Business Insight Issue 21

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Editor’s Foreword

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he end of the year is nigh! What will 2016 bring? None of us can tell the future, but we can look at what is happening today to plan for tomorrow.

With all the talk last month about climate change, has anyone really considered how this will impact businesses globally? Very few people probably have done. But it does, and here in the Middle East we are especially affected. Moody’s have just released their Climate Change Report that highlights the key businesses that will be affected. Should you be thinking of environmental risks when planning for your business? We tell you if you should worry.

It’s not just the weather that business should be concerned with though. Is cyber crime at the top of your business agenda? If not, you should certainly be thinking about it. In our article ‘Protecting Your Business from Cyber Crime’, Luke Brown, GM and VP EMEA, India and LATAM at Digital Guardian give you his tips on the steps that business should be taking.

Your employees are also likely to feature heavily in your thoughts as you plan for the year ahead. Sales will continue to be the bloodline of your business, but bolstering the team from their post festive holiday malaise can be a big hurdle, so the team here at Business Insight have brought you ‘Managing your Sales People’ and ‘Teambuilding that Don’t Break the Bank’ in our people section which can help you in your quest to drive your business forward in the new year.

Publisher & CEO Liam Williams liam@flipflopmedia.ae Managing Director Harry Norman harry@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9062 Business Development Executive Paul Davis info@flipflopmedia.ae +971 04 369 9061 Editorial Editor Tanya Selley tanya@flipflopmedia.ae +971 4 369 9063 Staff Writer Rachel Stracey info@flipflopmedia.ae Design Head of Design Mhar Delaben design@flipflopmedia.ae Operation Steve Miller Operations@flipflopmedia.ae circulation & Production Circulation and Distribution Manager Antonio de Marco circulationdm@flipflopmedia.ae

Enjoy!

Database and Circulation Manager Aaliya Khan databaseandcm@flipflopmedia.ae Production Manager Juan Vasquez productionmanager@flipflopmedia.ae Digital webmaster@flipflopmedia.ae

Tanya Published by

Talk to me at tanya@flipflopmedia.ae and let me know what information you need to take your business forward — and I will try to help you in the next issue.

Registered at Fujairah Free Zone PO Box 26734 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 369 9063 Fax: +971 4 369 8989 www.flipflopmedia.ae printed by Printwell © Copyright 2015 FlipFlop Media All rights reserved While the publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

issue 21

Climate Change – The Effects on Business *Middle East Still a Growing Market for Entrepreneurs *How to Increase Your PR Without Spending Money

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Contents

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Foresight Page 14 – Business Owners Have No Time for Innovation Page 16 – Middle East Still a Growing Market for Entrepreneurs Page 18 – UAE Companies Report on CSR Page 20 - Climate Change – The Effects on Business

Success Series Page 24 – Sanjiv Kakkar, EVP Unilever

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Money Page 30 – Mudarabah & Mushrakah: The Pillars of Islamic Finance

People Page 34 - Managing Your Sales People Page 38 - Team Building Activities that don’t Break the Bank

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Legal Page 40 - IPO Your Startup

DMCC Page 44 - Ahmed Bin Sulayem Appointed UAE Chair of the Kimberley Process

Marketing & Advertising Page 48 - How to Increase Your PR Without Spending Money

Technology Page 52 - Protecting your Business from Cyber Crime

Property Page 54 - Emirates Hills – A Good Investment?

Business Incubator Page 56 - Make the Most out of Your Commute Page 57 - How to Rocket Launches SME Events Series Page 58 - The Art of Franchising Page 62 - Managing Emails

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foresight

business owners have no Time For Innovation Small business owners are too busy to come up with new ideas

he world’s small and medium business owners are struggling to innovate due to competing business priorities and a lack of appropriately skilled employees according to a new global survey by Sage.

Nearly a third (32 percent) of small business owners around the world have neglected the development of new business ideas, a problem which is hitting Spanish businesses particularly hard (38 percent). The problem stems from a lack of time, despite small business owners working over 40 hours a week (as revealed in Sage global research released last week). 42 percent attribute their long hours to the unavailability of appropriately skilled employees. South African entrepreneurs are finding this particularly tough, with 57 percent saying that improved skills amongst the workforce would help release that necessary time.

The development of new ideas was ranked as the most common area of neglect, with customer contact, staff development and bill payment also on the priority list. In a small number of countries, including the UK and Germany, entrepreneurs have said they would rather spend time on innovation than on general office administration.

The survey by Sage, the integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems software company, highlights some of the major challenges facing the world’s small business owners as they strive to power the global economy.

But innovation isn’t the only thing to suffer as a result of time-poor entrepreneurs. Over a third (38 percent) of those surveyed say that time pressures result in losing

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customers and clients. In addition, small business owners are sacrificing valuable downtime with 33 percent having taken fewer than five days of holiday in the last year. This figure rises to 57 percent in South Africa.

However small business owners are open to solutions to help them devote more time to innovation. As well as improving skills amongst employees, better administrative processes and technology were highlighted (by 51 percent of respondents) as useful in releasing more time. Brazilians rank this much higher, with 69 percent saying this would help.

Stephen Kelly, CEO of Sage comments, “Small businesses around the world are the true heroes of the global economy and we need to support them in helping them find the time to develop and grow. When so many businesses create a dream business from a great idea, it’s heart breaking to see business owners forced to let that innovation fall by the wayside. We know how hard they work, and we want to help entrepreneurs carve out some time to keep their innovative spark alive”’ “The Sage Global Research results and the Small Business Saturday campaign come at a really good time as we have just concluded a week dedicated to innovation in the UAE. The Sage results when compared to the reports released during the UAE Innovation week, are applicable to the region as well. I have no doubt the upcoming Sage sessions will be useful to everyone in the UAE and Middle East,” said Reggie Fernandes, Regional Director of Sage ME, when asked about the affect on Middle Eastern entrepreneurs. l

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foresight

Middle East Still A Growing Market For Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is flourishing in the Middle East, a London Business School survey of regional executives has revealed he survey of nearly 500 regional executives found that the Middle East is seen as a growing market for entrepreneurship, with more than two thirds (71.4 percent) of respondents describing the sector growth as ‘steady’, ‘fast’ or ‘very fast’.

Executives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were most emphatic about a growth spurt, scoring well above average at 81.5 percent. Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, London Business School, says that as the region becomes more prosperous, a healthy entrepreneurial sector will become even more important, “Entrepreneurs, not established firms, tend to be the most important source of innovation. With the recent decline in oil

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prices, economic growth will come from different sectors and it is important that the private sector takes over the momentum from the government. Entrepreneurship can play an important role in this.”

And the findings suggest that people recognise this. Nearly a half (45.4 percent) of the regional executives, who participated in the survey, said they have considered setting up their own business. More than one third (35.8 percent) said that they have already started one or more ventures and nearly a half (45.6 percent) said they felt ‘confident’ about starting a business in the region.

Maintaining this confidence is key for fostering long-term economic growth in the Middle East, according to

Dr. John Mullins, Associate Professor of Management Practice in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, London Business School, and author of The New Business Road Test (2013) and The CustomerFunded Business (2014).

“Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart, as enormous uncertainty surrounds any new venture, and the probability of success is daunting,” said Mullins. “However, it is entrepreneurs and their fast-growing companies who will create nearly all of the region’s new jobs going forward, and it is entrepreneurs who will make available goods and services found elsewhere that are not yet available here.”

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Despite the confidence in growth, 66.7 percent of respondents from across the region believe that there is room for improvement. 56.3 percent believe that SMEs in their country could be doing better, if given more support.

Challenges The survey identified a number of challenges that continue to impact SME growth, including excessive or inappropriate regulatory or governmental policies, few sustainable SME banking products and an SME management skills gap.

Scott says, “While it is true that entrepreneurs need to generate their own passion to succeed, we know that so many of the common mistakes that entrepreneurs make in SMEs could be avoided.

This is why business schools are increasingly incorporating entrepreneurship courses amongst their general management

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offerings. It may be true that entrepreneurs can’t be made in a business school but you can certainly help them become more successful.”

Financing When it comes to new business financing, venture capital is currently seen as the most successful funding model across the region (36.5 percent).

Looking to the future, executives also believe that more private investor (e.g. ‘angel’) funding would be the most effective measure in supporting new businesses.

According to Mullins however, budding entrepreneurs should consider alternative options for their first investment, “There is a widely held assumption in the Middle East and elsewhere that a venture capital firm should be every aspiring entrepreneur’s first port of call. ‘We need more angel investors,’ is an equally familiar cry around the world, just as it is in the Middle East.

“But actually, that is not true. The vast majority of fast-growing businesses around the world never take any venture capital. So where does their money come from? It comes from the same source that Bill Gates and Paul Allen used to start Microsoft – and Michael

Dell, too – their customers. There are intelligent ways to secure customer funding, and it is vastly cheaper capital too.”

Nearly 500 members of the London Business School community, including alumni, Executive Education past participants, Executive MBAs and the School’s Middle East Club, participated in the survey, sharing their views on entrepreneurship, the current state of the Middle East’s SME sector and its future trajectory. l

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UAE’s companies report on corporate responsibility

Leading UAE and Oman firms adopting corporate responsibility (CR) reporting standards illustrating the UAE vision continues to be a good sustainability framework for public and private institutions to follow n increasing number of organisations in the Lower Gulf are making sustainability a key part of their business agenda, according to the findings of the 2015 KPMG Lower Gulf Sustainability Report.

36 percent of the UAE’s top 100 companies reported on CR in 2015, a significant increase from 22 percent in 2013.

Meanwhile, 37 percent of top 100 Omani companies also reported on sustainability, and have been included in the survey for the first time.

KPMG has been releasing this Global report biannually for the past two decades, but in light of the government focus in this area, they have included the lower Gulf region in their analysis. “Companies in the UAE and Oman, and their stakeholders, are increasingly interested in reporting on the environmental and social risks and trends that are affecting their business,” said Rajeev Batra, Partner and Head of Risk Consulting, KPMG when questioned on the report.

