Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written my first book:
The Modern Mughal Mentality-New Strategies to Succeed in India and the Global Marketplace
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
afshanhashmi.com/
drafshanhashmi.com/
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/g6wuWDCar6U
My parents kept my name Afshan Naheed which means Shining Star and they always wanted me to shine in the world. Hashmi comes as last name through my husband . I was born in India and educated both in India and USA. I now live in Rockville, Maryland, USA. I belong to one of the most prestigious families of India and am very proud of my royal lineage. Being the granddaughter of a renowned freedom fighter and thinker of India Prof. Abdul Aleem, Mahatma Gandhi has always inspired me.
Dr. Hashmi is an author, award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, educator, and a book, movie, make-up and beauty products reviewer, film critic and Radio and TV show host, a successful regulatory and business development and scientific professional with more than a decade of experience.
She specializes in making innovative and value creation market entry strategies for companies looking to enter India. She also lectures and delivers seminars on “Doing Business in India,” including culture training. An award‐winning entrepreneur, Dr. Hashmi has coordinated meetings and accommodations for U.S. business delegations in India. She has facilitated the introduction of U.S. businesses to potential U.S. and international partners, and vice‐versa. Dr. Hashmi maintains an extensive professional network that is required to launch initiatives especially in the U.S., India, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain.
Currently every month she delivers lectures on India’s various aspects to a very large audience. Dr. Afshan Naheed Hashmi has an amazingly diverse career with extensive media experience. She is very popular in India, and many newspapers in India in English, Hindi, and Urdu having written about her including, “The Hindu”, “Hindustan Times”, and “The Indian Express” to name a few ( (drafshanhashmi.com/id16.html ).She has also appeared on major television channels in India and on TV Asia in the USA.
Dr.Hashmi has had a total reach of over one billion people worldwide via print, TV, and online. Dr. Hashmi is the author of two blogs,”India Business Innovations”
( indiabusinessinnovations.wordpress.com/ ) and “Connecting with the Dignitaries”
( connectingdignitaries.wordpress.com/ ).
She has authored numerous scientific reports, and has also written and presented various papers on the subject of biochemistry and molecular biology.
With years of experience as a business development, regulatory, and scientific professional, Dr. Hashmi’s wide experience base enables her to offer strategically sound advice in many business sectors. While working with clients on improving profitability, Dr. Hashmi was able to experience the powerful impact that the new business model revealed in The Modern Mughal Mentality firsthand. She has written articles and or comments for The Huffington Post, Elle India, Elle, Glamour, Forbes India, Harvard Business Review, Elle UK, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Chew Show website, TNW Blog
( drafshanhashmi.com/id15.html ).
Dr. Hashmi’s popular lectures range in topics and include everything from improving profitability in the international business to international cuisine and culture. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others.
Dr. Hashmi had founded Global Regulatory and Business Solutions, LLC as President, and has provided operations management, business development, market entry strategies for India and Qatar, and regulatory affairs expertise.
Prior to opening her own business, she was the primary company liaison to companies located in Asia and U.S. as the consulting liaison for ToxLogic LLC, and supported companies’ business development activities by communicating orally and in writing with potential clients and providing regulatory strategic planning and advice. She has traveled internationally to support business development and to give oral presentations to diverse audiences. She has been invited as a guest faculty by a very prestigious university in India to introduce and teach U.S. Regulatory Affairs and its relation to the business of Biotechnology via online classes. Dr. Hashmi is currently working on the curriculum for this online class. Dr. Hashmi successfully collaborated with a client to gather information to support filing of a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application to allow the client to file for a patent in multiple countries simultaneously. Reviewed scientific portion of application used this information to then help client develop licensing agreement to distribute a new technology. She has also provided entrepreneurship training.
Dr. Hashmi earned a PhD Biochemistry from Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh(UP) India, 1991, M.Phil Biochemistry,(a pre‐PhD requirement), 1988, M.Sc. Biochemistry,1985 and a B.S. (Honors) Chemistry,1983. She was also educated at Johns Hopkins University in Regulatory Affairs in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Advanced Academic Programs, Department of Biotechnology. Coursework: Regulatory Processes for Domestic and Global Biotechnology Products and University of Maryland (Baltimore), School of Medicine, Department of Medical and Research Technology Categorical Course in Clinical Chemistry, 1997.
