Introduction
Aisha Isir is one of the most self-confident interviewees I have met so far. She is an intelligent lady motivated by her ambitions and ready to help others in achieving their goals as she has achieved so far. The interview, which was in person, was not only interesting in getting positive responses for all questions asked, but also because I learned some important aspects of entrepreneurship from this entrepreneur. Although she did not answer some of the questions, which she thought were too personal to disclose, she gladly expounded on the answers, unlike some interviewees I have encountered. Therefore, she was cooperative and contributed to the success of the interview as exhibited by the interview report presented herein.
Demographics
Aisha Isir has uncommon and interesting background, which can be a reason of her success. She is twenty-seven years old. She is an unmarried female entrepreneur who has successfully managed to establish a company that has thrived in the United Saudi Arabia, where she says the males have dominated most of the businesses. The reason is that they are solely run without a significant involvement of women. She does not have any children as she is still dating and yet to marry, perhaps after a year or two. Upon asking Isir about her education background, she smiles and asserts that she was not a good performer in her high school studies. The entrepreneur states that she often received disciplinary action for engaging in small business practices such as selling of stationery and snacks, which were against the school’s regulation. Her dad, one of the individuals involved in the mining and exporting of oil mined in Saudi Arabia, urged her to join a business college. Her father had in mind that upon completion of her studies, Isir would help him manage his oil selling companies; however, she did not disclose their name. She joined the University of Business and Technology in Jeddah, where she pursued a degree in business administration. She graduated in 2011. Upon inquiring on her parents’ profession, she said her dad was an oil merchant, but she did not explain more about her mother; thus, I proceeded with the interview without emphasizing on asking her mother’s profession or any details. Thus, it is evident that Isir’s professional path has been significantly shaped by her unique background.
The Business
In spite of a small size of her company, Isir’s business is profitable enough that directly points to her excellent managerial and leadership traits. Isir Tech Products, which is the name of the business, was founded in 2013. The company deals with small scale selling of high-tech products such pcs and smartphones. Some of these devices are imported while others are purchased from the dealers in Saudi Arabia. The business sells over fifteen thousand high-tech units annually. She informed me that the business makes a profitability of approximately $998,870 annually. However, she agrees that the profitability is increasing at a constant trend since the establishment of the business; thus, she expects more in the years to come. Currently, she says that the business has twelve employees though she is the only manager. Therefore, it is evident that the entrepreneur has had beneficial skills and selected a proper approach to the development of her business because despite its size, the company is gradually prospering.
Motivation
Upon inquiry on why she started her own business, Isir expresses her concern on many females being employed rather than taking the initiative of starting their own business. Unlike other women of her age, she was driven by the urge of being independent rather than relying on her parents or friends for sustainable living. Another reason as to why she started her own business is that she was raised in a family where business was the only source of income. Therefore, she did this as a way of appreciating this type of making money and as a way of exploring more on commerce. The only other entrepreneur in the family that Isir talks about is her father who she states is her mentor in business. Besides, she expressed her desire on motivating other women on engaging directly in business since it will not only improve on the economy status of Saudi Arabia but also make women independent and enable them to have a platform of being more creative and innovative. Thus, one of the main goals of the entrepreneur is promoting female business around the world.
The Development of the Business
Isir came up with a business idea upon evaluating the stronghold of the economy of Saudi Arabia, which is selling of oil. As such, the merchants have a desire to purchase high-tech devices that will keep them connected with other traders all over the world. She came up with the idea of beginning this business in her final year in college, when she came across an article describing the use of mobile phones and PCs in Saudi Arabia. The article explained the increase in the use of these devices and as per the data analyzed in the article, there would be a likely increase in the use of these technologies in future. Therefore, she derived the idea of establishing the business since it seemed lucrative and was promising. Besides, the launching her own business has passed several important stages. The first step that she took in developing the business was evaluating and analyzing other businesses that were selling the high-tech products. She examined their products positioning in the market, marketing strategy, and progress. By learning about all these aspects, evaluating the websites, and interviewing the entrepreneurs in this domain, she understood the strengths and weaknesses of the business in Saudi Arabia; thus, she was decided to establish her business differently to have a competitive advantage. She wrote a business plan in 2011, but she kept updating it until 2012, when she was convinced that it was the best she could give. Thus, she had to overcome many challenges and analyze a huge amount of date to create the own enterprise.
Help, Support, and Encouragement
Although she wrote most of the parts of the business plan, she would not reach her goals without an external assistance. To be more specific, her two friends, who she does not disclose their names, helped her work on the analysis of the competitors, and perform a market analysis and financial summary. One of her friends, who she does not disclose her identify, was one of the people who gave her most support and encouragement. She did this through helping her on the business plan and motivating her to keep moving on even when she felt despaired. At first, her father did not support her idea of starting the tech products business since he argued that he educated her to help him manage the oil selling business. However, he realized that Isir was very focused and ambitious about starting a business that he decided to help her with the starting capital. Much of the knowledge and skill need in starting a business were gained form her tertiary education. However, she did thorough research on this business after coming up with the idea in her final year. She did not belong to any professional network thus solely driven by her ambitions and friends’ motivation. She used the government in attaining the permits necessary for starting the business. She asserts that at first that she was told she would be given the permits if only she was twenty-five years old, but her persistence led to the government officials giving her the permits. She started the Company through her small savings and the starting capital given by her father. Thus, it is evident that her father’s starting capital and friends’ motivations were the most helpful in starting the business.
Challenges
During the establishment of her business, Iris had faced a wide range of obstacles. The biggest challenge that she faced was determining the best place to establish the business. She had several ideas about ideal places that would attract customers, but she was not sure which place to choose over the other. Besides, in every location she thought of, there were challenges she associated with the location. Finally, she chose Jeddah as the final place to start her business, whereby she was able to settle at this decision under the guidance of her friends. The biggest obstacle in growing her company was coming up with a way of enticing her customers to buy products from her business rather than from the already established reputable business as Lenovo. One of the barriers that she had to overcome was to convince the government to give her the permits, even though she was not twenty-five years of age. What surprised her most was the response of the community to the business. Unlike her expectations, the business community gladly embraced her even though she was a woman who thought the former would demotivate her based on her gender. One of the obstacles that she had to face which is specific in KSA was the use of Arabic language by the government which she was not well acquainted with. Hence, in spite of a great number of difficulties, the entrepreneur managed to develop the profitable business.
Advice to other Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Aisha Isir’s advice to other women who wish to start a business in the KSA is to remain focused on their ambitions and avoid being misguided by negative energies from other people. She asserts that she intended to launch her company with the small savings that she had; hence, Isir advises the women to start with the little they have. Based on her experience in the business, she asserts that she realized it is only a perception that women cannot lead; hence, she urges all women to take a step in actualizing their thinking. The business world is open to anyone who can risk and actualize her thoughts.
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