Building Something that Lasts: Shifting from Service-Based Work Towards Long-term Investment.
I’m Adam Thornhill, an entrepreneur and investor based in Dubai, originally from Liverpool, England. This series looks back at the early stages of my career – the businesses I built, the mistakes I made, and what those experiences taught me about building something that lasts. I hope you find these lessons useful. I’d love to connect with you if so.
Starting Over With One Clear Focus
Before I made the decision to focus on my Dubai consultancy, I was still running several businesses.
Source Travel was dissolved in 2025, and the taxi business was winding down as Liverpool taxi plates had been steadily declining in value since COVID. Rather than trying to hold onto multiple businesses at once, I made the decision to sell up and simplify my portfolio.
Armed with a clear vision and the lessons I’d learned through years of entrepreneurial ups and downs, I started a Dubai business consultancy for two main reasons.
The first was practical: it allowed me to sponsor myself while living in the UAE.
The second was more strategic: I wanted to properly understand the market from the inside rather than observing it from a distance.
For the first time in a while, I had one clear focus, no employees, and very little overhead. This clarity turned out to be an important advantage.
Lessons Learned: Understanding the Market Before Diving in
In the early stages of building my consultancy, most of my time was spent listening rather than selling. I joined Facebook groups aimed at British expats living in Dubai and read through people’s experiences.
The same problems appeared repeatedly: confusion around visas, difficulty opening bank accounts, uncertainty around company formation and a general lack of clear guidance for people relocating from the UK.
I began reaching out to people directly, offering help wherever I could. In many cases, I didn’t charge anything. The goal at that stage wasn’t revenue – it was understanding how the process worked in real situations and building trust. If people found value in the help, they passed my number on.
Momentum started to build through word of mouth. Around the same time, I began spending evenings at McGettigan’s JLT, which hosted a Liverpool supporters’ club. Despite being an Everton supporter, I went along anyway. Among fellow Scousers, there was an immediate level of familiarity and trust, and my network began to grow organically.
What started as informal advice gradually turned into consistent enquiries and, eventually, a structured consultancy.
Building Credibility and Scaling Carefully
As the consultancy gained traction, I made the decision to sponsor Mansfield Town FC. The decision wasn’t purely about football – it was about perception and credibility, particularly with UK-based clients who valued familiarity when dealing with companies overseas. The sponsorship helped position the business as more established and trustworthy at a time when reputation mattered more than scale.
Before long, the business outgrew informal meetings. We secured an office in Downtown Dubai and began hiring English-speaking staff. From the beginning, I made a deliberate decision to keep the team lean. We hired sales managers while outsourcing operational work, allowing the business to grow without creating high fixed costs.
The consultancy gradually evolved into a full-service operation. Clients wanted simplicity, so we handled processes end to end (company formation, visas, legal support, accounting, mortgage introductions, and concierge services).
This often included practical details like arranging airport transfers, booking temporary accommodation, or providing UAE phone numbers so clients could arrive already set up.
The focus was always on removing friction from the relocation process rather than simply completing transactions.
How Running a Consultancy Changed How I Viewed Growth
Building the consultancy changed how I thought about growth. Earlier in my journey, expansion often meant adding more – more vehicles, more staff, more moving parts. In Dubai, I learned the value of simplicity.
By keeping overheads low and focusing on relationships rather than expansion, the business became more stable and predictable. It reinforced the idea that sustainable growth often comes from clarity rather than complexity.
It also showed me the importance of experience-led businesses. The consultancy worked because it was built around problems I had personally encountered. Instead of trying to force a business idea into the market, the market itself shaped the service.
That change in thinking influenced how I approached opportunities going forward. I became more interested in building things that could operate long-term rather than businesses that relied entirely on constant activity.
Lessons Learned from Building a Consultancy Business
The lessons from building the Dubai consultancy continue to shape how I approach business today. Focusing on trust, reputation and operational simplicity has proven far more valuable than chasing rapid growth.
Working closely with expatriates and business owners also gave me a broader perspective on how people make decisions when moving countries or starting something new. Many are navigating uncertainty, and practical guidance often matters more than theory.
That experience ultimately created the foundation for the next stage – moving from service-based income toward long-term investment.
After several years of running the consultancy, I reached a point where I had enough capital to begin investing. That led to the creation of L5 Properties and marked a transition from building service businesses toward long-term, asset-backed investment in the Dubai real estate market.
If you’re inspired by my story, please get in touch – I’d love to hear from you.