startupBahrain March Issue

startupMARCH 2012

001

Bahrain

6 STEPS TO STARTING YOUR BUSINESS

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR STARTUPS+

ALI ALRIFFAITHE PHOTOGRAPHY

ENTREPRENEUR

TAMKEEN FIRST EXPO REVIEWED GADGET

REVIEWES

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Welcome to the first issue of startupBahrain tab-let magazine

Startup Bahrain is the medium in which local startups will be featured, covered, reviewed as well as given advice for and directed to valuable resources.

I am excited about this project for three main reasons. One, despite the number of initiatives, events, workshops and programs in Bahrain for startups and entrepreneurs, there is yet not a single publication devoted for them ! no chan-nel that covers their activities, talk about their challenges or even praise the efforts of the innovative and successful ones.

Second, it’s Bahrain’s first tablet magazine. It offers an un-paralleled reading experience by leveraging the latest tech-nologies in digital publishing. Stories are interactive and exciting, integrated with video, audio, slideshows and many other elements.

Third, we ourselves are a startup !

Upcoming issues of startupBahrain will really depend on you, we want you to tell us what do you like to see more of or less of.

We will capture your feedback from our email, twitter and facebook accounts, whichever is more convenient for you.

I will leave you now to enjoy the experience of startupBah-rain Interactive magazine.

Ahmed AlSawafiristartupBahrain Founder

EDITORIAL

Project Proudly Supported by

Bahrain Development Bank

& Tamkeen

Contact UsMob : +973333 973330

startupBahrain Magazine Project

Project FounderAhmed AlSawafiri

Magazine EditorSara Amin

ProductionMazin AlSawafiri

ContributorsMohammed IsaZain AlZayani

Adel MaymoonIsa AlMoawdah

VaijayanteeOsman Safdar Shamma Uchil

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/startupbahrain

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CONTENTS

startupBahrain

startupFeatures

startupWorldwide

startupResources

startup

Advice

Tap on a category to view its content, Tap on a topic to go to it

Book Reviewes

Gadget Debrief

Apps Debrief

Tamkeen’s first expo was a greatsuccess, we bring you the main highlights

Q&A with Bahrain Business In-cubator Center, the BEST place to start

6 steps to start up

Word of Mouth Marketing

Social Media for startups

Instagram for Business

Ali AlRiffai, Bahrain’s leading Professional commercial and advertising Photographer

The Story of Canvas.bh a cre-ative local startup founded by Yazin

The story of airbnb, a distruptive startup

7 Secrets behind Steve Jobs phenomenal success

TAMKEEN EXPO 2013

Combining a conference and exhibition, Tamkeen Expo 2013 was a special two-day event which brought together beneficiaries and stakeholders under a single roof. In an Exclusive interview with startup Bahrain, Ms. Hala Sulaiman talked to us about the expo and its future plans

Being the first Tamkeen Expo, what were the drivers behind the idea?Tamkeen’s achievements are measured by the achievements of Bahrainis and the King-dom as a whole. Since its inception in 2006, Tamkeen has to date created over 180 pro-grammes which have enhanced the capabil-ities of over 66,000 Bahrainis and enterprises to achieve their potential. We wanted to shed light on these achievements and celebrate them, and in the process drive awareness about our support programmes.What are the main objectives Tamkeen aims to achieve with this expo?The Tamkeen Expo was conceived as an inte-grated event to serve many purposes. First-ly, it was a major learning opportunity which brought together entrepreneurs and re-nowned experts under one roof through con-ference and several interactive workshops. Secondly, through the exhibition which showcased 80 enterprises in Bahrain which have benefited from Tamkeen and 33 of our service providers, we encouraged the public to take advantage of the wealth of opportuni-ties available through Tamkeen, whether they be training, financing, or advisory services.How do you evaluate the expo and do you think you have achieved the desired objec-tives?The event was a resounding success by all measures. The workshops, conference, and exhibition were all fully booked with around 2,000 participants combined, not to mention the large number of visitors who flocked to the exhibition to see our enterprises and ser-

vice providers and learn how they too can benefit from our programmes. The feedback and response have been overwhelmingly pos-itive from everyone involved, and we are im-mensely pleased and thankful for everyone’s support, and promise to continue our efforts to serve the private sector.Would the Expo become an annual event? If yes, what would you change next year?At this present point in time, it is not clear whether the event will take place again in the future. However, we have received feedback from a large number of participants who wished to make this an an-nual event, so there is a possibility to bring it back next year.We haven’t seen the Ministry of Industry & Commerce nor Bahrain Chamber of com-merce participating, despite their critical role, why is that?Tamkeen has a long-standing partnership with the MoIC and BCCI and all other stake-holders in Bahrain as part of our efforts to work together, identify the market needs, and offer support programmes which address these needs. Our doors have always been open to all Bahrainis to help fur-ther improve the level of services we provide.

Tap once to pause the image, swipe to change

How do you think startups and SMEs have benefited from this expo?SMEs and start-ups have benefited in several ways. Firstly, as exhibitors, they were able to showcase and market their products and ser-vices and network with other exhibitors and visitors. In addition, SME owners were also able to discover more about Tamkeen’s sup-port programmes through the Tamkeen pavil-ion, other SME owners, and service providers who were present. They also got a valuable learning opportunity through the interactive workshops conducted at the Tamkeen Expo which focused on important aspects of busi-ness, such as Marketing and Promotion Strat-egy, Entrepreneurship Social Media, Quality, Business Planning, and e-Tendering.

