As an HR manager of a successful Dubai-based startup, do you often find it difficult to decide when should you hire whom—raw talent or an experienced professional? Well, you’re not alone.
The ‘raw talent or job experience’ conundrum troubles even the most experienced HR managers at Fortune 500 companies. But that doesn’t mean there’s no way out of this maze. You can solve this riddle once and for all—and we’ll show you how.

In this post, we show you when to hire raw talent and when to go with experience, along with common pitfalls you must avoid. So, let’s get started.

Why You Need the Right Person at Every Job

For a startup company in Dubai, it is important to hire the best talent because your loss will be your competitor’s gain. With business environment here being highly competitive, you must do whatever you can to gain an edge over competition.

Understanding when to hire which type of professional will give your business a competitive edge and help you outperform other startups like you and also quickly narrow down the gap between you and the leading players.
Hiring Tips for Dubai-based Startups
Follow these tips to give yourself the best chance to hire the right person for every job opening.
You should go for experience when:

• You’re looking for a manager – Although this seems to be common sense, many a time startups in Dubai hire a promising professional with an outstanding track record as a team-member for a manager’s position. And more often than not, they repent their decision later. An outstanding individual contributor doesn’t always make a great manager. This is because the skills required for both jobs are different. Someone who’s never led a team before might find it extremely challenging to create and lead a team in a working environment that’s alien to him.

 

• You’re looking for a specialist – If you’re interviewing for a job role that’s totally new for your business, you should pick an experienced professional. Likewise, if you want to fill a job role where you’ve struggled to excel before, you should bring in an experienced player. Professionals with experience not only possess the relevant job skills but also process knowledge. That’s why experience is always a better option for new or difficult job roles.
  

 
You should go for raw talent when:

• You’re hiring for any job other than the two mentioned above – Are you looking to add new members to a clearly-defined and smoothly-functioning setup? For instance, you might be looking for web developers to join your well-performing web development team with clearly marked out standard operating procedures and other guidelines. Well, in this case, and all other situations similar to this, you should bring on board the person with maximum promise, irrespective of his previous experience. Professionals with raw talent can offer much to you if you give them a chance. They might find new ways to overcome existing hurdles or create new products/services. On the other hand, experienced professionals might be less inclined to do things differently. The other advantage of hiring raw talent for startup Dubai companies is that they are usually more adaptable, loyal, and hardworking.

Watch out for these pitfallsYou must decide in advance who is better suited for the open position—an experienced professional or a professional with raw talent and little, if any, experience?
Before you start interviewing candidates, take a call on this. Otherwise, you might just end up wasting your and candidates’ time. Worse still, you might bring on board a person who’s not suited for the job.

Experience doesn’t always amount to talent.
A candidate’s experience is not a measure of his talent. As a matter of fact, there are many experienced professionals in Dubai who are just mediocre. Precisely for this reason, along with an inspiring track record, you must value traits which showcase the candidate’s ability to be proactive, work in a team, and stay self-motivated. HR experts believe such employees add a lot of value to their organizations over time.

A list of impressive past titles and employers is good—but it is not everything.
Don’t think that a candidate would add great value to your team just because he has done his masters from a premier college and worked with some impressive names. What you must focus most on is his achievements. That—and not other things—will give you a fair idea about what that employee will bring to the table.

For more information on how to hire the right candidates for your Dubai and UAE based startup, feel free to contact us. Our hiring experts will get in touch you and help you hire the best talent in the industry.

When you have finally launched a business company in Dubai, the ever-growing luxurious city and business hub of the Middle East, and can’t wait to get working with a strong management team, the biggest challenge of hiring the right people awaits you at the doorstep.

Before you begin your tedious process, which will undoubtedly have a huge impact in your journey onward, check out some of the most common hiring mistakes that start-up CEOs make and that you may want to avoid at any cost.

• Hiring someone out of familiarity or generosity: When you are stepping in the professional field, try to maintain a relevant distance between your personal and professional life. As Dubai is a small community, you may come across many friends or relatives who need a favor. However, offering job opportunities to people based on their bonding levels rather than the productivity will force you to compromise work qualities. Therefore, hiring someone who’s more appropriate and experienced for the job will help you to get out of many awkward situations.
  

