Dubai, is an amazing place and fast changing every time i visit. You visit London you get bombarded by ads, you watch CNN you get bombarded again, and its worth the hype. I went there for supervising a franchise purchase for a chocolate store, a friend is opening a chocolate store here in Kuwait and the franchise owner is a Lebanese but Dubai based. See if you got a passion for something you can make a lot of money from it, its sounds simple but complex when going into the business it self, the franchiser buys big bulks of Belgium chocolate, melts it in his small factory, makes a certain mix then into the molds. Some with fruits, wafer, biscuits, ice cream and much more, it all depends on your imagination. Then get delivered to the shop for sale, offcourse adding the small amenities and selling with a higher profit margin. Then you get the baby showers basket, wedding basket, getting well basket. Now the founder is franchising to a Kuwaiti owners and expanding to Qatar too. Dubai laws and regulations have a large effect on his success, the ease in customs and private business ownership. Because the business entirely lies on the importing of chocolate from Belgium then a fast moving customs house must be in place. Just to let you in the picture here, Kuwait custom house is like soug el j/yuma3a:P whatever. You see the more centralized the country the slower it progresses, but as it looks Dubai takes decision in a blink of an eye and thats what we need here, not a 6 month ordeal of fighting and who’s is going to steal the next deal. Another thing that might help is that i have traveled by using my civil id. Thats the only benefit we have as GCC countries, i did not use my passport once, nor did any airport ask for it. and it was processed faster than the normal passport method, go figure:) sorry for not posting the last couple of days.
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July 10th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Very interesting post. But you must remember one thing Qais, it’s getting harder and harder to succeed in a place like Dubai – exactly BECAUSE there are few regulations or barriers.
The big multi-nationals swarmed in and crushed the small time players. I’ve heard it a million times from colleagues and friends who live and work in the Dubai economy. I’ve even seen it with my own eyes, small entrepreneurs have no chance.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people saying the they are off to Dubai because the streets are ‘paved with gold.’ These young entrepreneurs end up crushed and working in a system that they spent their savings on trying to escape.
July 10th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Red_M: The only answer here is innovation, because if young entrepreneurs follow the same path of these large corporation, they will get crushed. But entreprenuers are smaller,flexiable and fast moving. they can defeat larger corporation because of such charactarestics. We systems start to deregulate and break, entreprenuers have a better chance to defeat larger rivels but have to come into the market with innovative products and service and service niche markets that large corporations have not noticed.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Yes, it is an amazing place. You can also travel with your finger prints in Dubai!! Which by far is the fastes travelling method, faster than the pasport and civil id. You just apply for an electroinc card in Dubai airpot, they take your finger prints, and that is it! So evertime you travel, you will not be asked for your passport nor your civil id, actually you wont be asked any questions, excluding the customs that is. O el7mdela 3l salama.
July 10th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Qaiss, out of interest, how is that chocolate company doing in Dubai? Are they making money? Can you disclose information about their gross margins? I am interested to find out what the difference between Kuwait and Dubai costs are.
July 10th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
The way things are in Kuwait they want it centralized because they want to get all these favors from different people and nobody wants to be held accountable. I go through hell every time with MOC, they are useless stopping equipment asking what each and everyone is, it wastes a week every time there is a shipment.
We need an overhaul in Kuwait, if they want to apply standards then they should define and train some people to check them, but electronics should not be stopped, its just sad how things are falling apart at the seam in Kuwait. They are strangling businesses in many ways!
July 10th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
lol qaiss aham shay u were in dubai with my friend ;p
July 11th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Hasan.B: these people take what we do wrong and correct it to there benefit…
Red_M: well as it looks yes, they are making money, expanding…i guess because the cheap cost assocaited with the bulk chocolate, then high profit margins with baskets, but most probably rent is higher in Dubai but not 100% sure.
Marzouq: yah, this is killing business here, the slow ass customs are making business owners loose money
EniGma: your friend? who?