Sahar Hashemi

Entrepreneurship

Motivation

Communication

Branding

By this Author

By this Author

Sahar Hashemi founded Coffee Republic, the UK’s first US style coffee bar chain with her brother and built it into one of the UK’s most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30m.  Giving up her career as a lawyer in London, she staked everything on a dream – and made Coffee Republic one of the main players in the ‘coffee revolution’ that transformed a nation of tea drinkers into one obsessed with ‘triple decaf half-caf lattes.

Sahar left the day to day management of Coffee Republic in 2001 and published a bestselling book called Anyone Can Do It- building Coffee Republic from our kitchen table’' which has been translated into 6 languages and is 2nd highest selling book on entrepreneurship after Richard Branson’s book.

Sahar was named ‘Pioneer to the life of the nation’ by Her Majesty The Queen and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos. She was also named one of 100 most influential women in Britain by Daily Mail and 35 top women in British business by Management Today. In a Shell Livewire survey of inspirational role models Sahar was among the top 5 along with James Dyson and Dame Anita Roddick. She has been on the cover of Director Magazine, Management Today, Observer Magazine, New Business Magazine, Business 550 and Voyager.

In 2005 Sahar Hashemi started Skinny Candy, a high profile brand of guilt free free sweets which she sold to confectionery conglomerate Glisten Plc in 2007.

Her new book Switched On: 10 Habits to Being Highly Effective in Your Job, and Loving it,  about entrepreneurial mindset for employees was published in March 2010. Sahar says, "The future is all about being entrepreneurial in the employee context. You need to bring your whole personality – not just the ‘professional’ you - to work. Move outside your comfort zone, ignite your innate creativity and forget the ‘this is how we’ve always done things’ mentality. Don’t fear failure, fear complacency. You need to see having fun as an essential part of professional success. Living and making a living should be the same thing."

An internationally recognized speaker, Sahar’s captivating and uplifting speeches are unique as she converges her own enthralling ‘story’ with key themes of change management and employee engagement. By telling her very personal journey, she connects with the audience on an emotional level and brings to life the passion, determination and open mindedness needed to succeed. She makes a strong impact, igniting the audience with a ‘can do’ spirit and the tools and habits to ‘make it happen’.