The global cover pandemic has caused lots of uncertainties and changes in everyday life. It is not only a public health crisis, it also severely affected the global market and financial markets. We have witnessed a rise in unemployment, closure of several businesses, significant reductions in income, and disruptions across the world.
Under such gloomy circumstances, should entrepreneurs consider taking the plunge now to start a business?
Absolutely, yes!
A keen entrepreneur always displays a natural inclination to find and fix problems, to make things better, and improve the world at large.
The UAE has always been a popular choice for investment. The government has encouraged entrepreneurship and has made it easy for foreigners to do business. And now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, this might well mean that the time is right to bring your business idea to life. Why?
1. Cheaper setup cost
The UAE government has announced changes to the residency and citizenship laws. Long-term residence visas or golden visas can now be granted to various categories of people including entrepreneurs, who can then live, work, and study in the UAE without the need of a local sponsor, and with 100% ownership of their businesses on the UAE’s mainland.
For an entrepreneur, this is an attractive proposition. Such a visa will offer a certain degree of permanency to the entrepreneur and his family and it could act as an added bonus to invest.
As part of the economic stimulus packages unveiled by many governments across the region, many fees are waived off for new businesses and SMEs, making it cheaper to register a business.
2. Competitive online marketing cost
Advertisement rates across many platforms have declined, making it a great opportunity to increase brand awareness for your brand. In addition, with more people tuned in online, it could mean more potential customers exposed to your business and learning about it, especially if it is relevant to the current times.
If you’d always contemplated establishing an online consultation business, online teaching, or an online financial advisory business to help individuals navigate their finances, then now is a good time to set up your company and market it. If you can’t afford digital advertising, then you could try the old word-of-mouth tactic. A lot of people are in a mood to help during difficult times and would love to support others.
3. Availability of resources
A downturn produces several effects that could be to the advantage of entrepreneurs. Borrowing rates and rental costs are lower than usual. Equipment could be cheaper, as businesses that are closing sell off inventory. And there is the availability of skilled, unemployed staff. If the business is one where employees can work from home, there are likely to be no lease expenses either.
Rather than catering to pre-pandemic requirements, determining what customers need now is more important. So, if you have a business idea based on a need that you have identified and believe that you can serve that need in a way that is substantially better than current alternatives, the time is ripe to bring your dream to life.
4. Changing consumer behavior
The pandemic has spurred radical shifts in consumer behavior from how we work, to how we spend our free time and live our daily lives. In fact, a study by McKinsey & Company states that many of the trends that we are seeing today are accelerations of past behaviors. For example, we have experienced 10 years’ worth of increase in e-commerce deliveries in just eight weeks! We also know that consumers are spending more time than before on fitness, TV, gaming, and cultivating new hobbies. In terms of purchasing patterns, consumer priorities are more focused on hygiene, cleaning, and staples, while non-essential categories slump.
These shifts in behavior can give rise to opportunities for entrepreneurship by capitalizing on the changes caused by the pandemic. There could be gaps in the market that need to be filled or a brand-new set of consumer requirements waiting to be fulfilled.
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If these are questions job seekers are thinking about, that’s a clear sign employers need to be thinking about responses if they want to attract the best applicants and build productive teams with a shared work ethic and energy. So, as an employer of a new business startup in Dubai, what’s your role in creating a company culture – and how?
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