The Intelligent SME Issue:18

Issue: 18 | February - March 2014 AED 10

G i v e s y o u r b u s i n e s s a n u n f a i r a d va n t a g e

26 Big-time retailer, big-game hunter Tech tycoon Deepak Babani ,CEO, Eros group,reminds us how passion and talent can earn success from scratch.

34 CommIT builds an empire, brick by brick An inspirational story of Satyen Agrawal who fought the odds against him, with mere AED 700 in his pocket, to build an AED 18 million a year enterprise.

42 From selling to connecting, how to build brands with creative content?

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Deepak Babani, CEO, Eros group

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Contents February - March, 2014

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Big-time retailer, big-game hunter Men make history and it is not the other way around.

Starting out as a marketing manager 32 years ago in Eros Group, Deepak Babani rose through the ranks to transform the distributor and retailer of consumer electronics products into an envious and wide-ranging product portfolio. A skillful leader, who seized opportunities, brought about progress and changed things for the better.

In an interview with the ISME, Mr. Babani (CEO of the Eros group), shared the transformation story of revolutionizing a nimble business by keeping pace with changes in technology, his vision and the ability of bringing people together to achieve overall success. His wife Jayshree Babani was also present and answered a few questions.

34 CommIT builds an empire, brick by brick

11 Rare & Fabulous

High-end luxury products for CEOs and decision makers.

22 Business Announcements

What's happening in the business marketplace?

Here are some updates that you might have missed.

32 'Solid business models safeguard sustenance' Ayman Al Awadhi, managing director of the CBS speaks about his unique and successful one-stopshop that enables investors to focus on their core business operations from day one of their incorporation in the UAE, without worrying about any legal hassles.

Exploring the remarkable story of Satyen Agrawal (CEO and founder of the company) who stayed afloat in Dubai with nothing but sheer persistence and belief in his abilities, fought the odds against him, and constructed a successful AED 18 million a year enterprise.

37 The beginning of an end?

One part of a business plan that entrepreneurs often overlook is their exit strategy. If that's you, here are several reasons why you must consider life after business, even if your entrepreneurial journey is just beginning, writes Alyson Baynes.

40 Goal Setting: 10 New Year’s resolutions for SME owners

Whether it’s deciding to join a gym or cut back on sweets, chances are most of you must have made resolutions for 2014. Mark Fisher, meanwhile, enlists targets for every SME owner to achieve success over the next 10 months.

42 From selling to connecting, how to build brands with creative content?

In an age where customers have more options than the number of minutes in a day, the last thing they want to hear is another sales pitch.

Connecting with them is far more effective than blasting generic mass messages, writes Johan Engelbrecht.

44 Look out startups, content marketing is more than a good idea!

It hardly serves any point in generating more leads and enquiries if your existing conversion process results in most of your hard-won enquiries falling through the cracks, explains Simon Hodges.

48 Surviving the dark side of faulty execution

The role of a leader involves making sure all important tasks are communicated, resources organised, the objective and path defined, and rigorous reviews undertaken, writes Nandu Unni.

50 Employee benefits program, an absolute necessity?

Phil Bedford explains how one can match these bigger enterprises by focusing efforts on the niches overlooked by them, using the story of David and Goliath as a source of reference.

54 More reflection on ‘terms of service’, less adverse reactions

For all businesses, financing and marketing are two of the most important tasks. However, young businesses find little or no investments for the latter. Tish Tash believes that one of the solutions in these circumstances is content marketing.

46 Plenty of leads, but tiny customer base

52 David vs Goliath: Punching giant competitors in their nose

Choosing the right people is important; giving them the opportunity to spread their wings is a crucial progression and putting compensation as a carrier behind them is an absolute pre-condition to success, elaborates Sandi Saksena.

Good corporate governance can be achieved by continual review and close monitoring of key service contracts in any business. It not only helps in saving time and money, but also keeps one focused on building profits, points out John Merrigan.

56 For 2014, does your firm have a road map to success?

It is human nature to start off the year with a host of resolutions. However, these goals are often restricted to weight loss programs. Neil Petch urges SMEs in the region to roll-up their sleeves and set targets for their companies too.

58 Telling business tales from the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’

Beneath Jordan Belfort’s corruption, there are a number of key lessons leaders need to learn from his success, writes Michael Tolan.

Supported by

Be a Connector

Gives your business an unfair advantage

Editor’s Note Failure could be an outcome of multiple reasons in business, but one major letdown could come from the lack of passion to grow or spot new trends in the market, and work towards outpacing competition. A large number of start-ups involve "forced entrepreneurs", where a person sets up a company because he doesn't have a job, leading to not very pleasant outcomes. Not many entrepreneurs have the desire, appetite, ambition and training required to build a bigger business.

SPI Group

www.spigroup.ae www.robustrak.com www.theintelligentsme.com www.appsmena.com www.appsglobal.ae www.dubai-gbs.com www.smeworld.ae Follow us on twitter: @intelligentsme Facebook: facebook.com/theintelligentsme

Publisher & CEO Shantanu A.P. Account Director Vijay G. Editor Samar Manzar Asst. Editor Nikhil Pereira Consulting Editor Utpal Bhattacharya

Expert Contributors Alyson Baynes Mark Fisher Johan Engelbrecht John Merrigan Michael J. Tolan Nandu Unni Neil Petch Phil Bedford Sandi Saksena Simon Hodges TishTash

Art Director Aneesh Varghese Designer Retheesh Viswanath Web Developer Raj Shekar Reddy Photographer Arzai Zafar Response and communications

Response Executive Evelyn V.B. MIS Executive Yolanda Pedemonte Distribution Department

Jerry P. Sam Editorial Enquiries & Contributions

As SMEs come under growing pressures to find strategies and direction for sustaining and flourishing in the UAE’s highly competitive market, it becomes increasingly important for us to bring relevant local examples and insights from leaders that have created history by establishing multi-billion dollar empires. One such example is the thriving success of the Eros Group under the stewardship of Deepak Babani (chief executive officer of the company).

Starting out as a marketing manager 33 years ago in the Eros Group, Mr. Babani rose through the ranks to transform the distributor and retailer of consumer electronics products into an envious and wide-ranging product portfolio. In the current edition’s cover story, on pages (26-30), we bring you the exciting tale of this transformation, as over a period of time Eros outpaced several behemoths in the industry to emerge as one of the undisputed leaders.

Another interesting interview that finds its way into our first edition of 2014 is that of Satyen Agrawal (CEO and founder of the CommIT) who stayed afloat in Dubai with nothing but AED 700 in his pocket, sheer persistence and belief in his abilities, and fought the odds against him to set up an IT and telecom services company worth AED 18 million a year over a period of just one decade.

In addition, we have also added a new bunch of experts, sharing ideas with SMEs to market their products and services on a shoe-string budget, sketch out a financial road map for 2014, and yes, of course, resolutions they need to make for simplifying business processes and achieve targets. We hope that the collective combination of these insights will act as a great knowledge pool and inspiration for budding entrepreneurs to never give up their dreams of pursuing success as a one point agenda in business.

As always, write to us, send in your responses and ideas editor@theintelligentsme.com

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SPI Publishing has endeavoured to bring out a publication that is reliable and informative. This is true to the best of our knowledge. The opinions presented are those of individual writers and not necessarily endorsed by SPI Publishing. The content in this magazine is protected by copyright law and is copyright to SPI Publishing unless credited otherwise, and may not be copied, reproduced or republished for any commercial purpose or financial gain.

S U C C E S S I S A D E S T I N AT I O N

H AV E YO U A R R I V E D ?

WATCHES YACHTS DESIGNER JEWELLERY BOUTIQUE REAL ESTATE GADGETS EXOTIC DESTINATIONS FINE DINING

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Rare & Fabulous

Porsche unveils new Targa edition P orsche launched two new models in their lineup, the 911 Targa 4 and Targa 4S, at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. The cloth roof-top can be opened at the touch of a button, allowing customers to enjoy the feel of a convertible while offering slightly more protection, thanks to the roof bar.

Just like the legendary original Targa model, the new model features the characteristic wide bar in place of the B-pillars, a movable roof section above the front seats and a wraparound rear window with no C-pillar. But unlike the classic models, the roof segment on the new Targa can be opened and closed at the push of a button.

At the press of a button, the fully automatic roof system stows the convertible top behind the rear seat system, providing a real spectacle. The rear-weighted design of the PTM all-wheel drive fitted as standard is a typical Porsche feature, and guarantees that this latest 911 model also offers optimum driving dynamics on all road surfaces and in all weather conditions.

With these features, the new 911 Targa is presenting itself as a high-quality, innovative remake of the classic vehicle from 1965.

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The model shares a great deal in common with the 911 Carrera 4 cabriolet models, such as the window line and technology. The combination of the wide rear end that is typical of all-wheel drive models, the Targa bar and the dome-shaped rear window gives the latest 911 an extremely sporty appearance and a low-slung profile.

As the ’4 indicates in the name, the Targa will only be available in all-wheel drive format. The 911 Targa 4 is powered by a 3.4-litre, 350 hp flat engine. When equipped with the Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) and Sport Chrono package, this model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds and boasts a top speed of 282 km/h. Its NEDC fuel consumption figures are between 9.5 and 8.7 litres/100 km, depending on transmission, which corresponds to a CO2 emissions level of between 223 and 204 g/km.

The top model is the 911 Targa 4S, which delivers 400 hp from a displacement of 3.8 litres. This model reaches a top speed of 296 km/h and, when equipped with the PDK and Sport Chrono package, accelerates in 4.4 seconds. Its fuel consumption fluctuates between 10.0 and 9.2 litres per 100 km, depending on transmission, which

corresponds to a CO2 level of between 237 and 214 g/km. With these figures, the model is on a par with the high standard set by the 911 Carrera 4 cabriolet models in terms of engine, road performance as well as efficiency.

Expect the 2014 Porsche 911 Targa 4 and 911 Targa 4S to hit showrooms in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other GCC countries this year.

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Rare & Fabulous

Introducing Saint Honore’s Paris Style S

aint Honore, famed maker of fine watches with the inimitable ‘Paris Style’, has presented an unforgettable range of masterful creations and stunning accessories made especially for the special one in your life.

A star in every way is the Lutecia Lady, a timepiece made for the grand entrance. Lutecia makes the most of the mystery of its shape. The watch’s evocative name, a tip of the hat to the name once given the city of Paris, resonates like a symphony celebrating the elegant woman. As contemporary and opulent as can be, Lutecia exudes a richly refined and unique personality.

Women who truly appreciate style will love the sophisticated dial and its cleverly arranged design: on the dial periphery, white motherof-pearl shows the indexes and, in the upper portion, encloses an off-centre circle rendered more dazzling by the “Eclair EffectTM”, an exclusive innovation that replicates the sparkle of pave of diamonds.

Sophisticated or lightweight depending on the time of day or night, Opéra is a delicious mix of emotions and freshness. It personifies seduction through its blend of watchmaking know-how, play of materials, sizes and colours and the magic of diamonds.

Also available is the Opera Piano collection, set in seven new

colours and finishes to mark the grand success of the Opera range which masterfully blends style and functionality.

The totally-round case conjures up softness and femininity and underlines the exclusivity of this model with its two different versions - 33 mm and 37 mm.

The case is extended for even greater comfort by movable horns that match the shape of the wrist perfectly.

For women who want a touch of classic and timeless beauty, the Coloseo with roman numerals is hard to beat. Inspired by the grandest watchmaking traditions, this special timepiece has the veritable ‘touch of class’ that sets it apart. Crowned by the signature onyx cabochon, the detailed styling and classy finish makes this an inspired choice.

Trends for the special man in your life:

The Worldcode is the first men’s watch fashioned in ceramic.

This stunning chronograph captures the spirit of the automotive world, which the brand has enjoyed strong ties for many years Lutécia chronograph collection has a special bold ‘cushion’ shaping that sets it apart from standard timepiece designs.

And the Trocadéro chronograph is a brilliant combination of form and function. Refined elegance, authentic classicism and subtle sportiness are the watchwords that inspired the design of this Swiss-made timepiece, named after the famous district in Paris overlooking the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. A far cry from the excesses of some timepieces, Carrousel goes back to basics with its pure, clean lines. Today, sophistication is all about a fine, sleek form and subtle, nuanced details, and a flat case-band, a sign of understated elegance. Carrousel fits the bill perfectly.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Rare & Fabulous

Sony Xperia gets bigger, better with T2 Ultra S ony Mobile Communications has launched Xperia T2 Ultra, the next evolution in large-screen smartphone design. Targeting customers from emerging markets in China, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific, the new product brings together the best of imaging and display technologies with ground-breaking design efficiency to produce a stunning Android smartphone at a mid-range price point.

“Xperia T2 Ultra will lead the category through its combination of advanced display and camera technologies, it will bring largescreen entertainment in an amazingly portable form factor and it will do it all whilst providing incredible value for money,” said Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia marketing at Sony Mobile Communications. “Its large HD display will deliver big screen entertainment on the go whilst the efficiency of the design will allow it to remain extremely portable.”

It combines a number of

key design features to perfectly balance the need for a large screen with portability and battery endurance. The stunning 6” HD TRILUMINOS display extends to within 2.5 mm of the phone’s edges. It is also both slim (7.6 mm) and light (weighing only 173 ± 1g depending on variant differences), fitting easily in a jacket pocket.

Xperia T2 Ultra features a 13 megapixel camera that brings together the best of Sony’s digital imaging technology to allow users to capture incredible images, and, coupled with Sony’s new smart social camera ecosystem, smartphone photography can go far beyond the traditional snapshot. With one-touch functions users can instantly and easily share music, photos and

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videos and movies from Xperia T2 Ultra with a wide range of NFCenabled Sony devices, including speakers, SmartWatch, wireless headsets and TVs.

