Highlights
Having lived in Abu Dhabi for the past 17 years, this Slavic-Arab expat reveals how she started a small-scale interior designing business in Slovenia and later expanded the business to the UAE this year. She currently also operates the business across different markets in Europe and the US.
"Happiness is not about the things you own," said long time Abu Dhabi resident Nora Bens, 30, born to a multicultural family, leading to constant travel in her childhood. She is part Slavic, part Arabic origin.
In her growing years, she had to leave many things behind due to constant travelling, which taught her not to get attached to material things. It also led her to spend only on what was needed.
"I have lived in UAE for 17 years, came with my parents, and till now, I feel Abu Dhabi is my home. I am blessed to have many friends here, and I am always happy to return. My parents earned money honestly and applying this principle in my life has helped me create peace of mind and happiness."
An entrepreneur’s growing years
"My father is very strict about spending money on restaurants or entertainment. He would rather spend on helping others in need. He leads an intense professional life and demands that his children follow that and be the best version of themselves."
She stated that a serious life leaves no time to spend on entertainment. Being brought up in this environment, she too developed and got used to a similar lifestyle.
I started working as a children's art tutor and it taught me to manage my finances
When she joined her university, her father provided pocket money that was enough only to pay for transport to go to university and back. It motivated her to look for a job.
She said that “I started working as a children's art tutor during that time. It was the first experience, and it taught me to manage my finances and made me feel rewarded when receiving income for my efforts."
How did your entrepreneurship journey start?
Being an engineering graduate of interior design, she worked with leading companies in Abu Dhabi for seven years. When she decided to set up her business, it was a natural step for career growth since she had learned everything about this profession in her initial working career.
"When I was a student, I understood that I had to learn from the best. I applied to a reputed interior design company. They introduced me to the practical side of my specialty, and after my internship, I immediately joined the same company in a full-time role," Bens explained.
"Over the years, I evolved in different positions, such as interior designer at an Italian luxury furniture retail brand and then as business development manager at an engineering consultancy, where I set up an interior design and retail department. I started to handle international projects in Germany, Spain and Portugal, which gave me insights and made me realise the vast potential of interior designing worldwide."
"My latest job was as a business development manager with a role to set up an interior design company in Abu Dhabi within the international parent company. My time there helped me acquire knowledge and experience to build my business and work on its growth.
“Together with my business partner and co-founder Ahmed Sobhy, we started an interior design company - LIVHOLI, in Slovenia, which is a country in central Europe.”
Sobhy had spent the last decade working in the corporate banking industry in UAE. This was how he was able to help her manage the company's setup and operations in the UAE.
So, when did you start the business in Dubai?
After starting her business in Europe, Bens and her business partner decided to branch out to the UAE, given her experiences in the country and a pre-existing client base.
"For UAE, we just got our license in Abu Dhabi in January 2022 to serve our base clients in a friendly business environment. We already have an LLC license, and most of our investment has been made in Europe."
Overall, they had around five different categories of expenses. The first is the cost of setting up the business itself, getting the licence and other legal documents. It was done in Europe, and our expenses in UAE were less because we only opened an establishment licence here.
In the digital age, we can work from anywhere, and our clients happily access the progress of projects in a dedicated area of our website.
"Abu Dhabi offers fantastic opportunities. We spent on establishing the licence, around Dh1,500, signature authorisation costs Dh1,100, plus the tickets from Europe to UAE and stay extension cost."
"In the digital age, we can work from anywhere, and our clients happily access the progress of projects in a dedicated area of our website. We have, in the UAE, our contracting partners to execute our projects. We regularly visit for supervision and execution."
What challenges did you face as an entrepreneur?
Bens said the biggest challenge was finding qualified and creative people who could maintain the quality and creativity standards. "The most challenging lesson is constantly adapting to different tastes and cultures worldwide, where flexibility and resilience are essential. Learning to manage our finances and costs effectively is equally vital; we had spent in critical areas like marketing and staff development."
Bens share two tips to achieve success in business and life
Tip #1: Keep your working standards consistent and keep adding to your knowledge
Bens stated that their formula is to do what you do daily, even in the most challenging and darkest time. She believed that maintaining consistency at work has helped them to succeed.
"I learned from my previous jobs that the more time I invested in learning, the more I got rewarded. When I invested double the time of what is needed to learn at work, I was able to jump very quickly into a high position. Fast growth in my job helped me receive a higher paid salary.
"Making a habit of learning continuous learning and acquiring the ability to transform knowledge into actions is vital. During my stay in India, I learned about ‘Vastu Shastra’, an ancient architectural science. I decided to specialise in it further. I realised that Ayurveda and Vastu could be integrated to create holistic spaces where people can thrive. (Holistic design is characterised by the belief that the parts of design are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole). I am currently studying under a renowned architect and author."
(Holistic design is characterised by the belief that the parts of design are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole).
"Coming back to Europe, I realised that there was already a pre-existing understanding of holistic concepts, which made it easier for me to implement them in my projects. We also accessed the US market, and we found they have the same desire to implement our concepts.
"Even the Microsoft building in America was built by Vastu Shastra principles. Now, we have decided to expand in the Gulf area. We established a partnership in the Saudi market, and we are happy to offer our services there."
Tip #2: Never go down on price to win a deal.
Bens said that one should never drop the price to get the project in the business. "Giving a low cost means that you do not value your time, skills, and abilities.
"During my internship, I saw how a business owner's wrong financial decisions had influenced the company that previously was blooming, leading it to shut down. I firmly understood that you have to count well if you are doing business," Bens added.
During my internship, I saw how a business owner's wrong financial decisions had forced it to shut down.
"One of my earlier employers had trouble providing me salary on time, so it taught me to be careful with spending. I had to be mindful that the compensation I received may need to be used for two months or more until the next salary. It was not an easy situation, but it taught me to be careful about spending."
She lives and works mindfully and only purchases what is needed or that will help her keep growing. Her advice is to estimate income and decide what to spend for those who want to start a service-based business. "Never rush in spending; make sure to cover your costs and spend only after covering your costs," she noted.
"Personally, my priority spending list is always to spend on health because health is the most essential to keep you going and growing. I never spend everything I earn. I never had a credit card, took a loan, or borrowed money. And I only spend on needs, have a simple closet with only a few bags and a few pairs of shoes."
