It always interests me how people share the same viewpoints. A common example is a movie that has just been released. A friend of mine said: “Oh, I’m not going to watch this because I heard that it’s bad.” Her thoughts will probably have an influence on her family and friends, who in turn may adopt the same idea. A lot can depend on the advice we give one another, whether it’s about a travel destination or a new product to try.
My sister told me that the movie Paper Towns, based on John Green's novel, would be a great hit and become the talked-about summer romance movie. When I went to watch the pre-screening, I tried not to get over excited even though news of the film's release was clogging up my social-media accounts. I wanted to wait and make my own decision. And, despite the hype, the film did not measure up to my expectation. In the past, I read movie reviews or saw trailers before heading to the cinema; I've stopped now to avoid building up high expectations and subconsciously adopting others' opinions.
The business scene in the Arabian Gulf region is no different. What many of my business owner friends have to face are copycats that either rip off their exact fashion designs, or copy their photography artwork and claim it as their own. One friend, who owns a bakery, complained that some small entrepreneurs would steal images from her social media account and claim they had made a dessert themselves and that they were available to order.
“What if people ordered from those copycats and found out that it did not look the same or did not measure up to your work?” I asked. She shrugged and said she had to continuously evolve by following the latest trends and using special ingredients to stay in the lead.
What many businesses have done, especially abaya and clothing stores operating on social media, is to turn their accounts private and approve every user who requested to follow them. That way they can keep track and not allow ghost followers or onlookers to steal their designs. Others only show a part of the design and ask users to come to the store to view the piece. They do not even allow photography in the boutiques. I remember during one visit to an abaya boutique I had the sales lady with me at all times, and I knew it was for that purpose.
But the thing is, even if we try to control it, somehow we will always adopt ideas especially from the successful people around us.
For example, many might notice a certain blogger has done a great job and be inspired to start their own blog. Just as with the newfound popularity of food lorries in the UAE, we are seeing more and more entering the market.
“Blogging seems to work fine for many. It is the coolest job, and you get compensated on a lot,” one colleague said. “But you were against sharing your photographs publicly on social media,” I stated.
“True,” came the reply, “but it seems to be working fine for others. It might as well work for me.”
The problem with that thinking is that we end up adopting exactly the same business idea as others and invest little in differentiating our concept or adding that personal touch to it. The decision is based on how an idea works for someone else, disregarding that we are all individuals with different passions, ways of thinking and circumstances.
When it comes to businesses, instead of going with the flow, which can work too, make some room to find out what you are truly passionate about. That is a better investment in the long run, and one that could open doors you did not know existed.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant in Abu Dhabi. Follow her on Twitter at @manar_alhinai.
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter