Why spring has important lessons to teach potential entrepreneurs

When I was a student at university, I often daydreamed about becoming a full-time entrepreneur.

After I completed my assignments every night, I would research business inspiration and think about names for my future company.

Like many potential entrepreneurs, I had a romantic idea about entrepreneurship. Growing up, I participated in charity bake sales and other activities for a good cause.

Business seemed easy to my young mind and something I truly enjoyed. I loved interacting with clients and marketing a product. It felt natural to me.

Yet when I graduated from university and ventured into entrepreneurship, things became challenging, especially as my business grew.

If I were to compare my business journey to the seasons, then my early stages would have to be winter. I faced multiple challenges and found running a company harder than I thought it would be.

I put in more hours to manage it every day and eventually learnt key lessons such as the importance delegating and ensuring that I was able to rest well.

As many of us around the world enjoy the warmer weather – and as I enjoy the transition of my business journey to spring – I reflect on the important lessons this season can teach potential entrepreneurs.

Tough times make us stronger

I wouldn’t be who I am today had it not been for the challenges that I faced with my business.

What many of us don’t realise when we celebrate successful entrepreneurs is the tough times they have experienced to reach where they are today.

A successful entrepreneur acquaintance once told me how the challenges she faced toughened her up for the next phase of her business, which required another level of strength that she previously didn’t possess

Manar Al Hinai

Not all of us are exposed to their moments of weakness, breaking points and challenges that may have put their businesses at risk.

The harsh winter season prepares us for the spring ahead. The great thing about any winter is that it’s temporary and, like clockwork, spring always comes.

Live in the moment

There was a point in my career when I had invested so much time and effort into my business that I did not make any time for myself, my friends or family.

My work came first and last. My laptop was my travel companion and during a holiday with my cousin, while I was typing on the beach, she shook me and pointed at my unhealthy work pattern.

The thing about work is that it never ends. We have a saying in Arabic that goes: “Life ends, but work doesn’t.”

Make time to live in the moment. Everything is temporary, just like spring, so make the most of every moment.

As much as I love my work, I know that there’s more to life. Dedicate some time to doing the things you enjoy. As hard as it may be, aim to create a balance between your work and personal life.

You reap what you sow

In business, you will reap what you sow. If you put 10 per cent into your business, you will receive 10 per cent in return.

You don’t need to work hard, but work smart. You can end up doing less if you have invested in the right partnership, collaboration and the right product that will help you to yield the returns you are looking for.

Spring is the season of bloom and growth. It teaches us that no matter how long winter lasts, spring is bound to come through.

And when it does, we should learn to live in the moment and reflect on what winter has taught us – and how we can use the lessons to prepare us for the seasons ahead.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant in Abu Dhabi

Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history

Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)

Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.

Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)

A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.

Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)

Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.

Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)

Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.