What Does the Japanese Metro Have in Common with the Dubai Market?

If, like me, you’ve watched those videos on YouTube or social media of people calmly cramming into the Japanese metro like sardines, you’ve probably wondered:

“How on earth do these people live like this every day?”

This summer, like most football academies in Dubai, we looked to recover our income through holiday camps.

We did what any sensible business would do.

We researched the market.

We built the campaign.

We partnered with Studio One Hotel for an indoor multi-sport camp.

We launched early.

We contacted hundreds of leads.

We ran social media campaigns.

The enquiries started coming.

The bookings didn’t.

Week one…

Nothing.

The frustrating part?

It wasn’t because people weren’t buying camps.

Three other camps on the very same floor were full.

Then it hit us.

It wasn’t our campaign.

It was the market.

Football camps.

Swimming camps.

Coding camps.

Every man and his dog had discovered the same thing years ago.

Summer is camp season.

So everyone piled in.

And suddenly we weren’t launching a camp.

We were just another business trying to squeeze into an already overcrowded carriage.

That’s the Dubai market.

People often ask me if there’s still opportunity here.

Absolutely.

But don’t confuse opportunity with empty space.

Every decent idea attracts competition.

Every profitable market fills up.

If you find an empty carriage in Dubai, you’re probably standing on the wrong platform.

Now go back to that young Japanese businessman trying to get to work in his perfectly ironed suit.

He has two choices.

Step off.

Or squeeze in.

If he steps off, another train will come.

That carriage will be full too.

So he squeezes in.

That’s exactly what we did.

We stayed on the carriage.

It was uncomfortable.

It was noisy.

After a long, hard, war-ridden season, the temptation to give up was there almost every day.

But something deep inside me, as an entrepreneur, simply doesn’t accept defeat.

So we stayed on the carriage.

We found new marketing channels.

We expanded onto more apps.

We pushed harder on social media.

We networked more.

We adapted.

Little by little, the bookings started coming.

One registration became two.

Two became five.

Before long, the camp was full.

Why stay on such a crowded carriage?

Because in sport, giving up isn’t an option.

And in business, it’s even less of one.

If you quit every time the competition gets tough, what are you going to do?

Wait for the next empty market?

Good luck.

Especially in Dubai.

This city doesn’t reward people waiting for perfect conditions.

It rewards the people willing to fight for a place on the carriage.

The carriage is full.

Get on anyway.