When Adnan Dawood was laid off from his plush public relations job earlier this year, he found himself in the unfamiliar waters of a freelance operative navigating one of Dubai's worst job markets.
"After I left, I did the job search thing but there was nothing out there," he says.
At Nakheel, he had been the brand manager for The World project, a collection of islands off the coast of Dubai arranged in the shape of the continents. Even with this high-profile experience he had no luck finding a vacancy. Not only were the public relations firms not hiring, but companies were reducing their internal PR teams as well.
He decided to freelance, but was taken aback by the challenges that were laid before him.
"In California, it took me two days to get a licence and it cost me about US$40 (Dh147) or $50," he says. "Here you have to submit business plans, pay thousands of dollars and it takes two months."
He ended up making an arrangement with a colleague at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, who provided him with a visa and a licence to operate in Dubai.
Now, months later, he has found a way to make a living as a project-by-project PR consultant and a publicist. Soon, he is planning to upgrade from freelance PR and publicity to running his own firm.
"Looking at the colleagues who tried to do this, most of them just moved back to their home country," he says. "I won't say it's a success until it's been two years, but it's paying the bills."
But his story is one success among many failures, analysts say. The UAE's laws and infrastructure for freelance workers and writers is under developed and prevents most people from being able to make it here on their own.
"There is a freelance pool, but it is not as large or as talented as elsewhere because there is not the incentive to be a freelance writer," says Austyn Allison, the managing editor of Communicate magazine. "This place is really not terribly conducive to freelancing."
The issue of a freelance labour pool, whether for writing or banking or any other profession, is especially important during a financial downturn, according to economists.
Flexible labour pools allow companies to adjust and contract with greater ease when times get tough.
Several countries, including Korea and Denmark, have made efforts in the past year to improve the lives of short-term workers or freelancers. One of the greatest detriments to a larger freelance base in the UAE is the difficulty of getting a visa.
Many freelancers actually work on tourist visas, making occasional trips to Oman to get them renewed, even though this technically is breaking the law.
Getting a freelance licence and visa from the Dubai Media City free zone costs Dh24,500 a year, not to mention the other costs of running your own business.
Richard Whitehead, who started a freelance career two years ago, says the costs of becoming a freelancer are so prohibitive that he recommends someone save up at least three months of their salary before trying to make the move.
"It took us six months to get a Media City licence," Mr Whitehead says. "You really need to have a cushion of capital to sit on."
Instead of going at it alone, Mr Whitehead formed a partnership with a friend, Noel Ebdon, to create a "content provider company" called WhiteFox Media.
This helped them look more serious to clients and they are planning to bring on board their first additional staff members. Still, another challenge for freelancers is getting paid on time. WhiteFox Media still has some invoices that have been due for more than a year, he says.
"In a big way, that can just cripple freelancers," says Mr Allison. "Payments just fall through the cracks."
And when the money comes in, it is not at international freelance rates, which hurts considering the cost of living in the UAE.
Mr Allison says the going payment structure is Dh1 per word. As a result, most freelance writers end up doing public relations work, which pays better.
"If you can find a way to make it so you are doing more than producing words, you can bill a lot more," Mr Allison says. "You need to become an editorial consultant, where you are renting out your expertise and not just your skills."
bhope@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
General%20Classification
%3Cp%3E1.%20Elisa%20Longo%20Borghini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%3Cbr%3E2.%20Gaia%20Realini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%207%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Silvia%20Persico%20(ITA)%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%201%20min%2018%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Co%20Chocolat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Iman%20and%20Luchie%20Suguitan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fahad%20bin%20Juma%2C%20self-funding%2C%20family%20and%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
About%20My%20Father
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELaura%20Terruso%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20De%20Niro%2C%20Sebastian%20Maniscalco%2C%20Kim%20Cattrall%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic
John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers