SMEs - What's stunting their growth

In the Caribbean, most businesses are SMEs. Now that we've got the definition sorted out. Let's look at what's required to assist the business owner in a tangible way that promotes and encourages real growth. 

Many businesses need an accurate idea of what they want to achieve in terms of success. They speak about making money, being their own boss, and being able to make their own decisions; however, they tend to know precious little about how to reach these ideals. 

They tend to be under-resourced in many ways and cannot hire the help they need. Therefore, they stagnate and become another entity that struggles operationally. 

Monthly, they struggle with payroll, bills for supplies, and operational expenses. They make just enough to open the doors another month and are afraid to seek and speak about money. In short, they don't know the rules of money. 

The struggle is so real that they have ad-hoc marketing plans that look good on paper but need more resources to implement them. They become despondent and stressed, impacting other areas of their lives in ways that can be detrimental. 

It has been described that they are red-lining like a vehicle that's over-revving and getting no real power or speed. 

Their needs include operations, finance, and legal. Everything else comes under one of those headings. They may be pointed toward getting help through technical assistance programs like training and research. However, many become so reliant on them that they fail to help themselves, seeming to wait for handouts. It has been observed that they recognize they have a need but are unwilling to invest in themselves. 

Wake up! As a for-profit entity, you cannot and should not expect funds to flow one way, which is towards your business. Not that you are wasteful, but be prepared to take calculated risks and not seem to want someone to constantly buffer your business. Stop expecting free advice! 

We who provide technical assistance often get the requests prefaced by "Can I pick your brain for a moment?" I have learned to say no, that I don't pick your pockets, so others are more readily adopting this approach. 

The other type of client wants a quick fix. This is where they wait until all their options are out and then want to come with an appeal for you to pull a rabbit out of the hat and save their operations.

The money you make through your business is not yours to keep. Remember that. 

Stop the wasteful spending: the doodahs - constant unjustified travel, fancy cars, and the list can go on. Put money aside to reinvest in your business so that you build your equity and not be at the bank's door begging cap in hand for their expensive financing. Pay your taxes - do tax planning, look for legal ways to pay less, and educate yourselves through ongoing programs within your fields. 

See where you can contribute rather than looking to see where you can get all the time. Working with charities is a tangible way to keep in the public domain positively. Decide what programs would interest you and contribute to them. 

Develop insurance and pension plans so that you can facilitate investment opportunities. In short, become an entity that enhances its value as you grow. Get a succession plan so that you know how you get into business and how you will get out.

I hope that something here helps you get your creative juices flowing. Have a wonderful week ahead. 

Some thoughts on trading

 

Living in a small island state permits me to have some observations that go unnoticed in other jurisdictions. This leads me to questions which I have wondered go unanswered annually. In this instance, I turn to trade. 

• How can other countries get their items to the end user more cheaply than those of us that would have shorter supply chains? 
• How would our countries benefit economically should we send back the cargo vessels full of goods produced here rather than letting them go back empty after the importation is completed? 
• How can we more affordably move people and goods across the Caribbean by boats if air travel cost are so prohibitive?
• Why are we so quick to adopt the policies of international jurisdictions that don't seem to follow the dictates that they seek to impose on us for compliance?
• Why are we not utilizing our lands effectively to contribute to our food security? Most base ingredients used across the globe are similar, and the difference is applied to arrive at various dishes. 
• We need to return to agriculture to enable us to feed ourselves and use the money saved in other areas that address our ability to reduce debt, strengthen the health programs within our jurisdictions, and ensure that the foods we receive are more wholesome, bonafide foods rather than having fruit without seeds and other non organic forms. Let's eat for quality experiences not full stomachs. 
• Our chefs should be featuring our locally grown foods rather than all the imported items including imported chefs. 
• With the amount of food businesses, and the fact there is a high failure rate among such establishments, why are there not more food management courses offered to teach locals the business side of food? 
• We need to put access to international markets in place via shipping route development for our exports to really take off. 

There are others but today we stop here. Have a great weekend, ponder what was highlighted earlier. and come up with solutions. We need them as a matter of urgency. 

Why do I have a business and does it serve me and others?

 If you have stopped by because of the title then you too may be wondering, where is he going with this. There are many people who are getting into the businesses but they never ask the really defining questions that may bring clarity. 

If I had to be really direct then we can examine, did you seek God about what to do, or just consult yourself on what you believed you like doing? Many of us do the latter and then pray that God blesses our efforts to help us succeed. We get it backwards. 

Here are some questions you need to consider before you get into business. They may help you redefine your business if you're already in business. 

1. Why should one get into business? [Gen 2:15]
2. What should that business be about? [Gen 2:16]
3. Is it in alignment with our core values? [Gen 2:17]
4. How can it be made sustainable? [Gen 2:18]

These can be answered in your time through your own investigation. I have put some passages beside each question as points of reference which through your own investigation will reveal to you more information about the business you are seeking to invest in as well as if it would be blessed and sustainable. 