 

• Constantly hiring inexperienced people: Dubai is indeed a safe haven for people from the less developed countries to try out their luck and there is a great chance that you will meet many of these inexperienced people in need of a job with proper training. However, constantly hiring and training inexperience people will cost both time and money and keep your attention away from more serious concerns.

 

• Speedy hiring process: It is all right to be hyped up about the upcoming business and feel like going with the hiring process as quickly as possible, but a speedy process may leave you with many inexperienced or charismatic personae who may not possess the necessary qualities to carry out the job. On the contrary, taking a bit more time increases your chances of forming a passionate and well-balanced team.
  

 

• Hiring illegal immigrants: When you are launching a business in Dubai, you need to keep its surroundings in mind too. With thousands of immigrants from other countries, there remains a huge possibility that many will have their work visa expired or soon to be expired. You may also hire workers who do not have an immigrant or a worker visa and fall into legal complications. An effective way to avoid this is to remain extra careful during the hiring process and employ workers with a clean background.
  

 

• Creating cultural restrictions: Although many have already stepped out of this habit, yet it is not unseen that many CEOs tend to set their own rules and restrictions during the hiring process. However, this method is not always beneficial for the company as it eliminates a lot of competitive and efficient workers beforehand.
  

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As you can see from the above-mentioned points, hiring is not necessarily an easy or an unimportant step. You have to set the bar as high as possible and get the best out of the choices laid in front of you. By remaining strict to your requirements and staying true to your company’s wellbeing, you can easily avoid these mistakes and form your dream team.

For more information about planning your startup launch in Dubai and UAE, do not hesitate to contact us and we will be glad to assist.

Being one of the world’s high ranked economies, it is not surprising that the UAE is becoming a safe and attractive haven for entrepreneurs to launch their business. Whether it is an app for comfortable lifestyle, an elegant restaurant or a street side clothing store, it is by no means an easy task to create a massive positive response among your target audience in this competitive arena. However, you can turn the table around if you invest a bit more time and effort in using social media to do at least half of your job.

Why you need social media strategy

With the enormous success of social-commerce in the last fifteen years, many brands are now following the trend of digital promotion which help them to reach out to their potential consumers who use various social media platforms and gain a higher sales rate. Therefore, keeping some tips and tricks on mind before starting up will help you to ensure brand promotion, customer acquisition and successful business. We even recommend to include these strategies in your UAE startup business plan.

Social media strategies for effective start-ups in Dubai and UAE:

• Create or improve your brand’s social media profile: As much attractive as it sounds to create profiles in all the social media platforms you are familiar with, you may want to stick to the ones which meet your product and services the most. Whereas jewelries, clothing & apparel are mostly sold in Facebook or books & magazine, IT related items are sold more on Pinterest. Therefore, know your product and the target audience first, then create and further improve your profile.
  

 

• Maintain strategic contents: Depending on the products you are launching, post good-quality articles, videos, podcasts, infographics etc. while maintaining regularity and relevance. As users will notice your posts for a mere second while scrolling, add pictures or colorful texts along with your contents to draw attention.
  

 

• Communicate with your target audience: Maintaining a friendly and helpful tone of voice is the most essential step while boosting your start-up. Remember how you are competing against hundreds of already established brands in Dubai and UAE and give your customers a reason why they should choose you. Therefore, be as much responsive as possible, handle negative comments in a diplomatic way and accept your faults humbly if the situation demands it. Moreover, attach a contact number or an email address with your profile for further assistance.
  

 

• Perform promotional activities: Even though the most effective way to gain maximum attention is by going for paid promotions, you can also create small contests where your followers have to share or recommend your contents to their friends. Additionally, you can go for live streaming, offer bonus and discounts etc. As UAE is packed with thousands of small communities, successfully attracting one will help you gradually reach the others.
  

Well, now that you know about the importance of social media strategies and how to step up your game in this sector, we hope that these effective steps curated by our digital marketing specialists will help you to boost up your sales in no time!

If you are serious about developing a marketing plan for your Dubai and UAE based startup or SME, make sure you contact us now and one of our marketing experts will get in touch.

Troubled about which marketing plans will work for your start-up in Dubai? Or are you just confused about how to create a marketing plan for your UAE based SME?
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Well, either way you have found the right guide to help you through your confusions and disconcerting thoughts. This article will guide you step-by-step through the whole process of creating a powerful marketing plan for your business in Dubai. Let’s start!

