The UAE has always provided a favorable business environment for entrepreneurs from across the world. We have seen many foreign nationals set up their businesses in the UAE and have prosperous growth. It is primarily because of the facilities in infrastructure and planned nation building processes that are followed by the government and various service providing institutions which has made it possible for the country to have its place on the global stage. Business consulting professionals have played a key role in this success story. They have shown aspiring entrepreneurs the right way to set up businesses in the UAE with complete understanding of the market. Aiman Fatima is one such lawyer and business expert who has taken it to the next level. Starting her leadership journey at a very young age, Aiman has blossomed into an emphatic leader who has given opportunities to talent that needed a break. We caught up with Aiman over a cup of coffee in between her packed schedule to learn about her values, challenges she has overcome and how she got to where she is today.

What are some important features about your expertise as a business leader?

I have built a multi-million-dollar business from the ground up (started when it was a two people company – now it is 50+ in a span of less than four years). Currently working as the Director of the group companies, (a corporate service provider, a law firm, tax consultancy, an audit and bookkeeping service provider, and a power of attorney service provider), I am involved in growing various legal and corporate products involving complex business structing, estate planning, and other corporate advice. My key area of expertise lies in creating an AI centric ecosystem for the delivery of legal and corporate services. I rely highly on technology in providing cost effective and easy solutions to seemingly complex and unattainable tasks. This ensures a very low cost spent on the services while also ensuring a high quality that is second to none. It is my current aim to service the highest possible volume of clients in the UAE. Together as a company we breaking age old stereotypes that legal and corporate services are expensive and require long billable hours. It is a breakthrough in the industry, and we are seeing very positive results and unimaginable traction from a plethora of clients who have left more than three thousand third party maintained reviews on our websites.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

I graduated school from Loreto Convent, Lucknow. Strongly believe in giving back to the community. I went to study Law at Aligarh Muslim University with the ambition of being a litigator and was popular in the university as a disrupter. At the university, I co-founded an NGO that worked on the United Nations guidelines for young empowerment. The NGO organized an international youth conference with five participating nations and over 17 delegates visiting from all over the world. When I began my career, I started off as a lawyer(judicial intern) in the High Court of Delhi in India. This mindset of disruption has stayed with me in my professional career as well where I enjoy charting new paths, developing products and strategies, and working towards creating an AI centric corporate ecosystem. After my experience working under some of the leading lawyers in India, I had the option of continuing a standard path for a where in I would go through the steps of building my name in a big-name law firm or ultimately moving towards litigation. Instead, I chose to leave the country at that stage and join a startup as one of its founding members to disrupt an industry I knew nothing of at that point in a country where I had freshly moved.

What are some key business lessons that you learnt through your prior experience? How has your industry experience shaped you as a leader?

Three core principles have always guided me throughout my professional career on the basis of

which I make majority of my decisions:

1. Empathy goes a long way in building loyalty – most of the team members currently in the team have been there since the beginning.

2. Business knowledge and skills can be taught. Emotional intelligence, strong communication, trust and integrity cannot. It is always wise to recruit people on the basis of the latter as opposed to the former.

3. There is always a solution to every problem. If you are not creative enough to find the solution, you may be the problem.

As a key business leader in your current organization, what are some of the major roles and responsibilities that you shoulder? What are your primary focus areas as a business leader currently?

As a Director for the group entities, majority of the department heads report to me so I am in some form looking after every aspect of a client lifecycle, from acquisition to execution and post sales experience and everything in between. I am heavily involved the creating new products, conducting market analysis and structuring the policies across all departments for all entities under the group. My primary focus area is to continue growing the organization as I have successfully done over the past four years. I set ambitious targets for myself and my team and have been fortunate enough to have surpassed them thus far with their support.

In your opinion what are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been your success mantra?

From joining the company when it was 1 single desk and two people to having half a floor and over 50 people in the company are significant milestones for me. It is something that I have been able to achieved through sheer hard-work and a never say die attitude. Facing challenges from the front and remaining resilient in the face of unexpected market fluctuations while keep  client service and client experience at the heart of all business dealinoperandi.

My success mantras are simple:

1. “Premium service always attracts a premium clientele”.

2. “An ocean is comprised of many single drops”.

"From joining the company when it was 1 single desk and 2 people to having half a floor and over 50 people in the company are significant milestones for me"

What is your take on the under representation of women leaders in top leadership roles across industries & geographies? How can we bridge this gap?

It is true that the rules are different for men and women at workplace. We have come a long way as a society, but we have miles to go. However, it is a two-way street. As much as the environment women are in is important, they also need not go in with a mindset that they would be underrepresented. Admittedly, we have a more difficult task in getting our accomplishments recognized or even getting an opportunity especially in male-dominated industries. Our male counterparts need to be more open to our voices, but that can only happen if we speak up in the first place. The environment is crucial in getting us opportunities, but we need to step up and grab the opportunities that do exist. We can only bridge this gap if we stop abiding by the age old saying that 'Business is Business' that many people quote to cover their own biases and discrimination. The only way to do that though is women aspiring to be leaders start believing that 'Business is Personal' and take it upon themselves to create their own opportunities if it is not being given to them.

Drawing from your experience as a business leader, what would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

A few things all women business leaders should keep in mind:

a. Glass ceilings are made of sugar – you won’t cut yourself if you have the courage to attempt breaking them.

b. The law of attraction is real – envision greater success for yourself, work towards it and it will happen. You may fail if you try, you already have if you don’t.

c. True strength comes not from physically lifting heavy  but from a strong character, principles and morals. If you are strong in those aspects, you will be a force to be reckoned with.

d. Prioritize your health in all senses of the word. You cannot be a leader if you are not mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually fit.

Aiman Fatima ,Director, Inzone Corporate Services Provider

She is a director at Dubai based leading business setup service provider. The company offers hassle free company formation services in Dubai and across the UAE in the most-efficient and cost-effective manner. It includes in-depth service offerings and specialities such as mainland, free zone and offshore company formation in Dubai and the UAE, PRO services, document clearing, translation, VAT registration, and secretarial services. The company’s work does not stop at the completion of the company formation  process - it just starts there