Home Essentials President Says Opportunities Still Sound in Iraq for Small Businesses; Tells IBC-Gulf Conference Attendees to Remain Flexible, Manage by Reaction

30 September, 2004

by Patricia Soule Coate
Media Contact
415-309-2231
patricia@coateconsulting.com

Dubai, UAE, September 30, 2004 – Chris Exline, chairman and CEO of Home Essentials Company, the largest furniture leasing operation outside the US, said that business prospects in Iraq for small businesses are still excellent and urges entrepreneurs to take a proactive position in seeking out opportunities.

At the IBC-Gulf “Renewal & Reconstruction in Iraq” Conference in Dubai today, Exline told the crowd that the business metrics in Iraq are the same as in Dubai and Dallas, Texas, with a few notable exceptions:

• “Unlike in other business sectors and economies where planning is paramount, in Iraq successful entrepreneurs manage by reaction.”
  
  
• “Business plans must remain flexible and change quickly with the climate.”
  
  
• “The Iraqi business environment favors smaller businesses because they are nimbler than larger ones.”
  
  

Exline was speaking from experience. His company, Home Essentials, opened a warehouse operation for his furniture leasing business in Dubai one year ago and established a direct presence in Baghdad in February 2004. Today, his company currently offers comprehensive turnkey service to foreign business owners and expatriate workers to help them get situated quickly in Iraq. These services include short-term and long-term leasing arrangements of housing and office facilities, and provisions for transportation, communications, security, cleaning and other essential services.

Exline also told the attendees that successful entrepreneurs must follow good business practices that work in any country as well as in Iraq:

• Cultivate customers by knocking on doors, don’t wait for government contracts and other business to jump into your laps. “If you are looking for US Government contracts in Iraq, they are gone – go home!”
  
  
• Build a solid foundation through local partners and managers. “Remember that the modus operandi in Iraq in the past has been survival. Now is the time to nurture business talent, mentor managers and develop your partners for the future.”
  
  
• Perform well and always do what you say you will do but don’t take anything for granted. “Iraqis are eager to work and seize opportunity but many remain skeptical of foreign business men and women. Therefore, it’s good common sense to help them learn to trust the system again and unleash their innate industriousness and street smarts.”
  
  
• Offer a better price and covet your customers with excellent customer service. “This business truism of competing on price and/or customer service is even more pronounced in Iraq.”

Exline admitted that security issues in the country are real and must be dealt with. As an entrepreneur, the situation is not always easy but the potential is great. “The business environment in Iraq is diversified with a well-entrenched industrial base,” he added. “Direct foreign investment from expatriates and corporations will continue to rise and will help create a climate of success.”

About Home Essentials

Founded in 1997, Home Essentials is the largest furniture rental company outside the US. The company has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Baghdad. Home Essentials provides furniture leasing and sales to meet the furnishing needs of expatriates, landlords, developers and service apartment operators worldwide. In Iraq, Home Essentials also provides a turnkey service for foreign workers, including housing and office facilities, transportation, communications, security, cleaning and other essential services. Its list of clients include British American Tobacco, Citibank, Disney, Ernst & Young, Exxon Mobil, IBM, Intel, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, and USAID as well as several large real estate landlords and developers. Visit the company Website at www.homeessentials.org.