Taking enough time to research, draft a business plan and forecast your earnings and expenses is crucial. Getty Images
Taking enough time to research, draft a business plan and forecast your earnings and expenses is crucial. Getty Images
Taking enough time to research, draft a business plan and forecast your earnings and expenses is crucial. Getty Images
Taking enough time to research, draft a business plan and forecast your earnings and expenses is crucial. Getty Images

Passion alone does not guarantee entrepreneurial success


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There have been endless debates on following one’s passion for entrepreneurial success.

Some argue that being passionate about your business will guarantee success, while others insist that passion should be tied with goals and financial plans to yield the desired results.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago, thousands have quit their jobs to pursue their passion. And why not? I am one of those people who managed to turn something I am passionate about into a business a decade ago.

Pursuing your passion provides you with an opportunity to work on something you truly enjoy. It could lead to your happiness and overall sense of satisfaction.

Even though I believe that pursuing your passion is key to success, being solely passionate doesn’t necessarily lead to it. Thinking that passion automatically leads to success may imply that the path is easy and doesn’t require much preparation or hard work. In fact, a paper in the journal Psychological Science, written by researchers from Stanford University, states that this advice may make people less successful.

To best illustrate, let me give you the example of my friend Sara. Sara, who has great fashion sense, also has an extensive knowledge of the fashion world, and has always been a trendsetter. She decided to pursue fashion designing as a full-time career, registered her business and invested in her branding. Months later, she was overwhelmed because her business was not yielding the income she had in mind.

She faced multiple challenges with her suppliers and didn’t know where to start when it came to marketing her business. She also discovered that it was a tough and highly competitive industry and, if you didn’t plan things well, your business could end up becoming a money pit.

In short, Sara, as passionate as she was about fashion, wasn’t fully prepared to lead a business. She understood fashion, but didn’t know how to manage it as a full-fledged business that required attention in a number of areas.

Taking enough time to research, draft a business plan and forecast your earnings and expenses is crucial. Before you register your business, you need to ensure that you have the necessary skills to turn your passion into a business that you can manage. If you don’t, then make sure to develop your skills.

But it doesn’t stop there. The next step is to tie your passion to measurable goals. I’ve seen this time and again, with entrepreneurs thinking that passion is enough to guide them to endless flows of income. You need to have goals to strive towards and a financial blueprint in place.

As you pursue your passion, don’t let it keep you from other opportunities that could lead to your success. The great thing about passion is that it’s not set in stone. Passion is fluid. Pay attention to the opportunities that could yield more profits.

Exploration is key. Take classes, join events, talk to different people and do something new every day. You may also notice that something else you could do may generate a bigger income for you. An event planner relative of mine generates most of her revenue from renting furniture and party props compared to her main line of business: planning events.

Passion is a necessary ingredient in the formula of success, but discounting other factors such as planning and setting goals could prove a hindrance to being successful.

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

LAST-16 FIXTURES

Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

if you go

The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.

The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.

 

 

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The six points:

1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences

2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation

3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it

4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow

5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided

6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Updated: May 09, 2022, 4:00 AM`