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As Saudi Arabia’s economy prospers, doing business in Saudi Arabia becomes more profitable. Business owners like yourself should consider the advantages of partaking in international business ventures in Saudi Arabia. Whether you want to expand your travel business or gain international clients for your technology business, Saudi Arabia could be a good fit. Between the country’s tourists and organizations, it is a home to varying companies. Thus, there are numerous business opportunities for companies around the globe. Before inquiring about a business opportunity, you need to understand how to properly do business abroad. In this post, you will learn the top tips for doing business in Saudi Arabia.
Follow The Saudi Work Week
Firstly, you must conduct business during the Saudi work week when doing business in Saudi Arabia. Many business owners around the world do business between Monday and Friday. If you حجز فنادق في لندن or book hotels in London, the busiest times are on the weekends. In Saudi Arabia, businesses work from Saturday to Wednesday. While some companies choose to work on Thursdays, it is not common. Businesses never work on Fridays. In the country, Friday is a Muslim holy day. Thus, it is reserved for religious practices. When doing business in Saudi Arabia, never contact companies on Fridays to show respect and understanding for the culture.
Dress To Show Respect
As in many countries, appropriate clothing portrays respect when doing business in Saudi Arabia. To impress potential clients and/or partners, dress conservatively. Both men and women should limit the amount of skin shown. A typical businessman wears long sleeves and full-length dress pants. Therefore, men can focus less on businessmen jewelry, and more on appropriately covering their skin. The average woman wears an Abaya. An Abaya is a black cloak that covers majority of a woman’s body. In addition to this traditional cloak, women also wear headpieces to cover their hair when in public. Follow the traditional dress to fit in among the Saudi business world and show respect.
Primarily Converse With Your Gender
Another helpful tip for doing business in Saudi Arabia is to stick to conversing with your same gender. Most of the time, women converse with women and men converse with men. Unlike in the United States, it is frowned upon to be seen out in public with the opposite gender. The only exceptions to this rule are blood relatives and spouses. Similarly, males and females are separated in the workplace. Keep this in mind upon scheduling meetings and attending events to refrain from mixing with the opposite gender. Then, you can succeed in doing business in Saudi Arabia by following their culture.
Create Double-Sided Business Cards
To ensure that a language barrier does not prevent business deals from taking place, create double-sided business cards. Keep the one side of your business card written in English. On the other side of the card, print out the same exact information, but translate it into Arabic. This will make a highly effective business card. Then, you can hand out your card to anyone you come in contact with regardless of whether they speak English or not. Your opportunities for doing business in Saudi Arabia will increase.
Make Small Talk At Meetings
Business meetings are far less rushed in Saudi Arabia. Rather than jumping into the professional conversations that inevitably need to occur, begin each meeting with small talk. Saudi businessmen prefer to begin meetings in a leisurely manner. Ask about their families. Discuss any relevant news. Speak to them on a friendlier level before speaking of business-related topics such as getting a contract review. In doing so, you will portray how much you care about your potential clients/partners. Thus, they will be more likely to make the deal you traveled overseas to get. Do not underestimate the power of making small talk during meetings while doing business in Saudi Arabia.
Business owners all over the world take advantage of the business opportunities Saudi Arabia offers. To succeed in doing business with Saudi companies, only conduct business throughout the Saudi work week. Show respect through your wardrobe. Understand the gender separations inside and outside of the workplace, and show respect by abiding by them. Eliminate any language barriers by creating double-sided business cards with one side written in Arabic. Finally, make small talk at the start of every meeting to portray how personable you can be in their leisure business culture. Now, you are ready to start doing business in Saudi Arabia.