You are given the scope of your business and the possibility of success should you act based on the information that you have. Will you have challenges? Yes. However, you will have divine guidance since you first committed your plans to the Lord. [Prov 16:3 & Psalms 20:4] 

Do we really give creative thought as to what, who, why, where, when,  and how we really serve by being in business? It seems sometimes like we get into business without that clarity which then leads us into the avenues of fear, stress and panic when we don't have sufficient information. Shouldn't business be easier? I think so. 

Ensure that you take every step to be clear about your business. That clarity should cover every element of your business so that you make mistakes on paper rather than with paper. 

Get a business team together one thing is certain. You can't think of everything. You don't know everything. There are organizations that can provide you and your entity with technical assistance. These programs can provide consultations, training, webinars and seminars. 

The help will permit you to access funding, growth, and revamp operations.  Consider who really owns your business and perhaps that will help you with your approach to the business entrusted to you. 

Who do SMEs really help?

Ever so often we need to take stock of what we do. We often hear of the benefits of SMEs being touted online, but I really need to beg an answer to this question. Who is really benefitting as a result of what has been dubbed entrepreneurship? 

At the micro level, it is a way of helping people develop gainful self-employment, which enables governments to boast about how many jobs were created. However, for those who work within the sector and are observant, it is hard to recognize that the technical assistance entities need to be more holistic in their approaches to SMEs. 

The result is that many entities open and operate as SMEs throughout their entire existence growing to a certain level and no further. The majority function as trading as/general partnerships and those who incorporate are unaware of their strategy for doing so. They also don't have an exit plan that would enable the business to survive beyond their lifetime. 

Too many entities are dependent on the most expensive way of raising capital which is through the banking system and few, if any, really look towards creating equity finance opportunities where investors can participate meaningfully. 

Still others are not up on the information required for good governance and in some cases where to turn to find it. Many entities cannot hire the talent they need on a full time basis and many are concerned that they cannot afford the fees of outsourcing. 

Trainnig should be on-going and many your entrepreneurs fine the pressure of down time being adequate for them to participate in such continuing education. Therefore they drop behind. It is for that reason that those of us who do train must keep updated with technology so as to better provide solutions. 

So does having a SME really help? The answer is really up to those who have benefitted and continue to benefit. 

We need to do better for our entrepreneurs as running a business has a lot of moving parts, and we don't learn them all in business school. 

Keep checking back for more posts or recap some of the older ones on this site. 

Have a great week ahead. 

 

Why people begin SMEs

 Wow!!!! What's going to get you to ensure your SME business started or grown? 

One thing is certain. You will have to fulfill quite a bit of criteria. Ignorance will not be an excuse and you will have to get professional assistance to get going. The rules and regulations governing businesses will begin to change at fairly rapid rate under the guise of compliance. 

The trend has started but the pace is picking up. Governments are strapped for cash and will therefore use SMEs as an approach to justify the provision of employment. However, they will essentially kill the goose that lays the golden egg. 

There was once a time where incentives were given to encourage people to get into business. These are now few and far between. Start up costs were written off over a grace period of years. Technical assistance programs and funding programs were in place to ensure that businesses got a good start. Were these the good old days? Hardly; back then businesses had their share of challenges but they were different. 

In short, business people need to serious ask themselves why they should get into business. With some serious thought, we would find that the reasons have changed. 

Business people want:

• More control of their time and talent
• To be their own bosses, in short to have autonomy
• To have choices regarding their pay 
• To work on what they have "control" over
• To travel to areas they believe would benefit their businesses
• To work when they want, if they want
• To match their wits against the market
• To surround themselves with people they want to interact with on a timely basis
• To have access to finance and banking support to facilitate their capitalizing on opportunities that become available 
• To have quick turnaround times on such expansion/significant revenue making opportunities
• To network with peers and colleagues at times suitable to them
• To get educated about their line of business so they can work more efficiently and effectively

If this resonantes with you and you can think of others reasons not included here, feel free to comment below. Thank you for stopping by. 

COVID 19 - School Leavers and the Workforce

 

Every year, there's a question that rears up within the work force? Can these new school leavers do the job? Questions seem to crop up, not so much over the academic achievements, but over the competency to fulfill the requirements of the job role. Despite the presence of the pandemic, we must be aware that the next few years will surely be different as it relates to recruitment and the job market. Will job hunting be tough as always? Yes, but this time it will be on steroids. 

Academia Vs Competency

In many instances, educational institutions rarely have had the opportunity to prepare school leavers for the world of work. With the pandemic last year and a great deal of this year, coupled with volcanic eruptions affecting the region, education has been disrupted quite badly. Given these instances, they are situations where people are not coping well with remote schooling. There are still some elements of the curricula that require physical teaching methods which are not easily replicated in the virtual world; especially when students don't have the foundation experiences to draw upon for a full appreciation of the information being conveyed. 

