Building capacity of micro and medium enterprises through spirituality training

The paper explores the relationship between the success of an entrepreneur and the success of his/her business. A survey of Muslim women-managed micro enterprises in Malaysia is used to examine the correlation between spirituality and business success. Two models of spirituality are used in the survey: Daily Spirituality experience Scale (a spirituality scale that uses Western values) and ESQ Asma’ul Husna Model (a scale based on Islamic spirituality). A qualitative analysis of the influence of spiritual training on business performance is also made in the survey. The results of the research reveal that there exists a high correlation between spirituality and performance of Muslim entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who attended the ESQ spirituality training became more satisfied with their businesses. They were able to manage stress better, become more persistent in striving for success and increase their business performance after attending the training.