shoe shine... possibly a cocktail cater to the business man. Although in Dubai the cocktail probably won't work that well. Neck/back massage too. Cigars?
Yeah, I would take the loan if it was in the US. In Dubai, I don't know. You may not want to say such things on the internet, but can you describe this loan better? I know Dubai is liberal, but Muslims aren't supposed to lend for interest, right? So do they call it a loan or is it cloaked in some kind of 'rent expense' language?
I'd recommend that you incorporate instead of entering into partnership. A standard corporation, S-corporation, LLP, or LLC is usually a better choice since you won't be personally liable in the event that things don't work out. In a partnership, that would be a major worry for me. On your second point, I'd doubt that the cost of borrowing another $100K will come at a cheaper cost than using money from the "interest-free" $550K, so I wouldn't take the loan. Just use the capital you already have access to. If the operation is successful, you may be able to attain the backing of some investors, either privately, or by public ownership as a corporation. Of course, I'm not familiar with the legal environment for business in Dubai.
They charge interest, they just don't call it that. From what I understand, if you were to borrow money to buy a car, the bank would buy the car and resell it to you at a higher price with a payment schedule. I'm not exactly sure how it would apply to small business financing.
I'd also recommend, as far as the barber experience, that your barbers know various hairstyles. I can't tell you how often I've asked a barber for a Caesar or a Fade only to walk out when they admit that they have no idea what hairstyles I'm referring to.
I am on the brink of getting my government guarantee. There's a government organization which guarantees business loans to local SME's through a government bank as long as they submit an acceptable business plan. I'm quite confident that I'll be among the most prepared, this is not exactly my first business either. The bank is a government bank (with some shares floating) and they make an assessment of how likely they are to get their money back.
Yes. Essentially we style our beards our entire life so twice a week you go get a touch up, a trim, whatever. You have to keep it quite short and neat and well groomed for work obviously, you can't be running around like a mulla.
Nah, we've been saving up for this recently for precisely this reason - we've made sure that even if this whole thing goes bust we can manage to get by. I'm generally quite fearful of debt because I grew up during a period where my father was struggling with debt and it was quite harsh for us by anyone's standards. I have no intention of going through that again!
Ok, here's what I'm eligible for: Upto 8 years upto $550k Interest free for the first 3 years loan repayment starts in year 2 The cost of my first shop + one year's rent/supplies/utilities/operations/payroll is $115k. We can start up with as low as $80k keeping in mind we will make some money because location is ideal and expenses are not all paid up front. We have $80k to do this.
Ugh, I wish, they make so much freaking money here. But not anyone can open a bar in Dubai, and overall it's in my best financial interest not to position myself that way over here.
Yes, what's working in my favor is that they have only just started doing this so they aren't flooded yet and I have been preparing for something like this a long time. I got lucky and was able to meet the head of the program and he was on board with it and said that they are mainly interested in your ability to cover the loan and do anything positive for Dubai.