What should startups and SMEs expect in the near future in terms of events?We will continue our efforts to serve Bahrain’s private sector and be their partner to suc-cess. The Tamkeen Expo was merely meant as a platform to showcase the achievements of our beneficiaries, and thus drive more Bah-rainis and enterprises in Bahrain to benefit from our support programmes which have benefited over 19,000 enterprises to date. Our doors are always open to everyone, and we urge all business owners in Bahrain to con-tact us and find out how they too can benefit from the comprehensive solutions we offer which meet the needs of start-ups, SMEs, and even large enterprises.

Interview with Ebrahim AlBazzaz -Creative SolutionsHow do you evaluate your participation at Tamkeen Expo ?I think the event was very useful to us being a newly established company, specially that we were able to meet different companies, banks, service providers as well as have direct access to Tamkeen staff. We got to meet potential customers and network with many others in the industry. It was also an opportunity for us to know our competitors, and understand their offerings which helped us in pushing our limits and and capabilities.

If Tamkeen Expo becomes an annual event, what would you like to see different next year ?The organization of the event was excellent, but I think having the venue organized based on the industry would be very helpful. There were also very beneficial workshops delivered in the expo, but at certain times it was very difficult for us to leave the stand and attend. We suggest to have those workshops uploaded to Youtube so we can always go back and watch them, or maybe hold those workshops a day prior to the expo to gain the most out of it.

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You always dreamt of being a entrepreneur! and now you’ve decided to become one. You’ve got a good workable idea, feasible business model and you’ve got what it takes. Welcome to the Bah-rain Business Incubator Center (BBIC), the BEST place to start. Scroll down for a Q&A with BBIC

Think BigThink BBIC

PULL HERE

When did BBIC start in Bahrain ?BBIC was established in 2002 as the first Busi-ness Incubator in the GCC region. What is the main role for BBIC ?Bahrain Development Bank’s (BDB) objec-tive as the main SME’s funding institute in the Kingdom of Bahrain is the economic de-velopment of the country, especially the di-versification of the economy and creation of jobs. Establishment of Bahrain Business Incubator Centre (BBIC) is intended to fur-ther these objectives. BBIC is initiated and financed by BDB. As a pioneering project, which is the first of its kind in Bahrain and the GCC. BBIC main mission is to support the small and medium business activity in the Kingdom of Bahrain. What services does the BBIC offer ?BBIC offers many services including Business Advisory, Space with subsidized rent, Finan-cial linkage, Security and many other shared facilitiesWhat’s the size of the office and industri-al spaces offered by BBIC ?The offered offices range from 10 m2 to 45 m2. The workshops range between 80 m2 to 1400 m2.How can a new startup apply to BBIC and are there any prerequisites or require-ments?Candidates should fill the application form and arrange for a meeting with the manage-ment team to present the idea of the busi-ness and discuss the business plan and all other related business issues. For how long can a company stay at BBIC?The Incubation Period is 3 years where the business should be able to graduate and set-tle in the market.What is the capacity of BBIC today and how much occupancy do you have ?The current total capacity of BBIC is 138 units, currently the occupancy rate is more than 90 %. How many companies benefited from BBIC since the center started? The total number of beneficiaries is around 225 companies.

What are the main sectors BBIC attracts and is there a trend of growth in certain sectors ?The current incubated companies are var-ying between light manufacturing of elec-tronic devices and components, boats, cars, garments, industrial mechanical parts, pa-per products, aluminum products, electrical products and food processing. Also BBIC is incubating businesses in the ser-vice industry such as Marine services, event management services, IT consultancy, Web-sites development, social media services, business consultancy, coaching, agricultur-al service, nursering, graphic design, media production, and other industrial services.What are the future plans of BBIC ?BBIC is expanding to increase the geograph-ic coverage and increase the number of in-cubators in the kingdom. Currently BBIC is establishing new incubators that are sector specific incubators targeting specific cli-ent segments like a specialized incubator to serve the women owned businesses, this project is a joint project with the Higher Su-preme counsel for Women, also BBIC is es-tablishing an incubator at the University of Bahrain as a joint project between the in-cubator and the university. This incubator will be targeting knowledge based business and technology commercialization. There are also plans to establish more incubators which are under planning.

Watch the full version on YoutubeInternet Connectivity Required

A professional Bahraini photographer and entrepreneur who left a fulltime job to pur-sue his passion for photography, only to become Bahrain’s leading advertising pho-tograher.

Ali Photography

http://www.aliriffai.com

How did you get started in photography?

It was in 1999 as a hobby. I used to do a lot of photo editing and retouching for my own and personal photos. I fell in love with pho-tography and working with images. After two years, I started an Arabic website on photography www.adigicam.com and that took my passion to different levels specially when I started interacting with other pro-fessional photographers in the region.The website today has more than 38,000 members.

What was your original profession before becoming a professional photographer ?

Before hopping on to Photography, I used to work as part of the Chemical plant opera-tions team in GPIC Bahrain.

What made you take the brave decision of quitting your job and becoming a full time professional photographer?

The main driver for taking this decision was to do what I love. I was a bit careful though about leaving my fulltime job, so for almost 3 years I used to do a lot of freelance pho-tography work for different events and cli-ents. That gave me a huge push and made the decision of resigning much easier.

What were the main challenges you faced when you started and how did you man-age to overcome them ?

The main challenge was to convince local and international advertising agencies to work with me being somehow new to the field specially when there are well-estab-

lished professional photographers in the market. This takes time and requires a lot of patience, but it also drives you to get the best out of you to prove yourself. I started growing my portfolio, exposing my talent and networking with people from the field to increase my chances of getting hired.

What’s the most difficult part of being an entrepreneur ?

I think financing is the most difficult part. When I started and for almost 3 years, I used to invest the majority of my earnings back into the business. Photography is an expen-sive profession, as you need to have high-end cameras, equipment and software to deliver exceptional results that will impress clients.