Inabilities to communicate effectively

Have we recognized that, with all the methods of communicating, that actual communication is at an all time low. It is a skill that is actually suffering quite significantly. Even people within the same household can't seem to get along since they may be of different generations and interact differently. We have developed a displaced approach to culture, whereby we think that speaking in dialect is common place for every situation. We are now failing to recognize that there is a time and place for everything; including verbal, written and other forms of communication. 

There seems to be a lack of respect for others and it is growing. People seem to believe that since they are qualified they can interact with others as they like and the rest of the world must conform to their standards. 

There will be a requirement that organizations address their standards in the early so that those serving the company in varying capacities know how to interact. 

Employment opportunities and the job seeker

In short form, it is going to be tougher to get a job. Why? Well, everyone felt the impact of the global shut down due to the pandemic. It came in waves causing people and organizations to have to endure multiple shutdowns impacting income in a negative way in most instances. 

Currently, school leavers of all ages are not being adequately prepared for the world of work. The emphasis is on education in a very academic sense and competency is taking a blow depending on how those programs are being executed. 

Another consideration is that job seekers will now have even more limited work experience and try to embark on businesses which if they don't receive technical assistance to guide them will result in massive failures among start up enterprises and SMEs. The work ethic which usually develops from applied learning will suffer since the metrics for ensuring discipline are not able to be readily enforced due to the remoteness of the current educational environment. This results in limited checks and balances that provide feedback to the student as to how to translate their education in to practical settings required for the world of work. 

Training systems in a disoriented and displaced workforce

To become/remain competitive businesses are going to need to invest in the training of their human resources. Prior to, but especially during COVID-19 the methodologies of training have evolved. We have gone from beginning to embrace online to being predominantly online; with many not becoming used to the virtual world despite the best of efforts. 

Despite the best of preparation, we have the instability of the internet through the service providers which serve to increase levels of stress due to the uncertainty. At times there can be challenges with the competence using the technology on the part of the presenter/student (participant). 

Conference call clashes seems to be the order of the day which in many cases may also result in work/study stays being extremely long. Remote workers and students can become faced with fatigue of being in front of the computer or being sedentary for too long. Presenter skills have to be en-pointe to hold the attention of the participants to the various programs. 

Employment and employees - Who's ready?

The environment we are currently facing is one that is unprecedented. Yes, we have faced challenges before as countries within the Caribbean. However, in this instance they are not spaced out as in the past and all of these environmental challenges have a multi-pronged impact on its residents. What is meant by this? 

1. COVID-19 Pandemic
2. The volcanic ash flow
3. The hurricane season
4. The rainy season

Additionally, there is the issue of man-made challenges through the instance of disposal practices especially as it pertains to modern conveniences. 

Are we prepared? No one was/is! There is a need to innovate, to pivot, to revise and revamp. To create this system of what I'll term "neuvo-employment". 

We have to identify how we can harness the imaginations of the youth and the experiences of those who are older. 

Fine tuning competition with existing workforce

Make no mistake about it, we can decide if we are going to compete or if we are going to innovate. Attention has to be given as to how we will be sustainable in this environment. How can we ensure that the necessary resources are accessible. 

Leadership is key in this environment. Fortunately for Barbados, our government and in particular our current Prime Minister Mia Mottley has to capacity to communicate at levels that no one is left out. I would use this opportunity to say thank you to our government for their practical measures in helping us to ride these waves of uncertainty. 

It should be noted that in this current and future environment there will be a requirement for teams to work collaboratively with experience harnessing innovation. We have some insights as to how this can be done and will share more in the near future. Keep locked in to your media channels. 

You may also keep updated on our website about various business topics and discussions at www.bladesandbladesconsultancy.com 

The impact on the workforce is real, but not insurmountable. You must however have a plan. 

Professional services - a little insight

 

Professional services have long been the but of many jokes, particularly when it comes to the realm of consultancy. Everyone needs them, fewer want to acknowledge they have the need, and still fewer want to even pay them for their services. 

It has been observed that many don't know the difference between investment and expense. This carries forward into the way they treat their employees in the tone that they set for their organizational culture.

Too often, for those who have been willing to serve various governments, the lament often revolves around the length of time it takes to be paid. This is after being asked for in many cases rock bottom discounts in the name of nationalism and "patriotism" along with all the other glowing teams that people trump up at the time. 

Civil servants look at the sums charged and think that the money invoiced is more than their pay and, wow...that's a lot of money for one person to be making. 

Confessions, one person, especially those worth their salt doesn't make nor keep the invoiced sum. The person that you see isn't the only one working on your project. One has to employ others [yes, teams], even if they are independent contractors to assist in expediting the work quickly and efficiently. It isn't advisable to try to keep all the work for one's self when you can draw on the experiences of others who may have even more insights because they are specialists in their respective areas. 

