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 Google, Odoo & Expand taking you to a whole new world

I am very glad to have been in odoo experience 2022 to attend the launching of odoo 16.
I have delivered my speech about how odoo helped us revamp a real estate business and achieve 400% sales targets in less than one year. We've done similar cases with insurance companies, and other service providers. You can watch the case study on this video.

Inflation is rising, bank interest rates are decreasing and people need to invest to make more income in order to survive.

Motivation will not get you there, it will give you the push tp make that decision. Then you need a strategy...but what will get you there is the discipline, the daily actions, the weekly actions that will create a momentum to build a certain success.

Most business don't go through a straight line. They fluctuate based on the challenges they face; wars, crisis, Covid, competition, technology, high employee turnover, financial instability, etc.

Many companies are looking for ways to fund their businesses especially that bank loans are not much available and find the big investors is not a piece of cake.

 Most of the successful companies I have dealt with have something in common; they started a business out of a hobby.

Please find below my video regarding the top 10 reasons why businesses need a strategy. Every big success needs a plan and we are surely ready to help.  

The business plan components and uses 

 Being small doesn’t mean you can’t think big, but with a good strategy it allows you to get organized, succeed and make a big impact on yourself, your family and the people you work with.

 If you are looking for investors to fund your business, consider the following tips:

Whatever talent or skills you have, you must take them to the universe. Even if you are shy or lacking self-confidence, this doesn't mean you have to block your potential to grow and shine.

Goodbye quarter one and welcome spring; where not only nature can flourish, but also your business and financial situation.

Whether you already have a successful business, tried one before or never dared to make the first step, below are some reasons why creating a business could be a top priority for you:

I am glad and very proud to announce that we are now officially ready and open to collaborate together in different ways. We have successfully restructured our business model, became 100% digital, with a perfectly structured hybrid management system to make it very easy for any company size to benefit from our consulting and investment services.  

Plans don't work? It means you had the wrong plan. Because the right plan covers all risk factors and creates a contingency strategy for all challenges.
You need a business plan/strategy only in the following cases

1. Does a decision change the game?
2. How to plan in times of crisis?
3. How to set the right priorities?
4. How to adapt after COVID?
5. What about people who don’t have enough ideas?
6. Few words in summary

We hope it was a good year for you, your family and your business despite all the challenges we’ve been through.

BLIS 2021(Beirut Life Insurance Seminars) and Legacy Builders with Expand launched a virtual meeting with many participants from different countries to explore how companies can survive through hard times and why Cyprus is the most popular region to expand from Lebanon.

When the Titanic was sinking there were three different types of people: those who kept dancing, those who panicked without any considerable action, and those who jumped to safety boats. Now that the economies are sinking, what are the safety boats available?

Based on a survey that we've done with our clients and other webinar attendees, the below answers show how much businesses are impacted and how they would behave due to the current crisis.

STOP wasting training time and budget START building internal training academies

 Stop losing the right people; Start assessing your team properly

 Most of the problems we are facing are due to lack of planning or lack of values.

Based on a survey that we've done with our clients and other webinar attendees, the below answers show how much businesses are impacted and how they would behave due to the current crisis.

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Many people wonder what is a business plan and if it’s an important task to be done, especially in turbulent times.
Of course, a written business plan is must for several reasons.

Management is a very essential program that sheds the light on important tips in managing a small and medium business.

How to best manage people, money, time projects and most importantly what data to analyze and how to make objective sharp decisions in such a chaotic business environment.

Sales Development is a very essential program that empowers each salesperson, entrepreneur or freelancer to best sell in tough situation.

Personal development is not a book, a workshop, a discussion or a trend. It is a lifestyle and long term commitment for continuous self- improvement.

Life has changed! People have changed; they have a different mindset, different priorities and less purchasing power. Business will surely never be back to normal.

Please feel free to share the content of this document; the point is to spread the word and support as many businesses as possible.

Two years ago like today, I was facing a very deep problem in my life; I wrote this post...it still applies for me.
Check it out and see how tough times can give you some good lessons.

Stay safe and keep expanding!

Entrepreneurship is a journey. Every business goes into storms due to internal and external factors.

Below are some tips to survive the current storm:

Are you willing to raise the bar and get over the top? If you have established financial stability, solid values, and a positive team, you should ask yourself where your company would land in a period of 5 to 7 years if you don't decide to expand immediately and assertively. Our EXPAND Extreme is a new signature program by EXPAND to support you, the elite, aggressive clientele, in boosting your businesses from good to great so that you achieve outstanding results.

 My interview on El Iktisad

Each and every business has the opportunity to expand abroad. Simply put, this means opening new markets and finding new potential clientele outside the current territory.  

