Foreign Direct Investment [FDI] - How practical and accessible is it?

For most who have become frustrated with the available local funding options for one reason or another, there are some who have decided to explore other options. This comes against the backdrop of governments suggesting urging business owners to expand outside of our jurisdictions, export more and seek to expand. 

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often discussed and seems to be seldom understood, even by those within the financial sector. It would appear that the various entities responsible for overseeing these types of transactions seem to be more than apprehensive about such transactions. What do I mean? 

The organizations:

• Don't seem to trust the source of funds and don't really seem to be able to assist in the provision of due diligence/even be able to advise on the process of due diligence that is available. There seems to be a fear of making a mistake permeating the various entities. 
• The entities that are in authority of such transactions don't seem to relate to each other. Why do I say that? Their information isn't synchronized and at times can seem to be conflicting. The organizations don't appear to even have a relationship with each other. This comment is made from the outside looking in. 
• There is no clear methodology to advise the public how to go about seeking and attracting FDI. So that even when entities successfully attract such interests, there's always a catch 22 that frustrates the process. 

Is FDI worth it? 

It seems to be more of a hassle than anything else. Why one has to go through a number of compliance steps in order to become compliant which usually is expensive, only to be told that there's an absurd aspect that prohibits the deal from being completed. This can even happen after getting authorisation from the Central Bank, meeting previous compliance standards, being legally compliant, then you get snagged on a technicality that could have been prohibited if you had the necessary guidance from the outset. It's a hard lesson to learn. 

In many cases, investors ask how come the banks are not jumping at these deals locally. They then decide to fund the transaction(s) completely [100% funding]. With seeming low-interest rates; until the payback is calculated in full. Then you see the hidden elements of the deal. Here's what I mean:

• Investors reserve the right to divest of the investment to other investors, which means you totally lose control of the ownership and who you can do business with. Often these contracts don't seem to have the first right to refusal. 
• You must have the insurance sums to prepay and secure your commitment to show that you're serious about doing business in the first place. This insurance acts as your security to participate in the transaction and can be quite expensive. 
• Defaults in repayment offer little recourse on the part of the investors who ensure that they clearly state what must and must not happen. 

There are other considerations and these examples are not exhausted by any means. If you're going to be in business, you need a strong team in order to build a business confidently and transparently that people can trust. 

Richard Blades functions in business development primarily in Barbados and regionally as we serve to help businesses do it right when planning their strategy. 

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. 

iLuv WoRk

There's something about work that excites and intrigues me; especially when it is exciting work. Sometimes when groups of us discuss business, invariably someone would ask, "What makes you want to get out of bed every morning?"

On the surface, it seems like a relatively easy question to address until you really look a little deeper. Many people go through life unhappy and unfulfilled since they never took the time to question themselves in this manner.

Here are ten (10) reasons why I love work:

1. I love the challenges that are presented to me daily within various situations, especially when I'm able to solve what others couldn't. 
2. The money isn't bad either, I can live if I plan carefully. 
3. It's my contribution to poverty alleviation, since I help others empower themselves economically and see them get on purpose about their lives. 
4. It's enjoyable to see people develop an idea and have it emerge into a thriving business from which they can support themselves and others. 
5. It's gratifying to negotiate successful deals for business ventures. 
6. Giving back through charitable serving is always a plus. 
7. It's great to be able to use technology to speed up the processes with which solutions can be provided.
8. Work is not limited to current geographic location. 
9. Effective planning within your work can make it easier to realize accomplishment. 
10. Helping businesses make profits so that they can successfully help more people through the expansion of their operations. 

The Best Advice Ever....a true story

I've been consulting & training for many years and daily I come up against some situations that are "new" not only to me but to many others. I love what I do since boredom is seldom my reality and for my clients, the solutions seem endless since we've had some seemly impossible situations that we've had to deal without any of them being something from which I could draw from a template.

There have been times, more often than I care to remember, when I have had challenges within my own work environment that I literally did not know how I was going to survive each one. Depending on who you ask, seeking help was a sign of weakness / strength. The thing is, those who offered help most willingly were those who were off island and knew nothing about me - The offices of Zig Ziglar, Les Brown and others were really great with their assistance.

My clients enjoy a high percentage of success when working with us. They have:

• received significant "impossible" funding through preparations of documents 
• turned around their entities from a losing position to start earning revenues and profits within short time frames
• streamlined their operations after completing audits 
• seen results of training programs in as little as 24 hours / shortly afterwards 
• made significant strategic contacts, programs, and moves that encouraged them to have sustainable entities

There are more benefits that I would not elaborate on here, but here's the thing. 

In many instances, I did not know where to begin. Sure we have the formal education, the degrees, the courses, but even when internships are involved it does precious little to prepare you for the actual situation. 

No one that I knew of, and my network's huge, had experiences in many of the challenges my clients had so that I could even subcontract their services. (Subcontracting's not a problem for me, since I believe that it's better to make 1% of a million dollars, than 100% of $1,000). So I did what I have always done, which has worked 100% of the time. I put the entire set of situations before God. 

Yes, I have been working bonafide in consulting and training since 1995, but God has way more experience than I will ever have. The results were / are always phenomenal! Often happening at speeds that I did not fathom before. It has gotten to the stage now that because of this expectancy from having walked the path before with God, I can now offer solutions quicker than most. It is like being able to think multidimensional, seeing action and outcome almost at once. Daily I give God thanks for this gift and the help that others receive through it. It is humbling to see situations that were really challenging being solved.

Am I living on purpose? I really feel so. 

If you ever get to use our services and think to yourselves - This is The Best Advice Ever - then give God thanks for granting me the necessary insight and oftentimes experiences.

About me

Richard Blades is a Business Consultant & Trainer with Blades & Blades Consultancy Services.  As a Senior Founding Partner, he remains committed to high standards and being well researched. He loves to have a fun time while working since work occupies a great percentage of your life. Known in most circles as Richie B. he has a wealth of experience in consulting and training which he candidly shares. Find our more about our services and if you require them fill out our surveys for business advisory services and training.