The Magic of the Story

American actress Claudia Shear once said, “Everyone has a story that will stop your heart.”

This is what Qamar Zaman, a bold young entrepreneur, with South Asian roots, realized as a survivor of the deadly Hurricane Ivan in the Cayman Islands in 2004.

Zaman ventured from software development in the Guernsey Channel Islands to digital marketing in the Cayman Islands in 1995. His initial projects included working with Cayman’s banking industry, department of Cayman Islands Customs and Immigration, The Cayman Islands Department of Economics and Statistics, and various small businesses. Zaman was also an adjunct Associate Professor for The International College of the Cayman Islands directly appointed by the Founder Dr. Elsa Cummings for his excellent achievements in the field of Economics, Risk, and IT.

After several years of successfully completing projects, Zaman decided to start his own business and build his own brand. His idea kept growing, and one day he wrote it on a paper napkin, at a local coffee shop, Café Del Sol, in Grand Cayman.

After this first diffident step, things started speeding up, and Zaman’s digital disruption company was launched in Grand Cayman of the Cayman Islands in 2003. I used to build websites on Microsoft Frontpage and Adobe. Life was simple and beautiful.

However, his rejoicing was short-lived. On September 12, 2004, Hurricane Ivan, a Category 5 deadly hurricane descended on Cayman Islands with 150mph winds and 220mph wind gusts that wailed and shrieked over about 350 miles. Within hours, the good life of Cayman Islands was a trampled dream of yesterday. Two people were killed and millions of dollars’ worth of assets were destroyed. Zaman himself was trapped in a house that was swept out to sea by brutal, life-threatening winds, and was miraculously saved by a friend.

Most of the homes on the islands were devastated and over half the trees and vehicles were destroyed. Utilities and conveniences are taken for granted until they were hard to come by. And the overbearing, sweltering heat drove people away in droves.

For Zaman, his dreams were crushed by the hurricane winds. He decided not to waste precious time, waiting for Grand Cayman to slowly rebuild.

He cut his losses and relocated to Dallas, Texas.

He soon made friends in Dallas, and began to relate his story of surviving deadly Hurricane Ivan, which destroyed his dreams in hours. Wherever he went, and whatever the occasion, Zaman found people flocking to him to listen to his dramatic stories. And, with each interaction, Zaman realized that people, whatever their differences, loved stories, and therein he discovered his greatest gift - storytelling.

With this realization, Zaman understood how to build a new business in his new life in Texas. He was going to provide the opportunity for people to tell their stories and convince customers.

Thus began KISS PR Brand Story, a revolutionary platform for storytelling.

For over 18 years now, Zaman has engaged in enhancing his focus on offering cost-effective storytelling services for social media and public relations. KISS PR has become the preferred choice of global small businesses. With over 31,000+ stories already told, Zaman’s business is about American author Seth Godin’s quoted observation, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories, you tell.