The SBH52 is a dynamic Smart Bluetooth Handset that provides easy hands-free call handling with a single press, while leaving your smartphone conveniently in your bag. It also provides you with stereo sound while enjoying movies on the Xperia T Ultra.

Furthermore, the dual variant offers a new experience through the incorporation of Sony’s latest generation of dual SIM mobile technology. Users can set up both SIM cards independently with custom ring tones and one-touch switching between SIMs before making calls or sending texts.

Key specs for Xperia T2 Ultra and Xperia T2 Ultradual

 6” HD display (720p) with TRILUMINOSTM and Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2  13 MP camera with Exmor RS for mobile  1.1 Mp front facing camera with Exmor R  Access to Sony’s “one-touch” ecosystem of 132 NFC connected accessories  Snapdragon Quad-core 1.4 GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on board storage (Micro SD slot expandable up to 32GB)  Large 3000 mAh embedded battery with Battery STAMINA Mode The Xperia T2 Ultra and Xperia T2 Ultra dual will be available in the UAE from the first week of March.

Xperia T2 Ultra features a 13 megapixel camera

February-March 2014

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Get Informed

Cultivating the culture of entrepreneurship UAE’s first entrepreneurship academy was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid at the Dubai SME, where the first batch of 104 graduates were honoured.

T

he Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy, a first-of-its-kind initiative from Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, was officially inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

The opening ceremony also witnessed Sheikh Majid honouring the first batch of 104 graduates from the Academy.

The new graduates included 57 males and 47 females who successfully completed the ‘entrepreneurship diploma’ and the ‘professional hospitality & restaurant management certificate’ programmes offered at the academy.

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi

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(director general of DED), Abdul Baset Al Janahi (chief executive officer of Dubai SME) and other senior officials were present at the ceremony.

The academy aims to provide existing and potential entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge they need to become future business leaders. An evolving calendar of programmes will ensure that the academy accomplishes its vision of creating a generation of entrepreneurs capable of leading successful projects around the globe.

Dubai’s efforts to take its SME leadership at the next level will be ably complemented by the academy as it will offer innovative training to entrepreneurial talent across the region, eventually enhancing the role of SMEs in economic development.

The Dubai SME CEO thanked Their Highnesses Sheikh Majid for

his presence and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, for his patronage to the ceremony, adding that Dubai SME will use its sector knowledge to help the academy design courses that specifically target existing skills gaps.

“It is a novel initiative, which will lead to a stronger support system for SME owners and future entrepreneurs and ensure that they have the necessary skills and experience to succeed. The programmes offered by this Academy will go a long way in turning entrepreneurial ideas into business plans and lead to more enterprises being launched in the UAE,” said Al Janahi.

It is a major addition to the Dubai SME services portfolio, which comprises varied programmes to identify, nurture, qualify and promote entrepreneurial talent and SME potential.

The ‘entrepreneurship diploma’ programme, which attracted a remarkable response in its first year, is a practice-oriented programme that enables graduates to advance their entrepreneurial ideas through successive stages, from feasible business plan to solid enterprise. The programme provides students with the skill and tools to evaluate their own business ideas and their market potential and devise sound financial and business development strategies.

On the other hand, the ‘professional hospitality & restaurant management’

February-March 2014

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programme aims to help entrepreneurs understand the service industry and plan, conceptualise and manage the business. Developed in partnership with the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, the programme has 18 modules, each dedicated to different aspects such as hospitality finance, profit

& loss, food menu branding, staff planning & scheduling, and customer service.

“We have a busier calendar for the year ahead and we will continue to add sector-specific and industry-relevant programmes, including training, online resources and e-learning programmes,� added Al Janahi. A significant

feature of the 2014 calendar will be a certificate programme in professional retail business management. The academy also expects the number of enrolments to go up by 50 per cent in 2014.

Students enrolling at the academy will also have vast opportunities to network with peers and business leaders and also learn about new opportunities.

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February-March 2014

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Get Informed

All eyes on sectors ready to drive SMEs in Dubai A first-of-its kind report compiled by the Dubai SME provides an in-depth guide on the size and characteristics of the companies witnessing buoyant growth. More than 500 firms belonging to this segment have been surveyed; wherein the financial performance of 300 were passed under magnifying glass.

D

ubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has produced a comprehensive report on the state of the Dubai’s SME sector covering the size, composition, profile and characteristics of a distinguished list of companies.

The first-of-its-kind report follows a survey of 500 SMEs across varied sectors, financial analyses of over 300 SMEs as well as interviews and comprises a detailed analysis of the economic relevance and business performance of SMEs, based on Dubai’s official SME definition.

Aimed to provide a multi-

dimensional overview, the report will help people working in the realms of policy, human resource development, technology solutions, corporate governance strategies, banking and financial services to evaluate the prevailing trends and needs in the sector, and respond accordingly.

Commented His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED: “A state of the sector report on small and medium enterprises in Dubai is essential to enabling this vital sector attracts due attention and achieves the goals envisioned. Having pioneered an official SME definition, the natural next step for Dubai is indeed to highlight the potential and gaps in the sector for appropriate action

HE Abdul Baset Al Janahi, chief executive officer of Dubai SME

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by all concerned.”

Underlining the role of SMEs in economic activity, job creation and promoting innovations Al Qamzi added that while 95 per cent of the establishments in Dubai are SMEs, 72 per cent among them being micro enterprises, which shows their significance in nurturing entrepreneurial start-ups and new business models.

“The total contribution of SMEs to Dubai’s gross domestic product stands at 40 per cent and these enterprises are a growing presence in sectors that drive growth in Dubai. Sector-wise, Trading SMEs account for 47 per cent of the total GDP contribution with Services and Manufacturing following with 41 per cent and 13 per cent respectively,” Al Qamzi said.

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, chief executive officer of Dubai SME, said the report will serve as a reference for all stakeholders in economic development at the federal and local levels besides providing strategic inputs for the five-year strategic plan of Dubai SME, which is in the pipeline.

“The report brings valuable insights – it shows that the SME sector in Dubai is critical to the emirate’s economic dynamism and has immense opportunities for future. It also shows that there is room for improvement at the individual SME level, especially in terms of competitiveness and investment in human resources, innovations and transparency, to

February-March 2014

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name a few,� Al Janahi said.

Moreover, it further reveals that Dubai being a trading hub with a growing services, 57 per cent of the SMEs operate in Trading while 35 per cent are in the Services sector. However, Service firms are the leading SME employers with 51 per cent of the workforce and Trading comes second with 33 per cent.

Meanwhile, Manufacturing shows strong prospects with 16 per cent of the workforce.

Human resource consultants as well as training firms and information technology (IT) firms have significant opportunities in the local SME sector as focus on efficiencies and adoption of IT solutions is apparently insufficient, often leading to low SME productivity.

The report says productivity per person (PPP) among Dubai SMEs is AED 112,253, lower than in other trading and service-oriented economies like Singapore (AED 391,816) and South Korea (AED 214,787). SMEs that use advanced IT systems account for 21 per cent of the total and those that have a dedicated staff or unit for employee welfare are only 25 per cent but 72 per cent of the SMEs said they evaluate and reward employee performance on a regular basis.

Comparatively low debt obligations help SMEs in Dubai’s Manufacturing sector to have gross margin ratios of 30-40 per cent

of their net revenues while the highest margin ratio for Services firms is 10-22 per cent and for Trading sector, 10-14 per cent.

The survey also shows a high export orientation among local SMEs as 51 per cent of them draw some part of their revenues from regional and international markets.

Moreover, 60 per cent of Dubai SMEs have more than 20 per cent of their sales revenues provided by export markets.

Even though they have an inherent capacity to drive innovations SMEs in Dubai scores low in terms of dedicated budgets for research and development.

Overall 13 per cent of the survey respondents said they have implemented some kind of innovation with the share rising up to 29 per cent among Manufacturing companies.

Manufacturing SMEs have comparatively higher orientation to corporate governance in Dubai as 26 per cent of them have a formal organisation structure or audited financial statements, as against 18 per cent Services firms and 14 per cent Trading companies. Exposure to external financing among local SMEs remains low and personal wealth remains the major source of capital. Only 10 per cent of the SMEs said they have accessed longterm capital financing.

The scalability potential of local SMES also remains at a low level irrespective with 77 per cent already running to 50 per cent capacity. Even when they see a huge potential cost remains a limiting factor for most SMEs with only 19 per cent said they favourably placed to expand.

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February-March 2014

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Ro’Ya: Nurturing UAE’s female entrepreneurs In a strategic partnership, Dubai Business Women Council and MasterCard have launched a new venture to support budding female entrepreneurs in the UAE through coaching and mentorship.

From left to right: Nadine Halabi, coordinator, Dubai Business Women Council; Faiza Al Sayed, vice president, Dubai Business Women Council; Raja Al Gurg, president, Dubai Business Women Council; Michael Miebach, president, Middle East and Africa- MasterCard; Eyad Al Kourdi, UAE Country Manager- MasterCard; Ngozi Megwa, vice president – Business Development & Key Relationships, Middle East and Africa-MasterCard.

I

nspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to encourage entrepreneurship in the country, Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC), part of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and MasterCard have launched Ro’Ya (‘Vision’ in Arabic), an exciting new initiative aimed at driving entrepreneurship amongst women in the UAE.

Ro’Ya is an outcome of the recently announced collaboration between DBWC and MasterCard that builds on the efforts of both organizations to mobilize and encourage women to participate in the economic sector by realizing

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their entrepreneurial ventures.

The aim of the program is to provide coaching and mentorship to aspiring female entrepreneurs looking to establish new businesses.

“The success and growth of SMEs are vital indicators of any country’s economic progress and it is imperative that every effort is made to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and nurture budding entrepreneurs,” said Michael Miebach, President, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard.

“Women in the UAE are playing an increasingly important role in driving the economy, and we remain committed to helping them realize their business vision. Ro’Ya will give women across the UAE a

real opportunity to pursue their dreams while also enabling them to support the country’s economy, resulting in long-term benefits for them, their families, and their societies,” Miebach added.

The MasterCard Index of Women’s Advancement, which measures the socioeconomic level of women compared to men across Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, has shown that while more women have access to tertiary education and job opportunities, there is still room for improvement, especially when it comes to women owning their own businesses and taking up positions as business and government leaders in the region.

Moreover, according to the

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Get Informed Carnegie Endowment Centre, around 95 percent of the private sector in the Middle East and North Africa region is owned by SMEs; however, the same report says that only 2.5 per cent of these are owned by women. This pales in comparison to figures from the International Finance Corporation which suggests that, on a global scale, 37 per cent of global enterprises are women-owned.

“The DBWC is invested in strengthening the bond between business and professional women in the UAE, and Ro'Ya is our opportunity to continue in this light. We aim to encourage leadership and advocate responsible action, while identifying key issues, offering information, and pooling our resources to ensure the well-being of women as entrepreneurs and members of the workforce. Our vision is for Ro'Ya to become a superior networking platform, that will improve opportunities through the exchange of knowledge and expertise, serving as a catalyst for positive action through Collective Community Advocacy,” said Mrs. Raja Easa Al Gurg, President, DBWC.

Through Ro’Ya, aspiring and existing female entrepreneurs who are either citizens or residents of the UAE will be encouraged to submit their business proposals through a dedicated microsite on www.dbwc.ae, where necessary information regarding the proposed venture will need to be shared.

Entries should represent concepts that are in the idea

The success and growth of SMEs are vital indicators of any country’s economic progress and it is imperative that every effort is made to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and nurture budding entrepreneurs. development phase, but have not been implemented yet. The submissions will then undergo exhaustive screening by a joint panel of experts from MasterCard and DBWC, as well as independent judges, and shortlisted candidates will be invited to a live presentation of their ideas at a

closing gala event, during which the winners will be determined.

The top three women entrepreneurs will receive a cash prize of USD 50,000, USD 30,000 and USD 20,000 respectively to be used towards start-up costs.

In addition, five candidates will also receive USD 5,000 each.

MasterCard will also continue to work very closely with the top winners, after the competition is over, to provide professional guidance and relevant networking opportunities that will kick-start their businesses and prepare them for long term-success.

“As the President of the DBWC, as a businesswoman, and most importantly as a woman, I encourage my fellow businesswomen across the UAE to embrace this opportunity to succeed. Ro'Ya will provide you with the essential knowledge to start and manage an enterprise, to become a contributor to your own personal success, and to be an integral part of the UAE's vibrant business culture and economy,” concluded Mrs. Al Gurg.

Running alongside the application process, MasterCard and DBWC will organize a series of group training sessions open for applicants and members of the public, as well as individual coaching sessions for shortlisted candidates, to share insights into creating and managing successful business entities. More details of these sessions will be featured on the Ro’Ya micro site.

Submissions to participate in the program will be accepted until March 30, 2014.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE NOW. 21

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Business Announcements

Dubai Exports expands strategic coverage in India

D

ubai Exports, the export promotion agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, has opened its overseas office in Mumbai- the business hub of India-as part of enhancing its overseas support in key markets capable of reinforcing Dubai’s position as an export and re-export centre.

The Dubai Exports office in India will significantly enhance the visibility of goods and services from Dubai and provide vital onthe-ground services to small and medium size firms in their pursuit of overseas markets. The new office will work in co-ordination with the representative office of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Mumbai.

“India is the leading trade partner of Dubai and our total bilateral trade during the first nine months of 2013 was worth over AED 111 billion. Dubai Exports opening its office in Mumbai is a milestone by all means as it marks a consolidated move by government agencies to optimise opportunities in a strategic market,” commented His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED.

