How to start a small business in Dubai (7 Simple Steps)
Dubai has a population of more than three million, if we only talk about the people living in Dubai and apart from this what is the number of visitors who come to visit Dubai all the time. In such a situation, if a business owner sets up a small business in Dubai, then you can imagine yourself that how much his earning resources are going to increase from a small business setup in Dubai.
Now, whenever we talk about a startup or starting a small business, whether it is in Dubai or any other country, the picture that comes to our mind is that of a small corporate office, in which many young workers work, there is only a small meeting room or conference room and a small pantry etc. Apart from all these, there are many more possibilities if a business owner wants to start a small business in Dubai.
Starting small doesn’t always mean having an office or having lots of young workers working with you. Small start can also mean that you sit on a small desk space and provide consultation to the companies, or you can open a small tea and coffee shop in the parking lot of any very luxurious building, or you can sell groceries online.
The possibilities of setting up a small business in Dubai are simply too numerous to count. The only point is that if any business owner wants to open a small business in Dubai, then he must and must keep some factors in mind.
How to start a small business in Dubai?
Some of the main steps to start a small business in Dubai which are very essential for every business owner are:
- Legal formalities
- Documentation
- Promotions and marketing
- Finding sponsorship (if required)
- Hiring the right talent for your business setup
- Selecting the best business location
- Get professional assistance!
As we all know that legal formalities have to be completed before starting any business anywhere. In this way, before starting any business whether big or small in Dubai, we need some formal permits.
Now for example: if you want to start a restaurant whether small or big in Dubai then you need to get trade license from DED. Similarly if you want to start your business in any free zone in Dubai then you have to take permit from same free zone authority or license or permit from department of tourism and commerce marketing DTCM which depends on your business location.
Also, when we want to start a restaurant in Dubai, we are issued a Food and Safety License by the Department of Food and Safety, and an NOC is also required which is provided by the Dubai Municipality.
Read: What is a General trading company in Dubai (How to Start)
Documentation for Small Business Setup in Dubai
Now when we talk about the documents required to start a small business in Dubai, there are many government agencies involved which do a lot of inspection and approve your business and also issue some permits. They provide you with some licenses which prove to be very important for your business.
To start or setup a small or big business in Dubai, you need to get the right permits and licenses required. To start a small business in Dubai it is very important to get your trade license as it is issued to you by the Department of Economic Development (DED) or by the Free Zone Authority depending upon the location of your business.
Here we are going to give you some basic documentation information that you will need to get a small business license in Dubai. If you want to start a small business in Dubai, then you must keep some basic documents given below together and ready:
- Trade name reservation certificate
- Emirates IDs
- Relevant government forms duly filled
- Visa page copies
- A copy of Ejari (tenancy contract)
- Initial approval certificate
- Memorandum of Association (MoA)
- Business plan
- Passport copies of partners
- NOC from shareholders (if any)
Promotions and Marketing
It is very important for any new business to promote and market the business through print or digital media. It is also very important for the newly opened business in Dubai to advertise in the right way and correctly, which is a very big step for the success of your business.
Just like every business needs to have an in-house or say its own IT team which proves to be very important in the success of every business, similarly promotion and marketing are also very important for the success of a new business and for development.
Your association with a public relations company can prove to be very beneficial for the development of your business. A public relations company can publish some press releases about your newly opened small business, as well as run some small social media campaigns or organize some amazing promotional events that will promote your company’s name and fame. It can prove to be very helpful in bringing your company’s products and services to the limelight across the world.
Read: Is Starting a Business in Dubai Easy | Is Dubai Good for Business
Finding Sponsorship (if required)
Start a Big Business or Start a Small Business in Dubai, it goes without saying that in Dubai, how beneficial & profitable even a small business can be. To start any business in Dubai, it is necessary to obtain some permits, apply for a trade license, rent a small place, shop or office or workspace, promote and market your company or let’s talk about hiring some of the best and talented employees to do the job and paying them. So all this process might cost a lot and it can be very expensive many times.
You want to start a small business in Dubai which can prove to be very profitable for you, but if you have a slight lack of funds that are required to start that small business or even if you feel it is slight difficult for you to maybe arrange that much funds or be financially free, then it becomes necessary to find a like-minded partner.
And if you do not want to make anyone a partner in your business or in your new small company, then you can also consider taking a business loan probably. If you are thinking of taking a business loan to start your small business, then we would like to tell you that there are many banks in Dubai cities from which you can get business loans, whose repayment plans are very flexible and banks follow very simple documentation procedures.
