looks back on personal and professional highlights following more than 20 years in business.

From an invitation to law school to establishing a highly successful automotive dealership while still in his 20s, Rahim Hassanally has now enjoyed more than two decades of success in business, raising tens of thousands of dollars for good causes, such as breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen, in the process. Hassanally looks back on his life in the fast lane.

Growing up, Texas native Hassanally’s family had already established themselves in the thriving Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex hospitality industry. With his parents owning a number of popular hotels in the area, you could be forgiven for assuming that Rahim, too, made his name and fortune in hospitality, but you’d be mistaken. “Getting into the hotel business would’ve been easy for me,” he explains, “but at a very young age, I figured out that it simply wasn’t my cup of tea.”

Instead, aged just 16, Hassanally eagerly accepted an opportunity to embrace a work-study program run by his local high school. “I was able to work and earn money while also completing my studies,” he reveals.

It was in his first job—and the same job facilitated by his high school’s work-study program—that a young Rahim Hassanally would find his feet in the industry in which he would quickly go on to make a name for himself. That industry? “New car sales,” says Hassanally.

Studying each morning until midday before reprising his daily role as a salesman at a local dealership during the afternoons, within two months, Hassanally had exceeded all expectations.

Not only was he excelling in his classroom studies, but the aspiring entrepreneur was selling as many as 30 vehicles a month in his part-time capacity as a new car salesman. “Coaching from a mentor who also worked at the dealership certainly helped!” admits Hassanally.

Fast-forward several years and the high school sophomore had gone on to graduate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, with a bachelor’s degree in political science while also working at three different dealerships in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

It was around this time that Hassanally made the decision to opt out of an invitation into law school in order to pursue his passion for automotive retailing; something at which he had now very much come to learn that he enjoyed a serious natural talent for.

“By the time I was 24 years old, I’d risen to general sales manager at my current workplace,” reveals Hassanally, “and, less than four years later, I bought my very own dealership.”

It would be the first of many for Rahim Hassanally who, over the next ten years, would go on to establish himself as one of the automotive industry’s leading players, truly living life in the fast lane.

“Looking back, I’ve always been extremely driven,” he adds, wrapping up, “and when I set my mind to something, I won’t give up until I’ve achieved it.”

To learn more about Rahim Hassanally, visit https://rahimhassanally.co/.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and breast cancer awareness advocate Rahim Hassanally looks towards October, observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month around the world.

Marking National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States and Breast Cancer Awareness Month elsewhere around the world, October plays host to an international effort to promote breast cancer awareness and to raise vital funds for research into the disease, heavily focused on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and finding a cure for breast cancer. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and breast cancer awareness advocate from Texas and currently based in California, Rahim Hassanally reveals more about the upcoming global initiative.

“Next month marks annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” explains Hassanally, “a worldwide initiative designed to raise awareness and funds for vital research into breast cancer causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and finding a cure for the disease.”

A global public health initiative, in the United States, the event is known as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Elsewhere, the initiative is marked simply as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as well as, for example, Brustkrebs-Bewusstseinsmonat in Germany and Mes de Sensibilización Sobre el Cáncer de Mama in many Spanish-speaking nations.

In the United States, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is today led by a number of major breast cancer charities, having been initially established in the 1980s by the American Cancer Society. “In Canada, meanwhile, the initiative is led by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Breast Cancer Society of Canada,” reveals Hassanally. “Elsewhere around the world, Breast Cancer Network Australia and Cancer Australia lead the charge ‘Down Under,’ while Breast Cancer Now heads up the cause in the United Kingdom,” he adds.

Back in the United States, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in addition to promoting awareness and backing vital research into finding a cure, also centers around educating the public, particularly regarding the importance of breast cancer screening and early detection of the disease, according to Rahim Hassanally.

One of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month’s main goals, he further explains, is to promote the continued importance of mammography. “This has been among the main focuses of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month since its inception in 1985,” reveals Hassanally, “and continues to remain central to the initiative’s growing list of goals and achievements.”

Global Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019 begins on Tuesday, October 1st, and concludes at the end of the month.

“For more information about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation website or search National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” adds Hassanally, wrapping up.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Rahim Hassanally offers a number of examples of donations most often welcomed by homeless charities and shelters in the community.

Beyond cash donations, many local homeless shelters are in desperate need of a variety of supplies and other help. From food and personal care items to clothing, toys, and games, automotive industry entrepreneur and philanthropist Rahim Hassanally shares a closer look at several ways in which members of the community can support their local homeless shelters.

“First and foremost, most shelters are in regular need of nonperishable food items,” explains Hassanally, a seasoned automotive industry entrepreneur and keen philanthropist. Canned vegetables, he says, with clearly printed expiration dates, are a good example of the type of nonperishable food items sought by many homeless shelters.

“Personal care items are important, too,” adds Hassanally. Such items, he reveals, include toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, deodorant, soap or shower gel, feminine hygiene products, and baby wipes, as well as toilet paper, diapers, and items such as reading glasses.

Also in demand is clothing, according to Hassanally. “Quality clothing, including scarves and gloves, is generally very welcome,” explains the multi-award-winning entrepreneur, “as is business clothing which those at the shelter can wear to job interviews.”

A committed philanthropist and long-standing advocate for breast cancer awareness, Rahim Hassanally has previously raised more than $10,000 for his local Susan G. Komen chapter, Susan G. Komen Northern & Central California. Hassanally is also a proud supporter of a number of his local homeless charities and shelters, as well as the area’s air force base. “I’ve also raised funds for local, national, and international aid efforts,” he adds, “including following last year’s devastating California wildfires, and in the aftermath of deadly natural disasters elsewhere around the world.”