“Dubai Exports being present in India will reinforce Dubai’s position as an export and re-export hub for Indian companies and we anticipate a five to 10 per cent growth in bilateral trade as a direct result of the office. It will also underline the significance of the Dubai Overseas Promotion Policy, which seeks co-ordinated efforts

by Dubai Government entities in foreign markets,” Al Qamzi added.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DTCM, commented: “India is an important market for DTCM, being consistently one of our top 10 source markets for visitors to Dubai, with latest figures positioning it as second. The 14 per cent year on year growth in visitor numbers for the first three quarters of 2013 demonstrates the high growth potential which will come from both leisure and business travellers.”

He further stated: “Our DTCM India office is one of 20 we operate in overseas markets. These offices are vital in spreading the message of Dubai around the world and act as global ambassadors for the emirate. Last year we conducted several roadshows in India, participated in a range of events and operated specific campaigns to ensure that Dubai is consistently positioned as a destination of choice. The partnership with Dubai Exports will further deepen Dubai’s relationship with India’s tourism and trade industries and is a demonstration of the unified efforts of Dubai entities in promoting the emirate.”

Dubai Exports also received extensive support from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), DP World, and Emirates SkyCargo in establishing its presence in Mumbai.

Aster DM Healthcare to launch $100m IPO

A

ster DM Healthcare, a leading private healthcare provider across the UAE, has planned to sell shares worth approximately $100m in an initial public offering (IPO), according to news sources.

The Dubai-based firm, which runs a network of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies across the Gulf and India, will list in London, Mumbai or Dubai, according to Dr Azad Moopen.

In a recent interview, Dr Moopen revealed that the Moopen family (majority stakeholder) is currently talking to investment banks including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and

22

anticipates to come up with a decision on the location of the issue within the next two months.

“On the advice of them, we’ll decide where and what size to do it,” Dr Moopen told a press conference.

Earlier, NMC Healthcare raised $187m by going public on the London Stock Exchange in 2012, while another firm Al Noor Hospitals Group sold shares worth $342m on its debut on the same bourse the following year.

“Two of the other healthcare companies from the UAE have listed in London, so we think that’s a good market,” added Dr Moopen, referring to NMC and Al Noor.

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Business Announcements

SCA, du host ‘Young Leaders’ workshops

T

he Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), in collaboration with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) hosted a series of workshops designed to teach 88 present and future Emirati board members of leading UAE companies including representatives from du, Dubai Holding, Mubadala and Emirates Investment Authority (EIA).

The workshops, hosted by Dr. Obeid Al Zaabi, SCA Deputy Chief Executive Officer for legal affairs and insurance and Rami Al Nasour, SCA Financial Advisor, are

in line with the UAE government’s commitment to Emiratisation and supporting local talent to safeguard the future of its cornerstone organisations.

As part of the wider UAE initiative to support the next generation of Emiratis and provide encouragement and support on their road to success, the sessions gave an insight into the key roles and responsibilities of board members. This guidance was given in accordance with the SCA’s rules and regulations namely Ministerial Resolution 518 of 2009 concerning governance and corporate

discipline and decision 3/R of 2000 concerning disclosure and transparency.

Ahmad Bin Byat, du’s Chairman, commented; “Hosting Board member workshops such as is the outcome of a fruitful cooperation with the Securities and Commodities Authority. At du, we firmly believe in translating our values into actions and as such, our commitment to good governance is evident throughout the culture of our organisation starting from the board.” “We at du believe it is vital to support the growth and development of the next generation of talented Emirati leaders by providing our leading national talent with the opportunity to gain insight into the key roles and responsibilities of board members, as well as the main governance factors behind a successful business model. Developing the Emirati talent is a priority for us in line with the clear message from our leadership,” the chairman added.

Osman Sultan, du’s CEO pointed out: “There have been several studies on the connection between the strength of a company’s board and company performance showing that organisations that apply governance are more able to retain success and are more flexible to avoid crisis.”

NOOR GETS IT DONE. noorbank.com

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February-March 2014

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Meet the CEO Following are the edited excerpts of the interview:

Big-time retailer, big-game hunter Men make history and it is not the other way around. Starting out as a marketing manager 32 years ago in Eros Group, Deepak Babani rose through the ranks to transform the distributor and retailer of consumer electronics products into an envious and wide-ranging product portfolio.

A skillful leader, who seized opportunities, brought about progress and changed things for the better. In an interview with the ISME, Mr. Babani (CEO of the Eros group), shared the transformation story of revolutionizing a nimble business by keeping pace with changes in technology, his vision and the ability of bringing people together to achieve overall success. His wife Jayshree Babani was also present and answered a few questions.

TQ: Going back to your early days, describe your most cherished memories?

DB: I come from a middle-

class family where education was considered as the top most priority. Although my father was not qualified, he emphasised all the eight children should be well educated. Amongst all our relatives, we were the only family to have all siblings graduating with degrees. He was not an extremely successful man but stuck to values, and principles like honesty and loyalty have been taught by him.

TQ: What role did your mother play in your upbringing?

DB: She brought me up with a lot of discipline. I was the eldest of the boys, which made her efforts all the more important. I was also pampered abundantly by both of them, but, she was the one who always provided direction whenever I strayed.

TQ: One of the early stories you

shared was that you failed a grade at school, and it had a huge impact on your life. How did the said event change your life completely?

DB: The school principal, teachers and friends always considered me a bright student, but I never did well academically because my interests were diversified. I recall failing the eighth grade by two marks in two subjects. My father and sister pleaded with the principal to allow me a re-exam, which was not allowed. Looking back, I believe that not allowing me to reappear for the exam was the best thing to happen. In my second stint (in the same class), I performed brilliantly and stood second in class. I managed to score 99 out of 100 marks in algebra, where I had previously failed. Post this incident, I took my life and career seriously. A few deterrents would crop up from time to time, but I always found myself back on track in a short period of time.

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Intelligent SME

Meet the CEO

TQ: Thereafter you graduated, and

got your first job. Talk us through that phase of your life.

DB: I was not the topper in college, but managed to earn a rank amongst the top five. But, finding a job was tough task, even for engineers in those days. Luckily, I got an internship at Bush Radio (belonged to my uncle’s friend) that gave me important insights into the radio and electronics business. The learning helped me in landing a job at the Murphy even before I could complete my engineering degree.

TQ: How did you find the opportunity of exploring career option in Dubai?

DB: My stint at the Murphy was a huge learning process, where six months of training were enlightening. What I did not learn in five years at the engineering college, the internship taught me in a span of just six months.

I was moved into the marketing department too, where the job demanded stepping into several shoes. A quality that set me apart from my peers at Murphy was my conviction to take up a new project as soon as it presented itself.

Whether it was coordinating with the R&D department or quality 28

control, I enjoyed doing it for the two and half years.

Coming to Dubai happened by chance, my father’s friend had volunteered to send me a visa in 1977 when Dubai’s population was close to 50,000, however I opted to stay put. Though, once while visiting a dealer in Mumbai who was pre-occupied with some work and asked me to wait for about an hour, I used that time to visit a recruiting firm nearby. I wrote out my bio-data on a sheet of paper, got a call for an interview ten minutes later, and, thus, I secured a job within that waiting period.

TQ: You came to Dubai and started with Jumbo (who were tied up with Sony), describe your working experience?

DB: Jumbo was a fantastic learning curve as well. The initial five years of my career – two and half years each at Murphy and Jumbo, respectively – provided a complete understanding of sales and marketing in the technocommercial space. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to handle Sony, which was quite popular and earned nearly half the company’s overall turnover.

TQ: Moving from Sony to Eros as a

young marketing manager, what were some of the challenges?

DB: Though Sony was a revered brand and Jumbo can be described as a lovely place to work, I could not come to my own in the organisation. Partly due to company politics, I firmly believe that politics leads to negativity in any firm. In a year or so, I received a promotion, career-wise things were good, but I could not see a long-term future at Jumbo.

During this period, I would keep a watchful eye on the new brands coming into the market and formulate my own judgment on their shelf-life and future.

One brand that I felt was under represented was Hitachi. It was a sheer co-incidence that there was a job available at Eros, who handled Hitachi, and thus, I met Mr. Badri, general manager, Eros Group. They were highly pleased with me, coming from Jumbo who represented Sony, I was not asked too many questions. The job fell straight into my lap.

TQ: Could you share the storyline as you went on to build the Al Badri Group, Eros and Hitachi?

DB: There were many challenges,

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Meet the CEO as we were a small group and, though I was a marketing manager by designation, I had to do everything in the organisation because we were just a six member team. Shortcomings such as preparing invoices, lack of drivers, etc., were a common sight. So, we would put the goods in our own vehicles and deliver them. It helped me learn the system, which was far from being a perfect one then. So, my learnings in Jumbo were replicated at Eros.

TQ: Tell us about the tumultuous time of the 1991 Gulf War.

DB: I distinctly remember that

everybody in Dubai was nervous when the First Gulf War broke out because nobody could gauge the impact. Principals were not ready to ship goods to Dubai; in fact they forced us to cancel orders, and this was the first time principals did not force agents to order.

Meanwhile, dealers were not very confident of business, and a sense of negativity prevailed. Under these circumstances, staff wanted to quit, and we at Eros saw some opportunities.

We noticed that a number of Kuwaitis had settled in Sharjah, hence, they needed household appliances such as televisions and kitchenware. Also, there were expats from different nationalities living in the UAE, mainly from the Euro Zone, and they were potential customers for electronic products because Dubai was a free port and goods were available for cheap here. But, principles were not willing to ship goods. So, we devised a method to make the most of this opportunity and held talks with our shipping carriers.

They assured to bring goods safely into Dubai via the Khorfakan route. Their safety-guarantee was backed by the fact they had strong guarding from the American warships as they were also carrying military equipment.

While everybody else cut-down their imports, the market here was booming as there was a shortage of imports. Meanwhile Hitachi continued to ship to us, even though they were reluctant, even though they insisted we pay for the shipment 15 days in advance.

There were many challenges as we were a small group, and though I was a marketing manager by designation, I had to do everything in the organisation since we were just six people.

We reduced our credit period, as the market was risky, from 60 days to 7 days, some of my colleagues will testify to the fact. Dealers were paying us in seven days, and probably, that was the year our profit almost doubled.

TQ: Do you think that was your

turning point, as far as Eros Group was concerned?

DB: Since we were small initially, our yearly growth was nearly 100 Per cent. But this was one of the turning points when a risk would determine the success of a company.

TQ: Are you a risk taker?

DB: I generally take calculated

risks. Some of my colleagues will back me up when I say this: the year was 2007-08, the recession years, and the buzz word was staff retrenchment. We heard our competition talk about 30 per cent reduction of staff or 25 per cent. That’s when we as Eros management put our heads together to find an exit strategy.

The fact in question was, ‘how long was the recession going to last?’ If the recession lasts for six months

can we retain the staff? On the other hand, if we retrench it will demotivate them.

If the recession was to last for six months and we had retrenched, it would take a further six months to rehire them. Under such scenarios principals would not wait. If we are not able to deliver, our competitors could benefit. We took a collective decision that not a single staff would be fired, the calculated risk was to break even in the worst-case scenario. The management felt it was do-able.

We went ahead to post record sales that year.

TQ: In the first phase of your

professional career, what was the secret of your success?

DB: It was passion. I am an electronics engineer by education, and hence, this sector was my passion. When you work with passion, the hours of work put-in or hardships don’t matter. In the first four years at Eros, I would eat and sleep contemplating how to grow the business. Also, I would be upset on holidays as the momentum of business would stall. Obviously, my family had to sacrifice a bit. I’m not too sure if they liked it, but they were supportive.

TQ (to Mrs Jayshree Babani or JB):

When your husband was busy running around setting up his career, what went through your mind?

JB: I would tell my friends that I

was his second wife (laughs). His first wife was work. Honestly, I did not feel that I had to do too many sacrifices because both my father and my father-in-law- were workaholics. So, that was the norm in the family.

TQ: Back then, did you envisage Mr. Babani where he is today?

JB: Absolutely not. (Why?) I knew he would be successful with what he does, but my husband never points at castles in the air. He simply goes about getting to the next stepping stone.

TQ: Your responsibilities grew as 29

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Intelligent SME

Meet the CEO Eros developed, what was your advice to your children during the busy years?

of our principles, but realigning ourselves to their goals was a challenge.

DB: I always told my children

TQ: How do you differentiate from a

select any career path that you are passionate about; our support will always be ensured. I never spoiled my children either and maintained a conscious balance. For example, while our son was studying at NYU, we ensured he’s on a tight budget to teach him the value of money.

TQ: Let’s fast forward to the future,

and the breakthrough success that you received with Samsung.

DB: In 1995-96, we just had the Hitachi distribution that was seeing a downfall. Hence, we were weighing our options to re-ignite the business and hit lofty targets.

Samsung came in, and we never envisaged that Samsung would grow to what it has today. We started-off with fax machines, and bagged Samsung Mobile a year and a half later. We were selling close to 100,000 mobile phones a month and the mobile business grew rapidly in the coming quarter decade. Following the success of Samsung Mobile, they appointed us as the distributors for the LED panel displays and audio systems.

These developments were crucial for the growth of Eros. From 2002 onwards, Samsung, has helped us grow tremendously.

TQ: SMEs always try to fathom how a

company such as Eros scales up, how did you manage to do it? What systems and procedures you rapidly deploy to absorb that growth?

DB: We have to align ourselves

with our principles. First and foremost, we need to understand the principle’s perception of growth. A few years ago, when we were in Korea, I vividly recall our goal was to be the number one player in LED panels. This was told by Samsung at the dinner table, but they raised the bar at a meeting the following day, we had had to sell twice the number of units that LG sold. We are talking about more than 50 per cent market share from 35 per cent. Of course, we always had the support

30

impose ideas on anyone.

TQ: What are the qualities you look for while hiring staff?

powerful and suave competitor such as Apple?

