It helps to send local talented and skilled people to other countries to benefit from money transmittal, but there are many things that have to be sacrificed like brain drain, broken families, mental health problems due to depression of children longing for parental love and guidance, reduction of number of men to support and protect the families and communities particularly in case of emergencies, etc.
Poverty is one main reason people leave their families and countries despite its rich natural resources. Minds even at an early are programmed to finish studies and work as an employee until the last day before retirement.
If only many people will have the entrepreneurial mindset, the poverty rate will go down. The creation of many entrepreneurs will result in the creation of many jobs that will employ many people. The employed ones can have a decent living and buy what they want -- products and services -- that will keep the economic cycle going and growing.
We see construction projects here and there, but who will occupy the commercial buildings if there are less businesses in the area, and the residential structures, if many are bachelors and their families are not with them? Who can afford to pay a flat or a villa with less salaries? Who has more revenues -- the entrepreneur whose profit can be exponential or the employee whose salary is linear?
Imagine if there are 100 businessmen, 75 of them will hire one (1) employee each, and 25 will be on a one-man show. They will occupy 100 business offices, and at least 75 people will have gainful employment, can feed their family members, send the children to school, go on rest and relaxation activities, invest in real estate, and more. Multiply the numbers and we see revenue growth and poverty reduction.
Not all businessmen can start big because start-ups do not have big capital to do. Many wise entrepreneurs do not take big risks now considering the uncertainties of time, and many money lenders as well are stricter than before due to the financing industry in the last worst recession in history.
To encourage business-minded people to establish their businesses, the government must support them in terms of ease of setting up which includes fewer requirements, faster processing and approval of applications, and reduced if not cancellation of many fees. It is not easy to put up a business particularly for single proprietors in a foreign land. At home countries, you can utilize your residence as a business office, while enjoying the comfort of your home, breathing oxygen from the trees, basking under the sun with a very nice climate, and above all, being loved and supported by family and close friends.Only today, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced a very good move that can be emulated by other governments in other countries. The Gulf News reported that "the UAE Cabinet adopted a decision to amend and waive fees to reduce costs to business owners. These are fees for more than 1,500 government services provided by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation." (Read more here.)
The reduced costs to business owners will help them utilize the money to buy assets and other items necessary for the business operation, hire more people and increase retained revenues. More salaried people will result in more economic consumption that will increase the tax revenues of the government, contributing to its economic growth. It will attract more foreign investors and talents, and will help increase the competitiveness of the country.
In the past, the government announced that bank guarantee refunds would be released to the employers and there would be no more requirement for that. This means a big relief for all companies except those with issues, as AED3K/employee is huge when summed up all. AED60 would be spent on each employee's insurance coverage in lieu of the bank guarantee.
Most businesses cannot really make it within the initial few years of operation, particularly if they have limited funds, which is much better than taking big risks in borrowing from the banks then end up in jail. They test the waters at the start and experience failure after failure, which is but part of the process. Many entrepreneurs at the beginning do not pay themselves even if they work very, very hard -- but they have to pay the bills for rent, buy foods and other necessities, and pay employee wages or contracted freelancers' fees. It takes a decade or more to build a strong foundation for a business and to make it a home-grown success.
I hope that the government will also reach out to businesses that are stuck somewhere and give them consideration in terms of waived fines for late renewal of trade licenses and ease of payment for other necessary expenses. Businesses have the juridical personality or a distinct identity and are recognized as legal persons authorized by law with duties and rights. When they fail, they are trapped. They were born and created for a good purpose to contribute to the economy, and they deserve to be saved. How many companies will be resurrected if they will be supported to go back to the normal business stream?
Allowing small businesses to operate in shared business offices, at home or by virtual office, will help a lot to reduce the expenses and increase profits.
An option to open a bank account with a minimum opening amount and maintaining balance if not zero will also help. Having a bank account is required to do online business and e-payment is the trend in doing business in the digital age. We have viewed many commercial videos on online business with the successful technopreneurs like Tai Lopez, narrating their stories on how they started broke and made it a huge financial success later.
The role of social media creatives in promoting a businessman's product or service is so huge that they can effectively get the viewers engaged and convert them to buyers, but not all companies can afford to pay a social media agency so they utilize an in-house or contracted remote talent on per job or hourly basis. It will help reduce costs if there will be no separate licensing fees for social media creatives only if to regulate them. The opportunity cost can be offset by bigger consumers' consumption as influenced by social media, and product/service taxes can balance it. As long as there are publicly announced clear rules, the presence of the so-called 'watchdogs' and online mentors to guide them, things will go on smoothly. With artificial intelligence (AI), it is easier to know when one goes beyond the boundary line. With fees, the budding creatives cannot hone their talents to the maximum level in actual businesses in the local environment as they do not have the money to get the license, so they just register for freelance jobs online via virtual portals which are mostly based outside the country. The platform operator gets a certain percentage from their fees once the client pays them, and where the platform operator stays he spends his revenues there, which could have been spent by the locally based creatives here.
A discount card for all businessmen (with a one-time fee to cover plastic card expenses or can be free via sponsorship of some big companies) to be honored by many establishments will greatly reduce their costs of living and expenses, at the same time, boost the revenues of cooperating businesses.
Providing free seminars on business setting up and different kinds of livelihood according to interests will be of great help. Side by side with technology growth, quality courses on computer literacy, e-commerce, cloud computing and cybersecurity must be within reach of entrepreneurs.
There are many business activities to choose from when applying for a trade license. Simplifying it in such a way that some activities can be reclassified into one, and related activities can be covered by a single license so the businessman can have more diverse sources of revenues, utilizing same papers, facilities, manpower and resources.
A downloadable business plan for a specific business that can be customized by an entrepreneur later will also help as the government has big timely and relevant data as to population, commercial zoning/mapping, and others that a prudent businessman must know. The business plan, according to TopResume.com, is the 'blueprint for making the business successful; it lays out the business concept, how one fits into the marketplace, and the details of how the finances will work." It serves as a very good guide and helps minimize errors in decision making.
There are more countless ways to support businessmen who help create business opportunities to help the country and its human resources to be competitive, and to stay. Small or big, they are partners in development.
Let us support local businessmen and be business-minded, too. I declare that I passionately mean business and I will humbly attract the universe to give me the light to the right path.
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Photo credits: Pixabay
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