1)  Put your business out there and put together a short, most preferably a raw and sweet illustration of your business.

This process is called ‘situation analysis’ and don’t worry it sounds simpler than you think. Highlight how your company stands out from the rest and what unique benefits you have to offer, include a short description of your services or products. Then put your slogan, logo and unique feature on all your marketing collateral including website, business cards, brochures, social media, banners...etc.

So, mainly in the 1st step try simplifying your strategies, and get to know your business’ unique selling proposition at the rawest level then make it seen everywhere.

2) Target the right audience or customers

No business is appealing to every other person. So, narrow down your customers by understanding the standard customer profile by age, gender, location, lifestyles etc.

The 2nd step mostly helps in identifying your customers and now you can use this information to create a profile of your business. This will help you spark new marketing plans, media, and PR campaigns. Defining your buying personas is key for a successful marketing strategy.

3) Communication strategies will help you to bring your ideas to life and it is the heartbeat of your marketing plan

If you aren’t aware of the endless possibilities social media has to offer you, let us tell you that this is a key platform to execute your plans, in a cost-effective manner. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are your topnotch 100% free and user-friendly marketing channels. You can directly connect with your customers and get insights. Of course, paid ads and promoted posts can turbo-charge your social media marketing activities, but start by building an organic presence before scaling up through paid ads.

The 3rd step is to build awareness through different tactics such as email newsletters, loyalty events, ongoing advertisements and also physically reaching your current customers by arranging customer appreciation events.

4) Everything and every idea needs a goal and listing your marketing goals is one of your most important steps​

You have achieved the main foundation of your business and now it is time to create a list of the marketing goals to grow your client base. Don't go crazy and unrealistic with your goals rather keep it of a high standard and realistic.
So start with writing your goals in a measurable way and keep record of the progress to achieve those goals. This makes your targets easier to achieve. For example, your next goal should be to get 20% profit from the sales or reach a revenue of $10,000 dollars per week.

 5)   Fix a budget for your marketing

The need for a marketing budget is a must. Think about how you are going to use the budget and decide if you need to borrow cash or not. Just don’t be stressed over it. It is an investment for your business and you should invest wisely.

So, the 5th step requires you to figure out how much budget is suitable for your business and invest accordingly.

You cannot create a marketing plan overnight but we hope this article will help you to start-up in Dubai. You too can be successful in your business in Dubai with the right approach and entrepreneurial attitude.

For more info about launching a successful start-up in Dubai and UAE, you can always contact us and we will be more than happy to help you out!

The idea of starting up your business in an expensive and resourceful city like Dubai may seem a bit intimidating unless you are familiar with the tips and tricks to stand out among your competitors. In order to help you promote your new business using your limited personal funding, our Dubai based startup experts have curated for you some powerful digital-marketing tips which are sure to boost your business results without breaking your pocket. Here we go:

• Find out Your Target Audience: Before you set out for the real journey, know your target audience by checking out different social media platforms. Dubai is always in need of something resourceful as it is an expat-dominated city. You can get the idea of your potential customers from social media hashtags or by analyzing top keywords researched by users in the UAE using Google's Keyword Planner.
  

• Be Resourceful: As you are starting with a little capital, try to get the maximum benefit out of what you have. Always keep an eye on the product demand and on your competitors. Dubai has an abundance of commercial opportunities and sourcing excellent quality supplies for less money is always possible. Moreover, dealing with the trending items will help you to maintain a stable customer base who will continue to come back to you for more. Make sure you focus on the most important product or service by applying the 20/80 rule: What are the top 20% areas in my business that will generate 80% of the results? That's where you need to focus your time, efforts and budget.
  

• Tell Your Story: No matter what you decide to sell, without a relevant story, you will not receive much attention, A great way to overcome this problem is to pack your website with creative and good quality contents which are not always promotional but tell your customer base about your initiatives, your company’s theme and why they should trust you as a startup brand. If you do not have strong content creators in your team, you can also get standard and high-quality writings from freelancing platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Elance etc. in an affordable price.
  

• Take Advantage of Social Media: Social media is gradually becoming the best medium for promoting your business. Think about how you can attract the highest number of customers. If your customers are more likely to be impressed by visual contents, then try posting on Pinterest or Instagram. For animated advertisement or just text-based posts, you have Facebook and Twitter. Dubai is a small and closely-bonded city where satisfying one customer can lead you towards many others. So, consider creating a Facebook page or group to create a friendly and more intimate atmosphere.
  

• Publish Creative Content: After starting the initial stage of your business, your main challenge is to strive against other competitors and gradually expand your customer base. Therefore, engage in content marketing by creating and publishing creative content that engages your readers and keeps them coming for more. Experiment with "How to" articles, listicles, short videos...etc. Launching and maintaining a Blog is highly recommended. It also comes with the benefit of improving your natural ranking on Google.
  

• Promote Your Content: Promoting your contents to the right prospects is the most crucial step of your marketing efforts. You can do so by building partnership with an already successful brand or by going solo with well-planned social media promotion strategies. You can arrange contests or create contents in such a way that gives people something to talk about, post, tweet and comment on. If you can afford to invest some money in promotion, you can also leverage Facebook, Instagram, Tweeter, LinkedIn and other social platform’s paid promotional services which are bound to attract a substantial number of potential customers. The more your contents receive attention the higher chance you have to remain ahead of your competitors.
  

• Maintain Communication with Your Followers: Even if you follow all the steps mentioned above, you still want to keep your attention towards your customers. Remember that the customer is always right. Build a helpful customer service so that your prospects are always well-informed. Don’t be afraid to confront in case of a misunderstanding and admit your fault if there is any. As a beginner in the business field, it is normal to make mistakes and learn from it. If you are always interacting with your customers and making them feel valuable to you, they will pay you back by becoming your trusted buyers.
  

 
Last but not the least, bootstrapping your startup is not necessarily an easy task but may become the best decision of your life if you stride carefully. Let us know which of our tips have benefited you the most.

Contact KCCG for additional information or if you need help writing a business plan for your UAE startup, we are always here to help you with your journey.

So you have started a new company in Dubai or the UAE and you need to create a robust feasibility study? Or maybe you already have a running business and need to analyze the viability and profitability of a new project or undertaking?

Whatever your objective or business size, you have come to the right place and this article will take you through a step-by-step process to create an accurate and complete feasibility study for your UAE project.

The first step involves studying the market and analyzing the competitive landscape.
Never assume you don't have any competitors. Some competitors are obvious and direct but many are in fact indirect competitors. Any other business that might draw the attention, time, energy and ultimately money from your potential clients should be considered a competitors to a certain extent.

So in step 1, analyze the market place, understand demand and suppy for your product and services in a particular area and then make sure you are positionning your business in the right niche.

The second step of your feasibility study should focus on understanding the detailed requirements and specific needs of your customers.
What is it exactly that they are looking for? What are your clients' expectations? How can you make sure that your product or service is really meeting and even exceeding their expectations?

During step 2, you need to list and understand all the technical requirements, features and benefits of what you are offering. It is crucial to always put yourself in the shoes of your clients and give them what they really want. This step also allows you forecast the resource needed to serve your market's needs in terms of capital, manpower and other technical, logistic or intellectual resources.

The third step of a feasibility study involves testing the business model.
Now that you have assessed your clients' needs and estimate the size of your operation to serve them, it is time to study the viability of your project. 
This steps allows you to answer questions such as:
- Is my business idea worth undertaking at all?
- What costs and revenue am I looking at 1, 2 or 5 years down the line?
- When am I expected to break-even and become profitable?
- Is it worth investing all this money in the project or am I better off looking at other investment opportunities?

These and other important questions can be answered via a thorough and accurate feaibility study. The key here is to assess the probability and size of your long-term business success.

The fourth and final step of a feasibility study includes studying your exit strategy especially when venture capital and outside investors are involved. Stakeholders need to understand the long term capital and resource requirements of your project and you need to clearly define key milestones including timing of profitability and exit strategy.

That's it, we hope that you find this article useful. If you are serious about writing a professional feasibility study for your Dubai or UAE business, do not hesitate to contact us and we will be glad to put our deep experience at your service.

KCCG Consulting is a leading provider of feasibility studies for all companies based in Dubai and the UAE. 

​Contact us now for more info.

Are you an entrepreneur looking to launch your startup in Dubai or the UAE?

Are you wondering what to include in your business plan? Read carefully this article and you are already on the right track.

First of all it crucial to understand your business model, that's why you should always start by defining what your business is about. Therefore, the sections you should always start with include:

- An executive summary including your business description
- Your mission & vision
- The keys to your business success

Then you should move to the market data by including the below sections:

- Overview of your market
- Competitive analysis
- Market opportunity
- A SWOT analysis summarizing your strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Next, you should talk about your specific products and services. What makes them unique and how they will help you succeed. This section should include:

- Your product / service description
- Your competitive advantage
- Your market positioning and pricing strategy

Now it is time to talk about your manpower. The sections you should develop include:

- Your organizational structure
- Your management team
- Your personnel & hiring plan
- The different roles and functions within your business

No business plan is complete without a clear sales and marketing plan. This is why the next section should include:

- A detailed marketing plan
- A clear sales strategy

Next we move to the financials. Your financial plan should include:

- A 5 to 7 years financial plan including estimations of your costs and revenues
- A 5 to 7 years P&L (Profit & Loss statement)
- A company valuation if needed 
- Key financial ratios and metrics (relevant for investors)
- A break-even analysis
- A profitability analysis

Your business plan should end on a high note with a summary of your upcoming activities and a detailed timetable of upcoming actions.

That's it! We hope you will put the above information to good use! If you require any help in writing a professional business plan for your UAE business, then do not hesitate to contact us and we will be glad to provide all the support your require.

To your business success!

For all entrepreneurs based in the Middle East and in particular Dubai and the UAE: Writing a killer business plan for your startup is one of the best service you will do to yourself and your new business.

Nowadays, no serious startup can hope to make it in the long term without a clear vision, mission and formal business model plan. If you keep all these in elements in your mind only, things stay abstract. You need to have a tangible written road map with clearly defined objectives and a plan to get there.

Investors and stakeholders in the Middle East especially Dubai and the UAE are of very high standards nowadays and the old days of doing business based on solely trust and PR have gone. Potential business partners and investors need a clear and written plan. They need numbers, forecasts, a business strategy and well defined objectives.

You need to answer questions such as:

• What is my business / startup about?
• What are my short, medium and long term objectives?
• What is my marketing strategy?
• Who is my target audience / customer?
• What are the financial implications of running my business?
• What are the expected cost and revenue I am generating in the next year? 2 years? 5 years?

These and many other parameters are massively important in helping you better plan your business and providing your startup with a professional framework that can attract potential investors and collaborators.

We have just scratched the surface of business planning for startups and new businesses. If you are serious about your new venture then I recommend you contact us for more info and KCCG will happy to help you with writing a killer business plan to take your startup/company to the next level.

​The Middle East is without any doubt a very attractive region to do business these days. 
Startups are mushrooming, entrepreneurs are flourishing and capitals are invested in significant numbers.

Dubai and the Emirates in general are among the top hubs to start your business today. But if you are unfamiliar with the local market or with the idea of starting a new business in the Middle East, here are a few important tips to get you started:

- Choose the right niche: It is very important to research the market and identify the right niche for your next business. Make sure you spend a lot of time analyzing market trends in the region, the competition and aim to select a positioning with low competition and under-served demand.

- Select the right legal form for your business: The Middle East and the UAE in particular have a very specific set of rules when it comes to setting up your legal entity. You generally have a choice between starting a Free Zone company (Fzc) or mainland company (LLC). We recommend you research properly each legal form before you decide. Keep in mind that a Free Zone company is perfect for a services type of business and mainland company is better for commercial businesses.

- It's all about networking: Growing your business in the UAE demands a lot of networking and PR. Oriental people are used to rely on connections and friends' referrals. It is very important to build a large network of collaborators and prospects if you are serious about succeeding in the Middle East, the GCC and the UAE in particular.

- Write a powerful business plan: This is crucial. There is an old adage that says: "If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail." Preparation and planning is very important prior to taking action. It allows you to visualize the future of your new venture, makes you look serious about business and is a pre-requisite to approach investors and attract collaborators. If you need support in creating your business plan, do not hesitate to contact KCCG, we will be glad to assist and help you out together a killer business plan.

That's it for now, keep in mind that starting a successful business in the UAE requires determination, patience and doing the right moves. Don't burn the steps, do each steps correctly and then move to the next.

For more advice about starting your business in the UAE, please do not hesitate to contact us.