Dr.Hashmi earned a certification from American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) ‐ Technologist in Chemistry. She is also Regulatory Affairs Certified (RAC) US and has extensive experience with scientific research and publication as well as an in‐depth knowledge of regulatory requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr. Hashmi has evaluated outsourcing opportunities for clinical trials and manufacturing, conducted scientific literature reviews, and analyzed research data, and prepared press releases and other marketing materials. Dr. Hashmi worked also as Research Associate at Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Rockville, Maryland; Medical Technologist in Rapid Response Laboratory at University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD; Public Health Scientist at Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Laboratories Administration, Baltimore, MD; Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Physiology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; and as Research Assistant, University of Maryland Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD. She is also a member of The American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP); member of Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society( RAPS) and member of Maryland Writers’ Association(MWA).
Dr. Hashmi is a recipient of the Ibn Sina Public Health Award in recognition of her contributions in the field of Public Health Science and Entrepreneurship from the AIDS Cell of the Ibn Sînâ Academy of Medieval Medicine & Sciences, Aligarh, (UP),India. She also received an Award of Excellence by AMU Ladies Club, Aligarh, (UP), India.
On April 14, 2008, her company, Global Regulatory and Business Solutions, LLC, was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation by the County Executive,The Honorable Isiah Leggett of Montgomery County in recognition and appreciation for being one of Montgomery County’s outstanding companies chosen for visits during Business Appreciation Week. Also on April 14, 2008 another Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Dr. Afshan Naheed Hashmi’s company, Global Regulatory and Business Solutions, LLC, by the Mayor of the City of Rockville, The Honorable Susan Hoffmann and Executive Director of Rockville Economic Development, Inc., Sally Sternbach in recognition of company’s contributions to Rockville’s economy and participation in Rockville Business Appreciation Week, April 14‐18, 2008.
She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation on March 10, 2008 by the County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland, The Honorable Isiah Leggett, for serving as a member of Montgomery County’s November 2007 business mission to India.
She was also awarded Junior and Senior Research Fellowships by the Indian Council of Medical Research, May 1987 to November 1991. Dr. Hashmi was awarded an Aligarh Muslim University Medal for earning the First Position in the M.Sc. Biochemistry Program as well as the Science Merit Scholarship as a result of a written competitive test for the academic session 1983‐1985. A scholarship was given for the pursuit of a two‐year M.Sc. biochemistry program.
Dr. Hashmi loves to promote authors and artists, and through videoconferencing she interviews authors and artists and then shares these interviews on various social media platforms. She runs a book club on Goodreads and Twitter called Afshan Hashmi’s Online Book Club, which takes its members on an innovative, inspiring, and intellectual journey. The book club is also called Afshan’s Stylish and Glam Reading Corner, launched on 20 April 2014. In the book club she also reviews books. She has also created Hashtag #drafshanglambookclub to have a very stimulating and interactive discussion in her book club. Dr. Hashmi reviews books, movies, beauty, and make-up products on Amazon and Goodreads (books only) websites. Also she reviews books, movies, beauty, and make-up products via audio and video podcasts on her Youtube channel, internet radio and TV shows. A hashtag has been created #The Modern Mughal Mentality as well as a blog by this name, to have interactive discussions about the The Modern Mughal Mentality book online. Various other hashtags have been created to have stimulating discussions. These hashtags are #askdrafshan, #americaindiaexpert and # AMUtalk.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write whenever ideas start floating in my mind. If in the middle of the night some idea comes to my mind I get up and start writing.
Yes when I write I do not take any phone calls. Take breaks in between and do things that I like to do which makes me motivated to write e.g. seeing TV shows which I like, listening to Bollywood songs, reading about fashion to name a few.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Being the granddaughter of the renowned freedom fighter and thinker of India Prof. Abdul Aleem, Mahatma Gandhi has always inspired me. I have been raised by learning about Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln , Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Martin Luther King Jr., Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, and other renowned personalities of the world. I met Mrs. Indira Gandhi many times while growing up in India, and admired her a lot. My maternal grandfather, my mom Mrs. Jamila Siddiqi, and my dad, Prof. A. Majid Siddiqi influenced me a lot (http://drafshanhashmi.com/id19.html) and instilled in me the quality of communication through the medium of writing.
Authors who influenced me:
Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Bilton,Dilip Kumar
What are you working on now?
Promotion of my book: The Modern Mughal Mentality.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have hired a book marketing services and the company is lining up interviews for me. The book is launched worldwide wherever books are sold both in print and online formats. Print format will be launched by 25 July 2015.
Also I am trying on my own through some of my media contacts.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes ,never give up however much you feel the path to book publishing is difficult.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never get discouraged.
What are you reading now?
Some best-sellers in different genres.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write a science fiction novel and here is the detail:
http://www.afshanhashmi.com/my_second_book_will_be_a_science_fiction
Also an innovative program in writing I have developed:
http://www.afshanhashmi.com/do_you_want_a_book_written_about_you_andor_your_company
What is your favorite book of all time?
The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru
Author Websites and Profiles
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