The UAE has highlighted several short-term and longterm sustainability goals, that they wish to achieve via the implementation of national frameworks and guidelines to be followed by public and private institutions for better environmental and sustainability performance. According to the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, sustainable

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development is necessary for the economic and social development of the seven Emirates.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which introduced the G4 framework last year, has placed a significant focus on the quality of reporting around the world. In the UAE 28 percent of reporters use GRI. Batra added, “Sustainability is reshaping the Middle East. Leading companies are increasingly moving away from focusing only on community and QHSE, towards a formalised reporting process, with stakeholder engagements and materiality assessments. Those who lack a formal process tend to have limited quantitative sustainability data, and qualitative data shared alone can be perceived as PR or green-washing, hence they are hesitant to report; while others simply need guidance on how to report. Our report highlights insights and leading practice from leading companies across the UAE that have a clear vision for their businesses.”

Five locally based companies were identified and profiled in the report – National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Emirates Transport, Dubai Water and Electricity Authority, Du and Aramex. The analysis was based on seven quality criteria, including strategy, risk and opportunity, materiality, targets and indicators, suppliers, stakeholder engagement, governance of CR, transparency and balance. l

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foresight

Climate Change the Effects on Business moody’s analysts examined 86 rated sectors around the world, with nearly US$70 trillion in total rated debt, and created a “heat map” that measures their exposure to environmental risks and shows the likely effect on their credit quality hey found that environmental risks are having a material impact on the credit quality of 11 sectors with a combined US$2 trillion of rated debt. Unregulated power generation, coal mining and coal terminals are the most immediately exposed. However, over the next three to five years, they foresee that automobile manufacturers, independent oil and gas exploration and production, mining, steel, commodity chemicals, building materials, oil and gas refining and marketing and power generation projects as sectors facing environmental risks that could be material to their credit quality.

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Longer Term Risk There are a further 18 sectors – with US$7 trillion of rated debt – that will see their credit strength affected five years or more down the line. However, it is less certain that the identified risks will develop in a way that is material to ratings for most issuers in these sectors.

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The longer runway to respond to risks could provide time to implement policy changes, adjust business models or financial profiles, or develop technological or lower-cost solutions, mitigating the impact of such risks. Notable sectors in this risk category include developing economy sovereign and regional governments, integrated oil and gas companies and regulated power generation utilities.

Low Risk The report also found that 57 sectors (about twothirds of the sectors surveyed) are considered low risk, with environmental factors unlikely to impact their credit quality. This segment equates to US$59 trillion of rated debt. Some sectors, such as mass transit, may benefit from environmental policies that are aimed at reducing air or carbon pollution. Others, such as telecommunications, operate with fundamentally low exposure to environmental risks. Still others, such as banks and insurance companies, have business diversity or flexibility that will mitigate

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foresight

“11 sectors face elevated credit exposure either now or within five years and a further 18 face credit pressures in more than five years’ time” William Hunter, a Moody’s Senior Vice President

exposures they may have. Finally, some sectors have economic, policy or financial flexibility that offsets the environmental risks they face. This group includes major sectors such as developed economy sovereigns and local governments.

Mitigating The Risk Moody’s found that business decisions, economic and financial factors, as well as technological solutions, would be expected to mitigate some of these risks, as well as highlighting the need for full contingency planning.

“Our heat map highlights a wide disparity in the likely credit impact of environmental risks on the 86 global sectors we analysed,” said William Hunter, a Moody’s Senior Vice President and coauthor of the report. “We found 11 sectors face elevated credit exposure either now or within five years and a further 18 face credit pressures in more than five years’ time. Importantly, we also assessed 57 sectors to be low risk.”

A second report, also published by Moody’s, discusses the rating agency’s approach to assessing environmental risks.

The report separates these risks into two broad categories: (1) The fallout from direct environmental hazards such as pollution, drought and natural or manmade disasters. (2) The consequences of regulation or policies that seek to reduce those hazards, such as carbon reduction targets.

Their findings are increasingly important for businesses globally as Moody incorporates environmental risks into its credit

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Moody incorporates environmental risks into its credit ratings and aims to take as much of a forwardlooking approach as possible. The agency also considers other factors that might mitigate an issuer’s exposure to these risks, such as its overall financial strength and its capacity to adapt

The Findings High Risk

zz zz zz zz zz zz zz zz zz zz

Unregulated power generation Coal mining Coal terminals Automobile manufacturers Independent oil and gas exploration and production Mining, steel Commodity chemicals Building materials Oil and gas refining and marketing Power generation projects

Longer Term Risks

zz Developing economy sovereign and regional governments zz Integrated oil and gas companies zz Regulated power generation utilities zz Packaging Suppliers zz Automotive Suppliers zz Paper and Forrest Products zz Shipping zz Aircraft

Low Risk

ratings and aims to take as much of a forward-looking approach as possible. The agency also considers other factors that might mitigate an issuer’s exposure to these risks, such as its overall financial strength and its capacity to adapt. l

zz Banks and Finance companies zz Residential mortgage backed securities zz Regional and local Governments – Developed Economies zz Telecoms zz Manufacturing zz Business and Consumer Services

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success

Sanjiv Kakkar Success Series Interview:

Executive Vice President (EVP) – Unilever North Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Russia Ukraine and Belarus By: Jaideep Singh, President and Founder of CXO Alliance

During his time with Unilever, Sanjiv Kakkar has held a broad range of positions throughout the business in the Beverage, Food, Home and Personal Care areas of the company. He was appointed as the Executive Vice President of Unilever MENA and Turkey on October 1st, 2013 and was given the added responsibility of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in August 2014

he branches of Unilever under this instruction are based in 35 countries and encourage considerable challenges as they are designated a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) region. This complexity of operation also brings great potential as the region includes 28 percent of the world’s area, and a population in excess of 780 million people.

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When did you join Unilever?

I began my career with Hindustan Unilever in India in 1984.

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Since joining Unilever you have risen to become one of the most senior executives in the company. When you look back, how different was your thinking then to how it is now?

When a person joins a new company, their first objective is to survive, and if you ask me what I was doing when I joined, I was trying to survive in a new environment.

The challenge was my having just moved from college into the corporate world where everything changes.

The second very important thing I made sure to do was to learn and change. I was very fortunate to work with some great people from whom I learnt a lot. These people helped

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success

me to keep progressing and would probably be called mentors now. Looking back though, I also realise how important it is to have a clear vision as to ‘where’ and ‘what’ you want to be.

thing about Unilever is that it helps every leader in the company to define their personal purpose as a human being and encourages you to live that purpose in every aspect of your life. Unilever also has a strong corporate purpose. It then tries to align the two, because if a person is driven by a purpose with passion, there will be many who would like to follow him.

There is no one purpose which fits all - each individual will have their own personal purpose in life.

What drives you?

Some amount of tension/stress is healthy, as it drives you out of your comfort zone. That is also true for every stage of life. Without stress you will stop growing as a professional. You have to come out of your comfort zone in order to keep growing. At the same time you need to have a certain aim and purpose in life. A great

Is the identification of this personal purpose what has helped you outperform your peer group?

Absolutely - I think it is crucial to be clear about who you are, what you are comfortable with and what your uniqueness

Investors today are also more demanding, as they want to know where the organisations stand with regards to sustainability or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

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is. After this, you need to hone your skills by working on them.

All this action of continually sharpening skills will enable you to out-perform their peers.

How much of being successful in business is about creating the person we strive to be?

I don’t know whether the successful admit to this, but yes there is a lot of truth in the fact that we are all our own creation.

You cannot live somebody else’s life – it’s not sustainable in the long term. We lead our own lives, and we should ensure that we enjoy it all the way.

There was never a moment when I told myself that I now want to be a ‘GM’ or a CEO. I am a great believer in the spirit of continuous improvement. I don’t think you

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success

can make that leap just by deciding one day that you are ready for higher responsibilities. It is more about taking each day as it comes, and being ready to take on more responsibilities.

You need to continually take the time to work on improving ourselves and to leave our comfort zone. Thereafter things will happen on their own accord.

How do you manage growth in such a tough business environment as we have in the MENA region?

Businesses like ours are dependent on population size, GDP growth and the resources available. As long as I do a good job on my brands, people will buy them and we will see growth. However considering the region and current economic/ business environment –due to the shift in the wealth, markets might get impacted. I am not saying that it is a reason for businesses not to grow! This is an economic reality and I can’t do anything about it. The onus for us is to still find ways to grow and this is what we keep challenging ourselves to achieve.

Our investors and stakeholders still want us to grow. We still have internal targets to meet, irrespective of what is happening in the external

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environment. After this it comes down to how we design our products, our ability to innovate in the current environment and to connect better with our customers and their needs. Even today in the MENA region, the product consumption per capita is low, so if we focus on increasing our market penetration/increase the per capita consumption of our products, we will continue to grow.

How important is a business plan to businesses?

Very! Without a purpose and direction you cannot expect an organisation to survive for long. You need only look at some of the ‘Fortune 500 companies’, which had big brands years ago and have not survived since, or else have had to substantially cut back… Conversely, look at the companies that have survived. They had a clear vision and understanding of their purpose and their role in the society – their business model was a reflection of that. You need to take into account the way times are changing and the pressures in the work place today. It’s only a sense of

Businesses like ours are dependent on population size, GDP growth and the resources available. As long as I do a good job on my brands, people will buy them and we will see growth clear direction and purpose that will help an organisation survive and grow.

Ultimately, you need to ensure that as an organisation also you need to keep improving with a sense of purpose and direction and you need to continue being relevant and keep growing. A business plan will assist you with this.

How would you describe the role of a CEO? At Unilever, all senior management go through a ‘leadership development programme’, where we are encouraged to define what our ‘personal purpose’ is. Life

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success

You cannot live somebody else’s life – it’s not sustainable in the long term. We lead our own lives, and we should ensure that we enjoy it all the way

is a matter of evolution and constant change that directly impacts your purpose, and sometimes also leads you to modify the same.