Information is expensive to access, and unless you want free information that may be decades old and no longer relevant, it takes money to access documents which can begin with fees of US$500 and pushing north to just gain access. Sometimes after paying these fees, you may have to pay additional fees to get supporting information for what you're researching on the behalf of the client. 

Cash flow is key, and when people make glib remarks about having money to pay your commitments. Do they expect someone elses project to pay for their expenses. YES, THEY DO! Would they want it to happen to them? NO! 

When work is done for government, certain departments are quick to ask you to serve, but loathe when it comes to payment. At payment times they play the I-N-O [ I ain't know] card, and it's always with another department until you trace it and find out whose desk it is on in the processing phase. It has gotten to the stage that good, solid people who work in the realm of professional services have vowed not to do any work for government ever again, and they remain resolute to that decision. 

Government is not alone in this, private sector also has its share of skeletal disorders when it comes to paying for professional services. To draw on a personal experience, a west coast client needed services that we provided, and the conversation went well up to a point. They then said that their payment policy was 90 days after the service is completed. It's important to have standards as a small business, I responded that we were more like Chefette [a really successful local fast food chain] in our business model - you can look at the menu all you want, but until you pay for what you require, it would not be served for you to consume. We then understood each other and I never did that assignment and prevented both parties from encountering a potentially unpleasant experience. 

Professional services if employed correctly can enable your business to experience significant growth and stability. However, you have to be fair and pay properly and on time; that way everyone wins. 

An Epidemic of Excellence

If we were to fight fire with fire, why couldn't we make an epidemic work for us as a region? With the recent pandemic fresh in our minds, we were able to see the impact it had on virtually every aspect of our society - commerce, trade, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, the environment and others. 

The tourism sector finally realizes that their locals are also people with spending power, and only now their backs are against the wall try to woo them in to use the products and services they sell. In many cases the locals, many of whom were treated badly before now reject them. It should be a wake up call for an industry that claims to offer hospitality, but only offered hospitality to people with foreign accents and foreign exchange. 

Hotels and restaurants clamour for industry recognised accolades of 5 star, green globe, luxury, prestigious, and the like; yet they lost to common touch of how to interact and treat their fellow citizens who work hard and save for vacations only to go overseas since they weren't appreciated in their own domicile. It's for this reason that Staycations may not have enjoyed more success than they could have. 

This was a discussion that many shared their thoughts on recently, and they were not complimentary to those who were hospitality practitioners. 

What can we do? We have to revamp the mindset of everyone in our countries.

As we learned, those of us who studied hospitality are no longer employed exclusively in tourism. We have gone into many diverse fields within which the what we learned in hospitality now plays an integral part in our careers. 

Using your mobile technology to build your business

Businesses are becoming smaller in size, and hopefully with some planning, they can become more nimble within their environments. Many have been displaced within recent time and with their resources being limited, they need to have ways that they can get up to speed quickly. How can they do this, and do it well? This time, more than any, is when consideration needs to be given to the acquisition and use of mobile technology. 

The presence of so many different types of mobile technology in the market place gives rise to a diverse set up applications for a significant number of business opportunities. 

Many businesses are now functioning semi-remotely. Despite resources being scarce, there are mobile tech hardware and software that can help businesses gain traction within their chosen markets. There's literally no excuse not to function competently. 

Here's why:

• Smartphones can cost more than laptops/desktops and are versatile in their applications and dexterity of  functioning while the businessman/woman is on the move. 
• There are paid and free apps that enable the businesses to do the work of entire offices while on the go; and the available platforms support this process. 
• Delegation is easy and reliable. 
• Collaboration is easy, reliable and functional.
• Response rate is almost instantaneous. 
• Document management was also mobile complete with the virtual filing system(s). This is largely due to the memory capacity on most devices. 
• Backup systems are in the cloud making it absolutely difficult to lose information. 

Now that you are aware you have the technology. Here are some things that you need to be aware of:

• Changing devices is easy as information updates are instantaneous when you log in with you profile credentials. 
• Backups/Restoration is easy and reliable. 
• Your contacts are readily at hand should you need to make contact with them. 
• You can process invoices, refunds and track your bookkeeping activity directly from your mobile devices. 
• There are endless security services to protect your data. 
• You can easily manage your devices from your administrative panels and the information they can access. 
• You can see your schedule at a glance. 
• There is seamless integration between devices which means you can continue working even on the move. 
• There is talk to type technology so that you don't break stride with your productivity. 
• You can access movies and music should you need to gear back for a break. 
• There are a plethora of courses, workshops, and webinars to keep you in the know as you seek out more knowledge. 

No excuses are available any longer. Use your preferred mobile technology and get busy on building and developing your future and safeguarding your livelihood and that of those you care about. 

Check our website bladesandbladesconsultancy.com for continued posts and updates. Hope this helps move you in the direction of your most dominant thoughts of success. 

