Swenglanese - Talking Business In The Uae

On this weeks episode Barry and Oskar discuss procrastination. The art of mastering it for good and not letting it stifle your creative self from moving forwards with projects you want to undertake. Oskar has been researching this topic as part of his continual self development and professional coaching and wants to help business owners get a hold of this thing that sometimes gets in the way of greatness!

This week on Swenglanese we have the pleasure of speaking with Olivia and Ahmed from hellochef.me a great company that's trying to help us all eat good food and make it easy for us to do so.  Olivia and Ahmed have a contagious passion that will see hellochef.me go from strength to strength. Their biggest learning point. Keep It Simple. Usually the simplest solutions are the most effective.

This week on Swenglanese we had the pleasure of Mahmoud Adham's company. Mahmoud is the owner and managing director of Munchbox. His story and insight from idea to successful company is one that we certainly learnt from and would like other aspiring entrepreneurs or business owners on the ground here in the UAE to learn from. The major take away? Don't get to caught up on what your original idea is, get it out there and adapt once it's out there!    

This week Oskar had the pleasure of speaking with a pretty impressive fellow Swede whilst he was in the UAE to take part in Wings For Life World Run. Aron Anderson is a Swedish adventurer and motivational speaker.  He's a 4 time cancer survivor. The result of one bout at a very young age left him wheel chair bound. Business is often about over coming obstacles and Aron aside from being an adventurer and motivational speaker also runs a business.  Listen to Aron explain how overcoming obstacles is what drives him to do better every single day! 

We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with The Box owner Wadih Haddad and we think you'll agree that his story and insight into starting a business is something we can all learn something from.  Wadih is a serial learner, constantly updating himself and furthering his knowledge in his chosen focus area. Calm, collected but fiercely driven. Enjoy.

This week we had the pleasure of speaking to Sian and Rebecca who are putting on an event to really help SME's here on the ground in the UAE. They tell us a little bit about their entrepreneurial journeys so far and why How To Rocket is the culmination of their learning so far.  The ladies share some lessons learnt, the power of face to face interaction in the sales process and why How To Rocket is a must attend for all SME's in the region.

This week Oskar gives us some insight into his outlook on business. He delves into the idea of setting up your business to support your lifestyle - not necessarily having millions and millions (unless that's what you really want) but having more than you need. 

Business in the UAE is different - no two ways about it.  This week Oskar and Barry talk about business setup, marketing of a fledgling business, where to spend your limited marketing budget and how important it is to localise whatever product or service you are bringing to the market.   

This week Oskar was fortunate enough to have a conversation with fellow Swede Magnus Olsson - the co founder of Careem. Such a start up feel and buzz and so busy in the office that the only place they could record was in the server room!!  Magnus gives a very candid insight into the process undertaken and the hard work put in, to take a fledgling idea to a powerhouse international company.

This week Barry gives us an insight into Search Engine Optimisation - SEO. It's one of the pillars of digital marketing and something that has become more and more mainstream over the last few years. Yet still seems to confuse many. Not least of which those looking for a 'decent' SEO agency that will actually make a difference to your company's bottom line. 

This week we are talking to Wayne Denner - he's an online reputation evangelist and spends his time in the UK & Ireland and the UAE speaking to students, teachers and parents about cybersafety and online reputation.  He gives us some time to talk us through online reputation and it's importance. A new App that is coming out soon to help you take care of your online reputation as well as some insights into actually developing an app from idea to fully functioning downloadable item in the app store.

Barry and Oskar discuss challenges with running your own business. Persistence and determination are crucial. Can this be trained? Learn some techniques to reframe the obstacles and use them to make your business stronger.

Dan and Colin, apart from being top blokes, have also taken an idea and turned it into a super successful business here in the UAE. They took time to speak to us about the journey they've been on and some of the highs and lows along the way.  For any one thinking about starting a business, especially a physical business with premises and employees could learn a lot from these guys. They give some insight into how much work and dedication is involved as well as some great tips on how to avoid some of the lows. 

Barry gives some insight into the value of your online reputation. Both your personal and your brand. Do you know what's being said about your brand if you are not active on social media yet? We live in a digital society, one that is becoming more and more digital by the day. Our expectation as consumers is driven by the online experience. Do you know what impression or perception your online reputation is creating? If not, you need to!

Fiona Swaffield is the CEO of Siren Events and managing partner of MY-PA outsourced services. On this episode of Swenglanese she shares her journey, the challenges and of course the successes so far in setting up and running her businesses here in the UAE. During her entrepreneurial journey Fiona has had to overcome various challenges, changed her mindset and let go, something many entrepreneurs find difficult. Tune in to find out more.   

This episode is about the age old issue of learning vs implementing. So many of us have read an inspirational book or attended an awesome seminar. Made lots of great notes and then not actioned them at all. Oskar gives us some insight into setting goals that are achievable, making you implement your learning and some tools and tricks to help you move forwards in your life, personally and professionally.

Abhijit Shahane runs a company called Xpert Advisory here in the UAE. Setting up a business here is not as easy as in some other parts of the world. There is a serious cost associated with launching your dream and setting up your company in the right place can be the difference between success and failure on the ground here.  Abihijit shares his insight into what you need to think about when setting up your business here in the UAE and how to avoid the pit falls of others. Learn through his experience. 

This episode gives you a bit more insight into Oskar's journey and why he wants to share his information and experience with you.  Oskar is the founder of the smartphone coaching system and the flip flop entrepreneur - he has built a number of revenue streams that mean he doesn't have to spend 100% of his time in his businesses. As he works on his businesses, he can have time to impart some of this knowledge. 

This episode dives a little deeper into the background of one of your hosts Barry Lee Cummings.  He talks a little bit about his entrepreneurial journey so far with some tips and pointers on building success around your business.  Barry has built over 40 online businesses and now manages a digital strategy agency, a social media management company and runs the Beat The Cyberbully initiative in the UAE. 

This is the first episode of Swenglanese. The only podcast talking the language of business here in the UAE.  This episode is a quick introduction to the concept and your hosts - short and sweet - the episode that is, not the hosts!