The entrepreneurial characteristics that were displayed by Nahla is that

she is a very passionate woman. Nahla was also a very strong-minded,

creative and energetic to spend the rest of her life bound by a
conservative hierarchy and rigid management style typical of Jordanian
enterprises. She was convinced that an advertising business would be a
good outlet for her skills and creativity in design and innovation.
Advertising was a growing field in the country and she wanted to establish
her own shop. Before approaching her father with the idea, she tested it
with some friends and family. She found immediate support for the idea
and clear confidence in her abilities.

In fact, some friends were so

enthusiastic about this possibility that they asked to become her business
partners. The positive feedback encouraged her to proceed with the idea
in more concrete terms. Though she did not write a formal business plan,
she and her friends had many brainstorming sessions on the viability of
the venture.

The positive outlook reached in these discussions was

further supported by an informal feasibility study she also undertook.

Advertising was an emerging business idea in Jordan and she believed it
offered many opportunities for new entrants. Her sales grew from about
JD200,000 per year a few years back to about JD500,000 currently.
Profits, on the other hand, decreased from 50 to 60 % in the early days to
currently 15 to 30 %.

Nahla sees her business' strengths in the experience and reputation it has
gained over the years in the novel marketing concepts and creativity. The
weaknesses are related to finance and cash flow. she does not have the
necessary cash to easily finance new projects, like the sign/billboard
business. She sees opportunities in new areas, based on her reputation,
quality and professionalism.

Such a new area she recently entered as

team leader of a consulting team of the largest Japanese marketing and

infrastructure company which is involved in an education reform project of
$384 m for the Ministry of Education.

The biggest threats are

competition, low prices and lack of "advertising syndicate" or other body

enforcing ethical and legal standards of the industry. Her competition is

not only advertising companies, like her own, but also printing shops
which offer design services, and international advertising agencies that
open branches in Amman and have exclusive advertising rights for
specific companies.

Jordan did not have a government agency like the Small Business
Administration in the U.S.

However, there was a proposal under

consideration for establishing such an agency to provide loan guarantees

for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In the meantime, the idea of

loan guarantees was realized recently via funding provided by the

European Union. The agreement made with the Jordan Loan Guarantee
Corporation (JLGC) provided loan guarantees to small and medium-sized
businesses with fewer than 50 employees.