Hiring the right talent for your business setup
You are going to start your new small business in Dubai and hire the right type of talent for your business, as your success depends a lot on the employees of your business.
Choosing the right people can make or break your project, lead to success or lead to failure. That’s why it is very important that in order to run your business successfully or to lead to success, you hire the right talent and the right people according to your business needs and take time for this if you have to.
To hire the right kind of talent, it is very important that you know about their previous experiences and after questioning all this, it is also very important for you to know that they are able to work in coordination with their colleagues and how they will feel or manage with a big team if they get a chance to work with you.
It is also very important for you to know that when there is work pressure then how they deal with the customers at the time of pressure or how they will deal with the customer in the coming time.
Also, if you don’t want to do the hiring yourself for your new small business, you can even outsource this project to a hiring company (HR Recruitment Agency) to hire the right talent for your business. Apart from this if you want you can also get some professionals who have expertise in your business field to get their documentation and visas done.
Selecting the best business location
If you want to make your business a brand, then it is very important for you to choose a right place and right location. Your business, your shop, your company, your store is located in which area, it tells about your brand and this is also very important and necessary for a businessman to select the best possible location for a new business startup.
There are many specific areas in Dubai which are very suitable for certain business activities. For example, if we talk about Sheikh Zayed Road and Business Bay, then here you will see only premier corporate offices. And if we talk about Dubai Healthcare City, then you can mostly see specialty clinics and hospitals here. Most of the international media companies are based in the Media City in Dubai. In the same way if you talk about most of the financial institutions then they are into the DIFC.
Get Professional Assistance
Starting your own small company or small business in Dubai may seem a difficult task, considering the many factors mentioned above about the business setup or about the investment and knowing and understanding them. But you can take the help of expert consultants for ReCorporate business setup. Our expert team will assist you at every step of this small business journey.
Whether we talk about planning your new business or we talk about the formalities and documents required to start a small business, our expert consultants, business setup experts, will help you in all these. at every step. Whether you want to start your new business in Dubai Mainland or in any of the free zones of Dubai, you need to get information about a good location or you need to get trade licenses and permits from government authorities, our business setup experts are always at your service, are always available for you.
Whether it is about getting a license from a government authority or completing paperwork or obtaining a specific trade license or permit, we have the mantra for your success. We will get all the things done for you considering your comfort and will make sure to save your time and money. We also get you the best PRO services in Dubai to make your business setup easy.
Read: How to get a Virtual Company License in Dubai
How much does it cost to start a small business in Dubai?
Now if we talk about the cost of starting a small business in Dubai or even if we want to know small business trade license cost in Dubai, it actually depends on number of factors and business activities you would want to opt for.
These number of factors would actually include your business activity, location of your business, type of license and a few more things. However if we talk about in general, a trading license for a small business can be procured for as low as AED 16,000.
If an estimate is made, then the cost of your new business can come from around AED 16,000 to AED 25,000.
You must also keep this in mind that if in case you require special privileges then the cost of your small business license in Dubai may increase depending on the same.
For example, if you want to name your new business with a foreign name or you want government approvals, then all this can increase the cost of your business. You can contact us (ReCorporate) and take the help of our business setup experts and we will definitely assist you in making sure that starting a small business in Dubai does not cost you much time and money.
Paperwork involved for starting a small business in Dubai
As you know that you want to start a small business in Dubai, there are a lot of documents and paperwork that are required for you to be handy with, that are mentioned below:
- Passport copies of all the stockholders in your company (if any)
- A valid tenancy contract
- A descriptive business plan document
- Duly filled application form
- MoA and LSA agreements
- NOC from your service agent
- Payment receipt of trade name registration
10 Successful Small Business Ideas in Dubai
Herein, we’re going to mention some of the most profitable and successful business ideas in Dubai. If you choose to start a small business in Dubai from any of the below business sectors / activities, then the chances of your success are going to multiply many folds / many times. So, some of the most profitable and successful businesses in Dubai include:
- Real estate
- Restaurant/Cafe
- Events company
- Health and wellbeing
- Transport
- Recruitment Agency
- Construction
- Home Cooked Food Delivery
- Web development
- Cleaning services
Read: 100+ Successful Business Ideas in Dubai
In this post above, we’ve shared all the information on how to start a small business in Dubai. If you need a professional help to start a small business in Dubai please feel free to get in touch with ReCorporate at +971585865477 (WhatsApp or Call) and book your free business consultation with our highly qualified business setup experts who will help you from a to z, to start a small business in Dubai.