My Teacher - Experience

Those who know me, would realize that when I interact with them, I tend to be direct. Up to this week, I was told that by someone who just met me fleetingly. Having heard it so often, I paused to think about how my characteristic trait was affecting others with whom I interacted. Further probing revealed that though direct, I am not brash.

Let's turn to what excites me immensely - Business. 

I just love it when people bring me business problems that seem insurmountable. It may seem strange but some people like puzzles, I like the ones that have real life effects. When people describe their challenges to me, I almost immediately or at least within a couple days am able to identify solutions to the challenge. Not from the standpoint of any special gifting that I may have. It often comes from experience. 

What gives me this immense experience?

Usually I would have gone through a similar experience before either via a third party or personally. Lots of things happen to me, and truthfully, I often ask God why these situations are happening to me. One time after  my pleading for an answer, I finally got it. "It's not about you." 

What a revelation that was...

Who trains the trainer? Who develops the consultant? In my case, it's experience. What has experience taught me? Here are a couple, just a few of those lessons. 

• It is possible to realize just about any business deal providing you communicate you case well. 
• All things are possible, when presented with the right conditions. The word can't exist only when all the angles haven't been developed / explored. 
• You don't necessarily need an asset base to obtain money. You need to demonstrate a clear and reliable, well thought out and practical system of operating, marketing, and financing. 

Because of these and similar lessons, through God's grace. We've successfully:

• Obtained financing from a local bank for a business established in another country
• Employ turn around strategies for entities that were in the "red" permitting them to get their finances in the black within rather short times. The fastest one was a one day turnaround. The second one was a six figure turnaround within 90 days. 
• Enabled an entity to secure 3 forms of financing with one document
• Loan
• Direct Investment
• Grant Funding
• Developed collaborations whereby teams have helped businesses and charities realize their business objectives within the required time lines and within budget. 

There's something about developing the plans and then providing the training for the implementation of the same plans. Those entities enjoy greater success. Did I tell you the amount of fun I have helping these entities? It's exhilarating! 

Maybe we can do business sometime... 

Thank you experience. You're a great teacher. 

Glimpses of a Caribbean Office

A typical summer day at the office can look like this. With the chair under the trees and the ever accessible Wi-Fi can make most work days quite productive.

Just seeing vehicular traffic come and go brings the reassurance that business can still be had even in these tight economic times. 

To be truthful, environment is one of the key contributors to creativity. A little distance from the beach and the nice tropical feel and a cool beverage is all that's really needed to make work a dream in the Caribbean. 

Yes, we still experience stress. Later on I'll relieve some of it with a swim of a couple laps. Tomorrow's filled with events of the weekend, including some work. However, it doesn't always feel like the drudgery usually associated with work. 

I'm grateful to be living in one of the world's best systems - Free Enterprise. Where we know "If it is to be, it is up to me".  Thank God we are alive at one of the best times ever. 

Now, I'm going back to work. We'll chat later on. 

CFFB Questions & Answers - Excerpts from the official April 2013 launch

Seeing the young innocent children being affected by this illness tugs at the heartstrings of virtually anyone.  We, as adults, are often found asking ourselves, why them?  If you're the parent, you really don't have the time to really ask these types of questions.

The questions that more readily come to mind as a parent consist of thoughts like:

• How can I save my child?
• I have to find a way to afford the expense of this illness to keep my child alive. Failure is not an option. What opportunities are there?
• Who can help me save my child?

Lord, show us a way to help people better experience life as they battle with this seemingly incurable illness. We place all our trust in you that though there's no cure as yet. You will help us in our quest to find one. Thank you Almighty God for your grace and favor through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

This is the plea of many a parent, their supporters, their friends and family. It is the cry of all mankind affected by this illness either directly or through their loved ones. Here's how we are helping in Barbados from where we stand. Take a look at this short excerpt from the launch of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Barbados.

Thank you for taking part just by watching this video excerpt. You can follow us on Facebook or just go straight to our CF website . You can make donations, apply for membership and sign up to volunteer. The forms are on these sites.

Make a difference to tomorrow for those who suffer with CF by offering of yourselves and your resources.

Thank you.

So you think it's rough...

Many people in different parts of the world have screen savers of our existence. They have pictures of the tropics showing the trees, waves, and just natural beautiful scenery. If you were to ask them about that picture they're looking at they will answer - "Paradise". (Just do a quick search and look at the images)

Here's the thing. We have challenges too.

In the Caribbean, we have to maintain that paradise. To maintain anything of value we have to do our chores.  It goes for many aspects of our lives - our relationships, our finances, our health, our surroundings, etc.

Here's a little hint. When you think you have it rough, just know that we who "live in your postcards" do not get to enjoy it as much, cause we have to work hard to maintain it.