 Each successful company may grow from small to medium, large and then hopefully very large. In each stage, the company must adapt to the new size of the business and respect its specific requirements.

Below are top tips to keep in mind:

People nowadays look for instant pleasures and things. They want instant coffee, instant heating in the microwave, instant information from the internet, immediate better physical shapes and they unfortunately disregard the consequences of the unhealthy process to get there.

Success is not instant. Success is the result of long term efforts at different levels.

Technology is improving so fast, competition is so fierce, and clients are so demanding. This pushes most of the companies to keep expanding and raising the bar but sometimes they tend to forget the basics: business success is initially built on long term relationships and outstanding experiences. Anything else is a plus!

 It is very common to hear: think big. However, big results come from small steps. Keeping your eyes on big goals is very important. But doing small solid steps on a daily basis is more important. Below is a list of top small things to think about in order to expand properly:

إذا السنة الماضية ما زبطت معك الحق ع مين؟
إذا ما خسرت وزن...شو خصها ليلى عبداللطيف؟

At this time of the year, we all have some resolutions to make. Whether on a personal or business level, it is always important to review what went well last year, what went wrong and needs to be fixed and what are the major decisions to be taken in this regard. Below is a list of recommended perception changes to make your business life easier:

بلشت المعركة!
فتحت الحرب على السوسة

 مهما كنت ضعيف، فيك تكون قبضاي. مهما كنت فقير فيك تكون غني. مهما كنت مكسور فيك تصير صلب. مهما تتعبك الحياة فيك تنبض بالحياة.

 It is very common in businesses to find chaos in different areas: high employee turnover, low commitment to rules and regulations, fluctuating sales results, low clients loyalty, fierce competition…

Each topic could be resolved separately but let’s put some general terms to fight against all of the above challenges:

1. Have very fair but strict internal rules and regulations and make sure they are well understood by all team members.

 قد ما تحسن حالك في حدا أحسن منك.
قد ما تضعف في حدا أضعف منك.
قد ما تعمل رياضة في حدا جسمه احلا منك.
قد ما تعمل مصاري في حدا معو اكتر منك.

  حلو انك تعمل متل غيرك، الأحلى انك تعمل يلي بتؤمن فيه
حلو انك تكون مجوز، الأحلى انك تعيش حياة زوجية سليمة
حلو انك تجيب ولاد، الأحلى انك تربيهم صح
حلو انك تلاقي شغل، الأحلى انك تكون موظف أمين ومنتج
حلو انك تفتح مشروع خاص، الأحلى انك تربح وتكبر وتدعم يلي حواليك

  لتنجح بحياتك المهنية و المالية عندك خيارين:
١. تتكل على الحظ
٢. الحظ يتكل عليك

Sometimes you feel the need to know if you are really successful or not. You know you are probably doing a good job but you need proof, criteria or simply some indicators...
Below are some indicators that you are doing a good job:
1. You have repeat clients
2. You have more business volume from the same clients
3. Your often get clients as referrals or from word of mouth

 ١٠٠٪ الوضع صعب... ١٠٠٪ في تراجع إقتصادي. ١٠٠٪ المنطقة كلها متراجعة.
بس قديش بال١٠٠ في عالم معها أجدد تلفون؟

  :أربع أشياء ضروري يتعلمها اولادنا تيغيرو مستقبل البلد و وضعهم الشخصي

The current economic situation is pushing a lot of businesses to downsize and even get out business. Below is a main strategy that applies to many companies and has proved its efficiency during the last 15 years: FOCUS!

Before the wedding plan comes the financial plan.

Being married with 4 children I can assure you that financial planning is extremely essential to have a decent life in Lebanon; how to budget for the wedding, afford a nice house, buy a new family car, prepare the children's rooms and accessories, manage the cash flow between living expenses, school, helper, traveling, buying gifts, personal care and many other important issues can bring lots of pressures to the family and could even threaten its bonding and positive spirit.

People often lose their motive in the business. Below are main reasons behind that fact:

• Wrong clients: the most common problem to de-motivate you is the wrong client. One that has opposite values to you and will always make you feel that you are over stretching your limits while never satisfying his/her needs.
• Wrong team: when you work with the wrong people, you spend your energy in the wrong place…Technically trying to motivate them instead of focusing on the team’s productivity.

Is your productivity dead? Here's the process for resurrection...

Below is a basic step by step approach to improve productivity in a business.

Discipline is in the name of the game

Love is important, creativity is very important, system is wonderful but nothing ensures success except discipline. Teach yourself to be disciplined in the following areas and your results will be amazingly increasing:

 Who are you racing?

