Transparency is the fundamental requirement when it comes to immigration services. Because the person approaching an immigration agency is primarily unaware of the lengthy, time and money consuming immigration and immigration-related preliminary processes.
In today’s digital and social media age, many aspiring candidates do a thorough online search and background check before approaching an immigration consulting agency or agent; however, there remains a chance of some hidden or missed information on both sides.
That is why the highest degree of transparency is a prerequisite, mainly on the side of the immigration consultant, to build a long-term trustworthy relationship. It is the best and surest approach for any and every consultancy in this niche to adopt.
However, many of the immigrating aspirants might have not so good or even the worst experience of their life while dealing with some unscrupulous elements that are giving a bad name to the industry.
Khushwant Rana, the Founder and Managing Director of HFE Immigration Pvt Ltd along with HFE Group Companies, is on a mission to change that negative perception of the entire immigration consultancy sector into a positive image with his and his HFE team’s utmost authenticity, honesty, integrity, sincerity, truthfulness, and transparency.
In a candid interview with Insights Success for its exclusive edition of ‘India’s 40 under 40 Brightest Business Leaders’, Khushwant spoke about his always open approach with all of his past as well as future clients when it comes to professional relationships.
Sir, please tell us about the saga of HFE Immigration since its inception.
If I talk about the initial days, I was the same as any other child of my age. When I was in college, I thought I should get a job and start working somewhere but getting a job is not an easy task. Moreover, financial assistance from my parents was also withheld by them. I was on my own.
Then I joined the TATA call centre and worked there for about four months. Later I decided to do something more productive. At that point in time, the IT industry was booming; I spent a few years studying and learning the aspects of the IT industry. Initially, I worked from home and then, with the passage of time, from a small office to a registered company.
After some years, my friend, who was already settled in Canada, suggested that I provide services in the field of the immigration sector, and so I thought to join the immigration services. Since I am of the viewpoint that a person should not do something without legal documentation, so I registered my company first and got the central government’s license.
From that time onwards, it has been more than ten years that I have been running two companies successfully in India and we are planning to open new branches soon, We provide services related to various study, work, PR, and tourist visa programs in various countries like Canada, Australia, the USA, UK, New Zealand and Singapore.
What was your inspiration behind venturing into the business arena?
As we are all aware that the competition nowadays is very tough and to find a good job is another tough task. Personally, I was always of the view that one should help others if one is able to. If we go by the ratio of the outgoing students from various colleges and universities, then we can see that majority of them always look for a good job and try to work towards it.
Only a minuscule proportion of the students are up for taking risks to start a new venture or business. I was one of them; I always wanted to help the other students to get well-paid, steady jobs so that their employment levels could be raised.
My parents have been a supporting pillar since day one. They have been pushing me to be a better version of myself and help others in any way I can. With the same advice in mind, I can proudly say that the HFE group of companies is helping students to believe in themselves. I really hope that this brand does a commendable job in the future also.
What were the initial challenges you had to surmount to ensure HFE’s success rate to reach greater heights?
The very first decision I had to make was what to do after graduation. I had no financial backing, which is a huge challenge when a person has to start from level zero. When I started, I was not supported by my family and was on my own. But I did not give up and kept myself motivated.
Then came the other big challenge, which included whether people who were there for you earlier would they be interested in helping you all the way. But that doesn’t happen. It is often witnessed that when a person is financially doing well in his life, he has a large circle of friends, but when his life takes a U-turn, and all goes haywire, nobody is there to support him.
These types of incidents make you stronger and keep you motivated to make the best possible effort. In the covid period, when everything was shut down, there were innumerable hard times for businesses all over the globe. But when you are a businessman, you should focus on the solution more than the problem itself. So, even if you feel like giving up, you should not quit. Rest and breathe; take your time but push yourself to do your best.
What professional values and qualities do you think your clients value in you and your company the most?
From the client’s point of view, there are certain policies we stick to. We try to ensure maximum satisfaction of the client. We try to work with complete truthfulness so that we do not break our clients’ trust in us and charge as minimum as possible. I personally cater to the inquiries and problems of my clients and try to provide guidance to them as and when I can.
Moreover, we do not charge any counselling fee from them unless and until they are completely satisfied. Whenever we come across any ambiguity in the file or applications of the client, for instance, any study gap or any chances of visa refusal, we make sure that we tell them so that they are not kept in the dark. We tell them in case we come across any negative development in their whole documentation.
What USPs highlight HFE’s uniqueness in the industry you are catering to?
- Trust,
- Zero counselling fee (until the client is 100% satisfied),
- Complete Guidance,
- Reliability,
- Client services,
- Authenticity
These are some key points of our company’s USP.
As an experienced professional, what would you like to advise the budding aspirants willing to enter the business world?
My advice for the budding aspirants yet to enter the business world would be that they should follow the recent updates and the current affairs closely. If you are serious about getting into the business world, you should learn to be self-dependent. One should never run behind the monetary benefit that a job has to offer because there is a lot at stake.
Your one wrong move can spoil someone’s whole life. We often come across incidents of fraud done by visa agents and companies, so money-making should not be your only prerogative. It would help if you believed in doing the tasks yourself, and that too with complete honesty. One should have a proper website working so that clients can visit that website for information and updates.
Keep the website updated as and when a new development is seen in the immigration world. It is also advisable to have an authentic Facebook page, or other social media handles so that more people can know about your venture.
Last but not least, starting a business may seem like an easy task but to keep it running is an arduous one. But a person should never stop believing in himself and never halt the hard work.
How do you envision HFE’s operations with the emerging technologies and automated tools revolutionizing the business world by enabling innovations?
Technology innovation is a boon and is helping people from all over the world to get in touch easily via various online platforms. I can confidently say this because I have also been running a software company for the past ten years.
Technological innovations help a person to put their views across more easily and effectively. For instance, when a person is looking for some services or solutions, they always search on the web for reliable solutions.
The same goes for the companies; when people search for the company’s name, they have already gone through the background data and information for that particular company.
They visit in person to get the last-minute assurance. We also have an online portal, ‘hfeimmigration.com’, that eases the business and is also used for the promotion by our clients.