DB: These days it’s very difficult

DB: If you weigh Samsung and Apple as two of the biggest brands in the mobile space, you would understand that the former is very strong in their hardware, software being their weaker side. The tie-up with Google (Android) for their smartphones makes up for it. I think Apple consider the United States and Europe markets as their target audience, Middle East is still not on their radar. We realised we needed to fill this gap, and that is what we have been doing in these last two years. We ramped our after-sales service, staff strength and training to increase our market share. Currently, our (Samsung) market share in the smartphone category is 55-60 per cent as compared to Apple who own 20 per cent.

TQ: You’ve reached a pinnacle in life,

TQ: Talking about your leadership

style, what are the key principles you impart to the staff and, also, your expectations from them?

DB: We work on a ‘management by consensus’ style, where the entire team comes together to ideate and find solutions for combating the challenges presented before us.

And, this principle is not sacrificed even when I have a completely different point of view from the general consensus. For instance, we had a certain high turnover business venture, but the margins were wafer-thin. More than 75 managers had expressed their opinion that the company should expand itself into this terrain too; but, personally, I am allergic to low margin businesses where you’ve to control the resources to generate profits. However, one of the managers asked that if we can guarantee a certain profit margin, would the company support us?

Thus, much against personal wishes, we gave our approval. And today it’s is one of the successful endeavours of Eros. I am not ashamed to accept that even my beliefs can be wrong, nor do I ever

to find people working for you ten-fifteen years. We do not like applications that have done a lot of hopping around. The first six months in any company are spent in learning the whereabouts, mechanics and systems of the business. It is always better that the company benefits from the training provided to its employees and they stay with us at least for four to five- years.

achieving a good amount of success in your job, did you ever feel like being an entrepreneur and have your own business?

DB: I have considered that several times. In the electronics business, the product life is very short. A business might end up having a lot of ageing stocks accumulated that they have to liquidate immediately and lose one or two million dirhams. I would be presented with the challenge of convincing the owner to take speedy actions, or else the firm will end up making more losses with each passing day and the launch of new products.

But I have received a lot of support and co-operation from the owners, making me feel that I am not an employee but the owner of the business.

TQ: Just imagine for a second that

this is your ninetieth birthday, what all these people present here should be celebrating? What is the legacy you would like to leave behind?

DB: I would, perhaps, like to see myself as a philanthropist, teaching young people about business and my experiences in life. And not just contribute time in achieving monetary gains, but also address charitable causes. It is my strong belief that if you have a clean image, which is considered as one of the most valued aspect, I would like to leave a legacy behind where nobody has anything negative to say about me.

March 27, 2014 - 9.00 am.-3.00 pm., Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai

Business Olympics 2014

For Registration visit :

www.smeworld.ae Phone: +971 4 2659704 E-Mail: response@spiholding.net / learn@openthinking.ae

GET your team to participate in business olympics and develop a winning culture.

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Success Story

'Solid business models safeguard sustenance' Before deciding how and where to set up an offshore company, prospective owners are posed with reasonable and legitimate issues regarding the need to form a company, and then finding out how to do it so that they meet the requirements and comply beyond question with the laws of their countries of citizenship and residence. It becomes absolutely vital to seek help from an expert to straighten out these concerns.

Corporate Business Services (CBS) is one such firm that offers a complete guide on setting up operations to both foreign corporates and investors of all sizes across all sectors in the UAE. Established in 2007, the consultancy has achieved AED 8,000,000 turnover for year ending 2013 with a 40% growth from 2012 figures. In an interview with the ISME, Ayman Al Awadhi, managing director of the CBS speaks about his unique and successful one-stop-shop that enables investors to focus on their core business operations from day one of their incorporation in the UAE, without worrying about any legal hassles. Following are the edited excerpts of the interview.

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Success Story Q: How did the concept of CBS come into existence?

A: As a market, Dubai has always

demanded high standard of professional engagements for corporate services, especially the ones pertaining to license setup, post-license setup and operations.

The company was established, basically, on three fundamental objectives: to deliver exceptional customer service experience, to bring the best of our local know-how and to stand unique among other players within the business community. And thus, we formulated a platform of corporate services where customers of all types, sizes and sectors could procure excellent and transparent services. Today, CBS is running a technology-driven organisation for its customers to record and track their behaviour through leading CRM solutions controlled by wide range policies and procedures across all departments. The service ensures business operations are being delivered at best common practices internationally.

Q: Could you explain the company’s humble beginnings in the UAE?

A: The founders kick-started by

attracting foreign investment and partnerships into the region, offering basic corporate services for any legal entity to operate in the mainland cities of UAE. The activity became bigger as more corporates joined on board.

Therefore, we incorporated a legal entity to provide required support for existing customers and enhance service delivery procedure, along with bringing more customers of bigger size and reputation into the region. It has enabled us to interact with various customers and vendors across all industries.

Q: Who are your major competitors?

What strategies have you adopted to sustain and flourish in the long-run?

A: Few players like Links Group

and Adam Consulting have a certain portion of common service portfolio of corporate services. As a strategy, we encourage to create

Earning the 32nd rank among top 100 companies in the ranking initiative of Dubai SME 100 year 2013. a platform of partnerships with competitors in order to attract more customers or and offer wider range of services to customers.

Q: What is your workforce strength?

A: Our workforce is a mixed bag

in terms of nationality, languages spoken and qualification.

Currently, CBS employees speak more than seven international languages with education qualifications ranging from high school to master degree.

Q: What’s the most popular service requested for in this region?

A: Business setup, local partner/

agent and government document clearing.

Q: Who forms the clientele list? Are you targeting blue chip companies, internationally recognized brands along with start-ups?

A: Our solutions offered for

business setup and company formations are attracting all types of industries (IT, consultancy, constructions, trading, facilities, and services), which includes listed and well-known entities on global stock markets.

Q: Besides the Middle East, which other markets are you targeting?

A: The firm is maintaining a double-digit growth rate of more than 20% in revenue generation, gross profit and workforce. Also, we have started expanding our footprints globally to attract customers from their home market.

The focus has been on Europe, USA and far east markets.

Q: What would you characterise as the proudest achievements so far?

A: Earning the 32nd rank among top 100 companies in the ranking initiative of Dubai SME 100 year 2013. Another victorious moment was bagging a title in the SME Stars of Business Award 2013 (official business partner of Dubai FDI, a government agency of Dubai Economic Department).

Q: Based on your rich experience,

what advice you would give to young entrepreneurs or start-ups planning to establish their businesses in this region?

A: Starting a business involves

immense effort across all domain areas (sales, marketing, HR, operations, customer and vendor relations) in order to be a successful and sustainable. One should opt for proper and basic expertise across these domains to succeed in this challenging and diversified market, which offers wide range of products and services options. Another important aspect is having a solid business plan or concept, coupled with complete knowledge of legal operations for your venture to sustain and grow locally and globally.

Q: How much growth has the

company seen in the six years of existence? What would be your goals over the next two years?

A: We had started with a small

office space consisting of four employees in 2008, and now the firm is operating an incubation center for hosting clients’ licenses and offering services through a team of 22 employees dedicated to serve customers in a high standard and transparent way. We are also in the process of going global by establishing two representative offices in UK and USA, respectively.

This target has been set to be achieved by mid-year 2014. It will enable us to focus on these markets and be closer to potential clients who are seeing Dubai and the UAE as their next business hub for operations.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Success Story

CommIT builds an empire, brick by brick Q: Can you take us through the firm’s beginnings in the UAE?

A: In 2002, I formed an IT trading

company with a friend. Within three months, he disappeared with all the money, leaving me with just AED 700. Shocked with the experience, but not affected, I continued my struggle to make a mark in the UAE market. While working as a consultant on a project in Jebel Ali, I formed CommIT from a desk space and one engineer. We used to work 18 hours a day, doing IT services and integration jobs. Soon, we took a small office in Jebel Ali Free Zone and there was no looking back.

Starting from scratch, we have been quiet successful so far, and, also proud of the fact that the first employee of the company is still with us, eleven years later.

Q: How did the concept of CommIT come into existence?

A: In 2003, I noticed a gap in the

Besides premium clients like DMCC, du telecom, Microsoft, HP and Dell in their kitty, CommIT has successfully established itself to provide integrated end-to-end IT and telecom solutions for companies of various sizes and statures across the UAE. The story of how Satyen Agrawal, CEO and founder of the company, managed to stay afloat with sheer persistence and a never-give up attitude is quite inspirational: left with nothing except AED700 savings in his pocket, Agrawal kept pushing the odds against him to construct an AED 18 million a year enterprise. ISME explores the remarkable achievements of this visionary.

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market for excellent and prompt IT support services in Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ). Companies in the freezone received their IT support services from Dubai, which would eat away a lot of time and delay processes. Similarly, the logistics issue of transporting equipment in and out of JAFZA was another challenge. While working on a project across the region, I convinced partners to provide me a desk space and start an IT division on a 50% profit sharing basis. This is how “CommIT” came into existence, with a two member team (an engineer from India and me). We worked extremely hard to give high standards of professional service and make the most of every opportunity. After working eighteen hours a day for nine months, I had made just enough money to officially form a company in JAFZA. For the past ten years, we have managed to sustain the upward trajectory by providing unmatched customer service, building relationships and

Success Story the teams’ consistent efforts. We are still able to retain over 95% of our customers, year after year.

Q: Who are your major competitors? What strategies have you adopted to sustain and flourish in the long-run?

A: We started as an SME support provider and grew to enterprise

class system integrator. As of today, we still maintain and continue to support our SME customer base of over 1,000 companies in Dubai who have done business with us in the past year. Our major competitors would be the top ten integrators of Dubai who bid for high value ICT projects, which contribute to the majority of our profit. In order to sustain and flourish in the ever-changing world of IT, we have adopted several strategies that have paid us rich dividends over the years: (a) continuous up gradation: IT is a dynamic field that requires regular and consistent up-gradation of products and services.

We believe in restructuring and enhancing of our team’s competences, as well as product certifications from time to time in order to match the expectations of the market. Moreover, we also strive to partner with the emerging technologies that can add significant value to our customers;

(b)Multiple services: We believe in building effective clientrelationships. A prominent example is our recent partnership with du to offer telecom services, which has opened more doors and helped us embolden our IT integration and services. It is our experience that customers prefer a single vendor who can do an end-to-end job: from telephone, internet and IT equipment to setting up of the systems; (c) HR policies: We have grown from 15 employees in 2011 to 60 employees in 2014. At CommIT, we believe in an inclusive work culture where people coming from diverse backgrounds, cultures and communities enrich the working environment with their peculiar experiences and sensibilities. As of now, we have employees from seven different nationalities working with us.

The high retention ratio and positive approach is also one of the key reasons for our growth, and (d) building credibility: We were dependent on word-of-mouth publicity for the past nine years. Hence, we have not only built a client base but have also earned enormous credibility in the market over the years. Today, we have retail kiosks, showrooms and offices in prime locations that make us easily approachable and bring us closer to our consumer.

Q: What is your workforce strength?

A: Our workforce consists of sixty employees, which is dominated by technical support team. We have different business divisions with a leader for each and detailed succession planning too.

Currently, we are growing by ten employees every quarter.

Q: What’s the most popular service requested for in this region?

A: Desktop support enquiries are the highest. And thus, we

have come up with plans that include unlimited remote support and limited onsite calls for as low as AED 1,000/- per month, irrespective of the number of computers. We have received positive response from the business community, and managed to bring on board more than fifty contracts in the past two months.

The IT and telecom concierge service wherein we set up kiosks in towers and bring all services (sending credit card machines to their offices for payments) closer to the users, has been extremely

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Intelligent SME

Success Story popular with customers and landlords.

cloud and big data will see a lot of growth in this region.

Q: Who forms the clientele list? Are

Q: What would you characterize as

you targeting blue chip companies, internationally recognized brands along with start-ups?

A: We like to project ourselves

as an end-to-end integrator who can cater to all the IT and telecom needs- from small business to large enterprises. Through our offices in the DMCC, we have helped over 500 startups in the past year. We have also several reputed local companies in our list: Kanoo Group, Pure Gold, Dubai First Bank, few Fortune 100 companies and reputed brands like Oshkosh Corporation, Tyco, Ernst & Young, Levant, Seadrill, etc. We have dedicated teams looking at healthcare and hospitality projects and are working with several consultants and contractors to provide expertise and innovation, bringing down pricing for the whole package at the same time, since all systems can be controlled over IP.

Q: Besides the Middle

East, which other markets are you targeting? At what rate is growth expected in this specialized sector?

A: We are currently focused in the UAE, Oman and Qatar, but have made bids for projects in different parts of Africa including Luanda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and South Africa. The ICT sector is pegged to grow at 10 – 15% every year for the next three to four years driven by the Expo2020 demand for hospitality, healthcare and education. Buildings are increasingly becoming smarter and greener, adding systems to the basket and the absorption of 36

the proudest achievements so far?

A: Earning the ninth rank in the

growth category of the Dubai SME 100 (2013) was one of the proudest achievements. Another significant milestone was receiving the ‘the best du managed services partner award’ in mere six months of our association with the telecom giant. Lastly, and above all, when my team expresses joy in being associated with the company, it gives me immense satisfaction that the company and its vision have been instrumental in changing and influencing so many lives.

Q: Based on your rich experience,

what advice you would give to young entrepreneurs or start-ups planning to establish their businesses in this region?

A: To young entrepreneurs, I

would say that keep your head down, be honest, work hard, work smart and keep looking out for opportunity. The country and Dubai especially provide you with the opportunity to truly live up to your potential. All one has to do is stay put and chances will come along your way, sooner or later.

Make sure you are prepared to launch and grab opportunity with both hands and hold it to your chest, as opportunity once lost never comes again. I have seen many startups failing to sustain because they did not have the strength to persevere or believe in their dreams, only to realize a few months later that a little bit of patience could have taken them to the next level. I truly believe: you can change your own destiny as long as you want it bad enough. I am a living example of this belief.

