Dubai business owners dealing with poor-quality leads, hiring problems, inefficient systems or a business that relies too heavily on them are being invited to a free one-day accelerator on Friday, 2 October at Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa, Dubai.

Fix & Scale, hosted by the Business Owners Collective (BOC), is aimed at owners whose businesses have grown but are still being run much as they were when they started. It will help them identify what is no longer working and what needs their attention first.

The event comes as the UAE continues to strengthen its position as a global centre for entrepreneurship.

The UAE was rated the world’s most supportive environment for a new business for a fifth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2025/2026 report. The report found one in five adults in the UAE were starting or running a new business in 2025, while one in 20 owned an established business.

Globally, the report identified a widening “survival gap”, with too few start-ups progressing from early-stage ventures to established businesses.

Business Owners Collective founder Daimien Patterson says the gap between starting a business and knowing how to run one is familiar to owners in every industry.

“Most people start a business because they’re good at something. They know their product, their service, their trade or their profession. Then the business grows and suddenly they’re expected to understand sales, marketing, finance, hiring, leadership, systems and strategy too. Being good at what you do might get you into business. It doesn’t automatically teach you how to run one.”, he added.

Patterson says the signs are often easy to recognise. “You can have enquiries coming in but too many are the wrong fit, or not enough are converting. You can hire a team and still have every important decision come back to you. The systems that worked when you were smaller can start creating more work instead of less.

“Most business owners don’t need another person telling them to work harder. They’re already doing that. Sometimes the problem is working out what actually needs their attention.”

Patterson says the aim of Fix & Scale is to give owners practical training and time to work through those issues.

“Our mission is simple. We want to help more business owners in the UAE build companies that last. Business owners need practical tools, but they can also learn a lot from people who have already dealt with the same problems. There is an enormous amount of business experience in the UAE and real value in bringing that experience together.”

During Fix & Scale, attendees will work through 10 exercises using their own businesses. They will set out a three-year vision using measures such as revenue, profit, team size and sales. They will also map a key business process from advertising through to delivery, examine the organisational structure their business needs and work through leadership, core values, performance management, risk and meeting rhythms.

Patterson says the event is designed as a working day rather than a networking event or a day of general business advice.
“If an owner takes a full day out of their business, that day needs to earn its place. We want people to leave with work they can put into practice straight away and a better idea of what they need to address first.
“Some of the most useful advice can come from another business owner who can say, ‘I’ve dealt with that. Here’s what worked, here’s what didn’t and here’s what I’d do differently. Different businesses will have different problems, but there are plenty of lessons we don’t need to learn alone.”