It’s about time you know about this Dubai-based multi-hyphenate entrepreneur whose mission is to help aspiring entrepreneurs make a name for themselves in this competitive business world.
Arab Fashion Preneur, founded by Tabet, aims to help entrepreneurs connect with potential clients and showcase their brand on an established and renowned platform.
Scroll down to know more about her journey to the top……
Cosmo ME: Tell us something about you?
Lara Tabet: I am a Lebanese National, born and raised in Dubai. I am married and have two sons. I am a TV presenter, luxury brand ambassador, Middle East Luxury business development manager, official spokesperson for the Arab Fashion Council, philanthropist, and founder of the Arab Fashion Preneur.
C: Which university did you study from?
L: I went to university in Switzerland at the Institut Hotelier Cesar Ritz in Montreux Switzerland where I majored in Hotel Management and came back to Dubai thereafter to work in the family business since my dad was a hotel owner in Dubai, London, and Lebanon.
C: What is Arab Fashion Preneur and what inspired you to create it?
L: Arab Fashion Preneur is a platform for start-ups as well as established businesses in the region that are looking for customers, partners, Investors to help their businesses to grow. The highlight of the Arab Fashion Preneur highlights new trends, disruptive technologies, innovative business models and that will help transform the fashion industry in the future. The aim is to help nurture the fashion and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region which is worth more than $50bn and where the average spends per person on fashion is amongst the highest in the world. Arab Fashion Preneur will host workshops, seminars, conferences, and fashion events to not only help with networking but to nurture the industry in this region.
My inspiration was triggered by seeing fashion entrepreneurs not being able to develop their businesses because of a lack of connectivity and access to the right networks and contacts that are necessary to grow in any business sector. Fashion is a huge business however if it cannot foster new talent then there will no innovation, no progress, and the industry will die out.
C: What was your first job?
L: My first job was as a hotelier working in the family business after I graduated. I started right at the very bottom of the hotel chain in the housekeeping department, and then moved to the front of the house and spent time with the executive chefs of the hotels and learning about the restaurant side of the business. I spent a few years and gradually worked my way up to General manager, but it was a very demanding job as the hotel industry requires most of your time. As the expression goes, you don’t work at the hotel, you are married to the hotel.
C: Do you remember what you wore for your first job interview?
L: Yes, I do remember. I wore a white Karen Millen Suit and I was interviewed by the General Manager of the Hotel.
C: How do you make a good impression?
L: The first impression you make is a long-lasting impression. So if you are meeting someone, make sure you are punctual before anything else. Ensure that you are well-groomed and well-spoken. I also like to get straight to the point and not waste people’s time, so be prepared in advance for your meeting, do your research and be confident.
C: What is the best professional advice you’ve ever been given?
L: The best professional advice I’ve been given is to have passion for whatever it is you are doing. Otherwise, you will become bored or uninterested, especially when the going gets tough and there is never smooth sailing in any project. Having passion, will ensure that you persevere, put in the graft that is necessary and ensure that you achieve excellence without which you will not make it in the long term.
C: What’s your take on dealing with rejection?
L: Rejection is hard however you have to know that rejection is par for the course. You should learn from the experience and turn it into something positive.
C: Who inspires you? Why?
L: My role model is Jennifer Lopez, who started from the very bottom and made it all the way to the top through hard work and determination in not only one genre, but she is excellent as a dancer, singer, entertainer, and actor.
C: Where do you see yourself in the next few years?
L: I see myself growing the Arab Fashion Preneur in the Middle East Region and launching in the world’s fashion capitals London, Paris, Milan, and New York.
C: Lastly, what is some advice you could give to young girls who want to follow their dreams?
L: My advice to all the young girls who want to follow their dreams is to have passion for what they do, believe in yourself first, and never listen to the naysayers because people can be very judgemental and negative. Focus on your dream, put your heart and soul into your project. Be obsessed with your dream to the extent that you live eat and breathe what you do. The biggest satisfaction in life is to get paid for doing something that you love.