THE SHE FACTOR: Persistence will always pay off

Dubai - One shouldn't only run a firm; being a mentor is also critical

The UAE will never run short of women empowerment tales as the nation turns into a hub for harnessing women entrepreneurship. The journey of Nasheeda C.C., founder of accounting firm Nishe Consulting, is a testament to how she was finally at peace when she found her purpose in helping other women not only through her wealth of knowledge in accounting, but also by actually stepping in to be their guide, and all this was when she was all settled and had no reason to step out of her comfort zone.
"I never really wanted to do any business that has anything to do with accounting. I was married at 19, had my first child by 21, completed my bachelor's degree when my son was two months old, completed ACCA after that and then joined PwC. I worked with PwC for more than a decade, working my way up from associate to director," said Nasheeda.
The idea of setting up an accounting firm took root for the first time when Nasheeda actually happened to visit another bookkeeping firm as part of her work.
"It is quite funny when you think that I was always working in an accounting firm, which also had a bookkeeping division and yet I had to see another one in action before I saw the potential. By this time, I also had a better appreciation of the importance of accounting for the business world than in the past. And I also had the realisation along the way that it is better to use something that you are good at to make a difference. The idea thus took root for the first time somewhere in early 2015. But for a number of reasons, it took another one-and-a-half years before I actually had the courage to step out and do so."
Nasheeda recalls how when she started, she was willing to experiment and learn. Even though she got a number of partnership opportunities, she was still not keen on taking partners as she fears the purposes may conflict and she will lose the freedom that she has.
"I also decided that if and when the firm reaches a certain financial position, I will give a dedicated portion of the profit to the employees and that I will set aside another dedicated portion of the profit to support women empowerment. While I am keen on lot of social causes - women, children, environment, animal cruelty, etc - the one that I identified most was women, particularly since I had come from a very conservative environment and had first-hand knowledge and experience of what society and culture can do to weaken women."
Nasheeda says that the UAE is a very vibrant market and compares it to a bowl of salad, where every ingredient adds to the taste and look, but to some extent each ingredient retains its originality. Therefore, an open mind, patience and an appreciation of each other's culture and differences are very important to be able to deal with clients/people from multiple backgrounds.
She adds that the UAE is a market that attracts players from all over the world because of the great environment it offers. Unfortunately, this also means lot of competition. "Again, people compete differently - on prices, on quality, on customer service, on relationships and networks, etc. It is important to decide up front how you want to run your business and how you want to compete in order to remain competitive in this market. The UAE's economy is quite responsive and sensitive to what is happening in the global market and in the region. Therefore, an appreciation of the comings and goings of the regional and global economy is essential."
According to Nasheeda, UAE, and especially Dubai, is also very forward-looking with a very forward-looking government. Hence, changes are happening very rapidly in various areas like regulations, adoption of technology etc. It is important to keep abreast of these changes to keep your business relevant and compliant.
So did Nasheeda face any challenges in setting up Nishe? The former PwC executive explains that the challenges posed by that upbringing is more difficult to conquer than any external challenges. Women are constantly taught three things: you cannot, you need not and you should not.
"One important challenge I faced was to shed my ego. In the first few months, I didn't hire anyone and therefore, I had to do all the detailed client work myself. This was enormously challenging as I had to step down several levels and do work that I did at a much junior position in PwC. On the flip side, it also helped me understand how much time and effort it will take to actually do the work. It helped me coach the people I hired and to be more patient," Nasheeda concludes.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com