Beyond food, personal care items, and clothing, homeless children in local shelters are, says Hassanally, universally grateful for toys and games. “Children in shelters typically have very few personal possessions,” he explains, “so toys and games are always welcomed.”

Adult-only shelters, too, are often appreciative of donated board games, according to the automotive industry entrepreneur.

Equally important to homeless shelters, and something which money can’t buy, is time, says Hassanally. “Even if someone doesn’t have money or spare items to donate, volunteering time is often invaluable to local homeless shelters,” he adds, wrapping up, “from helping to coordinate fundraising efforts to preparing meals or collecting and sorting donated items.”

Automotive industry entrepreneur Rahim Hassanally takes a brief look at the history of NAMAD as the advocacy organization approaches its 40th year in operation.

Established in 1980, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers is America’s leading organization centered around advocacy for diversity and inclusion across all aspects of the nation’s automotive sector. Collaborating with manufacturers and policy-makers alike to establish meaningful, equitable, and sustainable business protocols for minority entrepreneurs and employees within America’s automotive industry, veteran NAMAD member Rahim Hassanally provides a closer look at the organization’s background.

“Collaborating with local, regional, and national policy-makers and domestic and international manufacturers, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers has been dedicated to establishing business protocols which are meaningful, equitable, and sustainable for America’s minority automotive industry entrepreneurs and employees since 1980,” explains Hassanally, himself a seasoned and well-respected automotive industry entrepreneur based between Texas and California.

The automotive industry has, he says, grown to become one of the single most important industries in the United States. “A recent report carried out by the Center for Automotive Research credits America’s automotive sector with contributing up to 3.5 percent of the nation’s overall GDP annually,” reveals Hassanally.

America’s automotive industry, he further goes on to explain, directly employs more than 1.7 million individuals across engineering, design, manufacturing, and the supply of components and parts to assemble, retail, and subsequently service new motor vehicles. “Unfortunately, however,” adds Hassanally, “minority representation in the industry has not maintained pace with changes in national demographics and consumer purchasing trends.”

This, the automotive industry veteran believes, applies particularly to the number of minority-owned dealerships currently operating in the United States. “Accordingly, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers was established—and continues to thrive in its role—as a collaborator and advocate focused on sustainable business protocols tailored toward minority automotive industry entrepreneurs and staff throughout America,” reveals Hassanally.

“It’s an important consideration,” he continues, “when accounting for the U.S. Census Bureau’s recent projection that, by 2043, the nation’s current majority demographic will, in fact, become the minority population.”

Elsewhere, research carried out by NAMAD indicates that today, around 30 percent of all new vehicle purchases in the U.S. are made by minorities. “Despite this,” adds Hassanally, “only five percent of the nation’s automotive dealerships are minority-owned.”

The growth of minority-owned dealerships, suggests automotive industry expert Rahim Hassanally, has still yet to return to the rates of growth seen in the early and mid-2000s, prior to the global economic crisis.

“Much work still remains to drive diversity and inclusion higher across the automotive industry in America today,” he adds, wrapping up, “and, almost four decades on, NAMAD continues to take a vital leadership role in this ongoing process.”

Entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist Rahim Hassanally celebrates more than ten years with NAMAD and offers a closer look at the organization.

After more than ten years of NAMAD membership, Rahim Hassanally remains a leading advocate for the organization’s work and its place within America’s booming automotive industry. Presided over by Damon Lester since 2002, Hassanally shares a closer look at the nationwide network of automotive industry professionals.

“I first became involved with NAMAD more than a decade ago,” he explains, “and continue to champion the benefits of being a part of a nationwide network of professionals, each of whom is dedicated to diversity inclusion across every aspect of America’s automotive industry.”

Headquartered in Largo, Maryland, the National Association of Minority Auto Dealers was founded in 1980. “Growing membership, year on year, has allowed the organization to flourish,” says Hassanally.

NAMAD’s mission statement centers around its commitment to increasing opportunities for ethnic minorities in all aspects of the automotive industry, according to Hassanally. “NAMAD seeks,” he explains, “to ensure the presence of a representative and a meaningful number of minority entrepreneurs and employees in the retail sales, supplier, and service sectors, as well as among the manufacturing ranks.”

“The organization,” he continues, “is committed to working closely with nameplate manufacturers to achieve sound business arrangements intended to create reciprocal trading partnerships.”

Such partnerships have, according to NAMAD, uncovered not only new markets, but also new ideas, new talent, and new capital. “All of this is to the benefit of not just automobile manufacturers and entrepreneurs,” explains Hassanally, “but consumers, too.”

NAMAD membership is on an annual basis. The organization also hosts a popular annual conference. The 2019 NAMAD Annual Membership Meeting was held last month at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Designed in the 1950s, the buzzy, iconic hotel, situated on Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, is less than 12 miles from Miami International Airport, ideal for attendees flying in from across the U.S. for the conference.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach boasts a number of upscale dining options, including a steakhouse and an Italian eatery, a spa with ocean views, three elegant ballrooms, plus trendy bars and lively nightclubs.

A keen philanthropist, NAMAD member Rahim Hassanally has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities such as Susan G. Komen in recent years. The automotive industry professional, entrepreneur and family man has also raised further funds for local, national, and international disaster relief efforts.

In addition to being a long-standing member of NAMAD, NADA Dealer Academy graduate Hassanally is also involved with the American International Automobile Dealers Association and is a Governor of California appointed Department of Motor Vehicles New Motor Vehicle Board member.

“I’m proud,” adds the entrepreneur, wrapping up, “to be in a position whereby I’m able to give something back to the industry and to support worthwhile nonprofit organizations and other good causes both locally and across the U.S. and overseas.”