Coupon entrepreneur Donna Benton hasn't always had an easy time in Dubai.
Back in the year 2000, Benton was 26 and leaving a job at Crown Casino in Melbourne. She was ready for an international adventure when she accepted a job in the Arab Gulf.
![Donna Benton wants to correct the misconception that women entrepreneurs are not welcome in Dubai.](/web/20161206184151im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/b/z/w/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsbzy5.png/1477542795678.jpg)
"After three months, that job didn't work out and all I had was $3000 in savings," says Benton.
"I had no idea what I was going to do when I was driving down one of the highways here when I noticed there were so many restaurants and attractions and I thought there was a real opportunity there to get people in the door."
![More than 70 per cent of Dubai's population is expat. Only 10-15 per cent is local Emirati.](/web/20161206184151im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/b/z/w/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsbzy5.png/1477542795678.jpg)
So Benton went from door to door selling her idea of two-for-one coupons to venues.
Now the business she founded, The Entertainer, is half owned by a major Arab private equity company and pumps hundreds of thousands of dollars into the economy.
How she did it
"The first year was tough, I really didn't know where anything was. No one knew who I was so I had to get through the PAs to find out who the food and beverage manager or the general manager was. Many didn't want to go with a first year publication. Rejection was my life for about a year."
Benton persisted and finally got a major chain to sign with her, the Marriott.
"That really gave me a big boost and it snowballed from there. One challenge when you're selling someone something that you haven't produced yet, what you're really doing is selling how keen you are," she says.
Benton says starting a business had always been a goal for her and a way of providing security.
"I had always worked. I started at an indoor sports centre out of high school and that taught me a lot. I then had a small catering and events company and later worked in marketing at Crown Casino.
Rejection was my life for about a year.
"I had never been in this exact industry, publishing, before but I loved what I was doing and working with hotels and restaurants so I backed myself."
When The Entertainer launched, the likes of Groupon were not even born yet.
"It was more your Diners Club as the major competitor when we started. But six or seven years ago we saw a lot of the daily deals sites and that was challenging. We really had to focus on your core business. A lot of those sites cost the merchant dearly, but we are about the merchant and the customer," she says.
Entertaining the world
The Entertainer as a global business today claims it puts $1.3 billion into the economy in coupons for everything from the economy to beauty centres, spas and travel.
How could such a number be calculated?
"We calculate that by offers. We're digital now we so know how many coupons have been redeemed and the average price of our savings."
Benton also explains much of the mini-economy she has built is white labelled, that is, done in the name of other big corporates
"We run Mastercard's loyalty program in the Gulf, much of Africa and London. We also deal with Samsung, and they have just put a preloaded Entertainer app on their phones in this region. So there are $1000 of offers prepaid for on that phone which is one of the selling points of the phone itself. That adds up
Does the entrepreneur and mother of two have plans to extend her business in Australia?
"Australia is definitely in our radar but the two for one thing has already been done here. We are looking at a tourism app for Australia that would focus on inbound tourism and it would be an offline app so when people land, they don't need to be buying a SIM," he says.
Busting myths
Benton says the biggest misconception about Dubai is that women are not welcome in the business world there.
"Everyone perceived it as very male-driven here but Dubai is open for entrepreneurship, small to medium enterprise and women," she says.
"The only thing I'd say different here is that you need to be respectful of the religion, you have to dress appropriately and speak appropriately but that is not a problem for me."
Benton notes that while businesses don't pay tax in Dubai, you do pay hidden taxes in terms of annual business registration fees.
She also says that it's not necessary to partner or be sponsored by Emirati businesses to succeed.
"We have 100 per cent foreign ownership and that's not a problem," she says.
0 comments
New User? Sign up