Mobile Phone Usage for Business

When considering business and the use of telecommunications, one thing that is being used increasingly is the mobile phone. Some people are competent in the use of their devices; for the most part, many aren't. 

When observing how people use their mobile phones, it oftentimes makes me wonder if they have given consideration as to the use of their device. Some people use their phones as unpaid comedians to forward jokes. Others send graphics that do not, shall we say, coincide with their branding. Some people are just seemingly lawless and will waste your data plans without any regard for the fact that they are costing you money needlessly. 

Here are some scenarios that mobile phone users tend to engage in:

• They call you and ask you to call them back since their credit is about to run out. Really? Who wants to make contact with whom? 
• WhatsApp calls for business reasons. The call quality is choppy in many instances and does not make for high-quality interaction that at least seems professional. 
• Then, they are those with the prepaid phones that run out in the midst of a conversation. Guess what, postpaid is always the cheaper option. Don't be afraid of the commitment. 
• The sending of non-business related graphics also ranks high on the list of not to-dos. 
• Purchasing mobile phones that cost more than a computer and then not possessing the ability to use the features is more than a little off-putting. I liken it to purchasing the Mercedes with its high powered engine and speed abilities; only to drive it at 25 kph on the highway. 

If used well, mobile phones can be a game-changer for business people. Here are some examples:

• Small businesses and mobile phones 
• Small businesses and mobile data 

When you consider your business planning, examine if you're using your mobile technology optimally.  You just may be surprised at how much you can save, but more importantly how your earnings can be enhanced if you use the technology properly. 

Business Fundamentals - post-COVID-19

Barbados like other countries around the globe has been impacted by the pandemic of the COVID-19 in a way that has left many staggering. SMEs who already had little to no financial backup resources, as well as, individuals who have been displaced from their jobs have found themselves in unfamiliar ground; especially since most of us are not old enough to have experienced something like this before. 

Beginning next week. my colleagues and I will be sharing with the public what they can do to overcome the challenges they've experienced businesswise with this pandemic. The sessions are free to the public as indicated in the information following which also contains how you may register. 

We look forward to your participation. Come and get practical insights that you can implement almost immediately to realize results. 

Additionally, we anticipate that industry partners will be a part of this so that you know who to make contact with immediately as you complete the program. You can attend the entire program or the segments that you are most interested in. Learn where you can turn to for your HR needs, possible financing, and other incentives that your business can surely benefit from at this time. See you on Tuesday and please come early. We begin promptly at 10:00 so it's great to be at least 10 minutes early. 

Don't worry about handouts and making notes. We have developed a website where all your course material will be stored and is accessible by any device you have which can connect to the internet. Yes, you'll even have our presentations to take with you when you go. Thank you for the opportunity to serve Barbados! 

Businesses need multiple resources in the same category

Increasingly, there's going to be a need for businesses to work more in clusters. This is even more so since the pandemic crisis. This raises a few questions though in the minds of seemingly successful entities that others will seek to work with:

1. Can we deliver working with the members of this team?
2. How fast can we make shifts to protect, secure and enhance our reputations?
3. What are our legal obligations should we have to make pivotal changes? 
4. How can we ensure the end-user does not waste their investment in using our services? 

We have all been on teams where team members want to share in the rewards but offer as little effort as possible towards the final outcome. Dealing with this type of individual can be quite challenging; especially when seeking to meet and exceed the needs of the client. 

Every time you work your reputation is on the line. Are you reliable? Is your work of a high quality/calibre? Will you work have the impact that encourages others to speak positively of it so that you get referrals as a result of your more recent efforts? 

Legally we should meet all the obligations of our contracts which we would have been a part of the negotiation process. It is necessary that all team members operate with honour in fulfilling their elements of the work. 

The circumstances are even more demanding of accountability regarding money spent. Items once deemed miscellaneous will now have closer attention paid to them. Greater care will be taken when considering expenses and assets expenditure. 

So who's on your team? 

Are they interconnected so that they work as one? Are your accountabilities on point? These are questions that you must ask and answer to ensure that you have the necessary fail/safe's in place. When you really examine your operation, you too will realize why it is important for businesses to have multiple resources in the same category. 

Techniques to grow your business

There's good news if you are seeking to grow your own business now. If you are serious about having a successful business, you must be well planned. Regardless of whether you intend to operate post-pandemic or if you were operating from before the pandemic; there are certain processes that would be rudimentary to your success. 

Let's address the big one that keeps people up at night continually. 

• Finances - It may be a bit more difficult to obtain finances in this current environment, at least on the surface. Before the pandemic, it was still "challenging" to obtain funds. It was like getting blood from stone in some cases. Who is on your financial planning team?
• Marketing - Needs to be well thought out and insightful. Your business needs to be going within a direction that will encourage your public to want to interact with you for the products/services you are offering. In the past, many of you tried to do this alone only to fail dismally. Who is on your marketing team? 
• Operations - We have witnessed entities putting programs together that just didn't gel. It seemed like the organization was unprepared for their own efforts. Information wasn't communicated internally and the result was poor execution all around of an effort that was to hopefully bring about positive results. Who is on your operations team?
• Management - There are too many solo operations which result in areas of importance falling through the cracks. Apart from the aforementioned, we must also consider legal, human capital, administration to mention a few others. It begs to question, who is on your management team?

