If you want to venture into entrepreneurship, a great business idea is not enough. According to experts, a good business is more than just something you’re excited about or good at. You have to make sure your idea is actually viable and will bring you profits.
Here are some helpful tips from Malou Prado, MPQ Travel, managing director and Atty. Barney Almazar, partner at Gulf Law.
- Identify the business that you want to put-up, whether it be selling, trading, consultancy.
- Identify whether your business needs to be licensed as a mainland company or free zone company. In the UAE, a mainland company should have a local sponsor who should have 51 percent ownership. A free zone company could be owned by an expat 100 percent. There are also businesses that falls under professional license, that could be owned by an expat 100 percent. Food businesses falls under the professional license business in the UAE.
- Choose a good location for your business. If you want to put-up a business that requires to have a shop, for example, choose a location where there are lots of footfalls.
- Match your business activity even if you want to set-up your business in a free zone. Not all free zones are open to all business activities.
- Prepare an ample capital especially if your business requires bank guarantee like a travel agency. In the UAE, a travel agency needs to put up a bank guarantee of Dh100,000 and a minimum capital of Dh300,000.
- Choose a good trade name and have it approved by the Department of Economic and Development (DED).
Prado and Almazar were two of the distinguished panelists at the recently concluded Philippine Property and Investment Event (PPIE).