What are the sources of your inspiration ?

The work of many international photogra-phers and artists inspire me. Movies are also a great source of inspiration specially the ones that use new age technologies. They give me great insight into new technologies, lighting and editing techniques.

What’s your favorite camera and the one you use the most ?

For professional photography and commer-cial advertising, I use Hasselblad digital me-dium format camera because the output quality and the level of details are impecca-ble. For personal photos, I love my iPhone. Its always in my pocket, takes great photos and can be easily and immediately shared.

How do you measure the success of your work?

I consider my photos successful when they deliver the message carried, and we usually assess that with our clients from their cus-tomer feedback and the impact of the ad on their business.It happens a lot where I receive posi-tive feedback and compliments on or-dinary photos as well.

What differentiates a good photographer from an ordinary one?

Creativity and technical skills are the main differentiators. From creativity aspect, a good photographer would deliver his message in a unique yet simple approach. Technically, there are obvious things such as lighting, composition, framing and basic editing.

Which of the commercial ads that you shot do you love the most?

From my recent work, I loved the national team campaign, “The Mission” TV program and few fashion photography I did for local designers.

Do you do photography in Bahrain or do you have regional assignments?

The majority of my work is in Bahrain but I also have different assignments in Saudi Ara-bia and Qatar.

Are you engaged in any new project or in-itiative?

I am planning on starting new advanced pho-tography workshops for amateurs who want to become professional. I am also consider-ing having regional professional photogra-phers to deliver those workshops beside me. I also started a public YouTube channel where I will be sharing my work and what happens behind the scenes.

What advice would you give to young pho-tographers who want to become profes-sional?

First of all, I advise them to invest time in learning about photography. Take it slowly and be patient as it does take time. I also ad-vise them not to fall for the equipment trap. Photography tools and equipment are there to help you but are not the reason behind great photos.

From Ali’s Portfolio swipe to the left to browse through the gallery

startupBahrain

CANVAS.BHan innovative business con-cept that turns your phone photos to beautiful canvas prints

In an interview with startupBahrain, Yazin Al-Irhayim the founder of Canvas.bh shares with us his startup story.

Where did the idea for launching Canvas.bh come from? How did you take the deci-sion to become an entrepreneur?I got the idea from Rasha Yousif, while attend-ing an ‘iPhoneography’ workshop that she organized at the Business Incubator Center in Hidd. I did some research of my own and decided that it was definitely worth pursu-ing, especially since I knew we had the tech expertise to pull it off.My history with entrepreneurship started in 2011 at the first ever Startup Weekend at Batelco’s Staff Center in Hamala. I participat-ed, out of pure curiosity at the time. My team went on to win the first place, and I’m pret-ty sure it’s where I caught the elusive ‘entre-preneur bug’.

Finally how did you take that decision to quit your job?I liked my job. You get a ton of great work experience after spending 5 years, and GE is renowned for having developed some of the worlds best leaders. But alas, it just didn’t seem to be the thing I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. I loved what I felt at that first Startup Weekend event, and I knew it’s something I wanted to do.Besides, I’ve got a lot of ideas that I wanted

to test out – and I couldn’t just leave them.I also knew that there had to be boundaries, so I set two limits: a financial limit and a time limit. If I went over either of those limits, then I would go back and find a ‘normal’ job.

What is Canvas.bh all about?Some of the best shots you’ve got, were tak-en using a phone, but the sad reality is that those pictures stay on your phone – or Ins-tagram, or Facebook. Canvas.bh brings those photos to life. We make beautiful canvas art from your Facebook and Instagram shots that are built to look perfect! Your photos are printed on archival-grade canvas (the same type used in museums) that is designed to last over 100 years.It’s a great way to keep those memories alive – hung up in your living room, or bedroom. They also make great gifts! (no more last min-ute perfume shopping necessary).

How did you fund the project?I’ve been working for 5 years, during which I’ve been able to save up some money. I didn’t look for external funding, instead de-ciding to take advantage of the various sup-port programs available for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) that the country generously offers. Canvas.bh is locat-ed at the Bahrain Business Incubator Center (BBIC) where the rent is great, and we’re surrounded by other start-

ups. We took advantage of the ‘Taqneya” program by Tamkeen which aided us in pur-chasing all the necessary equipment for a solid setup (printers, etc).

How did you know about the Bahrain Busi-ness Incubator Center (BBIC)? I was referred to the BBIC by a friend – Nawaf Saeed – who already had a space there. He showed me around, and I was pretty im-pressed. I applied for a unit and we were up and running in our new office in about a month.

What do you think of the BBIC?I would say it’s a great place for startups; they’ve got useful facilities (including meet-ing and conference rooms), spacious offices and ample parking area. The best part is the low rent which really makes it a convenient spot for small businesses to start. I wish they had a café or a small restaurant so we’d have a place to relax and recharge. It would also be useful if BBIC organized events/activities that could help all the entrepreneurs to meet regularly and network. Tell us about Canvas.bh, how is the business doing? Well, its too early to tell. I’ve got some great feedback from the customers that’ve already signed up and will be working on getting the word out to the rest of Bahrain. We’ve got plans to expand our services to other coun-tries within the GCC and the Middle East re-gion.

What makes Canvas.bh a unique service ?We’ve designed a unique process that lets us process very low resolution images, and still make them look magnificent once printed. We’re also using the best materials on the market, imported directly from the US. We’re so confident in our product, that we offer a 100% money back guarantee on every canvas sold. If you don’t fall in love with it, we’ll give you your money back.

Who are your main customers?It’s a public service, that anyone with a cam-

era-phone can benefit from! We’ve seen par-ticular interest from photographers and in-terior designers so far.