Your teams must add value to your business. They do not need to be employed on a full-time basis, but what you need access to is their knowledge, skills, abilities, and hopefully contacts. You must be willing to pay for these resources. In the past, those who struggled most are those who thought the payment for information was too expensive, they quickly found out the alternative of not paying to access what the business needed was way more expensive. 

There are way too many businesses functioning by hunches rather than having well thought out and practical plans. Be different and don't fall into that category. Seek the help you need. Learn the techniques necessary to grow your business. 

What do we know about our business environment - How can we then plan

Let's address the elephant in the room with what we know:

• There's no vaccine for COVID-19 in the near foreseeable future.
• The ways and methods we used to work in the past are now for the most part obsolete.
• The future will bring waves of disasters of one type or another: Wave 2 of COVID-19; Hurricane Season, as we're facing in a few hours; A historical virus or one that may be brand new that can pose serious world threats if mismanaged as in the case of this one. 
• The need to become self-sufficient as a people since we should realize how few of us can rely on the government machinery to mobilize with needed short turn around times to be really of benefit. Especially since many governments are in a state where they have been mishandled over time. 
• Leadership, going forward, need to be more solution focus and be able to act quickly and decisively in a way that benefits the public served and themselves. It has to be win/win in almost all cases. 

Since we cannot hide for significant amounts of time anymore, it means that we must function with heightened caution in all aspects of our lives. We can never be afforded the opportunity to be caught napping. 

Mentally, we have got to focus on areas of greatest concern and not be misdirected by the areas of the tragedy which causes us to focus on the outcome rather than the cause. 

We have to fortify our minds daily with information that is positive so that we adopt a can-do mindset so that nothing will be looked upon as being impossible. We will need to examine and study new systems of doing things. In some cases, we may even have the responsibility of creating the systems that will emerge. 

Stay tuned as we increase our discussions and share thoughts on our experiences, observations, possible trends and business developments. You may have a thought that I may have overlooked based on your experiences and interactions, I invite you to share so that it can benefit the greater good of mankind. 

Online meetings are...something else

Nowadays, with the presence of computers and phones with cameras, one can have meetings almost anywhere. The need to commute to have meetings have been significantly reduced, and if used properly, online meetings can be a real productivity booster.

That being said, there needs to be some other things that can be said about online meetings. Some of these comments may appear to be funny to some, but taken for what they are worth, they are quite serious. In many cases, they can make or break your career as an online service provider.

Here are some situations worthy of consideration when participating in online meetings:

• Get into your role - attending a meeting laying in your bed is just bad news, especially when you're tired from a really cramped schedule. You are unable to competently function and more often than not, the meeting would either be filled with unexplained silences or the buzz of something sounding like a lumberyard in full swing will come over the mic if you are not muted and fell asleep. It is better to get up and go to a chair where you can be upright and alert. 
• This caught a computer techie who was unaware that their camera was on. Their top half was dressed for the meeting, not the bottom part as we found when they got up to retrieve a document. Their camera was still on, and the rest of the participants could not unsee what they witnessed. 
• Choose your neighbourhood carefully - one would expect that you've paid so much for your home that you should be able to at least have a meeting there in the privacy of your dwelling. Consider the time of day and the factors over which you have no control. Children that are not yours can be boisterous, and dogs you don't own can bark incessantly. Both of which are uncomfortable for the other participants to have to endure. Sometimes you may have to consider finding a meeting area outside of your home. 
• Know your technology - it is evolving so quickly that many of us are still learning how to use it. However, the meeting room is not the place to have the tutorial going for yourself to learn. Gain your competence ahead of time, so that you're in control of the environment if you're the host. 
• Be presentable - it comes back to not knowing if your camera is on or not. Be well-groomed and not unkempt. Though others in attendance may be kind not to say anything, beware of the customer that doesn't complain, they don't come back. 
• Govern your language/behaviour - swearing under your breath in unacceptable, especially if your mic is on and you're wearing a headset. This extends to eating/drinking during the call. It will be picked up with these sensitive bits of equipment. 
• Know how to share your screen to demonstrate a point is key. Ensure that all of your open tabs only show content appropriate for the meeting you are in. Sometimes online service providers may work for competing entities especially in this day with so many SMEs. 

So the next time you're planning an online meeting, take note of what was considered above. Ensure you are in a location with great bandwidth. Ensure that your background is suitable to be viewed, and have a great meeting. 

Are we serious about our marketing? Here are 6 lessons.