My real purpose now is my ability to make an impact on the organisation and the people around me. Today, it is focussed on how I can ‘grow’ the people around me. If I put it in two words, it is all about ‘growing people’. That’s what gives me immense satisfaction. It stems from the belief that one day we will all leave the organisations that we have worked for – it is inevitable. What remain behind is not our results – those are forgotten - what actually ‘stays’ is the people who we have grown and built, and who can take the organisation to the next level. So every day, I try to allot some time to ensuring how I can continue to make sustainable living a reality and keep growing people.

It is nice to know that someday, when I leave the organisation, I will be able to look back with a sense of achievement and pride at the people that we have developed and grown.

Why is Corporate Social Responsibility important to businesses globally?

There are laws and regulations in different countries and a regulatory framework for protecting the environment that all businesses should be aware of and work within. But the real pressure today comes from the mainstream consumer and social media that give them more power today as

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You need only look at some of the ‘Fortune 500 companies’, which had big brands years ago and have not survived since, or else have had to substantially cut back…

Conversely, look at the companies that have survived.

They had a clear vision and understanding of their purpose and their role in the society – their business model was a reflection of that

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compared to earlier. Investors today are also more demanding, as they want to know the organisations stand with regards to sustainability or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Even suppliers today are more active on this front. So besides the regulatory aspect there is a growing consciousness towards ‘sustainability’ among different stake holders.

How do you maintain the balance between growth, consumer health and sustainability?

Like any other products, in the food industry we constantly innovate to ensure a balance between appealing to the local palette, product viability and consumer health. For example, obesity is becoming a big problem, especially amongst children.

In the ice cream category we have a large market share, but we have ensured that they are formulated to comply with our own stringent standards first, whilst being lower in fat, sugar and calories. Similarly, we monitor the salt content in our ‘soups’ without impinging on the taste – these are areas in which we are innovating.

Without stress you will stop growing as a professional.

You have to come out of your comfort zone in order to keep growing

Part of our sustainability practice is that we ensure that even our suppliers in the food sector have adopted sustainable practices. We will, and do, take action if we find that their practices are not up to scratch as a little while back we had black listed one of our largest Palm oil suppliers in Indonesia for not following sustainable practices and endangering the ‘rain forest’.

As a result of this, other companies followed suit and banned suppliers who were following unethical and /or unsustainable deforestation practises. We need to be doing what is right! l

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MONEY

Mudarabah & Musharakah: The Pillars of Islamic Finance The increasing popularity and widespread acceptance of Islamic finance is encouraging investors to go deeper into the basic premises of Sharia principle

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Mudarabah Mudarabah is a partnership where one partner gives money to another to invest for them in a commercial enterprise. The first partner from whom the investment comes from is called “Rab-ul-Mal”, whilst the management and work is the exclusive responsibility of the other partner, who is called “Mudarib”.

Two Types Of Mudarabah investment: 1. Al Mudarabah Al Muqayyadah (a.k.a Restricted Mudarabah): Here the Rab-ul-Mal may specify a particular business/place/market for the Mudarib, who then invests the money where requested. Since

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the investment is restricted by the choice of the Rab-ul-Mal, this is called restricted Mudarabah.

e explain the two most important pillars of Sharia principle, Mudarabah and Musharaka.

2.

Al Mudarabah Al Mutlaqah (a.k.a Unrestricted Mudarabah): Here the Rab-ul-Mal gives full freedom to the Mudarib to invest where he deems fit. In this scenario the Mudarib is authorised to carry out any work normally undertaken during the course of business, but he is not allowed to undertake any extraordinary work, or lend money to anyone else without the consent of the Rab-ul-Mal. The Mudarib is also not authorised to keep another Mudarib or partner, or mix his own investment in that particular Mudarabah contract without the consent of Rab-ul Mal. The profit will be distributed to an agreed ratio, however any loss is borne by Rab-ul-Mal.

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MONEY

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Musharakah Musharakah is a type of Shirkat-ulAmwal, which literally means sharing contract. In the context of business it refers to a joint enterprise or partnership structure based on of profit and loss sharing instead of interest bearing loans.

Instead of charging interest as a creditor, the financier will achieve a return in the form of a portion of the actual profits earned as pre-agreed. However, unlike a traditional creditor the financier will also share the losses.

Like Mudarabah, Musharakh is also based on certain principles. In general it is agreed that a proportion of profit be distributed among the partners (the splits on which are agreed at the outset), but exactly what the split should be varies significantly among experts; some say that it is necessary that each partner’s share in the profit is exactly equal to the proportion of initial investment, others say that the ratio of profit distribution may vary without restriction from the ratio of investment, while another says that it may vary only for silent partners (non-active partners who only contribute capital) but that it cannot be higher than the ratio of investment.

It is unanimous however that each partner’s share in loss must be exactly equal to the ratio of initial investment otherwise the contract invalid.

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The above is also complicated further when the type of actual capital for investment differs. According to some protagonists capital is not a restriction in Musharakah and subsequently, in-kind contributions (non-cash) by partners is acceptable. In this instance the market value of the commodity is considered and agreed at the time of contract. However, others insist on only cash contribution as non-cash contributions may create an issue if liquidation or redistribution is required.

The Differences zz The investment in Musharakah comes from all the partners, whilst in Mudarabah investment is the sole responsibility of Rab-ul-Mal zz In Musharakah all the partners can actively participate in the management of the business, whilst in Mudarabah all of the work is carried out by the Mudarib only zz In Musharakah the partners share the loss in proportion to their investment whilst in Mudarabah the loss, if any, is suffered by the Rab-ul-Mal alone as the Mudarib does not invest anything.

However, this principle is subject to a condition that the Mudarib has worked with due diligence. If the Mudarib has worked with negligence or has committed dishonesty he is liable for the loss caused by this

zz

The liability of the partners in Musharakah is normally unlimited. Therefore, if the liabilities of the business exceed its assets and the business goes in liquidation, all the exceeding liabilities will be borne pro-rata by the partners. However, if all the partners have agreed that no one shall incur any debt during the contract, then the exceeding liabilities shall be borne by that partner alone who has incurred a debt on the business in violation of the condition previously mentioned. Contrary to this in the case of Mudarabah, the liability of Rab-ul-Mal is limited to his investment, unless he has permitted the Mudarib to incur debts on his behalf In Musharakah as soon as the partners put capital in a joint pool, the Musharakah become jointly owned by all of them according to the proportion of their respective investment.

Therefore, each can benefit from the appreciation in the value of the assets, even if profit has not accrued through sales. The case of Mudarabah is different as the goods purchased by the Mudarib are solely owned by the Rab-ul-Mal, and the Mudarib can earn his share in the profit only if the goods sell for more than purchased

Musharakah is a type of shirkatul-amwal, which literally means sharing contract

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MONEY

whilst the principles of these contracts differ from conventional loan and investments, they have many widespread uses in nearly all sorts of financing, asset or liability

Whilst the principles of these contracts differ from conventional loan and investment, they have many widespread uses in nearly all sorts of financing, asset or liability. For asset side financing it is used for short, medium, and long-term financing, project financing, large as well as SME financing, trade/bridge financing, working capital financing, and for letter of credit with margin (Mudarabah) and without margin (Musharakah).

For liability financing it is used for current, saving, investment accounts (deposit giving profit based on Musharkah/Mudarabah,

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with predetermined ratio), inter-bank lending, borrowing, term finance certificates and certificate of investment, T-Bill and federal investment bonds, debenture, securitisation for large projects (based on Musharkah) etc. It can also fund Islamic Musharakah bonds (based on projects requiring large amounts of funding where profits are based on the return from the project).

Knowing now the way Mudarabah and Musharakah work would you, as an investor, consider investment following either of these two principles? l

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people

Managing Your Sales People

We all know how important our sales teams are to our business but how do you manage them to ensure that you get their best ?

ales teams often have a mishmash of skills and abilities.

The 80/20 principle works in sales and I would also hazard to guess that depending on the size of your team, you have one or two standout employees, the others either in lacking ability or are lazy.

There are commonly three types of sales person; determine their strengths and weaknesses. Their first and most common type of salesperson is what is known as the team player. Typically top performers, they work well with others. Often prone to conservatism, they may be reluctant to try new approaches and techniques.

Then you have the performer type; they consistently close deals and bring in new clients. The downside is that they require constant motivation and encouragement; especially when having a bad run. When properly motivated, however, these types of people are invaluable assets to any sales team.

Finally you have the nurturer. They constantly build up and encourage others even at the expense of themselves. They are a great asset as they have the desire to motivate others, but need to be encouraged to stray from their comfort zones and take occasional risks.

So the question is, how do you manage them?

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Maintain Team Spirit As a sales manager, you are going to be dealing with people who sell for a living. As I am sure you have seen, most professional sales people have big egos. They are also very

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people

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people

Sales teams live and die by their figures, so have weekly one to ones (which can be conducted over the phone) to discuss their figures, at the end of the week social and establish rapport with customers and staff very quickly.

To maintain any level of control, the team needs to be managed closely; you need to show each individual on your team attention every single day. If the team member is high performing, stroke their ego and congratulate on them on a job well done and use them as a case study for the other team members. If they feel valued, they will remain loyal to you.

If however, they are weaker team members, show them reassurance and support. Provide training and mentoring by pairing them up with stronger team members. Sales teams live and

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die by their figures, so have weekly one to ones (which can be conducted over the phone) to discuss their figures, at the end of the week.

At the beginning of the week, ask for a report which details; Prospecting If they cold call, include the number of phone calls made, how many appointments have been booked and work out what the ratio is for closing rates (number of phone calls made/number of appointment made= number of calls to make for each appointment). An excel spreadsheet works for this. It’s a great motivator as well, as the conversion rate goes up, the number of calls required goes down. Also, establish when the best time for prospecting is; for example, HR departments often have greater availability before 10am or just before/after lunch as they are in meetings the rest of the time.

Sales Reporting At the end of each week, the sales team should report back with a full report on their progress. Again an emailed excel spreadsheet, which is easily updatable and each page should mimic the previous one so you do not have problems with cutting and pasting will suffice; you want you staff to be outside selling as opposed to wasting time filling in unnecessary information.

This report should contain a page which shows exactly what they have sold throughout

the business year on the first tab. This should be broken into: zz Client name zz Contact type zz Start date of the contract zz End date of the contract zz Whom the contract is with (and any other pertinent information) zz Total amount of the contract This should then be replicated on a further 4 tabs although for your records, ensure you add another column on these spreadsheet called “Appointment Date”. The second tab should be renamed “Monthly Pipeline”, the third “3 Months”, the fourth “Remainder of the year”, and finally “Next year”, so you can monitor your pipeline on a continual basis.

The sheet should be completed to reflect the relevant information as each appointment is made (there should be no holes as a sales person should have done their due diligence prior to this to determine if it is worth their time). If the appointment is more than three months away, which it shouldn’t be unless it is an existing client that you are upselling to, put it into tab for the remainder of the year, and move it along as it qualifies for the next tab. You can also determine common points of interest in a ‘Stage’ column. By this we mean using numbers to clarify the position of the prospect. For example; zz 1= Meeting completed zz 2= Referred to decision maker

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people

Bonuses work wonders, but they have to be correctly implemented for them to work. Annual bonuses don’t work if the team member is underperforming as they will view the bonus as slipping away from them and therefore, won’t be motivated by it’s prospect prospects. This list should be growing and is the property of your company, so it should remain with yourselves even if they leave.

3= Another meeting booked in with decision maker 4= Met with decision maker 5= Won 6= Lost due to price too high 7= Lost due to service issues 8= Lost due to other reasons

excelling and those who aren’t, on both a monthly and annual basis. Try to arrange for a team lunch and if you have people travelling from afar, arrange a team night out. Remember to deliver constructive criticism as well as praise.

Sales team member’s loose efficiency if they lose motivation. Bolster them by reminding them not to be too disheartened if they lose a sale as it is another prospect for the future.

Have them record it in the report for next year with a reminder in their outlook calendar.

Encourage the sales person to record all details beside these so they have an immediate memory jog and don’t waste time reading through old files to remember what happened.

It is important that you establish the reason for the loss of business as this will assist with training or product design at a later date.

Collate this information on a weekly basis preferably on a Friday morning to enable you to 1. Chase the stragglers, 2. Analyse it. If staff are due to be out or on holiday, ensure that they send it to you before they go.

At the beginning of each week, have a one to one with each of the team. It is just to discuss/praise/offer guidance and support on what their sheet is telling you as well as clarifying any queries that you have.

Once a month, conduct full sales teams meetings. Highlight those who are

Motivation Part of the challenge is keeping staff motivated so find what their motivation factor is; normally for sales staff it’s money.

Bonuses work wonders, but they have to be correctly implemented for them to work.

Annual bonuses don’t work if the team member is underperforming as they will view the bonus as slipping away from them and therefore, won’t be motivated by it’s prospect.

Best practice (as both a staff retention and motivation tool), is to structure the bonus quarterly, paying half of the total annual bonus at year end providing staff remain with the company, and the rest of it quarterly.

When formulating pay increases, take into account their annual performance and any previous years. Also, keep an eye on their

Sales team members loose efficiency if they lose motivation zz zz zz zz zz zz

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Training A lot of the time, people go into sales without any prior training. If you have a team member who is falling short of their targets ask to go to some meetings with them. You may find they are unable to present the report correctly, or they do not fully understand the products. If so, you then know to train them in this area.

It may be something as simple as they are not following up on the calls after the meetings, or that they don’t know how to close calls. Again, mentoring can help here. Remind them to ask for the business.

A simple “Have we done enough to secure your business with us?” works as it forces them to spell out exactly how they feel about it one way or another. l Top Tips For Managing Sales Staff zz Set a monthly goal: Calculate the number of prospects needed to hit that goal zz Calculate the value of their time per hour: so they understand the importance of prioritising clients zz Get them to block out time in their diary to make calls and prospecting zz Clearly set and define their objectives in writing zz Ensure that they use the working day to sell: any admin can be done just outside of these hours zz Get them to stay away from timewasting people zz Have a quiet area of the office for people making prospect calls: and ensure that this is used by your staff zz Be on time for calls and meetings

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Teambuilding Activities That Don’t Break The Bank We all know how important team building is, but often teambuilding activities can be viewed as too expensive, but are they? eambuilding creates an emotional bond with the company, as well as increasing productivity and your bottom line. In this article we look at how you can affectively undertake teambuilding without spending big bucks.

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The Right Manager Studies into workplace behaviour have been conducted for years and one of the earliest was by Professor Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Experiment. Mayo found that the most effective teams in the workplace had the following criteria; a manager with a personal interest in each person’s achievements: zz Who took pride in the record of the group zz Who helped the group work together to set its own conditions of work zz Who faithfully posted the feedback on performance This meant the group took pride in its own achievement and had the satisfaction of outsiders showing interest in what they did without feeling that they were being pressured to change. Mayo also found that if changes were made to the company, staff should be consulted beforehand to assist in successful implementation of change.

Activities Living somewhere as exciting as Dubai, with our great weather, means that there are many options for good teambuilding events. Consequently there are many companies that offer exciting teambuilding events. One company, biz-events, boasts an event called ‘Arabian Market’

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which is described as a supercharged game of information gathering, haggling and building trust, “The challenge takes place in the trucial states back in the 1800’s. Families negotiate to increase their wealth, trading in dates, camels, fish, spices, pearls, water, money and the all important information. This is a fun and interactive challenge, powered by communication, which reinforces networking, questioning and negotiation skills, and the importance of positive relationships. Working on a win/win solution is essential to succeed.”

Another option is drumming. Drumming is proving to be a very popular choice of teambuilding exercise with many companies, such as the Dubai Drums, offering various options by creating “An empowered team synergy and provide a fun, interactive environment that empowers each individual to share his or her creative spirit.”

“There’s nothing quite like a corporate drumming session to give participants a firsthand experience of what a team can achieve when they have a common vision, communicate effectively, share space and combine creative spirit and passion. Corporate drumming creates an environment where rhythm replaces the spoken word and inspires a higher level of communication and unification.”

Teambuilding.ae has a wide selection of team building events that focus on teambuilding activities that improve not only team bonding but also communication, energy, competition, strategic awareness and stimulation. Current featured events are shifting sands and rock my boat.

No matter what event it is, one thing is clear, that for team building to be effective, leaders must first identify the issues their group is facing. Then they can plan activities to

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people

Group mentoring by a senior manager is another opportunity for teambuilding.

Employees learn new skills and approaches while furthering their relationships with coworkers address these challenges directly, and make sure that the team will actually gain some benefits from the event.

Low Cost Team Building Activities Teambuilding activities do not have to break the bank or involve third parties. There are some inhouse low cost options that have the same results.

1. Lunching: Provide lunch for the whole company, department or a work team then, assign employees to groups of up to ten people to discuss and respond to work related questions. A fun way to divide employees, when you don’t care who is in which group, is to put numbers on the bottom of plates. All employees who have a number 1 on their plate take their lunch and sit together in one area, those with number 2 all sit together in another area, etc.

Offsite lunches are also excellent teambuilding activity. There is something about sharing a meal together, outside of the office that encourages employees to talk and get to know each other.

Schedule fun games as part of an outdoor activity. Sports participation works well for teambuilding.

These games do not have to be run by a professional, a simple game of rounders can work wonders!

2. Inter-departmental Awareness: Employees are always curious about what other employees do, so schedule employee visits to other departments for a day.

This will satisfy their curiosity and introduce the employee to a whole new work group in the process. These visits will

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

enhance cross department cooperation and understanding, and offers employees the chance to explore another career path.

Breakout areas: Provide comfortable breakout areas with couches, light snacks and beverages. Ask employees to schedule the space as they might reserve a conference room.

Job shadowing: Just as inter-departmental visits fosters teambuilding between departments and alternative career paths, so does job shadowing. . Job shadowing is easy to put together and costs only the employees’ time. The benefits of job shadowing far outweigh its cost.

Group Mentoring: Group mentoring by a senior manager is another opportunity for teambuilding. Employees learn new skills and approaches while furthering their relationships with coworkers. A second form of group mentoring involves an employee who has a particular skill set that other employees want to learn. The employee can mentor groups of employees to gain the skill or knowledge with the same impact on team building.

Fitness Sessions: Activities such as weekly Weight Watchers meetings, yoga classes at noon, or running/cycling sessions can also offer team building opportunities for employees.

The Company implements a sports social club that then organises a weekly cycle, run, walk etc. It’s a great way to keep staff healthy and provide a friendly and relaxed team activity with minimal cost.

Sponsoring sporting events: Supporting your employees in sporting events is a great way to build teams without breaking the bank. Just by providing a Company branded sporting uniform, a couple of half days for training and you can really assist

8.

9.

your employees as well as providing the company with public exposure.

Dubai’s dragon boat competition and High 5 Corporate competition are great example of company sponsorship and teambuilding. Want to know more about local sporting teams and activities your Company can join then talk to Duplays.

Fun events: You can provide fun events that employees (and their families) can attend after work or on weekends.

For example BBQ events at Safa Park where employees can bring their own food and share on the BBQ, with outdoor activities including rounders, football, yoga class, face painting etc.

All these events can either be arranged free of charge or for a small amount and are great ways of building teams and family confidence.

Hobby clubs. A number of your employees will have hobbies or interests that other staff members may be interested in. Simply provide the space, whether on intranet or staff notice board, for employees to post their hobby club details or interests and you’ll be surprised at the result.

Team building activities in this space are unlimited and best of all free!

Teambuilding activities in the workplace stretch your imagination - and are only limited by your imagination and that of your employees. They are remarkable in their ability to foster a sense of community and friendships at work. Whatever the cost effective teambuilding activities make your workplace desirable, and you an employer of choice. l

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LEGAL

IPO Your Start-Up! By: Shahram Safai, Afridi & Angell

A start-up venture usually aims to be partially or fully sold, or to go public in order to monetise the hard work of the founders and the employees over the years. Increasingly start-ups eventually plan to go public in an IPO (initial public offering of shares in a stock market) fairly recent example is the Facebook IPO. From a business perspective, the start-up will have to achieve a certain amount of business success and generally have revenues to make it marketable to investors in public markets.

