When Anisa Khan volunteered to be the project manager in the first episode of the latest series of聽The Apprentice聽there were more than a few raised eyebrows.
Statistically half the candidates that have been fired by Lord Sugar in week one have been project managers but that didn鈥檛 deter the 26-year-old聽British-Bangladeshi entrepreneur聽from volunteering.
Despite losing the first task selling tours in Austria she stepped up to be project manager again in week two, leading her team to victory in a task to create a virtual popstar.
鈥淚 always knew that no matter what, I wanted to make sure I stood out and showed that I was doing my best because obviously you don’t know how long you will actually be there for,鈥� she told 老九品茶Cloud.
However, her bold approach has come as no surprise to those who know her.
She set up her business – Bombay Pizza 鈥� during Covid; lived in Japan for a year to teach English; and became an international聽Kabaddi player within two years of taking up the sport.
鈥淚 guess I’m very stubborn and I go for my goals,鈥� she joked.
Khan is unapologetic when she says her current goal is to build her brand around her business Bombay Pizza.
Her social media followers may have noticed she uses the word 鈥榮lice鈥� in all her usernames (@SliceofAnisa on Instagram and @SliceofAnisaa on TikTok) and it鈥檚 not a coincidence.
鈥淯ltimately, my business is what’s most important to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚’m not on the show because I want to be an influencer and I want brands to send me makeup products.
鈥淚’m very much about my business and when someone searches for me, I want there to be no doubt that I have a pizza business.
鈥淚f you look at my TikToks, even when I do something like a viral pickup or some sort of sound, you鈥檒l always find a pizza somewhere. It鈥檒l be in front of me or be in my hand, or I鈥檒l have a menu in my hand. There’s always some sort of pizza-related subject involved.
鈥淚 think that’s important for me, because especially in today’s day and age, personal branding is so massive and social media is so massive that, in order to be successful in business in the modern age, personal branding is important.鈥�
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The former analyst at Accenture is currently battling it out with the remaining 12 candidates聽to win Lord Sugar鈥檚 拢250,000 investment for her business聽Bombay Pizza, which is already turning over six figures.
She admitted that she never intended to take on the poisoned chalice of being project manager in week one when historically so many leaders have been fired.
鈥淣o one wanted to do it and it got to the point where it was ridiculous no one was stepping up,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou can make a mistake at any time and you could get fired, so my perspective was, as long as I’m there, I want to make sure I am doing my best and that I show myself as best as possible.
鈥淚 know I am a strong leader so I thought, let me just step up and just do it because the job needs to get done.鈥�
Khan has always been a fast learner. While studying at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) she started to play the contact sport of Kabaddi 鈥� and within two years was an international.
She explained: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit like indoor tag rugby and my family was against me playing it because they’re like, 鈥榓s a woman, you shouldn鈥檛 be playing that kind of sport鈥�.
鈥淚 got on to the England team. I take things as far as I can.鈥�
During Covid she founded her pizza business, putting her personal stamp on the industry with her bold Indian-Italian fusion flavours.
In 2022 she moved half-way across the globe and ran her burgeoning pizza business remotely.
鈥淚 was an English teacher in Japan,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very decision I make is a rational one.鈥�
Khan said the key to success on the TV show is thinking fast.
She explained: 鈥淲ith the timing of the tasks, you have to be quick, you have to be swift.
鈥淭he key is adaptability as well. When things go wrong you have to adapt, make quick decisions and move forward. I think that’s a key thing to do while on聽The Apprentice聽as well as in the business world.鈥