I’ve been reading a lot about lifestyle businesses lately, and this is something important to look at especially among potential entrepreneurs who are looking to get their nascent ventures off the ground.
In simple terms, a lifestyle business is a business designed around the lifestyle you want to sustain. It’s called a lifestyle business because you will think twice about the business decisions you take and the kind of business you want to run, taking into account how they will impact your lifestyle.
In a lifestyle business, you are usually the only employee, so the stress of managing others is minimised. Think of it as freelancing but with lifestyle choices more on your mind. There are also no revenue limits in mind. You can easily become a millionaire while opting for such a route.
With a lifestyle business in mind there are less investments to keep in mind than a start-up. You wouldn’t necessarily go to investors and you wouldn’t hire a team.
So, when you start to build a business, it’s important to keep in mind that depending on your choice of business, it will have an impact on your life. Some businesses will require that you deal a lot with customers, so if you are an introvert, then this may not be the right choice. Others will require you to stay in front of the computer for hours. Again, if you are extremely social and would rather be around and interacting with a lot of people then this may not be your field of choice.
There are hundreds of business ideas that you can design with your lifestyle in mind. You just need to align those with the ones you are skilled at and see yourself doing. Examples could be: make up artist; copy-writing; web-design; management consultancy; interior design and so forth.
I love travelling a lot so building a consultancy where it doesn’t matter where I conduct my work from turned out really well for me when I started.
In fact, the change of scenery gets my creative juices flowing and always exposes me to new ways of conducting businesses that end up benefiting my clients.
Now the reason why I am an advocate of starting a lifestyle business than a start-up, is because it supports many entrepreneurs especially at the early stages of building a business, minimises their expenses, and it also has these benefits:
You don’t need to wait a long time to earn profits
When it’s only you, you most likely won’t need to pay salaries, rent, or other expenses. You could start with the least amount of expense and make a profit in a short time. Many start-ups on the other hand, would wait at least a couple of years before their business makes any kind of profit. When I first started my consultancy, my business was profitable within a month because I didn’t pay rent for an office and I was the only employee.
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Read more:
What a vacation in Bali taught me about marketing
For entrepreneurship to thrive, perspectives have to change
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You can work from anywhere and at any time
You know how you see advertisements where someone says they only work four hours a week and make a really huge profit? Yes, that’s actually possible. Pursuing a lifestyle business allows you to choose where and when to work while suiting your lifestyle. When I first started, I got to work from Bahrain, London, Morocco, and Luxembourg. All that I needed was an internet connection.
Less stress
As an entrepreneur, building your business, especially if you’ve taken out a loan or have investors investing in your business, the stress will not go away. You’ll always be worried about projections, profits, losses, and paying your staff. A lifestyle entrepreneur has no one to worry about except themselves, thus the stress is minimised.
You learn more
When I first started my consultancy, I didn’t focus on just one thing. I learned about accounting, customer service, and web design. I did everything on my own. This forced me to learn how to manage different aspects of my business. By becoming a lifestyle business owner, you become a better entrepreneur, and that will come in handy as you expand your business and develop it to grow.
Does that mean that start-ups are bad? Not at all. They’re just different and you need to evaluate which one is most suitable for you. However, if you want to start a business, with the lowest expenses, while still enjoying profits, and control over your life, then I’d highly suggest you consider a lifestyle business.
See how things go and if it’s doing really well for you then you can maintain it the way it is, or take it to a different level such as hiring more staff and going down the start-up route.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer, who manages her creative consultancy in Abu Dhabi
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
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