Given your experience with Canvas.bh, what are the main lessons learnt? Being a startup, there is a lot of paper work involved with registering the company, get-ting the necessary licenses, and many other official formalities. Getting someone to help out means you’re free to concentrate on the core business of building a brand that would sell in the market. The second valuable lesson is that not every-one can be an entrepreneur! You really need to be up for the challenge and face the many ups and downs with courage, passion and conviction.I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m loving this experience so far!

How it works

book reviewsclick on a book to read its review

Reviews by Osman Safdar

The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber

The E Myth provides key insights into why most small businesses fail and what to do about it. The author cleverly dissects the technician’s dilemma and says that it’s fatal to assume that understanding the technical work of a business is enough to run the business itself. Technician is the good barber, carpenter, musician or the engineer who thinks that to run a successful business they just have to continue being good at what they do. According to Mr Gerber, this spells doom even before the business begins because soon enough they’ll find themselves juggling with sales, marketing, legal issues, HR and other business tasks, as well as trying to get the technical work done which the clients pay for. The author argues that this problem only makes the business owner put in more hours into his work which ends up being a job itself. So what’s the solution? Turning your business into a system that works without you. The book shows how to apply the lessons of fran-chising and start working “on” your business rather than working “in” your business - a distinction many entrepreneurs fail to make. The E Myth is a must read book for new as well as seasoned entrepreneurs!



Work The System by Sam Carpenter

Just like The E Myth, “Work The System” emphasizes the importance of systems mindset in running a business, one where every single process is covered by documented procedures so that it becomes a self-sustaining entity. “Work The System” is written by Sam Carpenter who turned his failing call center business into a huge success by following the principles outlined in this book. According to the author, the difference between a successful and a struggling business owner is how they perceive and manage their work. “What’s the most important difference between the manager of a large successful business and the manager of a small struggling business? The first manages systems; the second copes with bad re-sults” says Mr Carpenter. In this truly inspiring book, Sam Carpenter convinces people to change their fundamental perception of the world around them from something random and unstructured to one made up of individual linear systems, each of which can be im-proved and perfected. Work The System is a perfect book for anyone wanting to work less and making more from their business!



The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani by Sam Carpenter

“Zen of Social Media Marketing” was first written in 2010 by Shama Kabani, CEO of The Mar-keting Zen Group with a subsequent edition which came out in 2012. The author describes “Zen” of Zen marketing as “…understanding the mind-set of people who are using social media and then using it to your advantage.” Social media marketing works best as a tool for attracting traffic and attention. It doesn’t work as well for converting strangers into clients. It’s better suited to converting strangers into consumers (blog readers or newsletter subscribers), simply because “free” is an easy sell. Free works! And over time, it can and will lead to business” Ms Kabani further noted in her book. Packed with 13 chapters on topics ranging from search engine optimization to Social Media advertising to creating social media policies for organizations, this book is a must have for entrepreneurs who want to succeed digitally!



The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries challenges traditional business startups and presents a new approach which changes the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries is a technology entrepreneur and founder of the online social entertainment website IMVU which hits over $50 million in annual revenue. Many of the lessons in this book have drawn upon IMVU’s success. So what is this book about? It’s not about raising capital or writing a business plan or startup marketing, instead it focuses on a scientific approach to startup development. So “Instead of making complex plans that are based on a lot of assumptions” Ries says, “You can make constant adjustments with a steering wheel called the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop.” Build-Measure-Learn is a cycle which must be repeated until you come up with a product that people actually want to use and pay for. This stands in contrast with traditional methods where a complete product is built and thrown into the market. The Lean Startup redefines who entrepreneurs are and what it really means to run a startup. Must read book for every entrepreneur!

GADGETS DEBRIEFclick on a gadget to read the review, click again to close

Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio for iPad

We already have another Logitech product in this list, but we can’t leave this neat gizmo out. Designed specifically to make you more productive with your iPad. This cover serves as a full fledged ultra thin keyboard and a stand. What’s super cool about it is that it’s solar powered!

XLogitech Anywhere Mouse MX

The ultimate pointing device for road warriors. This wireless mouse features a nano receiver that you can simply plug into your laptop USB port and forget, an advanced Darkfield laser sensor that never fails on any surface including glass or your jeans.

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HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus

This isn’t just another all-in-one printer. Sure, its a good duplex printer, reliable fax, quick photocopier and snappy scanner. But it can also print right from your iPad, iPhone or iPod, convert documents to PDF and send them by email without touching your PC.

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Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive

Need portable storage? This little beast offers up to 1TB of space in a small package. It comes with nice and easy backup software, seamless integration with Facebook and Flickr. The ultimate feature is its swappable upgrade kit that enables you to switch to faster interfaces like Thunderbolt or Firewire if USB 3.0 was not fast enough for you.

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APPS DEBRIEFclick the next or back arrows to browse through the appsclick on the app itself to grab it from the apps store

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APPS and Gadget Reviews by Mohd Hammad

TripIT (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Web)

It’s that simple. 1 - Go to Tripit.com. 2 - Login with your Gmail. 3 -Allow access and watch all your upcoming trip itinerary automatically filled for you. TripIt scans your email, picks up information from your e-tickets, hotel reservation, car rental and arranges things for you better than any secretary. You can always upload your own files or just send them to [email protected] if your concerned about your email privacy. Regardless of how you use it, TripIt will arrange your trip “automagically”.


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Evernote (iOS, Android, Windows Phone,Blackberry, Web, Windows, Mac)

Taking notes is always fun with Evernote. Simplified note tags, virtual folders, notes, PDF and photo sharing and advance editing features make it the ultimate solution to take notes while you’re on your office chair or relaxing on a sofa in coffee shop. One thing we really love is the beautiful tablet design that makes Evernote a joy to use.


