Bashar Hafez: Lessons I learned from running my own business.

I was not sure what to expect when I made that switch from a corporate professional to being an entrepreneur, running my own business since 2012 after working in the corporate world.

Now before you think, this is going to be a fairy tale story as if everything fell into place for me - this is not. Having decades of corporate experience taught me the best business acumen, but now this is in a different context, entrepreneurship truly got me off-guard. The instability from the challenges of growing a business, earning revenue and seeking clients can sometimes take a toll on a person. But it was those very challenges that groomed me to become a better entrepreneur and person.

“It does not matter what happened to you, but who you became in the end.”

Here are the five lessons I learned and hopefully they will benefit you in your respective entrepreneurship journey:

Lesson 1: Getting your hands dirty.

If you are building a business and growing an idea from scratch, the true challenge is growing that idea without ready resources. Unlike a corporate company that provides you with layers of support, in-house leaders and numerous resources, in entrepreneurship, you got to be willing to roll up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty. From little errands, admin work, finding sales and making big decisions, there is no committee readily available to support you. It can get lonely at times, because of the immense pressure and I often get frustrated not getting things done as fast or as effective as I want to. Investment in resources would mean high costs, something a small business would not be able to afford.

The best way to manage this, as I learned, is to first start entrepreneurship with an open mind and be willing to do multiple roles. It is not unknown you may end up also doing things you’ve never done before. But even though you may have a lack of money, time is what you have abundant of. Investing time to learn or improve on skills i.e. marketing, customer service is the only way to be effective in what you do - in order to achieve more each day. It also helps to be surrounded by a network of mentors or like-minded individuals with knowledge and experience to guide you with making critical decisions for your business.

Lesson 2: Be ready for an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Trust me when I say this, entrepreneurship is NOT for the faint-hearted. Starting out at the age of 41, with a commitment to family, one of the battles I face daily is being there for both my children and giving as much to my business. In my opinion, it just seems easier when someone starts the plunge in their twenties right out of college with little responsibilities and overheads of living to worry about. Similar to those who started after their retirement age, when they’ve amassed some wealth and little commitment to family as their children have grown up and left college. Without much choices back then, I started when my children are at the peak of their emotional and financial needs. So taking a risk at this age, and the investment of time and finance to grow a company while worrying about the commitment to my children is what takes me on a high fluctuating emotional ride!

Dubai, where I reside, is an expensive city from housing to schools. As an expat, the only option for my children to receive an education is through private schools and that also comes with high tuition costs. Corporate professionals tend to have these expenses covered by their employer and only need to use their salary for living expenses, but now that I am self-employed - that luxury has changed. With this uncertainty of success, you are accompanied with an emotional toll when you start seeing your savings deplete as you invest into your business yet not knowing when and how much will the returns of investment be. It’s a sacrifice you have to make, cutting back on your lifestyle and being cautious with every dollar you spend while you other corporate executives enjoying perks of life with traveling and frequent outings that their stable salary offers them. This will test you emotionally and to a certain extent mentally and can create tension at home and strain your relationships.

Lesson 3: Be selective with who you work with.

Just because you are running a small business and in need of clients or partners, that does not mean you need to work with everyone who contacted you. From my past experiences working with many people who had similar business ideas and background, it still may not be the perfect fit for my business because of other reasons but mainly attitude. It’s important to work with people, you find pleasure in communication so it’s easier to work out solutions for problems that might arise. Additionally, my advice is to be open to a different type of network around you, surrounding yourself with partners with different views and skill sets. This difference can enrich your business as long as the partners are professional and civilized. Working with the wrong people brings about negativity instead of solving problems - issues grow bigger and this can be a complete disaster. Tension can and may happen, but if the other party aggravates negativity to make it worse- then that relationship is not worth keeping.

Lesson 4: Careful with who you choose to trust.

People who take advantage of you could be from anywhere including multinational companies. They can start out professional and friendly but could cause serious damage to your business. I once worked with someone who was sabotaging my business and implicating serious financial damage, whereas as a professional I was working in good faith to further strengthen the partnership. I once worked with a customer who was consistently giving promises and dreams that he did not keep, in return for discounts and persistent and additional work without charge outside the current engagement. People who have no respect for the value of time, do not deserve your attention or time. I know this can happen in any possible business dealings, even within a corporate environment but the need to advise you to be cautious is because, for smaller companies like us, the consequences are tough to bear. The impact of dealing with a customer or a partner who does not always think win-win and not sniffing out their intentions earlier on can damage your business and your morale by draining your energy and your pocket. You will meet some people who seem and sound professional and even be super nice and friendly but will work on advancing their interest at any cost and are willing to step over your dead body to reach their goal while you are thinking win-win.

A very old lesson that seems obvious was cemented in my head “follow what people do and not what they say”.

Follow your intuition when you get an early sign of trouble and adjust how you operate or think about the partnership or the customer. And even if you enter a partnership and realize that it is not for you, it’s okay to leave earlier than drag on later. The longer you hold on to something that did not work, the heavier the price to pay when it all fails. 

Lesson 5: Hire carefully but fire quickly.

The moment you see trouble signs and major alarms, do not hesitate in firing. Take your time when it comes to hiring people for the perfect fit to your organization, qualifications, skills and attitude alike. If you need help before you hire an employee, you can always outsource to contractors while you hire.

Firing is something a small business owner may not be used to doing, it might seem personal and quite often the employee does take it personally. But because of those personal reasons, is why firing must be done fast because it is too risky to keep someone who bears a direct grudge on you knowing you own the business and have the authority to remove them of their employment. As a small business owner, remember that your funds are limited so when you’ve invested in the wrong person - you not only will get results or returns, but you also obstruct your business to hire the right one for the position. Eventually, when you let people go, they move on to another job while you bear the losses and clean up their messes.

With that, I hope the five lessons I shared would be of great benefit to you. You are not alone, entrepreneurship is not easy but you will learn to grow from the challenges and rise above the adversities.

It’s those difficult paths that contribute to your wisdom and groom you for bigger things in the future.

All the best in your journey.