Running a Micro Business

These days many people want to be in business, knowing that one gets rich faster being an entrepreneur than being a regular employee. Starting and managing a business is quite challenging particularly in the first five (5) years, but it promises an exponential growth, compared to being an employee that gives one fixed income, with the hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours rendered for a particular service.

To do business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one must get a trade license. It is very, very important.

We see many products and/or services posted on social media, and behind them are people taking the risks of doing so without any trade license not realizing that if caught they would be fined with a big amount of money, much, much more than what profits they have generated from their sales, aside from other sanctions.

According to Khaleej Times, "UAE residents risk a fine of up to AED500K for selling items on social media without a license, including mums who are operating online catering, tailoring and beauty businesses from home, lawyers warned."

The same online newspaper shows, "In 2018, the UAE Ministry of Economy had teamed up with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to shutdown unauthorized e-commerce websites and social media pages."

There are times when people get jobless or they need more money for both ends to meet, and they have to be resourceful when no financial support can be requested from family and/or friends. Sometimes there is no any job opportunity, and they must do something to get by every single day.

For business owners who invested their own and/or borrowed resources to start and run their businesses, it is unfair to see those who do business without a trade license. They grind hard almost 24 hours a day so they can pay the wages of their staff and pay for other fixed and variable expenses and at tough times they cannot even reach a breakeven point.

Those who do micro-business 'their way' say that what they generate is just enough, or not even enough, to cover their survival needs so for them there is no need to do the necessary business registration. When we say 'micro', it means 'very small'.  We see some 'bold' vendors on the street, near or in some residential buildings, sometimes in the food court or dining places in the malls. They request us to buy their items, appealing to our emotions. In the eyes of many authorities and others, it is another form of begging, which is not allowed here. Recently there were some illegal vendors arrested in one of the emirates of the UAE. (Read related story here.) 

The government authorities are regulating trading to protect the consumers' interests. For example, as far as foods and beverages are concerned, this has something to do with the consuming public's health, so the authorities want that everything will be done in accordance with the industry standards. We heard about people who get sick, and some die, because of food poisoning, maybe due to expired ingredients, improper storage, etc., and we do not want this to happen. We do not see how foods are prepared, cooked, and packed. The authorities have the right to inspect the registered related businesses, for our own protection.

If a micro business is done by many people under one umbrella, this is no longer micro, but a part of a huge one. There are many people, employed and/or unemployed, who sell items under the trade license of a trading company. We see many direct-selling companies like Avon or multi-level marketing firms like Forever Living, FrontRow, Usana and Royale, but their individual sellers do not have a separate trade license. It appears to be a micro-business or 'a side business only' for them but gee, we hear stories about those who become millionaires with huge money, brand new cars, international tour packages, and house and lot everyone crazily dreams of.

We see many online platforms or e-marketplaces with many, many merchants of different brackets, from very small to very big. Do all merchants who supply products have their own trade licenses? Considering that we are promoting a smart economy, what are the smart platforms that will give them chances to unleash their potentials, utilize their gifts and monetize them in a safe way, without spending a fortune in setting up and running a business, like the registered resellers of the direct-selling and MLM companies?

What about the creatives who can recycle things and sell do-it-yourself crafts? What about the sewing hobbyists who can make dresses or something during their free time and sell them? What about the artists who can paint? What about life coaches and eloquent speakers who can help transform people? And more. How can the micro-businesses be regulated without compromising the interest of the consumers? What lessons do we get from the story of Jack Ma's 'Alibaba'?  The vendors and those who earn from them increase their revenues which can help themselves and their families, and the economy as well.

British business magnate Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin group of companies, has this inspiring line --

A big business starts small.

We can start and run a micro-business the right way. It may take time to grow it, sometimes longer than expected, but we learn the inspiring lessons from the bamboo tree story and other startups that later emerged as unicorns.

A few years back I gave birth to a business idea and organically nurtured it considering the very limited resources. I am committed to passionately make or do something that hopefully many, many people need and want -- for my retirement days.
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Photo credits:  Pixabay