Q: What innovations, best practices

you have integrated into your business that entitles you to earn a Dubai SME 100 rank in the growth category?

A: There are a few reasons why

we have continuously grown these past few years:

(a)Team development: When businesses slacked in 2008 – 2009, we used the time to deeply introspect our processes.

And realized that we need to make separate specialized teams in different aspects of our business like networking, system administration and telecommunication and strengthen our competencies. It has helped us to reach high partner levels with the leading IT manufacturers who diverted precious enterprise business towards us. As a result, when everyone else was looking for work, we were growing double digit and had our hands full. (b) Absorption of new technologies:

In the IT business, it is both important and difficult to keep up pace with new innovations and technologies. Today, customers are increasingly aware of the latest offerings and are looking for companies willing to deploy this and have a high absorption of new technologies. We have regular think tank sessions and technical meetings where new innovations and emerging trends are developed and the respective teams are asked to present on how it can help our customers.

(e)Strong and clear HR policies:

As you’re growing and expanding portfolios, it is extremely important to have clear and uniform HR policies. We have an employee manual, HR software to manage all leaves, regular appraisals based on balanced scorecard system, clearly defined incentive schemes for sales and technical teams, growth paths and developmental trainings to provide a healthy working environment. Regular team building events and interaction brings a lot of transparency to the organisation.

(d) ISO and quality program:

Our main aim to achieve the ISO certification was to channel our growth properly and have smart goals that can be achieved and sustained. At the same time, we wanted to clearly define the role of every team member and hold them accountable. As one of the greatest businessmen, Dhirubhai Ambani, in history once said, “Only when you dream it, you can do it.

Our dreams have to be bigger, our ambitions higher, our commitment deeper, and our efforts greater.”

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Finance

The beginning of an end?

One part of a business plan that entrepreneurs often overlook is their exit strategy. If that's you, here are several reasons why you must consider life after business, even if your entrepreneurial journey is just beginning, writes Alyson Baynes.

F

irst and foremost – Happy New Year! As we say goodbye to 2013 and welcome 2014, the year ahead presents fresh opportunities, new challenges and a sense of optimism. And just as we may take stock of our life’s priorities, perhaps setting resolutions to exercise, take up a new pastime, or simply spend more time with friends and family, it is also a great time for people to reassess their work priorities.

But for entrepreneurs, where work

and life are largely one, setting few targets can bring significant turnaround.

Just as for many, the fun is in the chase, the typical entrepreneur’s mind is rarely content with status quo – instead, it is busy pondering the next step.

For some entrepreneurs, the answer may be a fresh start – take the New Year as an opportunity to exit their current business with the aim of, hopefully, realising a return on all the time, money,

blood, sweat and tears invested over the years. And whilst a change in ownership is just another step in the lifecycle of most businesses, for an SME, such an event can seem daunting for both the entrepreneur and those left behind. Careful management is therefore tantamount, and this is not out of a sense of sentimentality but rather because of the intrinsic link that preserving the longevity of the remaining business has on the value of the entrepreneur’s

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SME Finance return. For any investor, evidencing that the business is able to thrive with or without the entrepreneur is an important consideration. This is regardless of whether the exit is through a trade sale (corporate entity, private equity and venture capital) or public listing. In either event, any process presents a number of risks and challenges. The value of the business and accordingly the entrepreneur’s return can be won or lost on shrewd negotiation and gamesmanship. For an entrepreneur to stand any chance of a fair fight, their best weapon is to be prepared! Understand the process, know their own business inside out, and most importantly, interpret the motivations of the other side – what do they want and why?

So what do we mean by being prepared? Inherently, each exit process is unique and will present its own challenges, but there are certain steps that an SME can undertake to help protect itself and the interests of the entrepreneur.

By understanding what needs to be done and when, actively engaging in the process and utilising the expertise, support and guidance of the right advisors at the right time, the entrepreneur stands a better chance of successfully achieving an optimal outcome for all parties, regardless of the nature or complexity of the transaction.

The below summarises the key considerations for an entrepreneur engaging in a trade sale; arguably, the most likely exit route for most entrepreneurs. However, much of the below would also apply for an IPO, although the stakes are usually higher and the process more rigorous.

The preliminaries

Why exit, why now?

The entrepreneur needs to be very clear on their motivation for exiting. What are the reasons and what are they looking to achieve? What factors are driving their decision?

Is it purely financial (securing the entrepreneur with sufficient capital for a new venture), or qualitative stance (allowing the entrepreneur to take early retirement)? Or, perhaps, opportunistic (a potential

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Regardless of motivation, the valuation of the business will certainly play a part in the final decision. As per human nature, what we see as value and what someone else may see are often two very different things. investor has speculatively approached the business)? For the entrepreneur, it is important to decide on their priorities and identify what requirements of the sale are non-negotiable and where a compromise could be found.

For example, some entrepreneurs are looking to dispose of their entire shareholding, whilst others may want to retain some nominal ownership in the ongoing business.

Regardless of motivation, the valuation of the business will certainly play a part in the final decision. As per human nature, what we see as value and what someone else may see are often two very different things. Undertaking a simple, model based valuation, even if only at a crude level, will at least provide a benchmark for the entrepreneur to start negotiation.

Something like a discounted cash flow of future cash profit is a reasonable starting point, and can be easily adjusted to consider the impact of alternative growth rates. Assessing the asset base, both tangible and intangible (such as intellectual property, licences or customer relationships – which may not be valued on the balance

sheet, but have some value to the business) gives another indicator. Similarly, identifying any attributes that de-risk the business, such as exclusivity agreements, “preferred supplier” status for various products, or a track record demonstrating low customer attrition, provides evidence of the ongoing sustainability of the business.

Weighing up all the pros and cons is a crucial part of the process and should not be rushed.

Whilst aborting mid-process is not impossible, any company or entrepreneur which does, risks damaging their market credibility and potentially discouraging any future opportunities. And once the final decision to exit is made, this must now become the strategic focus of the entrepreneur, the management team and the company. The likelihood of success is significantly improved when all parties are pulling together in a cohesive and organised manner, and the entrepreneur can rely on their senior management team to share some of the burden.

Do your homework

Whether there is already a potential offer on the table, or a buyer is yet to be identified, a sales process can be highly time and manpower intensive. In responding to the seemingly endless requests for information, or actively managing the relationship with potential buyers, it can be difficult for a business to juggle both the demands of the sales process and the ensure “business-as-usual” within the day-to-day operations.

If a company is unprepared for the task ahead, it can be almost impossible to make up ground once the wheels are in motion.

The process itself follows a natural flow, and whilst steps will vary, will typically include:  a provisional agreement between both parties, outlining the deal basics;  a due diligence process to understand more about the business from a financial, legal, operational or commercial perspective;  additional negotiations, meetings and ironing out of the

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Finance finer details;  drafting of the sale and purchase agreement to establish the exact terms of the transaction, conditions precedent and subsequent, and any other guarantees or warranties;  completion and handover.  The entrepreneur needs to understand their obligations and responsibilities at each stage to ensure they are adequately prepared and represented, especially if there are deadlines or other restrictions to work within.  And once the process is underway, so will the flow of information. You therefore need to understand what type of information is required and by when. The information requirements will be driven by the needs of the user but at a summary level, most businesses should be able to provide at least the following:  Marketing based, high level “teasers”, designed to attract interest in the company from potential investors. The key is to outline the company’s attributes in a clear and concise manner, sparking sufficient interest to facilitate a follow up meeting, but not give too many of the company’s secrets away. These documents may include a brief description of the business and its history, current operations and management, any unique selling points or market placement statistics, as well as some high level financial measures that provide evidence of the business’ track record. From the high level teaser, once an interested party has been engaged, these documents can extend into in depth management presentations, which in turn, dovetail into the company’s business plan.  Historical financial information, providing evidence of the company’s current financial performance, position and track record. A potential investor will typically want to review at least three years of historical financial data, preferably on a monthly basis, and covering income statement, balance sheet and cash flow. Further analysis is usually expected and, depending on the business, may include a more detailed examination of revenue or

Alyson Baynes, Assistant Director, Deloitte Corporate Finance Limited

profit drivers, the fixed/variable nature of the cost base, working capital trends, cash generation capability and debt requirements, amongst many others. Audited accounts are also helpful as they provide some third party comfort over the integrity of the information presented.  Budget and forecast financial information provides the current management team’s view of the future capability of the business, and the impact of any planned projects or investments. This includes both annual budgets, any full year predictions/reforecasts if only part way through a financial period, and longer period assessment covering three to five years. Importantly, all budgets and forecasts should be underpinned by reasonable assumptions, which can be easily supported – either with reference to past performance or third party data. Prior years’ budgets and forecasts may also be requested in order to assess the historical accuracy of such documents and provides further insight into the reliability of the current year’s equivalents.  Corporate governance, compliance and regulation. At a minimum, companies must be able to provide copies of all documentation that supports the legal operations of the business – company registration, articles of association, trade licence, insurance, contracts (employment, customer and supplier), lease agreements, banking arrangements etc. In addition, any internally generated documentation that details the businesses’ policies and procedures, company charter, or operating practices, helps in providing a potential investor with a more informed view of the business, how it operates and how it is managed.  Regardless of the information, the entrepreneur will be needed to explain what is presented and how

it applies to the business.

Understand the other side:

 Whilst the majority of homework looks inwards towards the business, the entrepreneur should not forget that this is a negotiation and an agreement between at least two parties. Therefore, before giving a relative stranger access to all the company’s secrets, time should be taken to understand the other side and, if possible, try to work out why they are interested in the business. This is a business transaction and the entrepreneur is well within their rights to know something about the other party, not least to protect their own interests, but also that of the continuing business.

Similarly, formalising each parties’ confidentiality obligations via a non-disclosure agreement, or recording any provisional sale and purchase terms in a letter of intent, reduces the risk for all parties.

Whilst it is expected that both parties will act professionally and in the mutual interest of the deal, it is not guaranteed.

And most of all, the entrepreneur should be prepared to be patient. Any sales process can be a stressful and potentially damaging time for the business and entrepreneur if not managed correctly. However, good preparation, a thorough understanding of the process and other party, and a strong focus on the end goal should help navigate the entrepreneur through to the desired outcome.

And even if unsuccessful at the first attempt, the SME will still be stronger for having gone through a sales process, not least from the knowledge gained about itself.

And you never know, there’s always 2015!

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Corporate Governance

Goal Setting: 10 New Year’s resolutions for SME owners Whether it’s deciding to join a gym or cut back on sweets, chances are most of you must have made resolutions for 2014. Mark Fisher, meanwhile, enlists targets for every SME owners to achieve success over the next 10 months.

W

e have completed a little more than a month into 2014.

Studies show that most of us write down, visualize or talk about our goals for 2014. Have

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you conquered any of your goals/ resolutions? You might well have already broken your personal New Year’s resolutions by now, or else forgotten them. So if you run a company, try making some

resolutions about your business instead. As long as you keep them, the results should start showing long before the year is over. Here are some suggestions that could transform your business:

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Corporate Governance Pay your staff more

Yes, you did read that correctly. And yes, it does mean there’s less money for other company spending, and indeed for your own use. But in the long term, you’ll get your money back many times over in most cases, through improved performance and lower employee turnover. And remember that shares in the company can be part of staff compensation too.

Re-examine your entire strategy

Stand right back and ask yourself what your company serves. For most companies, the answer changes over time in various ways. Don’t keep going in the same direction just because you’re used to it.

Research your rivals

It’s amazing how many businesses fail to do this properly, through arrogance or a belief that the market is big enough for everyone. Make sure you have the intelligence needed to undercut your rivals and enter new markets ahead of them; or else watch them do it to you.

Consider new investments

Spending money can be a daunting decision when you are unsure about the time needed to recoup it, or even if you will.

But the art, or science, of getting this right is a hallmark of the successful entrepreneur. In an economic upturn, which looks set to continue, don’t get left behind.

Look at new funding options

Banks are re-assessing their lending practices as they sense more SMEs are set for rapid growth. So make the effort to lift the phone and talk to some you’ve never met before. You might get a better deal than you have now. And expand your horizons by checking out private equity options, or an IPO on a stock exchange.

Use the power of PR

If it feels as though everyone tweets non-stop to everyone else these days, so that none reads any of it, don’t despair. People still appreciate a relevant, well-crafted

Mark Fisher is vice president, corporate communications, at NASDAQ Dubai. He has worked as a solicitor in Hong Kong and the UK.

feed, so focus on creating one. And don’t forget old media either. A well placed article in a newspaper still has enormous reach.

Consider hiring new expertise

Despite possessing expert and competent staff as individuals, there could be important skills gaps in their collective abilities.

You might not have enough Arabic language capacity, for example. It’s worth doing a formal assessment of shortfalls. Such an exercise might also point out the opposite problem; the skill sets of some employees might not be needed any more. In such cases either retrain them or let them go.

It’s amazing how many businesses fail to do this properly, through arrogance or a belief that the market is big enough for everyone.

Cut costs

Do you buy stationery from a certain supplier because that’s who you’ve always bought it from? Do you use the same caterer time and again; hire the same old venue for events? Methodically go through each item of spending and see if you can get the cost

down somehow. And perhaps those events you spend so much on aren’t worth holding anyway.

Find new ways to show your staff you appreciate them

This goes way beyond the point made earlier. Staff is happier, and therefore more productive on the company’s behalf, if you engage with them on an emotional and human level. Simple things like chatting to them about things outside work, paying for an occasional lunch and showing flexibility about working hours make all the difference.

Go easy on yourself sometimes

So many business owners drive themselves too hard. This leads to mistakes being made and a tendency to focus on the trees instead of the wood. Step back occasionally fom the hurly burly and give yourself time to think.

If some of the ideas above strike a chord, then it’s not too late to put them into practice for 2014.