In order to position a start-up to go public, strategy and proper legal planning is required early on. Two of the most important legal rights that must be addressed for a start-up going public are conversion rights and registration rights.

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Conversion Rights Holders of preferred shares (shares that have superior rights to

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ordinary, common shares) in venture capital deals normally have the right to convert their preferred shares into common shares at any time. The ratio at which preferred shares are converted into common shares is typically determined by dividing the initial purchase price of the preferred shares by a number called the conversion price, which is adjusted upon certain events. Initially the conversion price is equal to the purchase price of the preferred shares, so the preferred shares convert into common shares on a one-to-one basis.

Also, the preferred shares usually are automatically converted into common shares upon certain events. Many times, these events are an initial public offering that meets certain criteria. Generally the start-up company would like the preferred shares to convert as soon as possible to eliminate its special rights and to clean up the balance sheet for the initial public offering.

The criteria for triggering automatic conversion on an initial public offering generally include the following: (1) The offering

Shahram Safai practices venture capital law and represents venture capitalists, investors and entrepreneurs. Shahram is also a professional engineer and has previously worked in the Silicon Valley in California practicing venture capital law, mergers, and acquisitions. He is a partner at the law firm of Afridi & Angell.

E-mail: ssafai@afridi-angell.com; Telephone: +9714 330 3900

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LEGAL

the liquidation preference, dividend preference, protection, special voting rights, and redemption provisions, cease to exist must be firmly underwritten (i.e., the underwriters must have committed to placing the entire offering, as opposed to just adopting the best efforts approach common in penny shares offerings; (2) the offering must raise a certain amount of money for the company; and (3) Often the offering price must be at a certain minimum; for example, four times the conversion price of the preferred shares.

Also, an affirmative vote of a majority, or a supermajority of the preferred shares, can be used to force an automatic conversion of all of the preferred shares.

Upon any conversion of the preferred shares, the rights associated with it, i.e. the liquidation preference, dividend preference, protection, special voting rights, and redemption provisions, cease to exist. Some contractual rights, such as registration rights - the right to force the company to register the holder’s shares, usually survive although others, such as information rights - the right to certain ongoing financial information about the company, and preemptive rights - the right to buy shares issued by the company, often will terminate upon an initial public offering.

Registration Rights Investors devote a fair amount of discussion to the subject of registration rights. A registration right is the right to force the company to register the holder’s shares with the applicable securities commission so that it can be sold in the public markets. Often when a company goes public, the underwriters are

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unwilling to permit existing shareholders to sell in the offering as such sale will adversely affect the marketing of the new issuance of shares being sold by the company to raise capital. If the shareholder has held the shares for more than one year and the company is public, the holder may be able to sell a limited amount of shares.

There are several types of registration rights that venture investors are likely to request, two of the most important being: demand rights, and piggyback rights.

Demand Rights A demand right is a right to demand that the company file a registration statement to sell the holder’s shares for an initial public offering; it requires a prospectus with extensive information about the company and the offering. A company normally will want to limit this right as it can be expensive and time-consuming, and can adversely affect the company’s own capitalraising plans. Generally, the investor group

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LEGAL

will receive only one or two demand rights, with limits on when they can be exercised.

Piggyback Rights A piggyback right is the right to participate in an offering initiated by the company. Piggyback rights are generally subject to a cutback or elimination by the offering’s underwriter, who may determine (based on market conditions) that a sale by shareholders will adversely affect the company’s capital-raising effort. The venture capitalist will seek rights that may

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not be completely cut back except in connection with the company’s initial public offering. Piggyback rights granted to venture capitalists are generally unlimited in number, but often expire five to seven years after the company’s initial public offering, or after a certain percentage of the venture investors have sold their shares.

IPOing your start-up is a worthwhile goal. However, it requires hard work, strategic planning and careful drafting of legal rights in order to provide the appropriate platform for success. l

A piggyback right is the right to participate in an offering initiated by the company. Piggyback rights are generally subject to a cutback or elimination by the offering’s underwriter, who may determine (based on market conditions) that a sale by shareholders will adversely affect the company’s capitalraising effort

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dMCC

Ahmed Bin Sulayem Appointed UAE Chair Of The Kimberley Process

The UAE Ministry of Economy has officially appointed Ahmed Bin Sulayem as the UAE’s Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) for 2016

he KP officially appointed the UAE as Chair in November 2015.

The UAE will lead the UNmandated organisation, set up in 2003, that now has 54 participants representing 81 countries. Ahmed Bin Sulayem will be officially responsible for chairing the KP in 2016, carrying out official duties and implementing new initiatives in-line with the organisation’s aims and objectives.

Commenting on his appointment, Ahmed Bin Sulayem said, “It is a great honour to have been appointed Kimberley Process Chair by both the KP and the UAE, with the great responsibility to implement the KP’s vision and plans for the diamond industry in 2016. The UAE will use this opportunity to focus on areas that will have the greatest impact on growth and development, in addition to sustaining the core values of the organisation.”

Ahmed Bin Sulayem went on to outline the objectives for the coming year.

As KP Chair, he aims to

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strengthen the ties between government, industry decision makers and with the KP’s civil society, which includes representatives from key non-governmental organisations.

He also expressed his goal to assist newly admitted countries, along with those that seek to join the KP, with technical assistance, training and consensus building through seminars and conferences.

The KP, set up to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the global supply chain, came into force in 2003.

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy ensured the UAE became a member of the KP in the same year, becoming the first Arab country to do so. The KP is the only tripartite representative group in the world – featuring government, industry and civil society. It has introduced and implemented a global certification scheme; it has increased compliance and transparency in the diamond market, and established a system of internal controls to determine the origin of diamonds; it has recognised the issues and raised the working practices of artisanal miners;

“It has been a great honour to represent the Kimberley Process and to work alongside the UAE. We have a shared goal to set about consolidating the achievements of the last 12 years and strengthening the ties between all three pillars; government, industry and civil society. As I hand over the Chair today, I am confident the UAE will strengthen these ties further in 2016 as well as implement their own vision and plans. 2016 will be an important and exciting year for our industry” Bernardo Campos, KP Chair 2015

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“The UAE has supported the growth of the industry since 2003. It serves the needs of producing countries and producers whilst strongly supporting the transformation of the industry from a fragmented sector to a global industry, underpinned by a significant uptick in the transparent and regulated nature of the diamond trade. Dubai has since become one of the top diamond centres in the world and we will use these learnings to provide leadership and to drive our industry forward in 2016� Ahmed Bin Sulayem, UAE Chair, The Kimberley Process

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WHAT IS the WHAT IS THE KIMBERLEY PROC and has more or less eliminated the trade of conflict diamond from the marketplace.

His Excellency Abdullah Al Saleh, UnderSecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy, commented, “The UAE is honoured to have been elected KP Chair by its fellow members. It was a practical and straightforward decision to appoint Ahmed Bin Sulayem as Chair. He has led Dubai’s drive to become a global commodities hub for over a decade and has a deep understanding of the diamond industry. 2016 will be a unique opportunity for all KP participants to get first-hand experience of UAE’s and Dubai’s infrastructure and trading community and we look forward to building upon the KP’s success to date as well as implementing new initiatives.”

Ahmed Bin Sulayem also highlighted that in the years since the establishment of the KP, Dubai’s diamond trade has thrived. It grew from initial trade figures of US$5 million in 2003 to over US$35 billion in 2014. Today, Dubai is one of the most influential rough and polished diamond trading hubs across the globe, providing a base for all forms of trade, financing and logistics.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem added, “The UAE has supported the growth of the industry since 2003. It serves the needs of producing countries and producers whilst strongly supporting the transformation of the industry from a fragmented sector to a global industry, underpinned by a significant uptick in the transparent and regulated nature of the diamond trade. Dubai has since become one of the top diamond centres in the world and we will use these learnings to provide leadership and to drive our industry forward in 2016.”

In a formal ceremony to hand over the Chairmanship to the UAE, Angola’s Bernardo Campos, who served, on behalf of Angola, as KP Chair 2015, congratulated Ahmed Bin Sulayem and voiced his support.

“It has been a great honour to represent the Kimberley Process and to work alongside the UAE,” he said. “We have a shared goal to set about consolidating the achievements of the last 12 years and strengthening the ties between all three pillars; government, industry and civil society. As I hand over the Chair today, I am confident the UAE will strengthen these ties further in 2016 as well as implement their own vision and plans. 2016 will be an important and exciting year for our industry.” l

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2011 – DRC 2011 – DRC

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KIMBERLY PROCESS?

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of the flow of conflict diamonds Dubai is home to

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2012 – USA 2012 – USA Former KP Chairs include Former KP Chairs include

was the first Arab country to achieve this The Dubai

Diamond

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Diamond (DDE), the region’s only diamond and Exchange coloured , thestones region’s (DDE) trading platform only diamond and coloured stones trading platform

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2013 – South Africa 2013 – South Africa

2014 – China 2014 – China

2015 – Angola 2015 – Angola

2016 – UAE 2016 – UAE

Issue 21 | 47

marketing & Advertising

How to increase your PR without spending any money

By: Helen Gaskell

We all know just how important your public relations (PR) is… after all; it is our perception in the eyes of the public that ensures that they return to us time and time again driving our profit margins ever higher.

For an SME however, with each fil accounted for, this often sounds like an expensive process, so how can you do this without spending money? In this article, we seek the answer these questions and more

t’s not as difficult as you may think. Yes, hiring someone is the easy route, but if money is tight, then you have no option but to invest the time and effort into yourself. Initially though, you have to understand what PR is as it differs from sales and marketing. S.H. Simmons sums it up perfectly, “For a young man to tell his date how handsome, smart and successful he is; that’s advertising. For him to tell his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is; that’s PR.” So where do you start?

