Tag Archives: business
If they can do it, so can you!
If they can do it, so can you! 10 September 2013 Christina Voskou speaks to Dubai-based female entrepreneurs to learn about the challenges they faced in establishing their businesses and finds inspiration in their stories IN THE 19th century, Margaret Ann Bulkley disguised herself as a man, James Barry, to study medicine and finally become one of the top-ranking medical officers in the British Army at the time. Much has changed since those days with women having easier access to education and opportunities, using their knowledge and taking an active part in driving the impact they want to have in the world, not only as wives, mothers and careers. For Fiona and Mariam, it’s all about teamwork for a successful business. — Photos by Christina Voskou Women are gaining power in the labour force, in politics and in their domestic environment, and many of them are becoming entrepreneurs empowering themselves and their communities. Your wound is also your light At 26, Rasheda Khatun, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a very serious form of cancer, which in most cases implies slim chances of survival. She battled the disease and won. Taking strength from her experience, she says it allowed her to discover the road to healing and how to influence others positively into making life-changing decisions. Now, as a wealth and wellness coach, the British-Bangladeshi is on a “mission to empower and inspire people to live the life they love.” She believes that in order to do that you need to shape up your finances and your health and she’s made a career out of advising people on the right ways to go about doing that. Since her work is very personal she decided to create a brand with which she could support the various levels of businesses she works with and formed the Edwards Khatun Advisory Group with a partner. She says that as a woman, she found the process for establishing her business to be quite easy since there are usually “no queues in the women’s lane.” In fact, she feels that “the UAE is very accommodating to new ideas and business set ups unlike any other country I know of.” However, she strongly recommends that any person starting up their own business should have sufficient savings to support them while getting established, in order to avoid financial difficulty. Family ties Fiona and Mariam Tokempash are not only mother and daughter, they are also business partners. Together they have set up the Knowledge and Human Development Authority-accredited, Royal English Language Centre in Dubai. Since its opening in 2012, the Centre has been offering customised English courses of all levels and has recently added Emirati Arabic to their course offerings. They both agree that working as a team has made the business development easier. Fiona, the director of learning at the Centre mentions they “wanted to start a business here in the UAE to contribute to the developing growth of the country and to be a part of that energy, both on a business and personal level.” Mariam, Fiona’s daughter, and the Centre’s Managing Partner, has grown up in the UAE and feels honoured to be able to give back something to the community that has given her so much. “Offering English and Emirati Arabic classes is something that I believe can benefit both UAE nationals and expatriates in Dubai to improve their personal life and help them communicate with one another better,” she says. Mariam’s advice to her fellow entrepreneurs is to “do the homework and research the market thoroughly before jumping into a new business venture. The research and planning were the most time consuming elements of conceptualizing our business.” According to Fiona, three elements are crucial for a successful business: passion, patience and preparation. “Allow your passion and ideas to translate into impacting people’s lives. Networking and advertising through all media and personally are key in today’s business environment. Celebrate your achievements along the way, to measure how far you’ve come and continually reinvest financially and creatively to sustain further growth.” As challenging as it may seem, ladies possibly have an advantage here. Mariam mentioned that on several occasions she felt that perhaps due to the fact that government officials are predominantly male, “they were willing to go the extra mile to help us on our entrepreneurial mission.” Peruvian flare Veronica Smulders, a Peruvian expat, says that she would hear “numerous comments from many women regarding the dissatisfaction of the services of brands and the inability to address the different needs of women in the region.” This led her to identify a business opportunity to bring Michèlle Belau, a well-known Peruvian brand, to Dubai. As the managing director and regional franchise owner for the brand, “created for women by women”, Smulders is hoping to cater to busy women of diverse backgrounds and cultures. “There is so much that goes into the Michèlle Belau brand. Our philosophy is that each and every being is beautiful in their own unique and special way,” she says. For Smulders, setting up the business came with its own set of challenges, the biggest being the nine-hour time difference between Dubai and Peru. Also, like any other business, it was important for her to learn the UAE rules and regulations and she admitted that finding the right information was often a challenge. Veronica’s advice to other female entrepreneurs is that any business idea should be validated for the selected market. She recommends being prepared to get involved, even physically, and to anticipate possible delays, however she warns that entrepreneurs should “not get discouraged from the challenges you will face. If everything was easy, it wouldn’t feel as good when you fulfill your goal”. “There is no greater satisfaction than seeing your business flourish and being able to offer something exciting and positive to your customers and community,” she says. Continue reading
Land Owners Warned Of ‘Pitfalls’ As Values Strengthen
Farmland continues to rise in value according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and, with a slow upswing in the economy, greater pressure will be brought to bear on those who own farmland to release it for development. “The attraction of disposing of parcels of ground for development is bound to increase as land values continue to rise, and many farmers and farm businesses will have land covered by option agreements with developers waiting to move,” said Mike Harrison, Partner in the Landed Estates and Rural Business Group of Saffery Champness. “Our concern is with those who intend to sell not only being totally aware of exactly what they are selling and the terms of that disposal, but also who actually owns the property in the first place. “Particularly where farms have expanded over time, and comprise a number of different businesses or structures, then the owners of the land and those who operate their business over it may be different and such differences may only come to light at the time of disposal. In addition the tax treatment of the sale may vary depending on the type of structure in which it is held, for example whether the disposal will be taxed at 10 per cent or more likely 28 per cent.” While many farm businesses will have everything well thought through, properly structured and the consequences taken into account, others will not, and such a process can open the inevitable can of worms. There are many pressures on getting the ‘vehicle’ going forward right – whether joint venture, option agreement or promotion agreement for example – and an assumption made over the ownership of the land in