And no backsliding, at all.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Branding

From selling to connecting, how to build brands with creative content?

In an age where customers have more options than the number of minutes in a day, the last thing they want to hear is another sales pitch.

Connecting with them is far more effective than blasting generic mass messages, writes Johan Engelbrecht.

A

stounding amount of information is produced globally every single second. We are simply not evolved enough to deal with so much of it delivered by so many people, businesses and brands across so many channels, on a daily basis... or are we? After all, we are born with the most powerful computer on earth: at least 100 trillion neural connections (or synapses), in the human brain.

That is at least 1,000 times the number of stars in our galaxy.

Our entire existence, hopes and dreams, memories and plans for the future, everything we are and would become is powered by this amazing computer. But how do we make sense of it in entirety?

We all build systems. Some are as simple as making notes on a day-to-day basis, developing coping strategies, coming up with amazing ideas, making business plans, thinking about new ways of communicating with others, developing creative strategies to win new business, et al.

Some of these systems are more sophisticated than others; but in the big scheme, they are

all made to help us deal with life’s complexities and to help us in being heard and seen in this information overload age.

However, it would be necessary to pose ourselves with the question what’s all this talk about the brain and its systems? It’s about getting some perspective.

I, personally, see branding as

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Branding a great example of a sophisticated communications system: a system that brings form and order to our ideas and business offers, a system that makes business better.

Great branding, design and advertising is never only about appearances and style. It’s about relevance, difference and must always be developed and built for the end-user based on the solid foundations of brand and business strategy.

Systems as the ‘big-data’ phenomenon play a bigger and bigger role for businesses and brands. Big-data is what helped Twitter understand why people were disengaging from the experience in the early days. And big-data is again today driving Twitter’s massive success.

If you’re just starting out or already have a successful business, here are some thoughts on how a system like branding will help you stand out in the information overload age.

Make brand and intellectual property investments in early stages

If you’re a startup or business developing a new brand, simply

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Johan Engelbrecht is founder of ORE Agency

finding a unique name for the venture is a major challenge. You will invariably find other people or companies who own or have registered the name you want already, and in this day and age, it is crucial to not only own the URL for your new venture, but to also ‘own’ the name for the venture across the entire digital ecosystem; the brand must be seen, and be active across many channels.

So, invest early on in your brand, this will be crucial in ensuring your position and story is understood, and it will also be your point of difference. Imagine pitching to an investor without a clear and strong brand. No-one will take you seriously. Lastly, it’s also important to officially register your brand and any other IP you own, as competition is fierce and ‘copying’ easy.

Resistance is futile

The old models and approaches of branding and advertising are on their way out. The really successful brands are now using disruptive strategies, communication channels and techniques to acquire new customers. Uber, the private taxi service that launched a clever smartphone app, is one good example. They are rapidly building the brand by ‘growth-hacking’ and are spending hardly any money in traditional marketing or advertising. Bottom line: startups and small businesses must think differently whilst branding professionals must adapt to the rapidly changing world.

Digital (mobile in particular) is the future and this is where the focus should be. Successful brands are breaking the rules, and they are not afraid to pivot – i.e. change their business models and approach when the competition copies them.

Successful brands today behave like our brain with our 100 trillion connections constantly interlinked.

Today’s brands (Twitter, CocaCola, Apple, Nike) are powered by their ecosystem: the many layers, channels and touch points of the brand itself, combined with the millions of users, interacting with the brand and each other. They use the power of the connections to build their brands – this all leads to more customers, more conversations more products or services sold.

Know your customers and make it really easy for them to engage with your brand

It’s crucial to understand that consumers engage with brands in fundamentally new ways.

Understand your customer, become part of their world and, most of all, let them be part of your world.

Make it really easy for them to find you, use your services and establish communication. If you get this right, they will help build your brand. It’s important to have a good understanding of what is shaping the world right now and what resonates with your audience.

And, believe me, your logo, business card design, newspaper ad and the colour palette of your brand are not where the true power of your brand lies. These identity elements are important in giving your brand form, but the real power is how the brand communicates and engages with consumers, how it behaves and what it says. In a nutshell: what your customers think and feel about your brand is your brand.

One last thought

Our capacity for creativity is infinite, but sadly our energy is limited. So, invest in your brand carefully, get yourself up to speed with the rapidly changing digitally driven landscape and never forget to have fun while you’re taking over the world.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Marketing

Look out startups, content marketing is more than a good idea!

For all businesses, financing and marketing are two of the most important tasks. However, young businesses find little or no investments for the latter. Tish Tash believes that one of the solutions in these circumstances is content marketing.

Get blogging

Get social

Get a newsletter

F

or any startup or small business, marketing is as important as financing.

Hence, it’s not surprising that many SMEs think of it as a key priority when it comes to growing their business.

The roadblock, however, is that most small companies have limited marketing budgets, which restricts them to experiment and explore out-of-the box strategies. After all, any kind of advertising (traditional and digital) or SEO activity is rather unaffordable for majority of the SMEs, not to mention often ineffective, unless conducted frequently and skillfully.

One of the solutions for small businesses is content marketing.

It’s one of those buzz words of late, but there’s more to it than sheer hype. Following are three content marketing techniques you can incorporate into your marketing strategy this year, at zero cost.

Get blogging

One of the most cost-effective content marketing techniques that any SME could take a stab at is blogging. It’s also one of the most proliferated techniques today, with plenty of good examples and reference guides available.

You must have heard this adage thousands of times by now: content is king. It’s true. Regardless of the communication platforms or channels used, content remains the key ingredient. When you start blogging, think of the content – what you’re writing and putting out for others to read or see - as a means to represent yourself and your business in the sharpest and

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

SME Marketing most knowledgeable light. One should aim to provide insight, advice or commentary on the most important issues for your potential customers through their posts. For e.g., you can format your posts as a Q&A, addressing the frequently asked questions or issues your potential customers face. Or you could share a case study, an instance where a client of yours faced certain challenges and you could provide a unique set of skills and a customised solution. A lot of companies feature examples of work or case studies on their websites, like a window display, but they hardly ever enter into much detail, so a blog would allow you to highlight the solution provided.

Idolise interiors, a boutique design consultancy, realized that small businesses are equally keen to create an optimum work space (like Google’s) in their offices, but could not afford to pay the consultancy fee or the specialized suppliers, hence they started a series of posts to share tips and advice on spacing, decorating, lighting, furniture and so on, that small businesses could benefit from, even if their offices are a DIY project.

Evidently, in addition to the value of the content, you also need to pay attention to the tone of your posts: make sure you have interesting and catchy titles. Use accessible language; be careful not to sound overtly promotional because that puts people off; and, importantly make sure you ‘optimize’ your posts with the keywords that are most valuable to your business.

However, don’t overthink because the real life rules of engagement apply here as well: respect, transparency, common sense. In the first stage, learn and observe. your potential customers ‘spend’ most of their time, then you can establish your presence on those platforms. You may end up with a few accounts: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the very least.

The most important part comes next: engaging. Essentially, getting social.

However, don’t overthink because the real life rules of engagement apply here as well: respect, transparency, common sense. In the first stage, learn and observe. Start by following the leaders in your industry and engage them with likes, mentions, tags, comments, re-tweets. When you have that post ready and you feel confident, it’s valuable content, start sharing it. You

should consider using a free social media aggregator like HootSuite for e.g., to spread your post across potential customers and audience, because it’s really expedient, and it can do it across all social channels.

Get a newsletter

This may come as a surprise, but the newsletter is still a prevailing and convenient content marketing technique. Surely, you are the recipient of a few newsletters a day or a week – albeit some better received than others!

And that’s because email - despite all its detractors - remains one of the most convenient ways to stay in touch with your customers, and get their attention, as it places your message directly in their inbox!

This is the one place all people check-in constantly throughout the day, quite simply because this is where they conduct their business from.

As with the other techniques, content and format is paramount to producing a good newsletter. It’s best to start using a professional yet friendly service like MailChimp to produce your newsletter template and the signup form.

Make sure it looks clean and elegant and it’s mobile-friendly.

When it comes to content, use catchy titles, and limit the number of topics to three or four. Baraka Ventures, an SME dedicated to promoting better collaboration and participation among all agents of society, have managed to create quite a following with their ‘ Good Weekly News From The Middle East’.

Get social

Adding valuable content to your website via a blog can help grow your website’s reach and visibility, but it’s just one step.

To fully tap into the potential of content marketing, you need to get social. Simply put, it means you need to not only self-promote, but also engage with other people and businesses that can promote you.

The most cost-effective way to promote your blog is with social media. It’s utterly free, fairly easy to understand and use, but it does require skill. So, start by doing your homework, this way you can determine the places (platforms)

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Sales and Marketing

Plenty of leads, but tiny customer base It hardly serves any point in generating more leads and enquiries if your existing conversion process results in most of your hard-won enquiries falling through the cracks, explains Simon Hodges. your business would achieve if you converted 5 or 10 or 15 times this amount?

Concentrating more on converting your leads into customers or clients will ensure two things: 1. You will transform the growth of your business; and 2. You will maximise the investment you make in all your marketing.

The good news is that putting in place a system that converts more leads into customers/clients is simple and costs very little.

What is sales conversion system?

M

any of us spend a considerable amount of effort, time and money in lead generation tools.

Unfortunately, it hardly serves any point to have a brilliant lead generation system that brings dozens or even hundreds of leads

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each month, if you only convert a small percentage of them – you are wasting a massive opportunity.

Even if you sell a high-priced product or service, and one or two clients or customers from a total of 100 or more leads is profitable business for you, just think what

In simple terms, a sales conversion system is a system used to generate more customers or clients from the number of leads generated.

It starts the moment you receive the lead to the point where that enquiry becomes a client or customer. Here’s a simple explanation of why you need a sales conversion system. A lead must reach a certain level of interest before he/she is prepared to say ‘yes’ and buy your product or service.

Therefore you need to increase their interest each time you make contact with them. A contact can be an email, a phone call or a meeting, but it takes seven positive contacts (the ‘Rule of 7’) on average before the prospect says a ‘yes’.

Traditional marketing techniques do not advocate this number of contacts, which means the lead only occasionally rises to the level of interest before they are willing to buy. It is really simple!

No matter what is your area of business, one is always exposed to several easily identifiable

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Intelligent SME

Sales and Marketing steps when the lead comes in and they finally say ‘yes.’ Your sales conversion system should focus on each step, and as a result, many more leads are converted in paying clients/customers.

Simon Hodges, CEO, Alchemy Network Middle East has recently launched the franchise network in the Middle East.

Alchemy Network is a UK-based worldwide network of consultant partners, who work alongside owners and operators of SMEs to help bring them financial success, and eventually introduce them to systems that will relieve them from the mundane day-to-day running of the business,and allow them time to concentrate more on what they do best.

Why do many businesses lack this system? There are four reasons why:

1. People are too busy working in their business to take the time to develop a system.

2. People are simply not aware of the importance of a sales conversion system – even though it makes total sense.

3. People just focus on generating leads and enquiries from their marketing activities and are content with the number of clients or customers they get – they do not realise how much business they are losing out on!

4. People do not know what their sales conversion percentage is! (It’s the percentage of customers or clients you get from the number of enquiries). Do you know where you stand on this front?

Since people do not know their sales conversion rate, they automatically assume that they are doing well. Often, the opposite is true. Typically, the average sales conversion rate without a sales conversion process is between 15% and 30%.

Why is the system a powerful one?

Let’s take an example shown in

Conversion Rate 20%

30%

40%

50%

the table below where a business is converting 20% of their leads into customers. The average order size for this company is AED 1,000 and 10 leads are achieved each month.

From the table, you can see that if this business can improve its conversion rate from 20% to 30%, the result is a 50% growth in that business. Doubling the conversion rate from 20% to 40%, results in a 100% growth in new business.

Hence, a sales conversion process is so powerful and important.

Preparing your system

Since people do not know their sales conversion rate, they automatically assume that they are doing well.

So, what do you need to prepare while creating a sales conversion process? The following list will help you identify what you need to prepare.

1. Price your product or service correctly for your market.

2. Create case studies of your successes to generate increased interest.

3. Prepare qualification questions so you can identify and concentrate on genuine enquiries.

4. Create a process of communication stages that each increases the interest levels.

5. Establish a sales system that supports this process.

6. Prepare a buyer’s remorse letter. This is a piece of communication sent to a customer shortly after purchase, giving them comfort that they made the right decision. It is amazing how many of us feel guilty after we have bought something!

You will note that these items do not cost you much, so have the confidence to give this a try – it really works. Good luck!

Enquiries per month

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Intelligent SME

Execution Management

Surviving the dark side of faulty execution The role of a leader involves making sure all important tasks are communicated, resources organised, the objective and path defined, and rigorous reviews undertaken, writes Nandu Unni.

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here is a refrain among managements and promoters about the difficulty of making things happen as they intend. This is from companies of varied size and composition, growing rapidly, modestly or those going the other way. The final customer of the product and service must surely bear the impact of some of these frustrations. The customer usually has choices.

The objective in this piece is to table observations that come from experience in corporate life and as an independent business coach.

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Effective execution

There is a tendency amongst promoters and managers to be erudite on the latest financial engineering concepts or management fads. Or talk about what others are doing so brilliantly. What is missed is that the same knowledge is out there in the open. Management books flying off the airport bookshop shelves are also being bought by competition. Those that do well are the ones that execute effectively and efficiently. In sessions on execution as a competency, senior managers are asked how they see

the level of business challenges (external, led by customer and competitor) versus management challenges (high level of control that is internal in nature). Without exception the ratio is 25:75. It makes one wonder what many are actually doing at work. Developing strategies that remain unexecuted?

Flawless execution is a perennial grind — it is detailed, needs patience and does not have the more glamorous parts of strategy conversations included. It all starts and ends with the top man in the business.

