Houssam Taleb - A Story of Hardwork and Perseverance

The Ethnic Business Awards are Australia’s longest running and most prestigious business awards program.  For three decades these awards have highlighted the myriad of benefits that cultural diversity and multiculturism brings to our nation, including the rich heritage of our First Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.  The founder of this incredible foundation, Joseph Assaf AO is a migrant Australian himself.  He has been dubbed the “father of multiculturism” and has been applauded and lauded for his work, especially the recognition he has brought to the achievements of migrants and Indigenous Australians.

Each year the Ethnic Business Awards shines a light on the stories of inspiration of our finalists.  Here is the story of Houssam Taleb of Tempe Tyres. He’s originally from Lebanon but he and his family have become an integral part of the ‘tyres and wheels’ business environment in Australia.

Houssam Taleb with Mr Joseph Assaf AO at the Ethnic Business Awards Gala in 2018

Houssam first arrived in Australia in 1985 with his family, which included his parents and three brothers. When they arrived in the country, they had a lot of trouble fitting into the culture of Australia. They didn’t know English well enough to communicate with locals, so adjusting to this new life was immensely challenging. In addition to that, their dependence on their father to be able to provide for the whole family with limited finances was very stressful to all.

Houssam’s uncle owned the site where Tempe Tyres now resides and originally there was an existing tyre business there. At first, managing the business was difficult as there wasn’t a lot of funds available. They started selling secondhand tyres which were sourced locally. They also imported secondhand wheels. At this time, they were implementing a kind of ‘trial and error’ strategy. They weren’t sure if they would succeed in the actions they took, but they didn’t have enough money to research or plan out everything. As things started going well and cash started flowing into the business, they would reinvest in the business. That was most important to them. Houssem states, “This is a philosophy that remains the same today”.

Houssam Taleb pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Houssam admits that they did lose money because they weren’t fully aware of specifications and regulations when it came to these tyres. The four brothers were still in the process of learning and although they made errors, they always knew that the emphasis had to be on making sure that the customer was happy. Priority was always the customer service.  Errors were always viewed philosophically and seen as learning experiences.

It was many years before Houssam could take a holiday. They worked seven days a week and never spent money on unnecessary things. Slowly, they started acquiring more property to aid in the expansion of their business. In 2010, Tempe Tyres bought Simmons Wheels, which was a huge move for the company. Simmons Wheels is a well-known brand in the car racing industry.

Tempe Tyres is unique. And what makes them different is their outlook towards their customers. Whatever tyre or wheel a customer might want for their car, the company can not only provide it but also make sure it fits efficiently and it is always at the best price. They are open 7 days every week in order to be available when their customers need them.

Starting from a small garage in Tempe with only three workers, Tempe Tyres now averages around 130 cars per day at their retail store. Their customers are owners of prestige vehicles, high performance cars, SUVs, trucks etc. They now employ over 194 team members and seven directors who work together to deliver the best for their customers.

So, what has led to the immense success of Tempe Tyres? The answer according to Houssem includes hard work and perseverance. He thinks long hours and zero holidays are part and parcel of a business and working every single day IN the business is extremely important. Giving up is not an option, no matter how many challenges one faces. He also places a lot of importance on their customers as well as their own team of workers. According to Houssem, “Together Everyone Achieves More”. And most importantly, respect. Respect towards their customers, their own team members, their suppliers, and everyone who interacts with their business.

It was truly remarkable to be able to award Mr. Houssam Taleb such a well-deserved and honorable award. His family’s story of hard work will always be a great inspiration to us.

Every year we seek out similarly inspirational stories.  Sometimes the business is in its infancy, so we recommend they track along for a few years before they begin the nomination process.  There is zero cost involved in nominating and we are always happy when nominees try to be selected for consecutive years.  We understand that the EBA is only able to bring twelve fantastic stories each year to the stage, so my advice to you is to never give up.  We have many examples of finalists who were only successful after trying for a couple of years to be selected.  The most important thing is that we hear these stories.  And through our media partners we can beam them into the lounge rooms of Australians everywhere.  In fact, they go all over the world as last year we pioneered a Facebook live broadcast and it was seen by 70,000 + viewers.  This just shows there is a huge appetite for true stories of excellence.