Basem Bakeer
Male.
Lives in
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Mohammed Almymuni
Male.
Lives in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Entrepreneurs need flexibility just as much as they need opportunities. If you are not looking 3-5 steps ahead given the current business climate, & are not flexible to communicate, search for new lin...View MoreEntrepreneurs need flexibility just as much as they need opportunities. If you are not looking 3-5 steps ahead given the current business climate, & are not flexible to communicate, search for new lines, restructure for existing & new technology, then you will soon be out of business.
Stay in business.... be flexible... communicate... talk to people... review what is available.. stretch your present state & look beyond.
Covid -19 second lockdown in effect in numerous places as pockets of increased cases are being witnessed in different parts of the world. Many people had to switch their business to online mode as bes...View MoreCovid -19 second lockdown in effect in numerous places as pockets of increased cases are being witnessed in different parts of the world. Many people had to switch their business to online mode as best as they could. Workers operating from home, whilst the impact was being assessed by business owners everywhere as to how best to manage this unplanned scenario & challenge on regular business that was going on differently to what it is shaping up to be now.
Well eventually there will be a vaccine. Some research centres are reporting very good clinical trials and with fast-track of trials the world is soon to prepare for production of vaccines, and ultimately start the process of distribution to over 7 billion people globally. ( This means it is going to take some time even after successful mass production of an effective vaccine ).
So why do people say as there are changes there are opportunities ? It is because they sense a shift in markets, prices, demand, supply, consumer attitudes and a whole host of causes and effects that have accompanied this pandemic in every aspect of business life. So it is correct to assume that these changes will produce different types of opportunities going forward. For example 2 years ago if someone had said lets open a supermarket to an entrepreneur, they might have thought ok that sounds like a regular FMCG type environment that may yield a good return depending on customer traffic in the locality. ( A stable type of return based on footfall of customers and returns of 15-25% or better. What no one would have believed is that this business sector would be the most critical during the pandemic, where demand by far outstripped supply with people stocking up on food & provisions in a manner not witnessed previously. Equally it was not envisaged that supermarkets would be one of the best businesses to be in during a pandemic.. provided you had a good supply chain in place that was working & delivering during the upsurge in demand ). There were other sectors that were not as easily visible as supermarkets that also saw a huge upsurge in demand. Swimming pool supplies are a similar sector that 2 years ago would not have envisaged a huge upsurge in demand, but because people were stuck at home those with pools used those pools. There are many other examples in the financial sector, courier pick-up and delivery sector, sanitation products sector, buy now pay later revenues have skyrocketed and a host of other sectors.
It is completely different to thinking everything has collapsed as a result of the lockdowns. Experienced people are looking to different income streams to compliment whatever they are doing presently as they know that after the downtrend, demand will increase again once events stabilise.
So what should you be doing if you are thinking forward ? Well if you are thinking forward you are probably already doing it... that is reviewing potential opportunities, and doing effective due diligence in understanding the various facets of these potential new business opportunities on your horizon.
The only way you can increase your horizon and be exposed to different ideas and opportunities you might not ordinarily be aware of is to communicate. ( For sure you are going to see & communicate little from sitting on the sofa comfortably having nice meals, and watching news on the TV or on your laptop ) !
Communicating does not mean you need to commit or enter into any activity that you come across. Communicating with others mean you are open to ideas and willing to scope activities that present themselves. It may or not result in anything definitive, but it will broaden your understanding at the very least.
The real issue is to be sincere in your quest ( if you are looking ) for new opportunities. Always look for projects that are within your abilities and which may compliment where you are in your lifecycle. I joined this group with the aim of interacting with potential like-minded individuals from the Middle East and beyond to share ideas as to opportunities from Eastern Europe where I am presently based. Being a mature investor with a few businesses under my belt allows me the confidence to communicate with anyone, as I fully understand as should everyone else that communicating with each other and identifying opportunities is the first step to begin looking at commerce.
Soon there will be those who took the pandemic time to stay safe, look after their families, keep their business afloat, and await the better days ahead. The ones that do that as well as communicate, identify new opportunities, expand their network and perhaps even start something new in addition to what they are doing as a new income stream are the ones that are forward thinkers and deserve any reward they reap as a result of their openness and efforts.