The role of leadership more

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Intelligent SME

Execution Management so in the SME space, cannot be emphasised enough. If this is at an appropriately high level and is added to the entrepreneurial spirit, risk taking ability and speed of decisions, then growth and profitability can be exponential.

The role involves making sure what is important is communicated, resources organised, the objective and path defined and rigorous reviews undertaken.

All encompassing

A common misjudgment is in linking execution only to the tangible parts of a business. That is the visible, controllable and easily measureable aspects, for example production, distribution and sales.

This has risks.

Good execution goes across all aspects of a business and must be consistent. In smaller and midsized businesses, immediacy and the next month's cash flow often dominate. It is important that chief executive officers (CEOs) create the space and time for an inward look at medium-term actions that will strengthen the business.

In large multinationals, of which I have some experience, this can become an overwhelming exercise that totally disrupts normal operations and can lead to initiative overload. As an acquaintance puts it during an annual three month mind-numbing planning cycle; “tell customers not to bother us now, we have a plan to produce.�

In one case, the challenge could be good governance and the processes around it. In another, it could be a weak culture and its associated perils.

Working capital management is always a core issue. I have seen this dealt with by pressure to collect money using pleading as

Good execution goes across all aspects of a business and must be consistent. In smaller and mid-sized businesses, immediacy and the next month's cash flow often dominate. a proposition. High attrition is a common feature these days. Now factor in the present widespread skill deficit, which also extends to practising middle management levels. A recipe for general turbulence and avoidable cost is created.

Focus on intangibles

These softer aspects are often not given focus since there are others that are more comfortably dealt with, by decisions and putting out of fires. Better control over these less tangible business activities make for sustainability, keeps companies out of trouble and will have a definitive economic case to put effort and resources behind them. The need is to prioritise, since every business operates within constraints.

I know of a firm where the

attrition level is an issue. The business is financially attractive, employs over 300 people and has an international footprint and ambitions to ramp up. The main input is knowledge and the skills of people to create sophisticated bespoke technical content.

The human resource (HR) department remains in transactional mode. That is repeatedly doing the same thing and filling the people pipeline. It is, however, misaligned and an example of poor execution since an opportunity remains underexploited. The chance to reduce attrition, create continuity, service the clients better, and build a reputation to attract more clients and move up the pricing chain is not fully used.

The prime need is to ensure that the HR team has the right people in it. Then they can analyse the attrition trends, understand which group of people, skill sets or division has the main challenges.

They could also benchmark salaries, survey employees and then develop propositions for their existing people and to attract others. They can make choices on what to embed in the firm, make a business case, and seek alignment from all managers involved in recruitment and finally implement.

Will this take away attrition completely? No, and that is also not desirable. This may all sound complicated. It can easily be made so and that must be avoided. The thrust should be in remaining fit for purpose, ruthlessly rejecting complexity and ensuring that solutions are based on what is effective in terms of the objective.

The HR will then operate to achieve desired business outcomes rather than as administrators or an isolated activity. Simplicity, not simple mindedness must prevail.

In summary, the message is that execution is a continual challenge. It is dependent on the leaders of a company and will include priorities from every function of the company. These should be approached structurally.

Think about it, should it be any other way?

nanduunni@changeassociate.com

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated June 16, 2012)

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Insuring Business

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Employee benefits program, an absolute necessity?

Choosing the right people is important; giving them the opportunity to spread their wings is a crucial progression and putting compensation as a carrier behind them is an absolute pre-condition to success, elaborates Sandi Saksena.

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xpatriates continue to form the backbone of the UAE workforce, and the SME sector needs to look at providing a stable, long term financial solution that will benefit employer and employee alike.

According to UAE Ministry of Economy, SMEs currently account for 92 per cent of the country’s total registered companies, 86 per cent of the workforce in the private

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sector and 40 per cent of the GDP. The country is home to several ‘homegrown’ establishments in several sectors. While multinationals operating here may have more sophisticated HR practices, there is now a growing need and an understanding of the direct correlation between workplace culture, employee satisfaction and business performance.

As much as employers choose their employees, it is safe to assume that credibility, respect, pay and severance packages, loyalty rewards, fairness, pride, coupled with organization’s productivity and profitability are employees’ top priority. It is now becoming a challenge for companies in the GCC to attract top talent and ensure staff loyalty within their benefits budget. The

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Intelligent SME

Insuring Business rising cost of healthcare, housing, travel and education is increasing the cost of benefits packages offered by employers compared to the past.

In order to achieve a balance of high performance with peoplecentric management, SMEs must look to investing in their ‘human’ capital. According to the labour law in the UAE, termination benefits for local employees and expatriates are required after one year’s service.

Local nationals are entitled to 45 days salary plus allowances for the first 5 years of service, 2 months for the next 5 years and 3 months for each year over 10 years. Expatriates are entitled to 21 days’ salary for each of the first five years of service. This increases to a 30 days’ salary for each additional year of service provided, always that the aggregate amount of severance pay should not exceed two years’ salary.

Thus, an employee gets 2 years’ salary after putting in many years of service; not so much in this day and age! Throughout the region, the majority of employers still continue to leave their end-ofservice liabilities on the company balance sheet, using these funds as working capital within the business, expecting to pay out gratuity to employees as and when they leave from day-to-day cash flows. They are actually taking an interest free loan from their own employees, without their consent or understanding, and investing it within the business.

In this scenario, the typical employee has no say in how the money is invested but carries the full risk. If the company invests this money wisely, the organization will continue to profit and leavers will receive their due benefits, but if things don’t work out, it is the employee that risks losing their rightful gratuity payment. The employer is then embroiled in costly litigation and everyone suffers.

There is challenge of providing the right employee benefits at the right cost. SMEs need to ensure the benefits are cost effective, meet expectations and help motivate and retain employees, while focusing on the cost of providing these benefits.

According to Duncan Crerar,

Sandi Saksena is a financial planning counsellor with over 15 years experience in advising on life, disability and critical illness insurances. She focuses on exit planning for SME owners, working with accountants and lawyers to provide holistic solutions. Sandi can be contacted by email (sandra. saksena@nexusadvice.com) or by mobile (0506517963).

As much as employers choose their employees, it is safe to assume that credibility, respect, pay and severance packages, loyalty rewards, fairness, pride, coupled with organization’s productivity and profitability are employees’ top priority. head of employee benefits at the Nexus Insurance Brokers, “An employee benefits program is cost effective to the employer where the investment returns offset against the future accruals and, of course, in many other slightly softer waysemployee loyalty/engagement/ protection/reward to mention a few.”

Regarding terminal gratuities, he responded, “…no, the typical approach is not a mechanism to replace gratuities. Moreover, it is a best practice for how to manage and accommodate the liability that gratuity puts upon a business.

Payments to employees will always need to be equal or greater than the mandatory limits set by the labor law.”

He further explained: “As

the law merely states what the liability (gratuity payment) is, it does not enforce an employer to ring fence or physically reserve for these payments. Having a specific gratuity fund in place protects the employees’ rights, gives the employer peace of mind and also the opportunity to make investment gains on the present liability (accrued fund) to offset against the ever growing future liability.”

A typical employee benefits program should include:

• Group life and survivors benefits.

• Disability.

• Accidental death and dismemberment.

• Health.

• Retirement savings/Pension

As far as the pension option goes, it will almost always be voluntary, or with option on what the employee might wish to contribute. Typically, employee contributions range from 10% to 20% of their salaries, which will be deducted at source. People are the lifeblood of any organization.

Managing, motivating and rewarding them effectively whether in a buoyant or challenging economic environment, is difficult for all organizations.

Consult with preferably a broker that specialises in employee benefits and who has the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience in helping companies put in place robust gratuity funding programs, or group pension arrangements.

Independent advice on the choice, cost, implementation, management and communication of all types of employee benefits- from pensions and to health and life disability and critical illness insurance policies is important before you make a commitment.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Sales Strategy

David vs Goliath: Punching giant competitors in their nose How can a young start-up build a successful business from scratch when giant competitors exist in the industry? Phil Bedford elaborates on how one can match these bigger enterprises by focusing efforts on the niches overlooked by them, using the story of David and Goliath as a source of reference.

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The giant was struck in the head, knocked onto the ground with enough force to allow David to run up and ‘finish the job’.

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ost of us have heard the tale of David and Goliath, where an outsized and outmatched young David defeats the giant Goliath in battle with only the use of a sling. But do we really understand the deeper meaning hidden in this tale of underdog winning the battle?

In "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants," best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell suggests, that despite popular belief Goliath had no chance of winning. He argues that Goliath was actually penalized by all his confidence, weapons, armour and physical size.

On the other hand, the shepherd boy was faster with a weapon that many would consider insignificant-a small material sling that fired stones. Nonetheless, the small stone could be fired from a distance with great accuracy and proved to be deadly power.

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Sales Strategy An experienced business trainer, Phil Bedford brings over a decade of experience to his role as master franchisee for the Referral Institute. His expertise and experience of working with both companies and networking associations, coupled with a passion for training have helped him immensely. He regularly appears as a speaker in the UAE and abroad, educating people on how to build their business by word of mouth and “creating referrals for life.”

For many lower earners, a small cash incentive or even ‘time-off’ incentive could work wonders.

Wouldn’t this be a much more cost effective way of getting business than the usual spend on advertising or paying a team member to cold call?

Look at your company. How many employees does it have?

A legend was born

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In today’s business landscape, people usually rely on done-anddusted marketing /advertising campaigns and cold calling to attract new clients. They are surrounded by other companies doing exactly the same thing, spending the same revenues to try and achieve the breakthrough to the client.

Contrarily, the simplest way of doing business, getting new contacts and winning deals is never even considered. The slingshot is relationships. For this month’s article, let’s look at just one place that we could be getting new business through relationships, that is overlooked- Staff (and not sales staff )

Sales manager

Help me for Business

Considering that a majority of us are acquainted with at least 150 and have access to up to about 2,000 people through social media.

If we could find a way to get each employee to search through this gold mine of potential contacts and bring in just one or two potential clients. It would serve significant client acquisition database for our business.

It doesn’t matter if the staff’s main role is sales, management, accounts or reception. We all know people. Often, we have no idea where they work or who they know.

Let me illustrate a personal example here: I used to handle sales for a real estate firm earlier.

For a while, I sat next to the company accountant, Mehar, and we hardly spoke except exchanging pleasantries. One of the major reasons, perhaps, was that we didn’t really have any common ground to exchange ideas. After all, he was an accountant and I was in sales.

One day I heard him speaking to another agent working in the same company, and it turned out that Mehar’s cousin was one of the most prolific real estate buyers in Dubai. And, this other consultant was working with him and not me.

Despite sitting next to him for a year, how much business had I lost?

In the USA, a company reported that 45% of its sales came through a receptionist. She happened to socialize in a unique circle because of her husband, and proactively brought enough leads to the sales team. Is your receptionists capable of doing this?

In order to make this happen, we need to consider two things:

Educating the staff on what to look for and then how to take the opportunity to the next level. We do not need them to sell. It’s not their job. We can show them how to recognise an opportunity and bring it back in for further action.

Also educating the staff on what the company actually does (often they may not really understand unless in sales or management).

We can also consider incentivizing our staff. For many lower earners, a small cash incentive or even ‘time-off’ incentive could work wonders.

Wouldn’t this be a much more cost effective way of getting business than the usual spend on advertising or paying a team member to cold call?

It doesn’t really imply that one should replace ‘relationship’ sales from the usual forms of business acquisition. It is a valuable resource, a slingshot, which one completely ignores. Simply put, it’s a potential referral system for any business.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Corporate Governance

More reflection on ‘terms of service’, less adverse reactions Good corporate governance can be achieved by continual review and close monitoring of key service contracts in any business. It not only helps in saving time and money, but also keeps one focused on building profits, points out John Merrigan.

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key task of management is to ensure that the terms and conditions of the contracts and agreements in any business are up-to-date, reflecting the reality of operations, legal requirements, and thus protecting the organisation’s interests as far as possible.

The distractions associated with contractual and legal disputes are draining not only from the time wasted, but also in terms of unplanned costs, damage to company’s reputation and key stakeholder relationships.

Hence, good governance based

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on continual review and close monitoring of the key contracts in the business will ultimately save you time and money, keeping you focused on building profits.

Against the backdrop of the anticipated growth in the UAE economy this year, the purpose of this article is to prompt you to review this important aspect of risk-management this month.

Client / Customer Contracts

It is often the case that customer contracts have not been updated to reflect changes

in the business. Basic contract elements such as payment terms, bank details, company address / contact information, delivery terms / conditions, dispute resolution clauses, are not correct or updated on invoices, delivery notes and contracts. The gaps in this critical information can give rise to delays in payments, disputes and loss of business. A specific area to consider is whether the contracts with customers have arbitration clauses and where legal disputes may be settled. It is vital to take good independent legal advice before changing contract terms.

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Corporate Governance Supplier Agreements

Often, contractual terms with key suppliers have not been proactively managed, where the terms of business with key suppliers are not even formalised. It is a vital task to ensure that discounts, payment terms, service levels and other long-term arrangements can be assessed, formalised, and critical gaps addressed. The resulting proactive discussions to negotiate the best possible terms will ensure continuity of business and help to keep your input costs under control.

Employment Contracts

The employment laws of the UAE are constantly evolving to promote best international practice and protecting the rights of both employer and employees. However, it is often the case that the terms of employment contracts, especially pertaining to long-standing key staff, do not reflect changes that have occurred in their terms and conditions. It only becomes an issue when a dispute arises or new labour laws are enacted and require compliance. Critical terms such as job titles, salary and benefit conditions, annual leave, sickness policy, termination and probation among others should be actively updated to reflect the current realities.