You may wonder why I have such a topic for this post, but just Friday, March 15, 2019, in the evening an observation prompted me to put this post up. It is not intended to get the representative in trouble, but more importantly, reinforce the need for companies to be diligent about what they do with regards to representation within the market.

I happened to visit Pricesmart, Barbados when I encountered this product. Left to my own interpretation about what the product's benefits are I am yet to hear the voice of the lass who tossed it into not only my shopping cart but also those of others who happened to be going through the aisle.

Clearly, she came to the end of her shift as she just walked off after throwing her 3 pointers from quite the distance. This was done without a greeting or even an inquiry as to if I/we wanted the product.

Thanks for the free sample, but there are ways that things are done and this is not what I know product sampling to be. Surely the company paying for this product to be marketed had no intention of having their product represented this way. Then again, maybe they did since clearly no due diligence was done to find out if the marketing company had a track record of presenting products properly to the general public. It seems like they hired the cheapest company to get the product out.

Approaching the cashier, I had to indicate that this product does not have any pricing and described how it reached my cart. The cashier assured me it was a sample and nothing would happen when clearing security to go to my vehicle.

Here are some 6 lessons:

1. When marketing your businesses, the cheapest option is not always the best. 
2. You need to train your representatives on the presentation of the products they will be showing. 
3. The representatives need to be courteous even when their shift comes to an end. 
4. She did not know if I was a mystery shopper for the same/other brands or even for Pricesmart itself. (easily she could lose her job in an already tough job market) 
5. Your representatives need to know how to competently handle objections raised by potential customers. 
6. You never know who is a blogger. 

Marketing dollars are expensive, and often businesses have to be creative in order to find funds for marketing in an already competitive environment. Many need to remember that they are not working for the company for whom they wear the uniform, but primarily they represent themselves and cannot afford to take a shoddy approach to their work. 

If your team needs to be trained, there are a multitude of trainers who can help you realize your objectives. Marketing organizations need to invest in their teams so they get the best representation. As I always say, think beyond the first sale. 

Check back often as we post things that we observe. That's what we can do in the islands. I hope that this article helps businesses become more aware of how little deviations in behaviour can help/hinder the development of your business. 

Has literacy been redefined

In all aspects of life, work and personal, it would appear that we have lost the ability to communicate what we mean in a way that we are understood by others.

At university, I learned a very important lesson in this regard. Many of us who ordinarily would get outstanding grades when we did accounts, struggled with financial management. It was so bad that it prompted the lecturer to have meetings with us to determine why this was so. The struggle was real.

During our first meeting, he asked me a series of questions. Among all the questions that we asked, he then gave instruction, "Show me how you read". At first, it seemed strange. How do you show someone how to read?

As I was observed reading, the lecturer then said to me that he saw where I was going wrong and showed me a technique for reading. Using this technique, it would feel as if the words were burned into my brain via a laser. More than that, I remembered what I had just read with clarity and understanding that I had not experienced in a lifetime.

It made me realize somethings:

• Reaching the university level does not mean you can read. 
• Being able to recognize and pronounce words is not reading, it goes much deeper into the comprehending of what was read and the interpretation of what is meant by the author communicating the message. 
• Over the years, I have realized that people who struggle with reading and ultimately self-expression quickly resort to violence as an outlet.

Can this be a reason why there is so much conflict within our society? Is this responsible for people resorting to violence as a solution since they cannot communicate effectively?

I remember taking a writing class with people who wrote novels and was told that I don't have what it takes to write novels, I'm more suited to business writing. A gentle let down if there's such a thing. Nonetheless, I persevered. My intent is not only to improve my writing, but my communicating on the whole. 

There are so many who have not grasped the rudiments of grammar, sentence structure and all the other linguistic techniques. There are so many publications saying what not to do, I read them since I believe that if you know the rules, then you know how to break them; did I write that? I really meant to apply them properly. 

Let's do better to see if we can enhance our literacy. Perhaps in doing so, we would improve our society as well. 

I welcome feedback. It helps with improving my skills. Why not jot me a note. Thanks for stopping by for the read. 

I'm excited...Here are 7 reasons

During this week the new year will begin and I am excited to be returning to work. I went on leave from the end of November and while it was supposed to be a vacation, it didn't quite work out the way I intended. It seems that as soon as I stopped, every health bug that couldn't catch me when I was going at the frenetic pace of my work schedule was just waiting to come in and roost. It seemed like every bug hit me as my resistance was quite low, and I ended up getting much-needed rest, though not necessarily on the terms I would have planned. 

So now what? Why am I excited? 

I had time to think. The downtime allowed me to reflect on the past year, and the future. It enabled me to see what I wanted/did not want; where I made mistakes/experienced learning; where I failed/succeeded. The thing is we rush through life without really taking the moments necessary for reflection. 

I often tell my participants when making references about a reading list about the book, "Think and Grow Rich", by Napoleon Hill. They have also heard me say I have never heard/nor read the book/article called work hard and get rich. One has to put in the time to just think about what they're doing. 

During the last year, I have met with people who wanted different things/results for their lives and businesses. Despite their backgrounds, one common thread was that they never were able to grasp the time necessary to dedicate themselves to realizing these goals. Some had the plans, in their head, which seldom does any good; but they didn't really commit to anything, not even in writing. 

Those who went through the modeling process with me realized that there is a sequence that can be applied to the way we execute our plans. However, we cannot just use a haphazard approach and hope that the details will sort themselves out. There is a recipe for success and they are tools, systems, and measurements that can be applied to somewhat ensure we are close to the planned results we desire. 

The systems are not only for operations, but for finance, marketing, and legal elements that are related to the business/personal activities. Once followed, our lives can become much easier and streamlined. 

People are willing to learn, and the feedback from those who have met with me, shared and learned with me, and followed the plans was encouraging since their stories tended towards the path of success and growth as they saw it. 

I am excited about the possibilities for this coming year. Since:

• There are systems that enable people/businesses to realize planned results once followed; 
• People are willing to learn just how this can be done; 
• They are recognizing the benefits/opportunities for applying themselves; 
• There has been a reduction of hopelessness; 
• In an environment where there has been economic displacement, people can quickly acquire economic stability regardless of the scale of their operation/development; 
• The principles can be applied to individuals, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations;
• The assistance is not only limited to being provided through me but is available globally. 

2018 is almost over, but 2019 and beyond holds promises that can be realized by all who wish to apply themselves. From Blades & Blades Consultancy Services LP, here's wishing you every blessing in the new year. May your plans be realized by you and those whom you will serve. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

The more serious entrepreneur...are we ready?

Small business, entrepreneurship though not synonymous are the trend that's been developing for some time now. People who have seen what their parents went through when their parents lives rattled along like a speeding train without much input of what choices they would like for their lives are saying no more. We want choices in life and will not live like they, our parents, did.

Some opt for the path of self-employment where they believe that whatever the outcome, it was their choice. They had a say in the matter. Still, others who are even more creative want to create lasting life-changing legacies. Whatever the choice they make, they share a common bond. They are frustrated by the financial systems.

Many of these business people are not just going to the financial institutions hand in glove to beg for an opportunity, but are using the information that they've gained over their lifetimes go approach the funding agencies better prepared.

These business people have done their research, they are armed with business plans (which they paid for), they are putting together leadership teams (not being the one-man operation), they are seeking information about doing business right. Yet, some financial entities are painting them all with a broad brush used from times gone where the financial assessment methods seem obsolete. Sure the numbers are calculated correctly, but the finance entities rather than structuring the entities to succeed, instead seem to sound the death knell before the entities are started.

Entrepreneurs are tokenized by competitions which speak to innovation, and yes we read about the prize winners who came through the process, frustrating as it was. But then what, where are the businesses of the winners today? Were they taught how to use the prize money to accelerate their businesses? It is almost like so much focus is placed on the wedding, there's no councilling for the marriage.

The criteria need to evolve. Gone are the days where business owners will have large amounts of collateral. They do have more sound backgrounds and exposure to education. They need information that is accurate and timely from the governmental agencies with which they have to register. The systems of incorporating an entity need to become more efficient. Registering a charity/not for profit, the process can be simplified.

Our environment has changed but we're working with outdated models for doing business. Let's wake up and do better as a people so that we can build a better nation and expand our borders. The term business banker does not mean just interacting with the business community, but having knowledge and competence about what is required to gear a business towards financial and operational success.

Business requires commitment

Often, I get the opportunity to meet with individuals that when you hear them speak, you'd think they were ready to move the world. Great goals, big ideas, well laid out plans, in some instances, and these all sound great until they hit the first snag whatever it may be.

Too often, they are ready to cut and run. In most instances, many hunker down and pray the challenge would leave if they ignore it. They even seem surprised that the issue is still there when they figure enough time has passed.

Going beyond all the plans that are made is the action which needs to be taken to realize those plans.

When prospects tell me what they want to do, I may sometimes say, I'll soon know how serious you are. Invariably, you get to see who has the toughness and tenacity to really go after what they want.

It is said, talk is cheap. We have heard that at various stages throughout life. It is more true than you can possibly imagine. Since many people want to shortcut the business process, they end up in the following cycle:

• Constantly cash-strapped; some of the same people who, as employees, would speak of pay increases don't even want to pay themselves.
• No vacation time; some don't even want to take a day off without feeling guilty.
• Training courses are suddenly too expensive. 
• Those who used corporate expense accounts and charged easily when they spent someone else's dime suddenly become penny pinchers. 

They are some people who would work for others more diligently than they would for themselves. They are not suited for self-employment. 

Business requires commitment! This commitment is required on many different fronts - Financial, Marketing, Operations, and Legal, to paint with a very broad brush.