In the United Arab Emirates there is lot of factors that makes business people and investors successful. However, there are factors leads to failure of entrepreneurship in this Region of the world. Cantilon maintains that entrepreneurs are risk takers because they operate under conditions where expenditures are known and certain but incomes are unknown and uncertain and may not apply. But Jean Batiste thinks, the first professor of economics, argues that Entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who shifts resources from a low productivity area to a high productivity area. He disregards cantilons definition of an entrepreneur and says that entrepreneurs can make certain decisions and they can also anticipate the income by carrying out a market research and structuring a proposal. Jean’s theory serves best in this case because it I important to conduct a research about the market in the UAE and therefore make a conclusive report on the success and failure of Entrepreneurs (Minniti, Bygrave , & Autio, 2005)
If you want to start a business in any place anywhere in the world you should have a perfect knowledge of the place. This will help the entrepreneur make a good business plan. Business plans will directly how long the business will last and effect of the business to the society. In that connection it is important to come up with a well-structured business plan. This region of the world has lot of resources, therefore it has been easier for entrepreneurs to start businesses and this is surely the major cause of success for many entrepreneurs. Remember that a good business will attract local support and possibly government support.
Access to information is another factor that elevates some entrepreneurs in this field of business. The law requires that you have a local partner who holds the majority interest and can therefor control the business; the local partner does not need to contribute to the start-up investment to control the business. However this requirement is under review so as to encourage foreign investors. It is a requirement that the investors in this region must show that they have enough money to enable them invest. For example in Dubai the minimum requirement for any foreign investor is $ 10000 and this is considered as guarantee against liabilities. (hosfede & Hosfede , 2008)
In spite of all this, many people have developed successful, highly profitable business in this region of the world especially in Dubai. Entrepreneurs involved in the export and import of goods are getting massive support from the government of most countries in this region. The manufacturing companies based in this region are getting a lot of support from the government and even the locals; they are offered land to build their companies and factories. This is very encouraging to many entrepreneurs (Halkais, 2011).
When doing business with Arabs, you will learn a lot of skills that will make you successful even in other regions of the world. Most of the times they like to make bargains in polite ways although they appear to be hard at the first time. In the schools of thought about entrepreneurs’ concepts, there is a lot of emphasis on the personal values such as honesty, duty responsibility and ethical behavior. The major personal value required for all entrepreneurs is confidence. Entrepreneurs in UAE must have this personal trait to enable them succeed. From researches conducted in this region shows that most successful entrepreneurs have this personal attribute. They always listen and observe carefully all the time (Raes, 2000).
Another very important factor that makes these entrepreneurs in this region successful is the liquidity provided by the uprising oil prices and this gives company operating in the gulf more freedom to maneuver. Another factor that makes the entrepreneur in this region successful is the decreased competition from competitors in the insignificant economic times. Entrepreneurs in some sectors are doing significantly well in the GCC region. High-tech, logistics and professional services in particular are doing well in UAE. (hosfede & Hosfede , 2008) This is due to rapid expansion of businesses which is creating a need for developed infrastructure development in this region. It is not what you know but who you know, this saying may be does not mean a lot to some of us but to those willing to start a business in this region must put it into consideration because those who heed it are doing so well in this area of Business.
If you plan on going to business, you must possess the ability to approach other people and convince them of the worth of your idea. It is therefore a requirement that an entrepreneur must possess this strong trait to enable him/her succeed even in UAE regions. This is so because, most Arabs like to deal with people they know rather than stranger and the unsocial business people. Courage and negotiation also help entrepreneurs deal with day to day issue in the UAE region (Fielden, 2010).
Everything has not always been a success and some entrepreneurs in the UAE have failed to achieve their business objectives and therefore are considered unsuccessful. This caused by a number of factors which include: lack of enough information about the market, lack of enough capital. The only reason that could be given under these factors is that the entrepreneur didn’t carry out sufficient research. Poor communication between the western investors and the locals is another reason for business failure in this region. This is orchestrated by language barriers and some entrepreneurs not appreciating the differences between them and the locals.
In the UAE there is a lot of fear for the western people and they are viewed as potential threat in the UAE, this is usually termed as xenophobia. The relationship between the western countries and the Arab countries is sour and this has significantly affected the entrepreneurs especially those who hail from western countries and they are sometimes treated with suspicion in this region (Minniti, Bygrave , & Autio, 2005).
Another cause of entrepreneurs’ failure is the failure to clearly define and understand the market, your customers and your customers buying habits. Who are your customers? You should be able to clearly identify them in one or two sentences. Some factors to be considered in this case is the ability to reach to them. If you product are seasonal it is very important to know what you will do during the off-season as you wait for the next season. It is also important to consider the loyalty of your customers to their current suppliers. It is important to consider if customers will keep coming back or do they just purchase from you just one time to close a sale or are your customers more driven by impulse buying? (Hytinnen & Ilikumanas , 2007)
Another major cause of entrepreneur is failure to anticipate or react to competition, technology, or other changes in the market place (Hytinnen & Ilikumanas , 2007). It dangerous to assume that what you have done in the past will always work. Challenge the factors that led to your success. Do you still do things the same way despite new market and demands and changing times? What I your competition doing differently? What new technology is available? Be open to new ideas and experiment because those who fail to do this end up becoming pawns to those who do.