Insurance Contracts

The task to ensure that insurance cover in the business is up-to-date is often left aside. It includes buildings and contents, third party liability, professional indemnity, vehicle cover, health insurance cover and other specific risks that may apply. The levels of cover you currently have in place may not reflect the actual operations or critical information may not have been advised to your insurance provider which may affect the validity of cover.

Typically, these issues are not addressed until it is too late and a claim arises. It is vital to ensure that insurance contracts provide adequate and updated cover to protect key risks in your business.

Trade Licenses & Other Approvals

A regular review of key

John Merrigan is a seasoned senior manager and company director with extensive experience in wide-ranging industry sectors. His career spans more than 25 years in multinational, SME and family businesses, internationally and in the Middle East Region. He advises and supports small and medium organisations to successfully implement fit-for-purpose strategies in corporate governance.

Good risk-management of key contracts and agreements that support safe and cost effective business operations is a critical part of good governance. documents relating to regulatory approvals, including trade licenses is essential. Typical risks include changes in key designated personal mentioned on the license documents, changes in operations or the nature of business, or new provisions from the licensing authorities such as free zones. If these documents are not updated or compliant, there is a risk of non-renewal, penalties or delays which can impact on your ability to continue trading.

Office & Factory Contracts

The terms and conditions associated with office and factory rentals / leases are critical for the continuation of all business.

In the context of the significant changes in the market rates and regulations, long-standing lease contracts should be proactively reviewed to ensure that the contract provisions are as favourable as possible and protect you over the term duration.

Safe Keeping & Storage

It is imperative to ensure that all the above documents are kept safely in secure storage so they can be easily accessed and produced when required. Start compiling a register of key business documents and ensure regularly review.

Process

In order to implement the above, a systematic and thorough approach is required. Start by compiling the documents into one central location. The documents should then be closely reviewed with the following in mind: Validity: Check the documents are

still in force and make a note of the renewal / expiry dates. Use this to plan the necessary actions in the business cycle.

Accuracy: Check the key information and conditions are correct.

Relevance: Check the contract terms are relevant and reflect the business needs.

Risk: assess and detail the risks / critical gaps.

Prioritise: List the key actions / requirements in order of priority as they impact on the business operations.

Accountability: Clearly define and brief the relevant person in the business who will be tasked to take the action and set milestones.

Professional Legal Advice: Seek advice on the major contracts to ensure your agreements are properly drafted and comply with local laws.

Conclusion

Good risk-management of key contracts and agreements that support safe and cost effective business operations is a critical part of good governance. However, these basic concerns are forgotten in the heat of daily challenges and distractions. It is only when a dispute or incident occurs that the real cost is counted. Accordingly, a proactive approach to regularly review and update the terms and conditions of your contracts will save you time, and avoid costly distractions from your core operations. Make it a priority to address this task in the coming month and good luck!

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Intelligent SME

Leadership

For 2014, does your firm have a road map to success?

It is human nature to start off the year with a host of resolutions.

However, these goals are often restricted to weight loss programs.

Neil Petch urges SMEs in the region to roll-up their sleeves and set targets for their companies too.

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brand new year fills us all with optimism and enthusiasm. For most of us, I am sure, the first month of 2014 was quite demanding though: hundreds of emails to check, dozens of customer followups and numerous projects to embark on or carry forward.

If you’re a small business

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owner, you probably have plenty of ideas about what your company must do to prosper in 2014 and you are keen to make them happen.

But there’s always the danger that you’ll get – yet again – immersed in the day-to-day, and lose track of your bigger goals for this year! And, before you know

it, 2014 is well underway and you haven’t made the progress you were hoping for.

I’m speaking from experience.

I have founded two companies and helped get off the ground a few others. It’s safe to say that in the process I have had my fair share of successes, challenges, failures, and, as a result, some very valuable

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Leadership learnings. Some of these learnings relate to the business knowledge and experience we all gain in time, others are more about what it means to adjust our attitude, expectations and develop a certain sixth sense about the business we’re running.

So, here’s some advice that can help put your business on the growth fast track in 2014:

Eyes on your goals

Running a new business is very stressful and demanding. It will wear you down, offering no leisure and luxury of a holiday. So, what keeps you running, motivated and energized? Achieving your goals. It’s one of the reasons why setting key milestones you need to achieve is essential.

From hitting a significant billing target, winning a certain number of clients, or a prominent client in particular; hiring an assistant or expanding your team, it can be absolutely small but vital tasks for your business. Whatever it is, having those goals laid out for you and exerting yourself to reach them will keep you alert, will keep you going at it and will be your biggest reward. Without setting goals you’re just muddling through and that often leads to failure. So, don’t let another month pass by without knowing your goals.

Give your business a digital makeover

Start with your website. In this age of social media and digital everything, you can’t afford not to have a website, or to have an obsolete one. Once that’s done, look for ways to boost your social presence and influence. Add quality content, improve your keywords and metrics, integrate your Facebook page and other social media platforms, and – you may have heard that everyone is mobile these days - make your website mobile friendly. There’s a variety of helpful digital tools to amplify and monitor your efforts, such as Buffer, Crowdbooster,

Neil Petch is Chairman of Virtuzone, one of the most dynamic and fastest growing company set-up operators in the region.

Running a new business is very stressful and demanding. It will wear you down, offering no leisure and luxury of a holiday.

So, what keeps you running, motivated and energized?

Achieving your goals.

HubSpot, Nimble and TweetDeck. A little planning and app investment go a long way, so check them out.

It all boils down to customers

You’re not in business until you have customers - the people buying and paying for your products and services represent the most important driver for your business. All your efforts should be concentrated on building and maintaining a customer base, so do all you can to improve your customer service. For e.g. take the initiative to find out more about what your customers have planned for in 2014 as well, what their aspirations and resolutions are, and look for ways your services and products can help them reach their goals. Make it clear to each and every customer exactly how they can benefit from your help,

and the impact it can have on their business.

Pay special attention to nurturing your leads and turning those prospects into customers.

The best way to do this is to keep providing useful information that informs them about your products and services in a way that’s memorable, has impact and brings real value to their business.

Some companies prefer to keep themselves small by having a lesser number of clients, and that may be very lucrative if the volume of services or products is large.

However, you choose to grow your customer base, make sure that the loss of any customer’s business does not affect you to a large degree. Any client whose business represents as high as 20% of your billing should be a concern.

Developing that sixth sense

There are many unpredictable situations you’re faced with when running a business, the most important thing is to be able to cut through the confusion and uncertainty, to be able to find a solution, or to know when you have to count your losses and move on. In theory, this sounds sensible and easy enough. In reality things are never as clear cut. So, get all of the advice you can: no matter what type of business or startup you run, having a ‘mentor’ to help guide you can increase your odds of success, especially if your company is in its first years of existence. Plus, running a business can be and feel a bit isolating; after all, you only have yourself and possibly your partner(s) to rely on.

There are many people out there willing to share words of advice and their own experiences - like the community at The Intelligent SME - and we all know nothing beats what you know to be true through experience. So, get all the advice you can, and make sure you get it before you need it!

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Intelligent SME

Leadership

Telling business tales from the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’

Beneath Jordan Belfort’s corruption, there are a number of key lessons that leaders need to learn from his success, writes Michael Tolan.

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artin Scorseses’ most recent Hollywood blockbuster has the business world talking and a few financial guys on Wall Street ducking for cover. The film unveils a brash lifestyle that claims to depict the real life escapades of Jordan Belfort and along with members of his company selling financial services and wealth management products.

Of course, for those who may not have read the book or seen the

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movie, expect a few spoilers in this article as it would make no sense at all otherwise.

Here are the 3 things that Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street) did right as a leader:

Getting your team engaged in a powerful compelling vision: 1.

Leaders who are able to attract, engage and tantalize the imaginations of their fellow team members will build a fire of

February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Leadership enthusiasm that will power their individual producers forward and spur others using the momentum.

Jordan set examples, led his team, was fearless in engaging in personal performance himself. He effectively got his team to buy into his dream of the future and these team members could begin to paint a picture of their new future with Belfort’s company in return.

This daily ritual of getting his team pumped and motivated could be emulated by leaders today provided that they engage in activities of an ethical nature that will provide win-win experiences for both the customer and the business.

2. Creating amazing rewards for team members

Michael J. Tolan is a speaker, writer and corporate mentor and board advisor to several organisations. He is the creator of Mission I’m Possible series of motivational workshops through FirePowerLeadership.com and is the Chief Inspirational Officer of the World Class Academy of Excellence (Follow him on Twitter mtolan@worldclassgroup).

Leaders who are able to attract, engage and tantalize the imaginations of their fellow team members will build a fire of enthusiasm that will power their individual producers forward and spur others using the momentum.

Giving them a compelling reason to take consistent action!

Leaders today who understand that success is a mix of both inspiration and perspiration can quickly take a page out of Jordan’s book. His leadership style, brazen and wild as depicted in the film, used incentives and performance management techniques that infected some of his team members with incredible drive.

As a result, and as preposterous and outlandish as it seemed, he rallied his team performance by creating an eco-system of rewards and incentives within his team that impacted his bottom line. (Pun unintended)

3. Dare to Dream Big

The Wolf was not shy about dreaming big, in fact, few people of his age and background could have had the audacity to dream so big.

Of course, if you consider that big dreams are not always ethical while considering the late Ronny Biggs of the Great Train Robbery, or Jordan Belfort’s tactics.

Ethical leaders who dare to dream big are contagious and will gather energy and enthusiasm just as a tornado gathers dust, becoming even more powerful at each new collection of souls who buy into the dream. Imagine Martin Luther King without a Big Dream, or Ghandi saying he was ready to give up, Mandela, or Steve Jobs, along with hundreds of other noteworthy examples in

human history.

In the building of his company, Jordan used three leadership techniques and deployed them perfectly. The only problem was that he had forgotten where the line of ethical practices started and ended.

His short-lived rule of being the master of the universe could have been easily predicted by anyone who understands that success can never be measured in the short term trick, but the trick is to enjoy long term success ethically.

It is the mantle of the leader’s character that will sustain their attractiveness to others with their real inner enthusiasm, purpose, passion and integrity.

To know without question that your boss is honest, would support you, will always strive to do the right thing, to know that your boss does not engage or tolerate in unethical practices or behaviours helps team members sleep much better at night.

One of the things Belfort did not abide to the ethical way, which is why the rug was snatched from underneath him with the speed that he gathered his fame to begin with.

Don’t cry, wolf. Ethics rock.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Emirates NBD Global Business Series

12th Edition Deepak Babani CEO, Eros Group

17.12.2013

In the twelfth edition of Emirates NBD Global Business Series, Deepak Babani, chief executive officer, Eros Group, attributed honesty and loyalty as the key principles that earned him success so far.

Jogging down the memory lane of struggles, Mr. Babani enthralled the crowd with his life- altering events like failing a grade in school, securing a job in Dubai and working in a six-member team at Eros switching roles as the job demanded.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Emirates NBD Global Business Series

Drawing attention to remarkable insights, he said that the company works on a ‘management-by-consensus’ approach where all the team members come together to ideate and brainstorm on the challenges presented before them.

Attendees tapped the opportunity to engage in business networking and building their referral contacts.

In a bid to address the concerns of the SMEs in Dubai, members representing several firms were engaged in a QNA segment to seek business insights from the man who has turned the tides for the Eros group. A thought provoking exercise that opened up many difficulties faced by individuals in this region.

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February-March 2014

Intelligent SME

Column

The bizarre fallout between sales and marketing courtship Utpal Bhattacharya on how lack of awareness can make sales and marketing antagonistic towards each other in an enterprise.

I

n the recent times, I have come across practical examples of how a lack of empathy, understanding and connect across departments in an enterprise could affect the performance of a business in the long run. While departments are run by individuals, lack of robust processes or codes of conduct in place can create serious confusion both internally and for vendors servicing an enterprise. An ad hoc approach cannot become a permanent solution in an enterprise, and this is what we tend to forget while focusing on “bigger” things like selling and accounting for profits.

In one of my short stints at consulting, I was working with a company to help them with some of their marketing communications. In the first few days, I realised that the entire initiative was on the direction of the new CEO and under the administration department. These were, of course, novel initiatives, and did not have much support within the organisation, as sales felt a marketing budget hardly helped, while a larger incentive for selling was a better way to beef up revenues.

While my mandate in this company was an easy one of setting up basic marketing tools, and putting certain processes in place, the challenge was that most thought I was getting in their way.

During that time, I also found out, accidentally, that the company was planning an event. The administration department would not discuss this event with me, as

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it was driven by sales department for their customers and potential customers. So, I went up to the CEO to find out what was going on, and he called the head of the administration to explain, while also directing him to take my help.

The administration department, very reluctantly, discussed the event with me.

Suffice to say that it was planned as a fun cum cultural evening. From messaging and communication perspective, we had a vacuum.

Also, to my shock, I found out that the choice of the star performer for the evening was not decided on merit, but who cost the least, almost like L1 in a tender.

I would have been a fool to put my hand into this event, although, out of courtesy, I did offer my two bits here and there. The event did happen and the star performer was flown in from the US. He was as boring as can be, and was keener on doing his own deals with other corporates or customers that had

Marketing

Sales

Summing up

come for the event than his own show, for which he hardly got paid.

The long and short of it is that the event had no ingredients in terms of messaging or communicating to customers as to why they should be doing more business with the host company. In the word of a communication specialist, this event was a waste of time, period.

It is quite ironic that the words “sales” and “marketing” are used mostly together, and as a phrase.

However, lack of awareness in an enterprise can make these two functions, which are so symbiotic in nature, antagonistic. That’s why robust processes are so important and have to be driven top down in enterprises and followed up meticulously by the leadership.

I do not work with this company any more, as my mandate was quite narrow in scope. However, I felt, as I was leaving that I was able to stir up enough curiosity within the organisation for the sales team to start asking how marketing could help in their bottom line.