Some people are racing in elections
Others are racing competitors
Most of us are racing financial commitments

 We’re so taken by life, by time, by commitments, by emergencies, by installments, by work loads, by routine…that we often forget to engage with people:

 Besides the fact that both are attractive in the subject line, let's look at some of the similarities between these two international famous terms:

 ...ما حدا عم يفهمني 

...ريادي أعمال لبناني عم بخاطب نفسه

لما تكون الظروف حلوه...كل العالم بتكون حدي
لما تصير الظروف صعبه...وين بيختفو؟

 It’s time to finalize your numbers.

Numbers are not only about financial statements; they also include very essential factors to ensure business success. Examples include:

 قد ما تكون شوفير قبضاي و قد ما تكون سيارتك قوية، ما بتوصل بمشوارك إذا دولابك مفخوط...نفس شي بحياتك الشخصية و المهنية؛ قد ما تكون قبضاي بالحياة و عملك قوي و مزدهر...ما فيك توصل للنجاح إذا دولاب حياتك مفخوط.

مين منكم ما قطع بمشاكل بحياتو؟

مين ما قطع عليه مشاكل نفسية، عائلية، مادية، مهنية...
مين ما عرف شو يعني مرض، حادث، وفاة، طلاق، إنكسار، إفلاس، تحرش، أو حتى عاهات خلقية...

 No you don't need to fail to become successful!
Do doctors need to fail in medical operations to become good doctors?

 ...الحياة لا تستمر
الإنسان يستمر!

 Count your blessings
Count your achievements
Count your money
& count on me to guide you EXPAND in your financial and business life

 ...منشد في تيحكي و منرجع منقلو سكوت
...منشد في تيمشي و منرجع منقلو قعود
...منشد في تياكل و منرجع منقلو ضعاف

 إدارة المدخول في العائلة هو أحد أهم الأمور لخلق مستقبل مزدهر بعيداً عن المشاكل والضغوطات.

الحياة أصبحت صعبة جداً ولذلك تتطلب مجهود أكبر من الزوجين لضبط المصاريف، خلق ميزانية لكل فرد، وبناء جدار مالي لتخطي الأزمات المالية.

... انا أيضاً استقيل

بعد اكتر من ١٣ سنة عمل بالتخطيط و التدريب قررت اعتزل المهنة.
...نعم, شفت انو كتير من الزبائن ما بتآمن بالتخطيط
...كتير من المشاركين ما بطبقو التدريب

 السرية المهنية لا تقتضي على إمضاء وحسب ؛ هي واجب على كل موظف، ورب عمل و مهني حر. عندما يرتاح ويثق بك الشخص لتحل مشاكله،

كل يوم الصبح كل العالم بتبلش ركض: شي بيركض للرياضة، شي بيركض لتحقيق الأهداف و شي بيركض لتأمين السندات...مش مهم. الأهم إنك تركض بخطى ثاب

 صباح الشتي، صباح الخير

...في عالم بتنظر للشتي إنو غضب من عند ربنا لأنو بتسكر الطرقات، بيعجق السير و بتنزرب بالبيت

Tough times, turbulent times, crisis times... We’ve all been there! I have been working in most of the MENA region and I have been observing the ups and downs of most of the countries; visa here, no visa there… good sales here , no sales there…family is stable here, family is divided there…good business forecast here, can’t predict the future there. Here becomes there and there moves to here; and there we go shaking again! The last 10-15 years didn’t have mercy on anyone around the region. This is not to disappoint you; this is to reveal an observation that took me a significant time to understand and digest.

 إذا الزودة مربوطة بالأقدمية: العوض بسلامة الإنتاجية

In a world where economies are shrinking, crisis is shaking and poverty is increasing, most people are looking for a potential solution to hang on to their lifestyle. The very common solutions are: joining a solid multinational company, leave the country or open your own business. Each option is a good option but looking at the end result on a national level, we can always deduct that opening your business brings the best results for all stakeholders: 

Dear some people, I don't understand...I hope there is camera that catches how people look like when they were desperate to get married. How they were fighting to get children. How they were eager to open their own business or get that dream job... 

I don’t know if you are feeling the same but I was personally very frustrated several times when I go out; whether shopping, eating out, doing SPA or whatever customer experience, I was always deceived by the bad management in most of the places, even in big institutions like banks and hospitals. 

We have learned to speak, to tell, to present, to accept, to manage...but we have never learned to listen.

The more you listen, the better you become. But listening has to be active: it’s not only about not interrupting. It is about active listening by knowing how to ask the right questions.

