This is the best time for female entrepreneurs to start their businesses in the UAE. This is true because almost 50% of the UAE’s SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) sector consists of females. Despite these facts, it is also a reality that a strong institutional bias towards males and cultural prejudice against women still exists in various business sectors. But that doesn’t mean female entrepreneurs can establish their own businesses. Neither are they going to stop from doing so. They are running successful companies and driving change with each passing day by openly embracing:
- Diverse networking
- Never-ending learning
- Support for all female entrepreneurs
- And remarkable confidence building
2020 was the year that challenged countless individuals including business owners and male entrepreneurs. This year was the year of lockdowns and the fear that the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it. It changed our perspectives and the way we used to live our lives. Not only that but it also took a chunk out of a lot of livelihoods. Nevertheless, many UAE-based female entrepreneurs identified and cashed the opportunity and possibility to start their businesses and turn them into profitable ones. And ultimately, they made their dream – of establishing their own companies – come true.
This guide will teach how ladies can also become competent women entrepreneurs in Dubai by starting their own businesses and succeeding in a male-dominated market.
Steps to Become a Successful Female Entrepreneur in UAE
Step 1: Start Developing Good Networks
In order to become a renowned face and make highly valuable fresh contacts in the industry, you need to do networking. It is also the easiest and most effective way of achieving these targets.
Heather Henyon, the founder and director of WAIN (Women’s Angel Investor Network), Dubai is full of networking opportunities. Heather is in Dubai for more than ten years and constantly recommends women to go for top-notch networking.
Step 2: The Right Way to Approach ‘Top Notch Networking’ in Dubai
You should conduct proper research to find out which networking event is best for you before attending one. Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) and Ellevate Network are two of the most famous female networking communities out there. But a huge range of mixed and unique networking events can be discovered and explored at a meetup. You may also get in touch with your contacts and friends to get suggestions regarding which networking events are best in Dubai.
Before you attend a networking event:
- Your targets or goals should be crystal clear. Where are you looking to get to and how other individuals are able to assist and guide you to get there? Being totally clear on why and what you are doing will enable you to network with the most suitable individuals in an ideal way.
- Make and show some strong interest in assisting other people. It should never be all related to yourself in the relationship and what you are looking to get from it. Ask a question yourself, how are you able to help other people? Networking is nothing but the exchange of information, details, and knowledge, with an aim to turn that into an outstanding financial reward where possible.
- Never forget to follow up after attending a networking event. You have to nurture the relationship to take advantage of it as you would want to do from any other type of lead generation. Check-in with individuals who created a true and long-lasting impression and follow up on the actions you have agreed to.
Always keep in mind that with around 85 percent of the total population of the Emirates consisting of expatriates, there are countless people from different parts of the UAE who are in search of opportunities to connect and develop.
Step 3: Keep on Learning New Skills
Never stop learning new skills and keep on polishing the existing ones. It is a habit of successful individuals too. You will be able to perform your job in a much better way by becoming a rigorous learner. It will also earn you unmatched respect from your coworkers and people working in your market regardless of their gender. Top women business leaders are the prime example of those who are constantly learning and becoming more and more successful every day.
This is how you can become an aggressive life-long learner:
- Always try to support other women. It may seem quite obvious, but surprisingly females are unaware of their own gender bias. A few female entrepreneurs in the UAE can be unnecessarily too harsh or aggressive towards other women leaders and female workers in the workplace.
- Never stop teaching other people. Helping and training your coworkers, friends, or family members is a proven way to consolidate what you have learned on your own.
- Set your alarm half an hour earlier and read. Give yourself some ‘you time’ first thing when you wake up instead of rushing out of the door. Sit down, relax, have a sip of hot tea, and use this time to think of new things which you want to learn and implement.
- Try your level best to benefit from all the educational seminars you attend and continue to take education classes when you can.
- Commitment and consistency are the keys. Stick to learning and never take a step back from it. Of course, it takes most of your time, effort, discipline, energy, and focus but the rewards are expertise, happiness, confidence, and mental agility. These exciting rewards will increase your worth up to 10 folds in your company.
Step 4: Support Other Female Entrepreneurs in Industry
People think that being nice to others is a weakness. If you think the same, you are wrong. In fact, it is the opposite of what you think. You will be more productive and happy if you treat other women ethically and fairly. You will also be making more productive and comfortable teams. You may do the following things in order to support other female entrepreneurs in Dubai:
- Highlight the accomplishments of female colleagues in meetings and recognize them publicly.
- Take advantage of the awesome business networking and mentorship opportunities provided by women’s associations.
- Congratulate and champion the achievements that other females unlock in their careers. Start thinking of the performance of your fellow female worker as a victory for all women. Try hard to become allies and true friends of one another.
- Ask your female fellows about their journey to success. Doing so will get you motivated, help you improve your abilities, and discover your hidden talents.
Step 5: Cultivate Confidence
You can never become a successful female entrepreneur in the UAE if you don’t have confidence in yourself. To run a successful business, you have to be confident. Or else you will not survive in a male-dominated market.
To gain confidence, you may step outside of your comfort zone, get some knowledge from others, surround yourself with intelligent people, get information from intellectuals, and take many other practical steps. Taking such steps will surely boost your confidence and help you survive in the markets.
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