NJ Motors — SME Case Study (UAE)

The company that will be examined is NJ Motors, which is a small company that was started in summer 2020 with eight employees with different tasks to attend to.

The company is based in the UAE and is a buggy/off- road car building garage, which is located in Ajman and currently has an office. It is just a small garage in Ajman.

It was founded in 2020 by Mr. Faham and his partner, Mr. Rashed. Currently, the business is a bit small and it is hoping to grow the business to being an international company in the future so it will be known globally and not just regionally. The company was started with two young entrepreneurs who dedicated their time into the company, working hard and learning while starting.

Since they had no experience in that kind of business factor, they failed but it did not stop them from trying NJ Motors harder and working harder in order to learn from it so they will be able to avoid those failures in the future, since “We want to be known globally like the companies that currently exist and we want to grow bigger than them.” said Mr. Rashed That is their vision, and they have their mission, which is to be known regionally first then being known globally, so by the time they reach their vision, the company will be independent and financially stable. They will be able to enjoy their lives without having to be worried about money and starting new projects to grow the same way they grow their current business.

Organizational Structure

The founder of the company is Mr. Faham alongside his friend Rashed, who is the current CEO, does most of the work with Mr. Faham when it comes from Mr. Mohammad, the manger who which is managing all the hand working tasks which include managing the workers, electrician, designer, painter, and mechanic. Alongside him is an assistant who helps him with tasks so he has less load of work on him. Mr. Mohammad’s tasks are a lot. “Even when some of the projects run late, we all like to get our hand dirty and get to work so there will not be any delays from the due date,” Mr. Rashed said. Sometimes the customer wants to rush the project, so it must hire more part-time employees to get everything done and in time in order to reach the customer satisfaction that the company is aiming for.

Founder (FAHAM) CEO (RASHED) Assistant Mechanic Electrician Designer Painter Manager (Mohammad) Figure 31: The Organizational Structure of NJ Motors

Its business strategy is to make sure that it provides the best products and the best ways that will make customers satisfied no matter what. “Once a customer is satisfied with what they get, they will come back, or they will tell their friends about us,” said Mr. Faham.

Business Strategies Never Over Promise Communicating with employee and Customers Planning everything ahead Marketing Sure Customers Satisfied Figure 32: NJ Motors Business Strategies When asking Faham and Rashed about their business strategy, they told me that the most important strategy is making sure that customers are always satisfied even if the mistakes or delays on projects are from his side.

They also never over promise to the customers for example, promising the price or deadline, and is always balanced so there will not be any accidents that could cause serious injuries. The other thing that they told me is to make sure to plan everything ahead before taking any steps, which will also help with communication of employees and customers, which makes them feel like a family or friend, and not just customers or employees.

Customer asks for a product or they build They plan the idea with the team They come up with a design and 3D model They show the customer The customer says good to go They ask for down payment They get the parts needed for the project They start working on the project Figure 33: The process of how to orders work at NJ Motors According to the information that I obtained from them, it is the customer who comes to them and looks at their pre-built projects. If they like the pre-built projects, they will sell the built projects to them and if not, customers can ask for custom built items. The company will show the design to the customer and if the customer likes the design and if he says it is good to go, it will ask for a down payment from the customer and it will order all the parts that are needed for the project. Then it will work on the project and bring the 3-D render to reality for the customer and make sure they get what they envisioned.

Since they just started their business, the founders are not focusing on big ways to market the business. Hence, they mainly focus on word-of-mouth, that is why they are trying their best to make sure that customers would be satisfied. Also, the company makes small advertisements on social media so that it will reach other GCC countries instead of just being in the UAE.

• Making sure that customers are satisfied.
• Once customers are satisfied, they will talk about it.
• Getting potential customers from current customers.
• Advertising on social media to reach other GCC

countries.

-We are promote with word of mouth showing what we can provide to the cstomers and when they are satisfied they talk about it to other people -Secondly, we promote on social media to reach customers outside of the UAE region -The best time to promote our service and products are in winter TARGET MARKET PRODUCT PRICE PRODUCTION PLACE -Customized builds according to the customers vision -Using technology and 3D renders to meet the customers vision -Off-roading vechicles -Nj-motors custom builds -Branded with the logo and name -we are different from others, we interact with customers making sure they are satisfied -we provided the best prizes according to customers need and wants -we provide discounts to customers who come from our current existing customers -compared to our competitors whom are located in the US we provided cheaper prices due to labor being cheaper here

• They can find us on Instagram
• we are located in Ajman, UAE

Figure 34: A Target Market chart for NJ Motors I would recommend marketing the business and considering other options and not just the use of word- of-mouth, which will help the business grow faster and also, it should consider going global to grow the name of the business so people will know the business all around the world which will lead to increasing the income of the business.