The Pandemic has seriously slowed things down through restricted movement for the past 4-5 months. Restriction is never good news for entrepreneurs. To seek opportunity you must be prepared to leave t...View MoreThe Pandemic has seriously slowed things down through restricted movement for the past 4-5 months. Restriction is never good news for entrepreneurs. To seek opportunity you must be prepared to leave the comfort of your sofa & go out to seek , see, communicate, and exchange ideas. There is no other way. ( When for health reasons one cannot go about & seek opportunities then staying put is always difficult for any commercial endeavours ).
Today there are new opportunities being created in different parts of the world. Yes many will fall & many new will rise, that’s the cyclical nature of business. It always will be. Most entrepreneurs understand these cycles and plan accordingly.
I am looking for any Partners that are similar to myself, that have a good operation running, & are able to view potential new lines being added to existing where we can leverage on our existing operations to develop anything new that we consider mutually beneficial wherever we can & where it makes sense to do so.
There is definitely good margin ( demonstrable ) showing differential between Eastern Europe & the Middle East in numerous sectors. Scoping a project does not cost anything other than time & effort. If there are serious minded individuals ready & capable to look at new projects in earnest here, then I look forward to hearing from you if only to discuss the opportunities and the value added that our operations can provide to something new.
Central and Eastern Europe makes sense... Think about it.. Oil prices are static, there is a pandemic raging ( with potentially a second wave )? The traditional yields that were obtainable are slowly ...View MoreCentral and Eastern Europe makes sense... Think about it.. Oil prices are static, there is a pandemic raging ( with potentially a second wave )? The traditional yields that were obtainable are slowly drying up.
Capital will always seek the high yield high quality investments. But what are these investments ?
People always veer to the property market which is a reasonable train of thought, as here it is assumed that property is a real investment & a hedge against inflation. ( All perfectly rational ideas ).
There is plenty of money pouring into Eastern Europe real estate as there is considerable value when you compare it to Western Europe, most of these Eastern European Countries are a two hour flight hop to London at potentially 10% the prices obtainable in Central London.
The quality is comparable to Western Europe in terms of education, culture, architecture, the differences appear mainly in the language, ( although most under 30’s all speak English in any Eastern European Capital ). Land is by far cheaper in Eastern Europe than anywhere else in the EU. When you consider it is relatively safe, crime is under control, money is free to move in & out for investors, with a European feel everywhere, restaurants, cafe’s, cinemas, shopping malls, everything you would expect in Western Europe. Thus the window of capturing a piece of what’s on offer in this part of the world will not be forever as they slowly catch up with their more affluent neighbour Countries within the EU.
But property is only one sector. There are many more with advantages from the Eastern European side. Technology is where they excel with many highly skilled professionals enabling Many Countries to utilise the expertise for a fraction of what it would cost in other parts of the world. Numerous Companies use Eastern Europe as a hub for their technology needs and there are a large number of Companies that have operations in different parts of the world but process their data in Eastern Europe as it is both effective & less expensive.
There are areas of Machinery & Equipment that are manufactured in Eastern Europe and exported to numerous Countries around the world including the Middle East.
From Vegetable Oil to Toothpaste there are producing plants dotted all around Eastern Europe able to deliver good quality at reasonable cost. ( This is perhaps the most significant area of advantage and potential high yield returns versus the Middle East ).
It is not just the area of cost effectiveness that one should consider Eastern Europe for potential investment. ( Although that is definitely a huge plus ). The real reason should be more to do with reliability. The people in these Countries, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slav Republic and numerous other neighbours, outside the EU, Ukraine, Belarus, and a few others all demonstrate the ethics of very hard work and the willingness to partner with the aim of giving their best quality, as they fully understand how competitive the world is today & they are actually willing to do the work.
I say this because as I travel around the world I see many places where people are NOT willing to work hard and prefer certain types of jobs over others. In Eastern Europe my experience has been that there are no pretentions. They want to work, and they want to do it properly.
When you couple this with numerous very busy shipping ports and airports all working daily to transport goods & services across the globe, then these existing advantages are there to be taken by capable investors.
Europe is definitely getting bigger, and the entry into & gleaning the yields from Eastern Europe will not last forever.
There are numerous sectors within the Eastern European area that have multiple advantages for bringing in goods and services to the Middle East. Given these present times of a global pandemic there ar...View MoreThere are numerous sectors within the Eastern European area that have multiple advantages for bringing in goods and services to the Middle East. Given these present times of a global pandemic there are shipping and air cargo routes open and ensuring needed supplies are made available for a large cross section of businesses.
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