Small business owners in the UAE dream big despite problems posed by pandemic
▶ Entrepreneurs diversify products and use social media savvy to promote their brands and increase sales
Small business owners in the UAE say they refused to give up on their dreams when the Covid-19 pandemic threatened their livelihoods.
Stay-at-home measures and travel restrictions imposed to tackle the spread of the disease had a far-reaching effect on businesses of all sizes around the globe.
Independent business owners in the UAE, many of whom invest their savings in their projects, were placed under particular financial strain by the effects of the pandemic.
The National spoke to four small business owners who got creative to ensure they made it through difficult times and they said they could now see hope on the horizon.
Nicola Jayne Augusti, 32, is a British resident of Dubai who quit her corporate job in 2019 to launch a swimwear brand.
The pandemic hit about three months later and put her business at risk.
“I was previously a Champion Bikini Fitness competitor and wanted to launch a business that helped women get healthier, and feel more confident and comfortable in swimwear,” said Ms Augusti, whose business operates under the name Nicky Bikini on social media.
“When Covid-19 hit, global travel got cancelled, people couldn’t leave their homes and swimwear sales reached zero.
“I was very scared because I had left my corporate job with enough finance for six months to get my business off the ground, but now that no sales were coming in, I knew that money would dwindle fast if I didn’t problem solve.”
Ms Augusti said she used social media, especially videosharing platform TikTok, to help promote her brand.
“Social media helped in a number of ways,” she said.
“It helped keep my finger on the pulse with behaviours of consumers during the lockdown. Home workouts became a huge priority. Off the back of this I decided to launch an activewear arm of my business and sales took off in the space of home workout gear.
“I noticed the social media platform TikTok was also rising at this time and I used it to tell the story of how my small business was coping during the pandemic.”
One of Ms Augusti’s TikTok videos was viewed more than 100,000 times and her social media presence helped her business report a record number of sales.
In the past month, she sold 28 products and said the numbers were increasing every day.
Anabia Jamshed, from Pakistan, faced similar challenges during the early days of the pandemic.
She sells embellished home decor pieces on an online platform licensed by the Department of Economic Development in Dubai.
Ms Jamshed, 34, said sales dropped sharply in the first months of the outbreak.
“We all know that art pieces are known to be extremely slow-selling commodities,” said Ms Jamshed, who holds a master’s degree in interior design.
“So, financially, it was a huge struggle, where people didn’t want to go out even or connect, let alone spend money on things other than the basic necessities.”
Ms Jamshed, whose business is a lifelong passion, also used social media to help market her products and created videos to promote her brand.
She said sales were slowly starting to increase, with up to eight of her products sold on average each month.
“Each of my creations presents a story in itself,” Ms Jamshed said.
“It must never be out of any context at all. After all, this is the era of personalising, storytelling and emanating a nostalgic, cosy, snug and homey vibe.”
Nasser Sultan Lootah is a 16-year-old Emirati who sells manga books, clothing and anime merchandise online. The store is licensed under his mother’s name.
Despite his young age, he is quickly building up business experience.
His latest venture, a Japanese bookstore launched in August last year, has been the most successful so far.
“When the pandemic was reaching higher numbers of cases, I was worried about my business failing due to lower sales,” he said.
“It was very hard for me to get my products because I get them shipped from overseas.
“Thankfully, my business began to grow slowly and sales were increasing, which gave me hope.
“Personally, I am very into manga and anime, but when the virus started many people couldn’t go out and buy these books.
“It’s then I realised that there were barely any libraries that would sell these books or deliver them, so I found a gap in the market, which inspired the idea for my business.”
In the past couple of months, he sold about 230 books. He charges between Dh40 and Dh45 ($10 to $12) for each book, while clothing and anime figures are sold for about Dh100 each.
Salem Rashed Alnuaimi had to overcome several challenges during the height of the pandemic to keep his online business going.
The 24-year-old Emirati sells figures of popular characters from anime, video games and movies. The figures are lit with LED lights.
He said what makes him different from competitors is that his business designs and develops the lights locally.
Mr Alnuaimi’s brand gained exposure when he exhibited pieces at Middle East Film and Comic Con in 2019.
“By the end of March in 2020, we had to stop activity due to not being able to produce the lights locally and not being able to ship them because the courier service we were using stopped operating,” he said.
“It was worrying at first, but I was glad that my products aren’t those that have a shelf life and I didn’t have a store front or any employees.”
The cost for one LED light is Dh100 and Mr Alnuaimi said he did not make any sales between April and July last year.
He was able to resume operations in August and said influencers on Instagram and TikTok reviewed products for him, helping to boost sales.
“Using Instagram ads to help gain more exposure really benefited me,” he said.
“Following a couple of Instagram ads and collaborations with social media influencers, my reach increased greatly and sales skyrocketed.”
Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, his business makes 30 to 50 sales a week.