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Iman Ben Chaiba starred in his debut film. middle east entrepreneurs In May 2014, the UAE entrepreneur wrote an article for a digital publication then called Sail eMagazine, sharing the lessons he learned running his own business. This company later evolved into a full-fledged publishing company called Sayle Publishing. The company started with a focus on digital books, but now print books are its main source of revenue.
Similarly, although he initially started publishing children’s books, Sayle’s portfolio now includes novels, poetry, and self-help, with titles in both Arabic and English. Ben Chaiba can’t believe the growth and impact Sail has had since starting her business in 2010, as she reflects on the transformation her own entrepreneurship has brought about. “At the time, Sail was just an online magazine,” says Ben Chaiver. “She’s published about 50 books over the years since then, so it’s been quite a journey for us.” According to Ben Chaiba, Sayle is what she is today. for an important decision he made when he started building his business venture. It was about not treating it as her side hustle and instead devoting all of her time and attention to it. , and dedication. “It allowed us to grow,” she says. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I was still working back then.”
Sail has definitely come a long way since its early days, and Ben Chaiver wants Sail to continue its mission of publishing quality books for the general public. “We hope that in 10 years, we will continue to be the community’s reading destination for children’s books and contemporary local reading materials for adults,” says Ben Chaiver. “Additionally, we hope to go back to the original online magazine and extend its content model to suit the tastes of a new generation, offering great content that they can consume in the way they prefer.To be honest, it’s hard to keep up. But I hope that we can get back to it and, through the expertise that we’ve built, start to modularize and commercialize it in new ways that can extend the benefits of disseminating consumables knowledge. We hope for the masses in a sustainable way.”
All of this makes it clear that Ben Chaiba is as attuned to the entrepreneurial spirit as he was when he was just starting out, and how it will evolve once again in the coming years. That should excite us all. . “I think there’s always something new when it comes to content,” Ben Chaiver points out. “So it’s just a matter of staying on the lookout for new changes and trends and thinking about how you can adapt and pivot to them.”
Related: 5 tips for starting a business in the UAE publishing sector
Hindsight is 20/20: Iman Ben Chaiba then and now
If you look back at where you were in your entrepreneurial/career/business trajectory 10 years ago, would you have done anything differently if you knew what you know now? Or the biggest thing you wish you had known 10 years ago? What are the lessons learned?
“I wish I had challenged my personal preferences more than I actually did, because one of the lessons I learned throughout my entrepreneurial journey was to simply constantly pivot the business and It was about being able to expand beyond what was planned. For example, if I had stuck to digital books and not published print because I believed in digital only at the time, the company would have struggled. Similarly, if I had only focused on English books and not branched out into publishing in Arabic, I should not let my personal preferences dictate the direction of the company; I am constantly reminded that we have to look at change and grow our business accordingly.”
Related: 10 Years in Review: Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, Founder and CEO of KBW Ventures
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