Inside the routine of the founder who watched Dubai become a global re-export powerhouse from the ground up

Long before Dubai became the regional trade and re-export powerhouse it is today, founder and managing director of Far Way General Trading Suraj Gautam (LinkedIn) was moving between suppliers, ports, and markets across Asia and the Middle East, looking for gaps in what he says were, at the time, much more fragmented regional distribution networks.

Founded in 2001, Far Way General Trading has since grown into a diversified trading and logistics group spanning FMCG, beauty, household goods, shipping, warehousing, and transportation. Brands it distributes range from Quality Street and Red Bull to Dettol and Ariel.

Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. This week, we spoke with Gautam about building one of Dubai’s older trading businesses, Dubai’s rise as a re-export hub, recent supply-chain disruptions, and how he structures his day. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

EnterpriseAM: For readers who may not be familiar with Far Way, how do you usually describe what the business does today?

Suraj Gautam: Far Way today is a very diversified company. We have shipping, trading, logistics, and transportation businesses, and within trading, we have multiple departments focused on FMCG, beauty, and household items.

In FMCG specifically, what we do is bring brands from all over the world into the Middle East, Asia, CIS countries, and Europe. We find quality products globally, bring those items here, and then send them to different parts of the world.

E: Take us back to the start. What led to the creation of Far Way?

SG: At that time, technology was not advanced, and Dubai was becoming a major hub. When we traveled to Asia, there were Singapore and Hong Kong. But on the Middle East side, there was only one city that could compete at that level, and that was Dubai. We were fortunate to be in Dubai during that time because we could travel very easily to different parts of the world.

During those travels, I could see there was demand for many items here in Dubai and across the region. There was nothing new [about] those items, but there was a shortage, and a lot of demand. I had the contacts — we had already had business with Iraq and Libya, which was going well — so we could connect both sides and bridge the gaps between all those countries.

Slowly, customer demand kept building, and we kept finding more items for customers. Over time, those business relationships became very personal relationships with suppliers. Till today, they are my friends, and we are still working together.

E: Supply chains have been heavily tested over the past few years, especially recently with shipping disruptions and rerouted trade flows. What has been the biggest operational challenge for your business?

SG: The last few years have been very challenging globally because of the dramatic increase in freight costs, transit time problems, and the tremendous cost increases created by all those delays. We are shipping ourselves, so we understand the pains of our customers.

There were disruptions in supply and routes, but slowly, we are finding alternative routes, and things are normalizing. Markets correct themselves because of demand, and people are somehow getting settled with the new challenges.

E: Has the current regional backdrop changed the way you think about sourcing, inventory, or expansion?

SG: Things are mostly the same as before. The suppliers we were dealing with 10 years ago are still the same today, and the items are also the same. There is no major change in the supply chain itself — the disruptions are more with the routes and transit.

Personally, I feel companies like ours should become more grounded. Before, we were more focused on transiting and rerouting products to different markets through re-exporting. But now, for the first time, we have seen those routes blocked, so I feel the potential here is more in local distribution, warehousing, and building reliable supply chains.

E: Switching gears now — what does your morning routine look like?

SG: I am a very early riser. Normally, I wake up at 4:30am, and my personal target is to wake up one day at 3am. I do some yoga and some running on the treadmill, and then I come back home. I reply to emails, clear WhatsApp, and give instructions.

By 8am, the hard part of my job is done. I can concentrate better, and I don’t need the mobile around me for the next three or four hours. The mistake many people make is that when they reach the office, they get stuck to their mobile. But my mobile clutter is clear before 8am, so by then, I am in control.

E: Once the workday starts, what does a typical day in the office look like?

SG: Very busy. Sometimes I feel the day should stretch to 20 hours instead of 12. That’s why I started waking up earlier — to control the day the way I want to. When your morning is under control, so is the entire day.

Normally, I reach around 10 or 10:30am. First thing is banking, then staff meetings and walk-ins. We have many departments and we cover many regions, diverging into Africa, Far East countries, America, South America, CIS countries, Europe, and the Middle East. Earlier this year, before travel slowed down, we were receiving two or three guests almost every day. Right now, not too many because people are not traveling as much to the region, and because of the heat.

E: How do you stay focused through such busy days?

SG: [I focus] on one job at a time. Recently, I was speaking with one of my friends and asked him how he copes with daily work and he just told me, “Stop multitasking.” Do one job at a time and concentrate. That is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received recently, and now I repeat it to everybody around me.

E: How do you manage work-life balance with everything on your plate?

SG: It comes naturally because I have more than 30 years of experience now. Once you master things, work becomes like a game to you and it doesn’t add as much pressure anymore. When you understand how things work, you enjoy what you do.

Suraj’s favorites

What he’s reading: A favorite book of his is Eat That Frog! by BrianTracy, which he describes as “the bible of business and daily habits” for its methods on beating procrastination and accomplishing more. “Everybody should read that book at least twice a year,” Suraj says. He also recommends popular self-help books Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

His favorite activities: Running, yoga, music, traveling, and meeting people.