Whether “no one is irreplaceable” is true or not, keep in mind that losing your key people will result in big financial losses. After leaving your business, they mostly work for a competitor, shake the employee morale and it takes a good time until you find the adequate replacement. Below are some tips to help you retain them: 

 تطوير الذات ليس دورة تدريبية بل هو نمط حياة

Personal Development Program is not a workshop or a book; it is an ongoing process of personal evaluation at all levels of your life in order to achieve the maximum potential you can think of, or sometimes even beyond your imagination. Below are some interesting tips in this regard: 

Goodbye last year! Whether good or bad, the past will never come back. It doesn’t matter if you hit your past goals or not, what matters is what will you do about it next year. Below are some interesting goals to inspire you: Buy a new real estate: whether a small land, office or shop, this is a good investment that will generate possible revenue if you rent it or even simply keep it to appreciate in value over time. Open a small business: it is always a good idea to invest in something that you like and that has a growing demand in the market.

As part of my CSR initiative, I was a speaker at the JCI’s “After School: What’s Up?” At Unesco on Friday 15th of April 2016. Below are some tips I shared with the students: You start studying when you finish university. There's a big gap between what you study academically and what you learn from real business practice. 

Managing the cash flow of the business is one of the most critical tasks you may ever face. Most of the entrepreneurs focus on the production and the service and tend to ignore the value of a healthy cash flow; then reality hits them hard. Below are some basic tips in this regard:

I have an idea that could be a possible solution to the current situation. Imagine what happens if we do the following: Every single person would stop nagging and start improving their productivity; work from their heart and satisfy their professional conscience. 

What are the top right and wrong in business? Here's a good brief... 

How many tasks can you handle alone and what are the possible solutions. 

One of the biggest challenges in business is the ability to finish all your tasks on time by yourself. This is due to the increasing demands of the family, the time pressure from the new lifestyle we are living, and because technology is moving so fast pushing customers to believe that any job can be done in a flash of light.
Delegation is the best solution but many people can’t afford to employ people in a small business. Below are some tips that could be helpful in this regard:
 

Re-defining some priorities in business... 

What is important and what is more important...

2015 has ended. One year has passed and counters will restart in one day. What happened this year? What didn’t happen? Economic wars, terrorism, accidents, sicknesses, natural disasters, you name it… Yes, many bad things happened to the world and we lost people, health, wealth, and sometimes faith in life. No it’s not a nagging letter to disappoint you, but can you tell me about one year where bad things didn’t happen? Can you tell me about a perfect year where everything was perfect?

Manage your business, from your smart phone!
Have you ever thought why your phone is called smart? It’s because it can help you manage your business at a very low cost. Below are some basic tips:

One of the most essential success factors in a business is building trust. In fact it is earned after both hard and smart work. Some people might give you trust at the beginning and then it would be your responsibility to retain it. Other people might start the hard way; waiting for you to earn their trust.

Below are some tips to help you build that extremely important value:

Top reasons why your business is your baby!
1. It takes love and passion to create a business
2. It takes 2 partners--even if for moral support--to create a business
3. It takes time for the business--at least 9 months-- before you see it concretely

What is life without a meaning?
Where does that meaning come from? In business and even in personal life we hear a lot about tasks and responsibilities. Most people know them all but the main problem is that they keep delaying them or find excuses not to do them. Apparently it’s because they feel those duties are meaningless or simply because they are not highly prioritized in their minds….

Let’s start by defining the terms and putting things in the right order:

A different perspective
Entrepreneurs are well respected for their efforts, their hard work and their perseverance. Moreover, budget is not always in hand to create the desired identity, branding and to be able to buy the right assets. You hear a lot of technical terms but you feel they are so hard to be achieved…
Let’s get back to basics and change some key concepts. Do you know that:

يرغب العديد من الأشخاص بتأسيس شركات خاصّة، والإنتقال من الوظيفة الى ريادة الأعمال. ولكن قد لا يكون الأمر بالسهولة التي يتوقعها البعض، ولا بالصعوبة التي يخشاها البعض الآخر. فالتخطيط والدراسة أمران أساسيّان للتأسيس الصلب الذي يساعد بنسبة كبيرة على النجاح 

People seek it...people fight for it...people die for it...But people don't know how to live for it!

I have been always scratching my head to know the real meaning or path for happiness:

It has been a while that I noticed a very weird phenomenon: every time I am chatting with a client or a friend, they tell me the same thing: "I don't have time to scratch my head"; meaning they are very busy...
Coming from a background where a problem is viewed as an opportunity, I decided to do something about it: A business of head scratchers :)
Well, yes, at the beginning it seemed to be a funny issue. Once I tell them that I have such a business, they would laugh and tell me ok ok, I know everybody else is busy...when shall we meet...but then I went further: if all people are really that busy, it means: