Broadcasting heavyweight Ted Turner perhaps said it best: "My son is now an 'entrepreneur'. That's what you're called when you don't have a job."
The media baron, who gave the world news channel CNN, may have been having a lighthearted prod at his offspring. But there is more than a little truth behind the multi-billionaire's words.
As the global economic crisis takes its toll on the Emirates, many who have been made redundant in recent weeks and months are choosing not to return to their home nations.
Instead, they are staying in the UAE with a defiant call of "as one door closes, another opens" to launch their own businesses in what is still viewed as a can-do market.
Their motives may be manifold: There could be no jobs at home; they want to maintain the quality of life the Emirates offers; they are reluctant to become a victim of circumstances beyond their control.
But whatever the thinking, there is a wave of new entrepreneurs, many of whom, until the wave of layoffs, were nine-to-five wage slaves and may never have considered being their own boss.
So we are seeing marketing types – among the first casualties of the crisis – using their contacts to establish public relations companies (itself a growth industry as advertising budgets are slashed).
Real estate professionals who found themselves at the front line of the downturn are, for example, setting up online advisories for people who own (devaluing) properties.
Advertising creatives are launching bartering websites, construction layoffs are being reborn as consultants, cabin crew are establishing training academies… the list goes on.
Clearly, not everyone who has been laid off has immediately decided to go it alone – entrepreneurs are always going to be in the minority, almost by definition.
But what this micro-trend shows is, firstly, people who may have only decided to come to the Emirates for a couple of years are now thinking in the long-term.
Secondly, any kind of entrepreneurial element in society is a positive thing – it breeds fresh ideas, creates new and more efficient industries, and broadens the business base of such a developing nation.
The more start-ups there are, the more competition between these companies will develop, introducing a broadening element of free enterprise.
Ultimately, the biggest winners will be the UAE and the end-user. Entrepreneurial spirit is an essential ingredient in any developed economy and will assist the nation to go toe-to-toe with other major nations.
And the more people fighting for market share will surely drive down prices.
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