question. It may not be until both parties are well into proceedings that the consequences of such a sale become apparent. Mike Harrison also said that with the RICS survey predicting continued future strengthening of farmland prices the same applies for farms wishing to expand and to buy neighbouring land should it become available. He says: Any purchase requires careful thought in terms of the entity that will take ownership of that asset, and the consequences particularly in the longer term, of its retention or future disposal. Agricultural land prices in the south are outstripping the national average, with non-farming investors helping push the market along and to the south of the M3 and M4 corridors. Richard Liddiard, head of farm agency for national property consultancy Carter Jonas based in Newbury, says that while the national average price per acre for arable rose to £8,193 and pasture to £6,689 the strength of the market in Berkshire and Hampshire has driven values far above that level with arable regularly achieving £10,000 per acre and pasture £8,000. The larger difference between the two land types in this region illustrates the emphasis on arable crops rather than livestock farming. The strength of commercial farmland demand is not broad-based. Indeed, surveyors note that farmers in the main are discriminating in favour of large, top quality, neighbouring plots with as small a residential component as possible. As such, there is considerable price dispersion, even in the same areas; plots that are smaller and of lower soil quality are attracting much less interest and achieving lower average per acre prices. Looking forward, surveyors are very optimistic about commercial farmland price prospects over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, price expectations in the residential arena, whilst relatively modest, have turned positive for the first time since H2 2010. This may reflect developments in the broader national housing market. “We have seen some exceptional transactions during H1 of 2013 with the larger sales being dealt with ‘off market’ showing the strength of land as a safe haven and hedge against economic ills,” Richard Liddiard from Carter Jonas. “Whilst the UK economy is showing the green shoots of recovery I am still of the opinion that we are at the peak of the market for average or less well equiped farms. This will indicate that the best in class will still rise in value and be keenly sought after by the non-farming investors who are seeking the safe haven status and IHT tax advantages that land offers. We are also seeing more farms in the market and there are some holdings that are sticking particularly if they are overpriced or do not have strong local demand to push the values higher.” Continue reading
Obama: I might lose congressional vote on Syria
Obama: I might lose congressional vote on Syria (AP) / 10 September 2013 President Barack Obama conceded Monday night he might lose his fight for congressional support of a military strike against Syria, and declined to say what he would do if lawmakers reject his call to back retaliation for a chemical weapons attack last month. The president sought to use a glimmer of a possible diplomatic solution — including vaguely encouraging statements by Russian and Syrian officials on Monday — as fresh reason for Congress to back his plan. Syria welcomed a proposal to turn over all of its chemical weapons to international control. Obama said Syria’s statement was a potentially positive development, but he voiced skepticism about that the regime of President Bashar Al Assad would follow through. He said it was yet another reason for lawmakers to give him the backing he is seeking. He spoke in a series of six television network interviews planned as part of a furious lobbying campaign aimed at winning support from dubious lawmakers and well as a war-weary public. Speaking of Assad’s government, Obama said the credible threat of a military strike led by the United States “has given them pause and makes them consider whether or not they could make this move” to surrender control of their chemical weapons stockpile. “If we don’t maintain and move forward with a credible threat of military pressure, I do not think we will actually get the kind of agreement I would like to see,” Obama said on CNN. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cited “international discussions” in unexpectedly postponing a test vote originally set for Wednesday on Obama’s call for legislation backing a military strike. In a separate interview with NBC, Obama took the step — unusual for any politician — of conceding he may lose his campaign in Congress for authorization. “I wouldn’t say I’m confident” of the outcome, he said. “I think it’s fair to say that I haven’t decided” on a next step if Congress turns its back, the president told NBC. Obama arranged a trip to Congress on Tuesday as well as a prime time speech from the White House. The president picked up a smattering of support but also suffered a reversal when Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican, announced he had switched from a backer of military action to an opponent. Reid, the Senate majority leader, made a statement of support for the president’s request. “Today, many Americans say that these atrocities are none of our business, that they’re not our concern,” the Democrat said of Assad’s alleged gassing of civilians on Aug. 21. “I disagree. Any time the powerful turn such weapons of terror and destruction against the powerless, it is our business.” Others came down on the other side of the question. “I will vote ‘no’ because of too much uncertainly about what comes next,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican, reflecting concerns that even the limited action Obama was contemplating could lead to a wider war. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, also voiced opposition. “I strongly believe that we need the entire world, not just America, to prevent and deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria, or anywhere else on the globe,” she said. In the House of Representatives, one of two female Iraq war veterans in Congress announced opposition to military strikes. Legislation approved in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week would give Obama a maximum of 90 days to carry out a military attack, and it includes a ban on combat operations on the ground in Syria. Both of those limitations were last-minute concessions to critics of a military option, and it was unclear whether Reid would seek additional changes to build support. Despite the difficulty confronting Obama, an AP survey indicated the issue was hardly hopeless for the president, particularly in the Senate where Democrats maintain a majority, and perhaps also in the Republican-controlled House. The survey showed 23 Senate votes in favour of military authorization and 10 more leaning that way. Opponents totalled 20, with another 14 leaning in the same direction, with the remaining 33 senators undecided or publicly uncommitted. That created at least the possibility of the 60-vote majority that will be necessary to advance the bill. In the House, there were fewer than a dozen declared in support and 150 opposed or leaning that way. But 201 lawmakers had yet to take a public position, more than enough to swing the outcome either way. The public opinion polling was daunting for the president and his team. An Associated Press poll showed that 61 percent of those surveyed want Congress to vote against authorization of U.S. military strikes in Syria and 26 percent want lawmakers to support such an action, with the remainder undecided. Continue reading
