In the past decade, entrepreneurship in Oman has become significantly stronger and more mature. Ever since the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos set the vision for an SME driven economy, through a series of effective incentives, the local business community in the Sultanate of Oman has become second to none in the region. And equally under the wise guidance of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. In every sector, and for every industry, Oman counts at least a top class player.
Across institutions, and with the constant support of government bodies, entrepreneurship in Oman has become one of the most attractive career opportunities. Often, in the pages of the Oman Observer, I have covered stories about local entrepreneurs. Today I would like to bring a bit of wisdom to the readers who are contemplating the idea of becoming an entrepreneur. In Oman there are many semi retired successful individuals that are constantly thinking of business ideas. This column is mostly for them.
In the past I noticed that the approach to a new SME venture was to “get something” or “bring someone” from overseas to run the business. But now it is very clear that the skills among Omani people have grown to a point that almost everything can be done within Oman, with limited or no external resources.
For example, the tech infrastructure in Oman is world class. There is no need to import technology from abroad. Rather, Oman can already export technology to other countries. In a column written a few months ago I share the example of a tech startup in Oman, currently serving clients in the UAE. This type of export is already happening.
So far I have talked about the positive things. But there is also a little criticism that I feel to bring to the entrepreneurship mindset in Oman. Not to all of the entrepreneurs of course, yet I am sure that some of the readers would recognise themselves in the following comment: some entrepreneurs want to do too many things at once.
Business success is single minded. One goal. One brand position. One brand promise. That is how success stories are built in every industry. A brand that wants to be established as the leader in a category, needs to reach that single goal, before starting a new unrelated venture. I speak these words out of experience: my failures. In the past I have pushed multiple businesses at the same time, subtracting clarity and energy to each of them. At some stages it succeeded, mostly because the concurrent businesses models were in fact completing each other. Also, I would admit that when I was a bit older, and I already became more familiar with running business operations, it was easier to manage multiple tasks almost simultaneously.
To new entrepreneurs I would suggest to stick to one idea at a time, until that idea has developed in the industry. And if it did not yet, consider this question: is your SME going to be the leader in the industry? If the answer is yes, any other business you might start would take you away from that goal. If the answer is no, then it is probably worth considering selling or closing the first business before starting the second one.
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