Seasonal Business When I asked them about the challenges that they have faced with the business in the past, the first thing the founders mentioned that the business in a seasonal business currently since it is mainly focusing on customers that are located in the UAE and GCC countries, only people in those countries do not go to deserts or have fun with off roads unless it is winter.

With it being a seasonal business, it is unable to sell its products during the summer, since people have no use for them, which makes it have back inventory. “We currently have three big projects that are waiting in the inventory for winter in order for them to be sold,” said Mr. Faham.

Hard Times in the Beginning At the start, the founders had 5,000 Dh each in their pocket, which they obtained from their savings accounts from the 10,000 Dh in total that they had. They started the business and faced a few problems since they were new to that sector, even though they were passionate about off-roading and building things. “We did not know where to go to get the parts and we did not know the prices of the parts or anyone who could mentor us.

We had to learn everything by researching and asking different people,” said Mr. Faham.

On their first project, it took them two months since they did not have enough information about that sector of work. Once they learned everything from their first project, they were able to grow and their new projects took way less time.

Unsold Inventory Due to the Dubai heat increasing, the founders are unable to sell the projects that they have built during the winter and they have three big projects that are standing in the garage waiting for winter to come in order to sell them. They are unable to take new orders due to not having capital and just having inventory.

“Once we sell at least one of the projects that are in inventory, we will be able to take on new orders from customers,” said Mr. Rashed.

SWOT Analysis -Having loyal customers that will always come to us since we provide the best price for the service that we provide them STRENGTHS S W O T WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Not being known as much and the business being mainly profitable only during the winter New competitors entering the market after we grow globally and being known in the GCC countries

• Growing globally and not

just in the UAE, we can grow all around the GCC countries since there is not any company that is well known in the GCC Figure 35: NJ Motors SWOT Analysis The company’s strength is it has loyal customers that come to it when they need something or if they need a second opinion on their project, they provide them with the best care and best prices compared to the other competitors. Its weakness is the business is a seasonal business and it is more profitable during the winters. It has great opportunities if it grows more than just being in the UAE and reaches the GCC countries, it will highly increase the income. Lastly, the treats that it might face in the future would be the new competitors that will enter the GCC market.

Mission and Vision When interviewing the founders, I asked them what their mission and vision was for the company. They gave me a few answers, but I decided to write and talk about the main and best answer that I got.

Mission When asking what the mission is, the founders told me that the mission is to make sure that all customers are satisfied and set a goal to reach at least 20 sales for this year and double it by next year, which will help it grow the business slowly until it becomes well-known in the GCC countries and even globally.

Vision When asking what the vision is, the founders gave me few answers, but they told me that the main vision they both have is to compete with other companies that are well- known globally that are in the USA. Hence, they want to be the first company in the GCC countries to see their products and use them. They also mentioned that they want their products to be seen in the desert, like people smiling and having fun when using their products.

Start small and grow Learn from your failures Work hard and never give up Have hopes no matter what Face your problems and do not avoid them Meet the customers wants and needs Making sure that the customers are always satisfied Words of mouth is worth everything Do not expect to grow fast Do not give up if you fail Figure 36: A chart of lessons learned from the author of the case study

In conclusion, both Mr. Rashed and Mr. Faham are young entrepreneurs who started their business from nothing and learned about that sector all by themselves and grew the business in just a few months by working and grinding. This shows that everything is possible and there is nothing such as failing and even if you fail, never give up and try again if you really are passionate about the work you are doing and learn from the failures so you will be able to avoid them in the future. Being an entrepreneur can be viewed in many ways. As an entrepreneur, you can see and recognize change, which will lead to pursuing opportunities, taking responsibilities, innovating, taking risks, and taking advantage of resources.

Case Study Questions

• Are the founders considered as an entrepreneur?

Explain the reason

• What do you think about their approaches to growing?
• What

other marketing strategies would you recommend growing the business?

• In your opinion, do you think that all entrepreneurs

start from nothing? Explain.

• Do you think the way they handle challenges is good.

If no, explain the reason?

• If you were in the shoes of Mr. Rashed and Mr. Faham,

what other ways would you approach to make sure that company grows globally?