There could be worse places in the world for a training course!
Last week we headed off to Thailand to complete fabrication training at the screen manufacturers facility. Here the team learnt how to custom build each model of screen using the patented assembly process.
With the warehouse tenancy signed, two employees hired and our first shipment on its way, it was time to start working!
On Saturday we had our first full day together as the Safety Screens team. And like all great businesses it started with a vision and a first day. For us, that first day began with assembling chairs and tables! Not a glamorous start but was in the same vain as Steve Jobs starting out in his garage (not exactly but you get my point).Read More
Now that we’ve found a suitable warehouse it was time to start the paperwork.
We knew the chances of the administrative process going smoothly we’re low but our hopes were up. We had gone through a real estate agent to locate the property and we thought he may help guide through the paperwork. Once the agent had cashed his cheque there was little we could do to use him with the inevitable issues that would pop up.
Who would’ve thought that the local trading site Dubizzle would grow from a simple idea to the giant it now is in Dubai and across the Middle East. We never thought that it would be the place to advertise for staff but we have just placed a listing on Dubzzle to hire our first two employees.
Today we visited the Dubai Courts Al Barsha branch to sign the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with our business partner. The MOA is required by law and sets out the legal ownership arrangements and details the responsibilities and powers of the managing partner.
Having not found a suitable facility last month, we were back out inspecting properties in DIP this week. Previously we were looking at newer facilities in DIP 2 however none were proving suitable and within budget. This time we ventured over to the older side of the road to look at options in DIP 1.
Today we met with another Australian husband and wife small business team here in Dubai who reminded us of the importance of having a solid and trustworthy network. Clayton and Jade run a home maintenance and fly screen installation company called CMServices.
It’s what every business owners wants to happen – more customer inquiries than expected.
As part of our setup, we decided to develop a web and social media presence before we had our full business license. This was due to our previous business website experience. It can take a number of months to be indexed on Google and thus be found by those conducting a web search. This was the same for a social media profile which can also take many months to gain traction.
It’s always important to set the foundations of a small business correctly from the start. Now this is easy to say and somewhat obvious but I’ve seen a number of small businesses start their financial, inventory and customer management systems using an excel spreadsheet and face the difficulty of trying to migrate all their information to dedicated software applications once they realise that excel isn’t meeting all their needs.
This was now our second time to the DED (Department of Economic Development) and we were a bit unsure what to expect.
Our first visit a few weeks earlier had not gone as planned. We had arrived on that occasion to reserve our business name and register it in the appropriate business license category. We had researched the pros and cons of the different categories that were options for this business and were fairly confident with the category we had selected. However when we went to register the business under our chosen category, the clerk confidently advised us to register under another category.
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