I

Media To start with you really need to think about what local publications, trade magazines, anything that covers the market of your business or you could somehow relate to.

Think about all local media outlets, radio stations, television news and make sure that you are watching, reading, listening to them. You need to listen out for anything that is relevant to you and then offer yourself for comment to be the expert of the article. For this you need to be available for when a journalist is ready to speak to you. Offer your services, say you have a comment and you’re an expert in whatever field.

Yes, they may keep you holding and it may be inconvenient, but think of the free publicity you will receive. Once you have told them you are available, you need to make yourself available and be able to drop everything when they call.

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marketing & Advertising

Tell a story. Writing about how to do something is always something of value to readers.

Writing articles gives you instant credibility, too

You may feel you are jumping through hoops, but if you have a good relationship with the local media and the journalists, you will find that they respond accordingly. Eventually, you could well be the first person that they come to. This means that you will be able to garner a lot of free advertising space that ordinarily you would have to pay for.

In order to do this, start by noting names and any email addresses that you can find in magazines, newspapers and online. Also, if there is someone specific that you wish to approach, tools such as LinkedIn make people easy to find. You just need to introduce yourself, tell them what you do and what you could comment on, where you would be happy to offer your knowledge and expertise. Don’t be afraid, they will be glad of your offer to contribute; it saves them time trying to find you!

Talk Shows Calling in on a talk show is another way of getting yourself noticed if you have something interesting to say; it’s just about getting your name out there for knowing what you’re talking about. People do remember these things and, apart from the cost of a phone call, calling in is free.

Keep An Eye On The Calendar By this we mean identify important dates or events that could give journalists a news angle. It could be a date familiar to everyone or it could be something relevant to your business.

If there is nothing already going on that you can comment on or relate to your business then you need to think of your own story. What sets you apart from your competitors? Is there anything personal that you could contribute to a story for how it relates to the business? A holiday park that I worked at in the Lake District in the UK is famous it’s amazing display of daffodils in March, but a few years ago, thanks to climate change it meant that the daffodils had already flowered and wilted earlier than usual, and before the tourists arrived for their Easter holidays. This had been noticed by park staff and they released a press release saying that

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Issue 21 | 49

marketing & Advertising

because of climate change they had had to plant plastic daffodils to keep the holiday makers happy…. they hadn’t actually done this. But the television and radio news picked the story up and were so interested that staff at the parks had to rush out and buy fake daffodils and plant them before the cameras got there.

It was the best free publicity they had ever had!

Press Releases These can be good alternatives to active media work, as people will get to see your company name. If this is repeated, and people recognise your company name, you are on your way to creating a brand. Time costs aside, the return on your investment is infinite, as the press release didn’t cost you anything to write and distribute. Writing them on a regular basis is key to keeping your name in front of the public’s eyes and being at the top of their mind when it comes to awareness.

Write a press release for any of the following reasons, and any others you see fit: zz Introducing a new product or service zz Celebrating an anniversary zz Winning an award zz Reaching a milestone

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Write An Advertorial/Article It doesn’t have to be long; but it must be informative. Share your experience and impart your expertise, knowledge and wisdom. Tell a story. Writing about how to do something is always something of value to readers. Writing articles gives you instant credibility, too. Submitting online, as well as offline, provides another good chance to get your name in print at no cost. Always put your contact information the end of the article, otherwise it’s just a waste, however some Editor’s may charge to print this.

Follow Up It is always best to follow up a press release/article with a letter to the Editor.

Letters to the Editor have a good chance of being published and sometimes you’ll get published with editorial comments from the Editor. The letter to the Editor is a great place to respond to editorial comments as well as to further state a position. Many people read the letters in publications so it really is a worthwhile place to have your name in print. It is also another way to become friends with the Editor. If they see you enough and match you with a newsworthy press release, then your chances of getting a press release in print increases.

Other Alternatives Are: 1. Newsletters: If it’s in someone’s inbox, it may well be read. Make sure it’s

2.

3.

content is valuable to your target market, your company and services. Advertising to current customers is proven to drive up business. Send Newsletters via email to your email database, but enable them to opt out if they wish; otherwise the negativity could spread causing clients to go elsewhere.

Blogging: Everyone’s doing it and it doesn’t have to be long - just consistent.

You can update it or you can nominate other people in the business to write as well. People like reading blogs and if you have an interesting one, it can easily generate more traffic to your website and business.

Public Speaking: Yes, it can be daunting and is not for everyone but speaking in front of an audience usually makes you an expert and do like to buy from experts.

Also, people remember public speakers and therefore will come to you as an expert in that field. Offer yourself for event speaking when you’re out networking and put it on your LinkedIn profile. Speaking is free, and it’s just like making a sales call to many people at one time.

By tying in all of these practices, with your marketing plan, you will garner the best possible outcome to increase PR. Just remember to know whom to contact, when and with what story. But most importantly of all is to be able to act quickly, when you want to get your story out, as people will want to talk to you. Remember, the only real costs are time costs.l

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ngineering

ureau

Head of Structural Department

REZA SHAHSANA

Architectural & Engineering Consultants

ational

ADNAN ABTAH

Head of Supervision

Principal Design Architect / Director

ISSAM EZZEDDINE

Interior Designer

RAZAN NAJEE

Business Development

CHRISTIAN VASQUEZ

JAMIL JADALLAH

CEO / Managing Director

Lead Design Architect

AHMED ABDEL HAMID

KHALID KHAN

Principal Design Architect

AHMED SALEM

Principal Design Architect

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AT NATIONAL ENGINEERING BUREAU, WE BELIEVE IN INNOVATION, EXCELLENCE LEADERSHIP, STAYING PRODUCTIVE & STANDING ACCOUNTABLE.

“VOTED AS ONE OF THE BEST ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE TO WORK FOR IN 2015, BY A U.K. BASED WORLD ARCHITECTURE 100 SURVEY”

technology

Protecting Your Business From Cybercrime

By Luke Brown, GM and VP EMEA, India and LATAM at Digital Guardian

Talking about cyber crime is one thing, but how can we protect our data?

btaining sensitive data is the primary objective for cybercriminals when targeting businesses.

Sensitive data can vary depending on the organisation but examples include intellectual property, source code, trade secrets, customer and employee personal identifiable information, and account numbers, financial credentials, pending M&A contracts, access tokens and passwords. Cybercriminals will quickly turn the stolen data into a profit by reselling it to interested third parties; whether that is in the underground market or to competing organisations.

Sending spear-phishing emails to target employees remains the most common attack method used by criminals to compromise organisations. Typically, the spear-phishing emails have malicious attachments, such as a PDF or word document, that exploit common vulnerabilities found in popular programs such as Adobe, Oracle and Microsoft Office. The attackers rely on social engineering and human

O

error to trick users into opening the malicious attachment, which triggers the exploit and infects the machine. Once infected, attackers can install additional malware that focuses on locating and stealing businesses’ sensitive data.

Organisations need to understand where their sensitive data is at all times while having complete visibility and control over who’s accessing it and where it’s travelling. This will enable organisations to perform risk assessments across their IT infrastructure, including their physical, virtual and mobile environments. Risk assessments will provide organisations with the insight needed to protect their critical IT assets and sensitive data while hardening any points of weakness. For some businesses this may sound like a daunting task, but they should leverage their current IT team or outsourced IT service provider to do this. In today’s hyper-security sensitive environment, this type of cyber-risk assessment is commonplace with readily available processes and methodologies to ensure success.

Prioritise data protection first and foremost. Data breaches are inevitable but losing your sensitive data is not

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technology

How do I protect my business against these threats?

1. Data Protection is the Top Priority Prioritise data protection first and foremost. Data breaches are inevitable but losing your sensitive data is not.

2. Identify Your Critical IT Assets And Sensitive Data Identify which IT assets within your business are the most valuable and what type of sensitive data they hold – this will provide the visibility and control capabilities needed to prevent attackers from accessing and stealing your sensitive data.

3. Protect The Data Assets Once sensitive data is identified, label it. Classifying sensitive data with digital labels such as “internal only” or “confidential” will help with tracking sensitive information that will be targeted by attackers. In addition, have complete visibility over who is accessing the data and how it’s being used and shared, both internally and externally.

Luke is responsible for consolidating and expanding Digital Guardian’s business throughout EMEA and India and LATAM, driving strategy and overseeing operations in the three regions.

With over 15 years of experience in the security industry, Luke has held senior leadership roles in a number of start-ups and publicly traded organisations around the world. He has a proven track record for delivering record revenue growth, increasing operational efficiency and improving employee development.

Luke’s previous roles have included SVP & GM, EMEA, APAC, LATAM & Canada at Access Data, where he grew revenues by 200% in his three year tenure, and VP International Operations at eEye Digital Security, where he oversaw a 500% increase in revenues in just two years.

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Add data protection policies to manuals and employment agreements, and train employees regarding the use of confidential data The Mistakes And The Solutions…

Often it’s an issue of resources and budget restrictions as opposed to making mistakes. Businesses may not have the money to purchase additional hardware or implement expensive security products across all areas of their IT infrastructure, nor do they have large IT staffs with dedicated security professionals. But having the basic system and endpoint hygiene helps improve an organisation’s security posture dramatically. For example, improving security education among employees is critical, in addition to ensuring all applications; programs, AV software and operating systems have the most recent security updates installed. Lastly, businesses should consider SaaS- (Software as a Service) or MSSP- (Managed Security Service Provider) based security solutions. This model of delivery will provide a much higher level of security at a lower, monthly subscription cost with no additional strain on existing IT resources.

A key point to remember is that businesses are not immune to cyber attacks. The list of compromised companies is already long and growing. While budget and resource pressures are intense, system security and data protection can no longer be ignored. At minimum, businesses must do basic network and endpoint hygiene, like patch management, so they don’t become the “easy targets” that both sophisticated and novice hackers are searching for every day. l

4. Improve Security Education For Employees Add data protection policies to manuals and employment agreements, and train employees regarding the use of confidential data. Also be sure to perform regular security educational training and invite your contractors, vendors and partners to participate. Include examples of social engineering techniques and common attack methods so your employees will be aware of the threats currently targeting them.