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Wunderlist (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Web, Windows, Mac)

If you think your phone’s to-do and tasks apps were good enough, then it’s clear you haven’t experienced the simplicity and power of Wunderlist. You can create your new tasks or lists, move them around easily, assign deadlines, monitor upcoming activities and arrange your workday through a gorgeous interface that looks great in every single platform we tried.


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Dropbox (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Web, Windows, Mac)

Nothing beats Dropbox superb cloud synchronization and backup. You’ll get 2GB of space, but you can get around 18 if you put some effort by referring the service to friends or using mobile photo upload. Dropxbox saves previous versions of your files, have a simplified user interface in every platform and can work with Google Authenticator if you’re paranoid.

startupAdvice

6 STEPS TO START-UPA step by step guide to help you transform your idea to a fully established business in BahrainARTICLE CONTRIBUTED BY BAHRAIN DEVELOPMENT BANK

In a rapidly changing market, an entre-preneur needs to convert his idea into a running business in the quickest possible

time. To do so, you need to have the knowl-edge and understanding of the big process to help you get going.

STEP 1 Decide on a Business Idea: Knowing what business you want to be in is the first and by far the most important step. To help you make a choice, you will need to do a personal SWOT analysis specially in re-spect to the resources you have in hand or can have access to. Don’t rush, take it easy and take your time to know what business you want to be in. Let your passion, interests

and the things you love drive your choice. Once you make up your mind, go and collect market information related to your business, things like competition, market demand and any statistics that could help you analyze the potential of your idea.

STEP 2 Work on the Business Plan: Once you settle on an idea, you now need to prepare a business plan. Business Plans usu-ally cover the following :-- Summary- The business- The Market- The future- The finances

Your Business plan is important as it helps you answer critical questions and guides you through out the setup process.

STEP 3 Choose a good location: The location of the project is very important especially in case of a small scale project. In case of a service project, location becomes even more important and could be the reason behind success or failure. For smaller manu-facturing projects, you will need to explore the available options in the market such as Government supported facilities (check out Bahrain Business Incubator Center in Hidd www.bbicbahrain.com ) and you will need to make sure that the chosen facility covers all your manufacturing requirements.If you are starting a very small scale business, you can make use of the growing number of business centers in Bahrain. Business centers offer you a very small office, usually a small room that can fit a desk and two chairs along with supporting services such as conference rooms, telephone and internet services.

STEP 4 Sort out the Financing Once you have an idea of the business and a forecast of all the expenses, you will need to decide on the route you will take to fi-nance your project. Options include person-al savings, Family financing, Bank Loans, and startup grants (local and regional programs available). Bahrain Development Bank pro-vides financing as well as professional busi-ness advice to startups and SMEs.If you are a Bahraini and have an innovative idea with promising potential, try approach-ing Tenmou www.tenmou.bh ,Bahrain’s first Angel Investment company. Bigger Project ideas with higher financing requirements can approach venture capital banks, Investment Banks or even knock the door of potential interested investors.Whatever route you end up taking, keep in mind that the bottom line of business survival lies in its ability to manage its finances.

STEP 5 Register your BusinessThere are different possible forms of business ownership. The most common forms adopt-ed by small businesses are Individual Estab-lishment / Sole Proprietorship, Partnership Company and Company with Limited Liabil-ity (WLL). You can find out more details on each form and its requirements by visiting the Investors Center of the Ministry of Indus-try and Commerce.Depending on the type of business, additional requirements and approvals may be required to obtain the license. For example, if you are starting a fast food restaurant you will need to approach and get approvals from the Min-istry of Health, Municipalities, Civil Defence and others to make sure you are following the local standards while setting up the busi-ness.

STEP 6 Launch !

How to Write a Business Plan IPAD APP (FREE)

A business plan defines your compa-ny before it’s even formed, and it of-ten determines everything from your funding to your future goals. Get it right the first time, with expert videos by founders who have started suc-cessful companies using a solid busi-ness plan as a foundation.

WINNING WITH WORD OF MOUTH

Story by Zain AlZayani

Taking advantage of Bahrain’s geographic size is key to ensuring your business reach is maximized with the least cost possible. When starting up a business, staying within budget is key and for advertising – the cost can run pretty high these days.One of the most effective, popular and, be-lieve it or not, underutilized methods of ad-vertising is WOMM – word of mouth mar-keting.Word of mouth Marketing is basically free advertising. It is when your customers share their experience with their friends and fam-ily, and the sharing snowballs until it turns into a physical action – making a purchase. Enter social media – the value of word of mouth is now quadrupled.A recent study by the Word of Mouth Associ-ation (yes that’s correct) showed that out of the top four driving forces of purchase de-cisions, word of mouth is at the top of the list. Other forces include: information from a website, email sent from a friend, or read-ing about it online. The power of word of mouth is thus – unde-niable. And harnessing its power effectively is critical in establishing and maintaining a business’s reputation as well as managing customer expectations. Add to that Bah-rain’s small size and the influential power of recommendation that consumers in Bah-rain have on one another. How many of you have tried a new restaurant because your colleague was there and loved it? Or visit-ed a spa because your best friend posted a picture of it on Instagram? Or a tweet ap-peared on your timeline commending the superior service received at a gym? Without the deliberate intention of these businesses, but they just gained a few am-bassadors that promoted them – for free. Also goes without saying that the more ‘in-fluential’ these ambassadors are, the more powerful their marketing is (the highest number of followers in the online world for

instance).So how does a business utilize WOMM? Ul-timately, the business should make it its ob-jective to encourage and influence positive messages. A business should make sure it utilizes the available tools it has such as con-sistent and superior customer service and setting up social outreach programs such as social networks, websites, active emails, and even suggestion forms. With these tools in place, you make it a natural step for cus-tomers to spread the word since they real-ize that you are actually listening. Encour-aging customers to discuss your brand will empower them and if they see followers in-fluenced by their recommendations – they will continue to spread the feedback. It is the responsibility of the business to make sure the feedback is positive – and this hap-pens with solid customer experience man-agement and consistently superior custom-er service.One of the critical business objectives should be superior customer experience. This ob-jective should be embedded into the minds of all employees and those who represent the business. This guarantees positive cus-tomer feedback. A good experience is al-ways shared – but so is a bad one.

