Amir Kamel, born, raised and educated in Cairo, Egypt, obtained a degree in accounting and accepted his first job with a construction company. Just a year later, Amir and a partner opened their own construction company in which Amir served as CFO for seven years before immigrating to the U.S.
His immigration application was in process for eleven years before finally being approved in 1984-a true testimony to the patience that Amir believes is key to achieving success.
Amir immediately continued upon arriving in San Antonio. First taking English and accounting classes at SAC while working at Luther’s BBQ, he then moved on to UTSA for more accounting classes. After a year, he hired on as a bookkeeper/manager at the Tequila Tree, an import/export company located downtown.
In this position, Amir perfected his English skills and expanded his knowledge of doing business in America. In 1988, Amir took a job as an accountant with Princess, a local salon supplies distributor.
After quickly becoming the expert and go-to man in this independently owned company, his responsibilities grew from accounting to sales to management. After seven years with Princess and a great working/learning relationship with its owner Bill Matsoff. Amir was presented with the opportunity to purchase the company.
A newlywed, Amir purchased Princess in 1994 and expanded the sales area of Princess from San Antonio to all of Texas over the next six years. 2007 brought significant changes to the company as Princess lost the distribution rights to their main product. Amir met this challenge, steering the company through this crisis by focusing on increasing the number of product lines offered.
Princess supplies salons across Texas, and now parts of Oklahoma, numerous lines of salon products, some exclusive to Princess. In addition, Princess provides support for these products in the form of education and training. A large training facility attached to its distribution warehouse provides salon owners and stylists various training opportunities ranging from knowledge of product to haircutting techniques.
The salon business is unique and very fragile according to Amir who has relied on his unwavering patience, consistent management style and a dedicated employee base to build a one-million-dollar company in 1994 to an impressive seven-million-dollar company in 2007, utilizing ten sales representatives. 2009 brought significant growth again as the product lines grew. Amir adheres to the philosophy that everything good takes time. He makes all of his choices with purpose, always looking for ways to better serve his clients – their success keeps him successful.
Amir met Steven Bankler in 2007 through a referral. Steven offered Amir a business model that allowed him to benefit from significant tax savings in a very critical year for Amir. Steven’s expertise has provided notable tax savings in each succeeding year as well. Steven also ably represented Princess in an IRS audit last year that concluded with a no-change report. Amir, quiet spoken, humble, and thankful for his many blessings, has not looked back. He fully embraces the American way of life as a proud owner of a successful local business and an even prouder husband and father of six.
Princess is located in San Antonio at 1226 Basse Road. Visit www.princessprofessional.com or call (210) 736-2691