5. Know “Compliance” Isn’t Enough Although many industries have basic compliance requirements, like HIPAA, PCI and Sarbanes-Oxley, these compliance standards are just the beginning to securely protecting your sensitive data.

They’re a good foundation, but more must be done to keep business-critical data, beyond credit card numbers and social security numbers, safe.

6. Be Prepared If Your Data is Stolen Even the most security conscious organisations in the world get attacked and lose sensitive data. Accept that it could happen and have an incident response plan at the ready.

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property

eturns on some Emirates Hills villa’s bought in the low market of 2010 have seen value increases of as much as 50 to 80 percent today, reports Belleview Real Estate, an Emirates Hills specialist.

Leigh Borg at Belleview says that the popularity of the area is due to “high net worth families moving to Dubai usually have Emirates Hills as one of their first choices to reside in.”

Figures released in the last month indicate the luxury, high-end villa market in Emirates Hills appears

R

Emirates Hills: A Good Investment?

Great lifestyle and solid Investment for Dubai’s business elite…

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to be immune from the softening property market in other areas, says the Dubai realtor.

And the story gets even better.

According to REIDIN figures, average property sale prices for Emirates Hills in 2015 have remained stable compared to 2014 sales figures. Emirates Hills villa sales in the over Dh20 million price bracket have averaged at Dh2,500 per square foot in 2015, consistent with 2014. So it shows that even in the current softening property market, Emirates Hills properties are holding their own.

Borg, with close to six years experience in the area, says it’s due to consistent demand from highnet-worth buyers for this luxury community, often referred to as ‘The

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property

Beverly Hills of Dubai’, “Emirates Hills is continuing to buck the trend in Dubai,” he said.

“There is more demand for land and villas in Emirates Hills than supply, so it is natural prices remain high and stable.

Borg added, “The gated community is very private, has an excellent location near to Shiekh Zayed Road and the Montgomerie Golf Club is integrated with the development. Also, most villa designs are bespoke and unique, giving the opportunity of a great lifestyle with solid investment returns.”

Further evidence of this demand was the reportedly largest ever villa sale in the history of Emirates Hills at Dh93 million earlier this year, and a land only sale at Dh65 million.

Available - Vastu Villa In the last month, another opportunity to buy into this popular neighbourhood became

available with the listing of a fully furnished Emirates Hills luxury villa for Dh45 million

by Belleview Real Estate www. belleview.ae Borg concluded, “This is a rare opportunity to buy into Emirates Hills with this large modern and open-plan family villa. It has a lot of natural light and a large outdoor entertainment area with infinity pool, ideal for a large family.

In Emirates Hills, there are very few modern-designed villas and they rarely come onto the market, and this villa has also been designed around the Vastu method, which is highly sought after.”

The villa has been designed according to the Vastu method – a Hindu architectural method that sets out principles for design, layout and space arrangements, which sets it apart in the Emirates Hills area.

So if you and your family are looking to combine a great lifestyle, and a solid investment

Emirates Hills: Vastu Villa Asking price: Dh45m Broker: Belleview Real Estate Property details provided by listing agent: Luxury, high-specification fit-out 13,000 sq ft open-plan, modern layout with abundant natural light 5 bedrooms plus study Modern Villa Fully “Vastu method” Cinema room Lake views 2 staff quarters Elevator Outdoor entertainment deck Stunning Infinity pool Pool Table Family Room Close to Montgomerie Golf Course.

Parking for 4 cars

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with the prospect of good returns, making Emirates Hills your new home may be worth considering, provided your bank manager and accountant also agree of course!.

This striking villa is breath-taking both inside and out. You are firstly greeted with fountains at the front entrance giving you a relaxing feeling before entering this beautiful home.

In a thoroughly modern style, the sleek lines are complemented by high ceilings and large windows, bathing all of the rooms with natural light. A very open floor plan with high gloss, chrome, wood and glasswork throughout the villa.

It also features natural sedimentary stone with a highly polished finish, in natural colours, which run through the property.

The property is offered to market with all fixtures, fittings and designer furnishings, which perfectly complement the overwhelming features of space and natural materials in the original villa design.

The property features a grand double-height entrance hallway and opens out onto a large open plan living space. To the side of the property is a more casual family area. The sliding doors across the back open up fully to the decked entertaining terrace, with – naturally – an infinity swimming pool, and large lawn. The formal dining area is rich in style and finishing.

The kitchen is a great size with another kitchenette behind which is near to the maid’s room and office. The spacious family room has a pool table and folding doors to the formal dining area.

The family area has large windows facing the garden. Throughout the property all fully controllable electric blinds, offering unlimited variation to the quantity of natural light.

The property has an elevator, which makes an attractive feature. Upstairs has five bedrooms all reasonably sized with a spacious walk-in dressing rooms; one bedroom is being used as family room, with one separate study or library area.

No expense is spared in the finishing’s of all dressing rooms and bathrooms (each one ensuite) with different composite countertops in each bathroom, natural stone and white finishes with the highest quality fixtures and fittings.

The driveway can accommodate parking for at least five cars, the plot size is 18,795 sq ft and built up area 13,000 sq ft. l

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business incubator

Make The Most Out Of Your Commute A commute can often be a waste of time, but does it have to be?

lot of people complain about their commute into the work, because it takes too long and there is just ‘too much traffic’. I must admit, I find this very funny having come from just inside the M25 in London where it took nearly an hour to travel just 12 kilometers…

When my colleague landed at his desk this morning, banging his bag to the ground exclaiming, “That’s it. I am sick of wasting my time in the car each morning. I need to figure this out,” it got me thinking. What could he and thousands of others do to make their commute worth it?

A

Get Fit So you live 10 kilometers away? How about cycling to work instead or sitting in traffic? Alternatively, if you walk to work, rather than your leisurely stroll, you can start trying to beat your time each day. By doing this, you can kill two birds with one stone – Get fit and get to work.

Brainstorm Have you noticed how you often have your best ideas or remember that you need to do something when you are travelling somewhere? Write them down and act upon them as soon as you can. Even if you are driving, you can use Siri to email yourself the idea so you can act upon it at a later date.

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View It As ‘Me’ Time This is easier if you are travelling to work on the metro or in a taxi, but change the way you think about your journey. By thinking of the time as ‘me time’ you can read that book you have been thinking you don’t have the time for, buy presents, send your friends and loved ones messages… the list goes on.

Catch Up On Emails Again, one best left for those who take the bus, metro or taxi to work, but why not get ahead of your day by emailing when there is nothing better to do?

Write A To Do List The only way to actively keep on top of your workload is to write a to do list. Not only does this effectively manage your time, allowing you to focus on the parts of your job that are most important, but it will also give you such a sense of satisfaction once you cross out an item.

Network If there is a colleague or client that you don’t know that well, but share the same commute, take the time to speak with them and get to know them. You never know where this relationship could take you in the future. l

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business incubator

HOW TO ROCKET Launches SME Event Series

HOW TO ROCKET is a series of events for SME business owners and entrepreneurs, connecting them with the outstanding regional service providers who offer high quality products and services designed to support your start-up / small business longside the connecting exhibition, HOW TO ROCKET will run engaging presentations offering invaluable practical tips, and hands-on workshops hosted by industry experts to arm entrepreneurs the knowledge they need to make their businesses succeed.

The first event of the series will take place at Almas Ballroom in Almas Tower, JLT on Tuesday 26th January from 9am until 7pm (including a special speed networking session at the end of the day). This is the chance for small businesses to start 2016 off with a bang!

How To Rocket will offer five free-to-attend events taking place between January 2016 and June 2016, each with a different theme related to starting, growing and running a business here in Dubai, UAE. The calendar unfolds as below:

A

Concept And Set-up Event Tuesday 26th January 2016, 10am – 5pm HOW TO ROCKET Concept and Set-Up Event is the ideal event to attend for those beginning the start up journey. The inaugural event of the series is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs create, launch and develop their idea. Local experts and established SME companies will offer guidance on the pros and cons of setting up in the region, whilst connecting them with Dubai’s leading start-up service providers.

Brand And Creativity Event Tuesday 8th March 2016, 10am – 5pm Design, media, marketing, PR, events, entertainment, printing, photography and everything in between! HOW TO ROCKET Brand and Creativity Event covers aspects crucial to the success of entrepreneurs by ensuring they make their businesses stand out from the crowd.

Money And Finance Event Tuesday 19th April 2016, 10am – 5pm HOW TO ROCKET Money and Finance Event focuses on all things Finance related. Ensuring small business owners and entrepreneurs understand the importance of funding, as well as connecting them with the brands that can help them plan, budget, count, raise and make money!

Leadership And Growth Event Tuesday 17th May 2016, 10am – 5pm Entrepreneurs are invited to attend the HOW TO ROCKET Leadership and Growth Event to guide

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and develop their business towards success with the right connections and knowledge. Learn how to build a winning team, acquire the best talent, grow a sales team and understand the importance of self-development.

Strategy And Performance Event Tuesday 14th June 2016 Once an idea has been created, branded, funded and grown, HOW TO ROCKET’s Strategy and Performance Event helps small business owners continue to perform and thrive to the best of their potential.

Through all the events, HOW TO ROCKET will provide a whole host of engaging presentations and workshop to compliment the different event themes; to arm the business owners with the knowledge they need to be accountable for their own success.

HOW TO ROCKET is supported by a growing list of strategic partners and sponsors that will be sure to make these events a huge success, supporting the crucial entrepreneur community of Dubai.

DMCC has been announced as the Freezone Partner for the entire series, and are hosting the series of 5 events at Almas Ballroom in Almas Tower, which is also home to the DMCC HQ. HOW

TO ROCKET is supported by Creative Partner Mr. H creative agency who helped create the look and feel of the brand during the launch of HOW TO ROCKET adventure. Training Partner, Mike Hoff Consultancy is supporting the team by taking them through a year-long scaling up training program, and Learning Partner, Right Selection is dedicated to bringing outstanding learning resources and seminars at the events.

