While most 13-year-olds spend their afternoons doing homework or playing with friends, Hamad Abdullah bin Safwan spends it by running his own home café in Abu Dhabi.
The young entrepreneur opened Café 37 just three weeks ago, inspired by his father, who has owned a café for nearly five years.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Hamad said the idea came to him during a family holiday over the summer. “I’ve always loved making coffee,” he said, explaining that he wanted to turn his interest into a business.
After returning from their holiday, Hamad and his father began preparing to open the café at their family home. They named it Café 37 after the family’s villa number, where the business first began.
Hamad developed the menu and created his own recipes, with help from one of the café’s staff members in preparing orders. Among the most popular items are açai bowls and cheesecake.
The café operates from 4pm to 10pm, allowing Hamad to balance his business with school. “When I come home, I pray, study for a while, then spend some time at the café,” he said. “After that, I continue studying, finish my work, pray and read the Quran.”
He also attends online Quran memorisation lessons twice a week.
Hamad said running the café has not affected his studies, although handling a large number of orders can sometimes be challenging.
“The hardest part is when there are too many customers at once, and I can’t do everything at the same time,” he said.
His father said he wanted to support his son’s interest in running a business rather than ask him to wait until he was older.
“I wanted him to learn how to speak to people and deal with customers. That is more important than selling,” he said.
Before opening Café 37, Hamad would accompany his father to his café on weekends, learning how drinks were prepared and how to interact with customers.
Change in personality
His father explained that these visits helped Hamad become familiar with the business before deciding to start his own.
Since the opening, his father has noticed a change in his son’s confidence. “His personality has changed by around 70 per cent,” he said, explaining that Hamad has become more comfortable speaking to customers and listening to their feedback.
He recalled being surprised when his son explained how customers have different tastes, using matcha as an example.
“He told me that he doesn’t like matcha, but customers order it. He understands that just because he doesn’t like something doesn’t mean other people won’t,” his father said.
The family operates the café under an Abu Dhabi Trader licence, with adult supervision and assistance in preparing orders.
Although the business is still new, Hamad hopes to expand beyond the family home. “Hopefully, I’ll grow the business and open another one.”
For other children hoping to start their own businesses, Hamad encouraged them to keep trying and offered to share what he has learnt.
Source: Khaleej Times