Expat Entrepreneur Life: Mara Vaughan – Egypt

Real Lifestyle Design

This is the second post of a new series: the Expat Entrepreneur Life: the real Lifestyle Design. The series focuses on the lives of entrepreneur who have decided to start or run their business abroad. Every Friday, you will step into their extraordinary lives, their adventures overseas and how they manage to run a profitable business in the most interesting environments.

After riding elephants with Robert Dempsey last week, we are visiting the pyramids with Mara today. Having lived in Egypt in the late 90s this post reminded me of how rich and beautiful Egypt is.

Who are you and what do you? 

I’m Mara Vaughan, originally from Limerick (IRELAND) but since 2003 a combination of factors and events combined to move me to Luxor, Egypt!

I realized my children did not “need” me anymore,  I was still young enough to start an adventure, the constant cold/wet weather, a desire to have an easier life (boy, was I wrong there!!), been to Egypt before and saw great business opportunity potential were the main factors.

I bought a piece of land to build Mara House. There is much more to the story but you have to come to Mara House to hear it!

In 2009 my son, Stephen, joined me in Luxor when we opened the Salahadeen Restaurant and in February 2010 his partner, Sara and him, moved to Cairo where they renovated some apartments which are now available to visitors – especially great for families who prefer not to stay in hotel accommodation.

During my time in Egypt I have gone through many personal changes, many learning curves and I am quite sure there are many more to come! I fell in love with Egypt the moment the plane door opened on my first visit. I would be lying if I said it has all been plain sailing here…it has not but I think I can safely say that I have found my feet and regained my balance!

Connect with me on Twitter or read my very personal blog “Mara in Egypt” where you are welcome to take a peek at my thoughts and daily life in Egypt. I tweet several times a day on every and any subject that grabs my attention – but mostly on the daily happenings in Egypt – happy to answer quick questions there.

What are some the challenges of running your business?

Completely different culture to what I was used to. There were also language problems when it comes to the finer details of work or conversations with tradesmen. Finally, the difficulty in getting really good plumbers, electricians, painters and other specialized craftsmen.

The fact that I am doing business outside the tourist strip means my business is situated in an area where:

1. Street cleanliness is an alien concept so that is a constant battle to keep it clean – some days I win and some days I lose.

2. My neighbours would not be interested in the fact that I would like quiet nights for my guests. I also wished the men selling cooking gas would wait until after 8am at least before walking down the street banging their barrells with a spanner to alert people to the fact there is gas for sale, or that construction work would stop after 8pm.

3. The most difficult thing for my guests and therefore myself is the street hassle once they enter the tourist zone. The traffic is dangerous because one-way streets mean nothing to Egyptians in Luxor and it is difficult for the tourists to shake off the touts. Luxor has a bad name for this and now that we have to cope with diminished tourist numbers due to the revolution the hassle in the street seems worse.

Which advice would you give someone who wants to run a business abroad?

1. Make sure you have more money than the project is estimated to cost because you are almost sure to run over the time you think you will need to get it up and running.

2. Make a contract stating starting date, finishing date and financial penalty clause for running over those dates with EVERYONE you do business with.

3. You MUST have patience when things don’t go your way – a carpenter tells you he will be there at 9am and doesn’t show – have an alternative plan, go to the pool, read a book, do something else – because this will happen a lot and could drive you crazy. Have to learn to go with the flow and not get too upset when your time is wasted and schedule goes wrong.

Which part of your life abroad do you enjoy most?

•  Meeting different people from around the world every day and swapping stories.
• Never being bored – successfully solving problems.
• The sense of achievement on those days when everything comes together
• The look on people’s faces when they see our Salahadeen Feast arriving to their table and the way they are so chilled out and relaxed after it!

Especially the children, when a parent says “he’s a picky eater and probably won’t eat much” then afterwards the parent’s surprise at the amount the kids ate – especially when they eat the foods they would never eat at home such as greens like mallow or spinach.

Going home on holiday!!

Through all the ups and downs of living in Egypt I still do not have any desire or inclination to move anywhere else. I feel I have come to know the ancient Pharaohs, their Queens, Priests and Sacred Sites on a very personal level. You cannot live among these temples and tombs, walk these streets and not wonder what life was like here for the people two, three or even four thousand years ago.