In life, it's not about us. We are here to fulfill a purpose, which we need to identify quickly, so we can do our part. It's about more than trying to survive personally. It's about more than trying to pay the bills. Life is made for living to the fullest as God directs. How many of us stop for directions ever so often?

Here's what we've found living Paradise. Sometimes when we think we have life rough, we identify others who have it even more rough, and decide to live with an attitude of gratitude.

Have an awesome day and live life a little, functioning at island time.

It's annoying...

At points in our lives everyone has situations that annoys them. It's an element of life that we just can't seem to get away from. It may be something that you've observed, experienced, or perhaps got a third party story; the thing is everyone gets annoyed at some time for some reason.

Recently, someone borrowed something from me, kept it an extremely long time, and after being asked to return it (as I needed to use it), I found that it was broken. Not a word was said to me by the borrower, I only found out when I was doing the cleaning checks.

Do you think they'll ask to borrow it again? Your guess is as good as mine.

Here's why:

• They kept mine for so long that I needed to go and borrow one myself. (Now something about that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.) 
• They broke mine and said nothing. Therefore, it's will I repair it / get a new one. They'll never know in a hurry. 
• I've often heard, if you have to borrow something more than three times, then it's best to get your own. That quota for borrow / lend was long passed. 

The thing is, if there's a genuine need, I'm reluctant to lend again since being burnt on the last occasion the memory's painful because I take care of what is entrusted to me and they didn't. I am also out of pocket, which though it may be small it wasn't conveyed to me there was a problem, and since it's small then you can buy your own. 

Just thinking...about money

How can business be done faster at a slower more methodical pace? Is a question that comes to mind on occasion.  We live in the islands and often times end up so busy that we rarely get to enjoy what's around us.

They are people who have to spend thousands of dollars to get here to have a sea bath, feel the sand sift through their toes, or just feel the salty air against their skin as they sip their favorite drink.

We are surrounded by all the wonderful herbs that can help with the healing of most illnesses. Yet, we are too busy to enjoy them.

Why do we have the internet? In an age of the super highway one would think that by now we can do most things more easily. The banks are still being resistant to PayPal; even though the said PayPal has authorized that citizens within the islands can use their system for receiving payments and not only make them like once before.

How can this help enable the entrepreneurial climate? I would have thought that by now a seminar about using PayPal to enhance your business banking experience would have been introduced to the public. I would have imagined that such a seminar would be speaking to the safety of using such a service and what you should look out for in terms of virtual trading on the internet. We seem to be fearful of what can happen rather than equipping our business people.

I will stop here now. Got to head out for the office and realized that I was just thinking something that can be quite viable. Now I can't wait to get to work.

Have a great day folks. We'll link soon.

Check here for more info PayPal Blog

Did you know? Our key asset is regional thinking.

For all the talk about hard and tough economic times, I still don't think we've learnt to think things through. Never mind our population has a high percentage of literacy, what are we doing to capture it? If I look at the answer, absolutely nothing.

I remember the days when we were students, our lecturers gave us projects which when we did the research and provided answers, we would never really see our projects again. It was those days when the lecturers were smart. We would get a grade and they would get paid, since the projects we received were real world.

Universities now have loads of computers and smart devices that can easily access the internet via the various hotspots on the campuses. Why aren't our economic challenges given as projects and the grades given are for solutions to real world problems. It would be a perfect match since students rather than just bragging of the level at which they got their various certifications can also speak about projects they actually did and their outcomes. Employers would then be happy to know they are hiring the best minds.

Emphasis would change from whether a candidate has the experience or not, to what their participation was in various solutions to challenges that society faces. Here are some examples of results from such exercises.

• The Caribbean enjoys the highest arrival of tourists due to their innovative programs for wooing customers to its shores. Our research shows we know what they want and how we can deliver it to them customized to their needs.
• The Barbadian [place your country here] were able to avert massive layoffs due to workplace innovations that the students researched and institutes
• The labour force expands not via the provision of jobs, but through the creation of needed businesses our future has evolved into a new era. 
• Local business examined and implemented cross border entry strategies that facilitated expansion of various categories of start up enterprises just over eighteen (18) months old. 
• Richard Branson recognizes the Caribbean as the worlds leading source of entrepreneurial enterprises. 
• Caribbean small businesses use OM to tighten their costs and revenue structures. 
• Customer service is not lip service in the Caribbean, they have taken practical steps to hone their skills as the worlds leaders in customer service excellence. 
• The Caribbean has solved airlift challenges; reducing inter islands travel costs and enhanced profitability for the carriers

Are you beginning to get the idea? Case studies can be real. Instead of a grade, be paid with tangible workable recognition that enhances your post student opportunities.