This unmissable series is followed up by an all-encompassing event on a far bigger scale: This is How To Rock It! Event October 2016 Over the course of a year HOW TO ROCKET will help guide entrepreneurs through their journey. THIS IS HOW TO ROCKET will culminate in an action-packed Event covering all 5 Zones, workshops, seminars, speed-networking and all our smashing add-ons! Plus, introducing a BALANCE and WELLNESS Zone helping everyone achieve the ultimate work-life balance that so many entrepreneurs, business owners and selfemployed strive for.

For more information on the series of events, see the How To Rocket website: www.howtorocket.com

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business incubator

The Art of Franchising

Do you want to grow your business, but don’t have the money or the drives to take it any further than you have already? Or have you have been offered a buy out for your business as you are heading back to your home country, but you are sad to be saying goodbye? If you have asked yourself any of these questions recently, then franchising is an option that you should definitely consider

uring 2005-2006 in the US, there were approximately 1500 brands franchised with more than 767,483 outlets and a turnover of over US$62,460 billion. McDonalds, Burger King and Elevation Burger are just three big names whose business model is based on franchising; a strategy deployed by companies to capture market share. Ultimately, it is a method of product and service distribution via a network of interdependent business relationships, which enable sharing of: zz A brand zz A successful method of doing business zz A proven marketing and distribution system

D

In order to consider if franchising is right for you, you must already have a successful business model. The franchisor (your company) and the franchisee (the person who ‘buys

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into it’) enter into a contract so the franchisee is able to use the model and/or brand (a.k.a goodwill), for a return of capital.

Generally the franchisee makes two payments. The first is a one-time franchise fee, and the second a recurring expense called a royalty fee, for the usage of the business model, advertising, marketing and training costs. Royalty varies between 3-10% of gross income.

The Truth When you hear about franchising you immediately think of people “buying a franchise” which is incorrect as people are buying into a system that utilises the brand name, operating and all support systems associated with that name, enabling the buyer full rights to use that name. They jointly commit to obtaining/ retaining customers, and using the services of the franchisor.

So what are the reasons for franchising your company?

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business incubator

In order to obtain success in franchising, you have to understand the legal and business ramifications of your relationship 1.

2.

Rapid Growth and increased market share: If you are experiencing finance, talent and/or property restraints then franchising may be an option, as franchisees will fund the expansion of the premises, staff and anything else that you require in order for your business to grow. The franchisee will immediately look to turn a profit as they will implement an already successful business model as opposed to starting from scratch, using the franchisors intellectual property rights and internal processes to add competitive value to the business. It really is a win-win. Franchising will also automatically increase market share and increase brand awareness in line with expansion. How big and how fast you grow will ultimately be down to you.

Self–funded expansion: As the franchisee pays you for your services you will not need further capital to pay for creating and providing the franchise (things like training, support and the launch of the franchise), as these should be included within their payment.

Also, the opening costs including fixtures, fittings etc. should be met by the franchisee so you do not have to factor these in either.

The ongoing service costs, marketing; regional management etc. will be met with their royalty payments… All you have to do is ensure that the service that they receive from you warrants the payments they are making!

To Franchise By Units Or Regions?

By this we mean that you don’t have to sell units of your business; for example a café in Al Barsha and

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another café in the Marina unless you want to.

Regional franchisees provide the franchisee the authority to operate within a given territory, and subsequently a more personal touch. For example, Elevation Burger brought their franchise for the whole of the Middle East Region. This empowers the franchisee to think of the business as a more personal business, as they are able to sell products/ services under specific terms and conditions. In the UK, McDonalds and Burger King do not have delivery services but the franchises here in the UAE can offer this service. The franchisee, which is on the ground with the business, will be able to see these openings and should be allowed to make these decisions to prove that they are for the good of the company as a whole.

Success In Franchising In order to obtain success in franchising, you have to understand the legal and business ramifications of your relationship. Your focus must be on working with the franchisees and company managers to successfully market the brand, with processes in place to ensure that the franchises are fully supported operationally, as well as ensuring their stock is fluid and issued timely. The franchisor should also ensure timely communication with the franchisee, as you have to remember, it is your brand and your business reputation that is at risk should the franchisee act inappropriately.

Management is also key. The franchisee, if managed correctly, should ensure the success of the franchise as they will have invested such

considerable time and energy in order to get the business up and running, that they will continue to ensure its success; it is not unusual to see franchises out perform the in-house management unit. The quality of a franchisee - their abilities, qualifications, skills and experience, will ultimately reflect on the success of the franchise, so taking the time initially to implement an efficient selection process is paramount.

You also have to work with franchisees to ensure that they understand that other company franchisees are not their competition as such. Yes, a little healthy competitive streak is good for business, but you do not want this to spoil your brand and therefore you have to be weary of this.

Training will assist with this. Think of getting them to work together. For example, if they run out of stock of an item, have them refer to the other office/shop. Make them understand that the financial risk that you have all undertaken is to be shared and the best way to compete and dominate the market is to have the units work as one, with the company overseeing this structure.

Service levels are vital regardless of how you build your business therefore, as the custodian of the brand you have to be seen to enforce this. Your franchise agreement should be clear and include an operations manual thus avoiding any misconceptions, with penalties imposed if necessary, should the franchisee fails to act as required by you.

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business incubator

Regional franchisees provide the franchisee the authority to operate within a given territory, and subsequently a more personal touch

The main reasons franchises fail is due to the mentality of both franchisee and holding company. The “ownership mentality” destroys the relationship Service levels should be regularly reviewed with the franchisee.

Also, consider conducting mystery-shopping activities, but ensure to act on these. Do not be afraid to ask for customer feedback. Remember, any complaint is actually an opportunity to increase your customer service and strengthen your business model.

Beware The Ownership Mentality The main reasons franchises fail is due to the mentality of both franchisee and holding company.

The “ownership mentality” destroys the relationship. The franchisee may believe that they “bought” the franchise and therefore “own” their business.

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Be straight with them from the start and ensure they understand that they are actually buying into the business itself and therefore there is clear guidance from you as to the parameters in which they operate. From their point of view, they may want to make changes. Encourage them to approach you on these (after all, they are paying you a royalty and you never know, you may learn of a better way of doing things), but ensure that you drive the relationship, which has been clearly documented at the outset.

Franchising Consultants If after reading this article you think franchising is for you, the next step is to contact

franchising experts. Franchising is an art; you need to ensure that you have all the documentation and processes in place to attract franchisees; that the process runs quickly, smoothly and as cost effectively as possible. Franchising experts will not only help you to develop all this documentation, but also introduce you to potential franchisees.

If this is of interest, undertake your own due diligence before engaging any expert. Ensure that you have synergy with the expert as if you don’t feel that the expert has connected with you, your business/vision then how will they be able to develop your franchise, as you want? Above all, take references and where possible visit actual franchises, and meet other franchisor and franchisees. l

Top 10 Franchises

According to Entrepreneur.com the top 10 franchises in 2012 were:

zz Hampton Hotels (hospitality, lodging) zz Subway (sandwiches, salad) zz 7-Eleven, Inc. (convenience store) zz Serpro (fast food) zz Days Inn (hospitality, lodging) zz McDonald’s (fast food) zz Denny’s (family restaurant) zz H & R Block (service, tax preparation) zz Pizza Hut (pizza) zz Dunkin’ Donuts (donuts)

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Managing Emails

I have always been pretty good at time management and email management – That was until I recently went on Maternity Leave for 6 weeks. Admittedly, I was still keeping abreast of work emails (the office don’t call me a control freak for nothing), but I stopped filing them away and was shocked, when on my return to work, it took me several full days to respond to the important ones and clear them all from my inbox

eing off work for a considerable period of time forces you to focus on what was an automatic reaction previously, a ‘non-thought-process’, for you to get back in the swing of things. This time though, it occurred to me that I wasn’t the only person suffering from a huge inbox, so maybe my practices would help you.

B

Create Folders I have folders for most things – The most recent edition, team members, projects I am overseeing, main sponsors etc. Each and every email is automatically filed into each folder as soon as it has been sent/responded to/read through and dealt with. This enables me to keep on top of all outstanding work, as that is only what is left in my inbox at the end of each day.

Unsubscribe How many of us give out our email addresses only to be bombarded by websites and the like? By unsubscribing, you will free up the space in your inbox and make it look less cluttered. If you can’t unsubscribe from something, make it as SPAM so it is sent straight to that folder.

SPAM Regularly check your SPAM folder – you never know if the system (or yourself) has inadvertently filed an email that you would consider to be important and most definitely not SPAM.

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Quit Outlook (or your email provider) Get into the habit of not keeping your emails open and scheduling time each day to review them. This will focus your thinking and have you working faster and smarter, not pondering over the junk that is sent to you.

Don’t Be Afraid – Delete Deleting all the rubbish that you know you will not return to is good! You don’t want to have to keep trawling through the dross to find what you want to see each time, so hit delete!

Keep It Short And Sweet Your emails don’t have to be long and wordy. Keep them short, concise and to the point, whilst also keeping them friendly.

Create a Template If you find yourself sending a certain wording several times, create a template for it, as opposed to re writing it from scratch each time. I often just reuse previously sent messages, copying and pasting the relevant sections in each time.

The Response Rate Counts As soon as you see an email that requires a response, respond.

The sooner you respond to it, the sooner you move it out of your inbox (which is also in effect an extension of your to do list), so the less of a burden it becomes. l

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THE PHILLIPS GROUP SPECIALIZING IN LEADERSHIP SOLUTIONS The Phillips Group is a boutique executive search firm specializing in placements in the MENA Region. From assisting Fortune 500 companies acquire and retain top performing senior executives or to advising leading Chief Executive Officers on developing their human capital, The Phillips Group has experience acquiring leadership talent from all four corners of the world.

WE ARE THE EXECUTIVE SEARCH SPECIALISTS. Call us now for high touch bespoke service if you are looking to hire the best in your industry.

M: +971 50 940 7537 T: + 971 4 352 2849 shane@tpgleadership.com www.tpgleadership.com

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