Entrepreneurs of the future should know about options today

Eid is a time for the family and celebrations. It is also a time to catch up with our older relatives, who for unknown reasons love to ask us personal questions, especially related to work lives. “How much do you exactly make in a month?” an elderly family member asked me out of the blue when we met over tea this past Eid.

But the most interesting conversation I had was with an older male relative, an old school public-sector veteran. As we gathered in our family majlis, he asked me what I did for a living now that I had left the government sector.

“I run my own consultancy, which I established four years ago,” I answered proudly.

He didn’t seem impressed with my response and asked: “So you left your high-ranking post at a government entity, and your good [salary] cheque, opting for a risky route”.

I can’t say I was surprised either by his question or the comments that followed. I’ve been getting similar queries from people who encouraged me to keep my business, which they look at as a hobby and hold on to something “solid” and “prestigious”, such as a government job.

Entrepreneurship as a chosen career path is still something that some Emiratis, especially the older generation, are not fond of. Some of my relatives in the past have even labelled me as unemployed as they do not consider my work to be equal to a traditional eight-hour job.

“I don’t know why you do this to yourself, always on the go, always on your computer,” said an aunt.

I am not the only one facing this dilemma. A close friend is going through a similar situation. After graduating from university, she established a digital agency, and two years into it, her mother still considers her unemployed because she works from home, even though she is making a substantial income.

The UAE Government has been a strong advocate of entrepreneurship through the establishment of funds such as Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, and via the many free zones established across the country, such as Twofour54, which helps in encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.

But we need more than that – I believe that the real change will come with more awareness, through schools and the media.

If we want the future generation to consider entrepreneurship as a career route, we have to tell them more about it for it to become a norm in their view. When I was a child, career choices we were exposed to were doctor, teacher or engineer. Rarely did any of my classmates say they wanted to be an entrepreneur. We weren’t made aware of real-life examples of people doing well for themselves in the community. Even the storybooks we read highlighted doctors or teacher figures.

This is not to discount these careers, but to say we need a wider variety of role models for our children. I believe that this should start at an elementary level, where it should be mandatory for every school to host a “career day” and the focus should be, among other things, on entrepreneurs who have established successful businesses in the UAE.

Entrepreneurs from every sphere, be it F&B, media or the construction sector, should be brought along to share their experiences.

Media houses, funding organisations or entrepreneurship centres could also publish children’s books to be distributed at schools that highlight the local success stories of entrepreneurs. This should be part of the social responsibility efforts of these orgranisations.

Many of our thoughts and aspirations are formed at a young age and a report launched by Education and Employers confirms that, putting the age at as young as seven. The report also revealed that 36 per cent of children base their future career aspirations on people they know, while others were influenced by the media.

In exposing children to role models from their community, perhaps 36 per cent will be inspired to pursue entrepreneurship as a career.

Campaigns across social media in the form of short video clips and messages featuring successful figures from the community could also play a huge role in influencing a more positive outlook towards entrepreneurship.

If we want to see change in how people view entrepreneurship as a career path, then we have to start early. It’s time to give our next generation wider career options. Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer who manages her creative consultancy in Abu Dhabi