Waqas Rafiq

Entrepreneur since 2008 | Owner & CEO, Vital Feeds (Private) Limited | Founder, EL TESSA (Private) Limited | MBA, University of Glasgow | Lahore

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@wto Safeguard probes often affect more than the named product. Third-country suppliers can see buyers hesitate long before any duty is set. Early public notice, as here, lets small exporters prepare documents and plan stock before a ruling arrives.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

When a customer says "too expensive," I now ask what problem the price is solving. Often it is payment timing, not the number itself. Fixing the timing protects the margin. What do you ask first when you hear that?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@wto A hundred meetings is a long record of quiet work. For small exporters, standards and testing rules often bite harder than tariffs, because a cost that arrives late cannot be priced in. Early notice of draft rules gives a small firm months to adapt, not days.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

When something goes wrong, I answer the first message within an hour, even if I only write "I am checking this." Silence makes a small problem look big. A short reply buys the time to fix it properly.

What do you do first when a problem reaches you?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@IMFNews The focus on local firms is the key point. Per the IMF's October regional outlook, gains depend on know-how, logistics and trade barriers. That suggests foreign investment lifts exports only where small and mid-sized suppliers can meet a buyer's standards.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

Before a hard conversation, write the one sentence you want the other person to remember. If you cannot write it, you are not ready to speak. It took me years to learn that. What is your one sentence for the talk you are avoiding?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@ecb Central banks weighing climate risk matters for exporters. Floods and heat waves hit supply chains first, then insurance costs and credit terms follow. Small firms feel that lag most. Per the ECB, its climate change centre has worked on this for five years.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

5/5 Question five: what is the one thing for next week? Just one. A plan with ten priorities has none. Which question would you add to your list?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

1/5 Most weeks I feel busy and still cannot say what moved. So every Friday I ask myself five questions. It takes twenty minutes. Here they are.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

4/5 Questions three and four: who helped me this week, and did I thank them? What did I learn that changes how I work on Monday? Learning that changes nothing is entertainment.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

Most meetings end with agreement and no owner.

I close each one with a single sentence: who does what, by when. If nobody can say it, the meeting is not finished yet.

Which meeting at your work needs that sentence?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@wto @AOuattara_PRCI Inclusive trade becomes real when a small firm can ship across a border without hiring a customs specialist. Simple documents and predictable clearance times often help a first-time exporter more than a tariff cut does, because certainty lets them plan cash and commit to buyers.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

A deadline with a reason gets met. A deadline without one gets negotiated.

"By Friday" is easy to ignore. "By Friday, because the shipment closes on Saturday" is easy to respect.

Do you tell your team why a date matters?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

Every Friday I write down one thing I got wrong that week and what I would do differently. One line each. After a few months the list shows a pattern, and the pattern teaches more than any single lesson. Do you keep a record of your own mistakes?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@ecb @Isabel_Schnabel Fiscal dominance matters well beyond Europe. When a central bank is pressed to ease government debt, inflation expectations can drift, and small exporters in emerging markets often feel it early through currency swings and costlier credit. Predictable rules help trade.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

A sale is not money until it is in the bank.

Every Monday, write down what you must pay and what you expect to receive in the next 30 days. Ten minutes, one page.

It shows the gap while you can still fix it.

Do you review your cash every week?

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

@IMFNews The IMF piece is right that fragmentation rewards regions that trade well with themselves. Deeper ASEAN rules on standards and customs would help small firms most, as they cannot manage a different border process for every market. South Asia could learn from this.

[Waqas Rafiq @WaqasRafiqReal]

Most delays I have seen came from one missing line: who owns the handover.

Name one owner for every handover, in writing. When ownership is clear, blame gets rare and work moves faster.

Where does work get lost in your team?