Another important asset that is available for businesses in Bahrain is ‘brand ambassa-dors’. Brand ambassadors can be custom-ers who have a social influence. They can be society members, bloggers, or even so-cial media users with many followers. In-vite them to try out your service and uti-lize their network and influence. Offering referral programs to customers can act as a catalyst for positive feedback – but it is the responsibility of the business to ensure the services delivered are exceptional.

How do business encourage positive feed-back?

Easy, Focus on the classic text-book prac-tice – the marketing mix. Carefully planning each element and setting the standards on how to deliver the service or product is key. Make sure that customer expectations are met and exceeded – that is the utmost min-imum. Thoughtful touches, surprises, and an unforgettable ambience make business-es stand-out, remembered and mentioned. And most importantly, unhappy customers must be handled immediately. The longer time it takes to resolve an issue, the more time the unhappy customer has to bad-mouth the business. Offer freebies, refunds – whatever it takes to ensure the customer’s frown is turned upside down. Neglect is not an option.

Okay, now what?It’s quite the juggle to own a business. But as much as it is challenging it is rewarding. As much as it causes headache it causes your heart to pump with happiness. A busi-ness should be treated with love. The love you treat your business shines through and can be felt by customers. A neglected busi-ness tends to show signs of negligence and seems like it’s managed by staff instead of a visionary.

Set standards and stick to them. Simple rule, Build it and they will come, they will talk about it.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA FOR STARTUPS ?

Story by Adel Maymoon

startupAdvice

If you’re about to launch your business or you just did, I’m sure you’ve spent a lot of time planning and crunching the numbers to control your expenses and become prof-itable in the shortest time possible!Whatever line of business you’re in, you definitely need to work on promoting it to generate interest and sales. How do you promote it? Traditionally, you would draft a marketing plan and allocate a budget to be spent on advertising mediums such as newspapers, magazines, radio ads or even outdoor mediums such as billboards and lampposts. You might also consider build-ing a nice shiny website and do a bit of on-line marketing.Well, what if I told you that you can promote your product in a very effective way and sell 3 times more without spending a dime on Marketing (or fils in this part of the world)!Is that even possible you would ask? And my answer to you is yes. You don’t need to spend any money or do expensive market-ing campaigns to promote your products anymore!Traditionally what happens is, as a startup you tend to focus and spend a huge amount of money on building the best product ever which everyone will be wishing to have and use! And then, the more you sell your product/service the more money you make. So why spend so much on Marketing? Of course you’ll say that you need to promote your product/service first in order to sell it and that’ll cost you money. Right?If you promote your product using the con-ventional methods and traditional mediums as described above, you will spend heavily as those channels are extremely expensive.Have no fear as the new marketing meth-ods using Social Media will get you more ef-fective results in promoting your product/service than all the traditional media com-bined. You’ll be able to sell at least 3 times more and without spending anything!

How’s that? Well, It is scientifically proven that only 14% of people trust ads! Can you imagine putting so much time and effort in designing your precious ad and paying the highest price to publish it on the first page on the first day of the week, only to find out that 14% will really trust it and a lot less would call to inquire.Traditional media is unpredictable and is dif-ficult to measure, while with Social Media you can target your customers and commu-nicate with them directly. Not to mention that you can actually measure the success of your efforts almost instantly. The new measurement tools in each of the largest social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc..) allows you to tar-get your customers based on their location, gender, income, and many other criteria which will eventually help you achieve bet-ter results and higher selling opportunities at zero cost.With social media networks, you can create your own space/channel to engage with your customers for free. You are also pro-vided with tools that help measure the inter-actions and feedback from your customers. On average 78% of people trust customer re-views and recommendations on social me-dia. Those reviews are not necessarily from family members or close friends, they are from other customers who have tried the product and recommended it to others. As in the conventional wisdom, nothing sells better than word of mouth!If all the above didn’t convince you to switch gears and focus on Social Media instead, then I hope this piece of information will; last year Social Media usage on the Internet has surpassed porn!I hoped you’ve enjoyed reading the article. In my next article, we will talk about how to get started with social media, use it effec-tively and take the best decisions.

