For Qadreya Al Awadhi, a 27-year-old Emirati woman entrepreneur, investing her savings in the stock market began a little over a decade ago back when she was only 16. And she felt investing wasn’t hard to start young because it wasn’t as capital-intensive as other traditional investment-heavy avenues.
"With guidance from my father, I decided to invest in the stock market because it did not require significant capital as opposed to real estate or others," she said, while also revealing how she started saving young with money from her allowances, birthdays and graduation.
"My father gave me tasks to earn money when I was younger. I had to save up my allowances to buy what I wanted, whether it was a PlayStation or an iPod. Since I had to do some chores and save money to get what I wanted, I thought twice about what I would spend my money on, and this helped me understand the value of money from a young age."
With guidance from my father, I decided to invest in the stock market because it did not require significant capital as opposed to real estate or others
"I continue to invest in the stock market and have made sizable returns in my portfolio. However, I slowly started to invest my money in a business."
Recently, Al Awadhi launched Bumblebee, a home-grown business of ready-made frozen meal plans for babies and toddlers. The company has been developing since 2018, but the pandemic slowed the launch; the official launch was in 2021.
Why did you consider starting a baby and kids' food business?
After studying finance at university-level and international business for her post-graduation degree, Al Awadhi began her career in the financial sector.
She had interned in many companies, and each gave her a different skill set and helped her grow. "During my first full-time job in the financial industry, I learned the value of money."
"I spent most of my days studying international companies, learned about their business, financial and operational strategy, and read external reports on them since they are publicly listed. From that, I learned to identify the macro triggers and key figures that can make or break a business. When starting my own business, I took that knowledge with me and avoided such mistakes."
The idea to start a business began when she babysat her friend's son. She realised there needed to be businesses selling nutritious and delicious meals for babies and toddlers. All the options at the time were supermarket meals, which lacked flavour, colour and nutrition due to their long shelf life. She identified a gap in the market and was determined to help mothers provide a healthy alternative for their babies.
Although she did not have experience in entrepreneurship or the baby and kids' food field, she pushed herself to learn more every day.
"While I relied on my expertise for funding and starting the business, I needed to gain knowledge regarding the product, which is nutritious baby food. Hence, I decided to go to culinary school to better learn about ingredients, flavours and safety standards."
My father gave me tasks to earn money when I was younger. I had to save up my allowances to buy what I wanted
Even then, she needed to learn about a meal's macronutrients and nutritional value. This was when she decided to work with a paediatric nutritionist who helped develop the menu selection according to the most dietary standards. Eventually, she started selling the products and grew close to other mothers, and their feedback helped her raise even more.
What were the different expenses in starting this business?
Al Awadhi said the main costs for forming this business were all the permits related to starting a business in the F&B field. She self-funded her business, investing over Dh150,000 in business. This was mainly start-up costs, including equipment and safety measures.
She said, "Additional costs are mostly packaging, labelling, and fresh and organic ingredients, which cost upwards of Dh15,000 a month, depending on volume."
"Then operational costs are involved for the day-to-day business activity, such as staff salaries, rent and marketing expenses. It is worth noting that all prices are always subject to change, especially in recent times. Hence, one needs to monitor expenses for any changes affecting your bottom line."
Her biggest challenge was deciding how to allocate the budget. "The business is self-funded. Hence I had to rely on my experience working in the finance industry to analyse and assess the macro factors associated with each expense."
3 money lessons she learnt and followed in her life
Money rule #1: Carefully analyse the company you want to invest in.
Al Awadhi said that during the pandemic, everyone purchased stocks that were the hottest trends, most of which have fallen in value today.
“Those gains were only due to the hype and FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] associated with it. However, I analyse the company's financial and operational history, current plans, and market reputation. I invest if I think the company will still be here in 15 more years."
Money rule #2: Do not squander money to buy the best of everything
When starting a new business, it gets tempting to buy the best and most sophisticated equipment, rent huge spaces, and hire a lot of staff.
Al Awadhi said starting big comes with the pressure of meeting financial and operational goals. "All ideas look great on paper but once implemented, there is no guarantee that they will succeed; hence, I decided to grow organically."
All ideas look great on paper but once implemented, there is no guarantee that they will succeed; hence, I decided to grow organically
"I analysed many international and publicly listed companies that grew too quickly or spread themselves too thin, and I learned from their mistakes. I developed budgeting plans that allocated maximum spending on specific aspects of the business, and I stuck with that and did not go above budget."
Money rule #3: Making money takes time, not through get-rich-quick schemes
She said, "I am even luckier to be surrounded by family members working in various industries in the country. Hence, I gained knowledge from their own experience with their finances and investments. I learned that making money takes time, so the earlier you start, the better."
"I learned not to believe in get-rich-quick schemes and slowly invested money in the stock market; I earned a sizeable income from that and have now put my money into my own business. This business is my current investment strategy as I plan to keep growing it and achieve my personal goals."
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