Instagram for Business

Story by Isa AlMowadah

startupAdvice

No doubt you want to grow your business and reach new customers and markets. In today’s world, the tools available to help you reach your ultimate goal are countless but we’re going to cover one specific tool, Instagram.Instagram along with few other social me-dia platforms are becoming a very attrac-tive marketing tools: high reach and easy to use, but is knowing how to use Instagram enough to use it for business? definitely not.Build a Strategy, Protect Your Brand.First, create a strategy that focuses on build-ing your brands image. Decide what kind of person your brand should be; arrogant, se-rious, sophisticated, funny, or what excatly?Think of your goal, who do you want to reach, what is the best way to impress your target market and get their attention. Build a brand’s personality that will be relevant to your targeted audience. A proper brand personality is important for all your mar-keting channels.What to shareIf you own a small restaurant and decided to use Instagram, what will you share? Most restaurant owners use Instagram as a way to display the food they offer, like a menu. A little of that will sure get people’s attention, but a lot is boring. Try sharing pictures of customers (permission is required), behind the scenes, restaurant décor, etc.Instagram content can be very creative and the possibilities are endless. Let me share few of what I liked on Instagram.Express Your BrandEach brand stands for something, and Red-bull decided to stand for extreme sports and living on the edge. Know what your brand means and communicate it.Share Your HeritageYour business might have a heritage or it’s relevant to a cultural heritage. If it does, talk about it. Starbucks have posted a picture of

their first Starbucks store in Pike Place, Se-attle.EngageUse Hashtags to create engagement. After all, social media is all about engagement.Share NewsMake sure to share valuable news. Attaching relevant news to your posts grabs the atten-tion and keep your followers interested in what you share. NBC News collects pictures from Instagram and reposts them as news. Always give credit to original owners when reposting.Tell a StoryStories are usually interesting. Try finding a story about your business, or a customer after taking his or her permission. Make it sound interesting and people will love it.InspireSharpie inspires their followers of using sharpies in art. It’s smart because it makes interesting posts and encourages people to use sharpies more.Two RulesThere are two rules for Instagram content: creative and relevant!Share, Don’t Spam..How can you know you’re not sharing too much? There is no rule, and each one’s tol-erance to spamming is different than the other. Based on observing global brands on Instagram, you shouldn’t share more than two posts per day with a couple of hours between them.If you have to post more for any reason, keep a gap of at least one hour between each post. Remember that you can use facebook as an album.Descriptions: Add Meaning to Your PostsNot so many people read Instagram de-scriptions, but when a post gets people’s at-tention, they will want to know more about it. Add a nice description that adds meaning and personality to your posts.

Make sure you still sound social when put-ting words in social media. Remember this is not an advertisement, and if your posts were advertisements, people wouldn’t fol-low you. Keep social media social.Getting FollowersFirst of all, don’t buy followers. There are companies that sell followers, but it won’t add value and will make you look bad if people noticed. Instead, find your target audience and get their attention; following them, liking/commenting on their posts, using hashtags, and reposting. Don’t rush! These ways can do more harm than good if they weren’t used correctly.Following:Follow people you believe will be interest-ed in what you share to get their attention, and hopefully get them to follow you back. You still don’t want to follow lots of users because then your follow will show no val-ue to some of them. To keep your follow-ing rate down, unfollow the ones who didn’t follow you back, use this tool to help you out: Statigram.comLiking and Commenting:Liking is not as sensitive as commenting. Like few pictures that are relevant to your brand to get the attention of their owners. Avoid liking personal pictures.I do not recommend commenting, only on rare cases. But if you decided to comment, do not ever try to sell something. You are only getting users attention in a social way.Hashtags:Hashtags are a good way to draw peo-ple’s attention. Make sure you use the right hashtags. Don’t spam hashtags (Three are enough), and don’t use pointless overused hashtags that will only attract random peo-ple from other regions. Also, don’t talk hash-tags, #it #looks #bad!Reposts:Track influentials and find if they have post-

ed content relevant to you. If they do, ‘Cap-ture-screen’ their posts and repost them while giving them credit (mention their name, thank them, or ask others to follow them). Don’t do this a lot and do it only once to each person you want their attention.Share on other Channels:Always use other channels to draw users to follow you. If your post is proper, share it on Facebook and Twitter too. Cross-promoting can work on both online and offline. Make sure people who comes to your store or of-fice knows about your social media chan-nels. Do it properly and professionally.Do Contests:Contests that are based on visual participa-tions such as photography or art are a great way to increase engagement. Choosing winners based on votes will definitely bring you more followers. Make sure it’s clear and the prize has a proper value. Also, create a hashtag to track participations.Spelling and GrammarEverybody does mistakes, but since you’re a brand new, misspells are embarrassing (Don’t take it personal). Recheck the de-scription before posting, and if in doubt, use a dictionary (online or an App) or use Google to check if you’re using the right phrasing.Graphic Effects, Good or Bad?Good, but don’t use effects only because you can use them. Use them to make your posts pretty and different. Of course, Instagram has its own filters but I encourage using ef-fects from external applications as well.

airbnb.com, a distruptive startupThey had no money but just a dream to build their own start-up. Those two men did not even have a start-up idea when they moved to San Francisco in 2008, chasing a dream to make it big. This is what Brian Chesky, the CEO and founder of Air-bnb recalls of how Airbnb came into being. His co-founder Joe Gebbia and he were practically broke when a brilliant idea struck them. San Fran-cisco was holding a design conference in the city then, and there were no hotel rooms for rent. Joe and Brian thought it would perhaps be a good idea to rent air mattresses to conference visitors and make enough cash from that to start up their own business! Three people bought into the idea and that was the beginning of the great success story of Airbnb.Based out of San Francisco, California, Airbnb.com today is a trusted online, collaborative com-munity marketplace for people to search, enlist,

how to airbnb?

startupWorldwide

find and book unique bread and breakfast options around the world — through a computer or just a cell phone! Be it a room or an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, or a houseboat, a tree house or a lighthouse, Air-bnb connects people to unique travel experienc-es, at all price points, in more than 33,000 cities and 192 countries! And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airb-nb is the easiest way for people to put their extra space into a profitable use and showcase it to a global audience of countless millions! Between those three initial air mattresses rent-als in 2008, to today, Airbnb has had a difficult and tough journey. Along the way, Brain and Joe brought in their third co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk. Brian and his co-founders sold spe-cial breakfast cereal in boxes that carried funky names (Obama O’s and Breakfast of Change) to at-tendees of the Democratic National Convention in November 2008 so they could keep Airbnb go-ing. As Brian recalls, that was their “ seed money”.The struggle was enormous as the idea defied all logic. Who would want to rent spare rooms to strangers from strange cities in their homes? And why would anybody rent a room in someone’s house, instead of a hotel? So they focused on ensuring utmost safety and security of customers to gain their trust. That perhaps has been the key reason for their success as well. Airbnb ensures this by using state-of-the-art trust and safety features like secure pay-ments, authentic reviews, detailed profiles, and most importantly, a 24/7 world-class customer service which is just a phone call away!A classic success story from bootstrapping and struggle, Airbnb today is a globally renowned on-line marketplace with offices across the globe in various cities like San Francisco, London, Paris, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Copenhagen, and so on. It has over 10 million nights booked, over 200,000 listings worldwide, over 33,000 cities, 192 coun-tries and over 600 million Social Connections! It truly reflects what its CEO and founder Brian Chesky believes in that “being truly broke brings an incredible amount of discipline and focus”. Hence the incredible success!

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Story by Vaijayantee Bhattacharya

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1955 - 2011

7 SECRETS BEHIND STEVE JOBS ’S SUCCESSAs a follower of tech trends I have long held Steve Jobs’s career and life as an example of successful entrepreneurship and the il-lusive ‘X-factor’ that drives brilliant innova-tion. There is certainly a long list of pundits claiming to hold the key to understanding what made him different and so inspiring, but many of his ‘secrets’ are in fact princi-ples that I think we could all adopt and learn from. Certainly, anyone who desires to be a true master of innovation might well pay attention to understanding the secret of his success. As a visionary innovator and entre-preneur his influence on how we think as consumers about computers, films, media and portable devices cannot be overestimat-ed. But his ability to reach out to educate and change people’s lives is also reflected in how his influence has rocked the business world. His inspirational presentations and lessons are one of his greatest legacies, and here is a summary of some of the lessons behind his amazing success.1. Do what you love. Steve Jobs firmly believed that your pas-sion can positively bring you to change the world. He once suggested as advice to en-

trepreneurs that they should simply get out and find a job as a busboy until they had understood what they were really passion-ate about. His belief in just following his passions met with a faster changing world where consumer tastes moved rapidly from one fad to the next. But he pointed out: You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new”. In essence, he suggested we instead learn to be happy about fighting for what we love and focus on that. 2. Put a dent in the universe. Steve Jobs had a strong vision and advocated strongly for entrepreneurs to look to trans-form how we think and act. He always con-sidered the big picture, as he told the grad-uating class of Stanford in 2005: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”. Once in response to John Sculley, the President of Pepsi, Jobs simply asked him whether he would prefer to spend his life selling sugar water or changing the world. His take on life was to remind us think about our impact as part of everything we do.

3. Make connections. It is no accident that Steve Jobs is respon-sible for connecting your laptop to your TV and sound system, connectivity for him was a key principle of life. But this was more than being hooked into the web or being availa-ble 24/7 on your mobile phone. For Jobs it was the ability to experience a broader set of challenges and perspectives to discover gains in areas where others had not tried to go. He attended calligraphy classes, studied design, hospitality, did meditation and drew inspiration from both the mundane and the arcane. His notion of connectivity was one that brought ideas across boundaries and disciplines to forge new concepts and ways of doing business.4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs once claimed that what Apple chose not to do was as important to him as what it did. He reduced 350 products at Apple to 10 prod-ucts in a two-year period in 1997 in order to put the best quality designers on each prod-uct. He expressed the need for more crea-tive ways of doing business, by seeing that the status quo was not enough. He encour-aged business leaders to say ‘no’, and took inspiration from artistic creation, saying “If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take what-ever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away.” 5. Create insanely different experiences.Jobs also sought innovation in the custom-er-service experience. His vision went be-yond selling something as ‘the moving of boxes’. For him it was about a form of artist-ry and of changing lives at the same time as becoming a really successful company. As he put it, “real artists ship”. Great design brings change, intentionally enriching our lives. But brands need to deliver, and that part was as much of an art to Steve Jobs - to develop the brand and production to the highest level. Jobs saw potential in diversity, and felt that companies should start with the customer experience and work back towards the tech-

nology - not the other way around.6. Master the message.Steve Jobs was a storyteller who realised that corporations and businesses need to share ideas, objectives and vision. His presenta-tions inspired, entertained and educated a generation. As CEO of Apple he brought with him a sense that performance should remain a strong part of everything. No matter how small a matter, Jobs saw that excellence and leadership were priceless. He once accepted in 2007 an annual $1 dollar salary, saying he would make 50 cents for showing up and the other 50 cents would be based on his perfor-mance. 7. Sell dreams, not products.For most people design is merely a veneer or a form of interior decorating. But for Jobs, nothing could be further from the truth. De-sign was the fundamental aim of produc-tion, and a high end quality which he felt should express itself in myriad ways through a product or service. Jobs brought together the artist and the businessman, in ways that captured the imagination of millions. He re-alised that tablet devices needed simplicity and so he created a one-button device that was both incredibly simple and powerful. He claimed once that Apple had made the but-tons on the screen look so good you’d want to lick them. He saw that you need to go be-yond expectations to win customers over, in order to build their dreams and ambitions through a product. He stressed the power of belief, once saying, “you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your fu-ture. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”The best advice Jobs has left with us is to trust in your vision and ideals, to continue to seek amaz-ing ideas in the margins and to believe in yourself, both by upholding your own space to be inspired but also by seeking to fulfil your own dreams.

startupBahrain March Issue

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