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prime minister’s youth award recipient in entrepreneurship and founder of ezines limited tyrone wilson
On The Way Forward
T
he small office housing eZines Limited is a quiet hub of activity. Each member of the team is engrossed in the content on his computer screen, fingers busily tapping at keyboards. The company’s founder and CEO, Tyrone Wilson, is simultaneously glued to his laptop and Blackberry, which isn’t surprising. After all, he is a modern, young professional and these are the tools of his trade. It is this combination of tech savvy and business acumen that created eZines Ltd., an entirely electronic magazine publishing company, for which he was recently presented with the 2010 Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.
“We want to continue to build strong brands and develop a series of publications that appeal to a wide audience, covering lifestyle, wealth, premium sports, teens and other niche areas,” Wilson approached the prestigious award with the mindset of a true businessman, focusing on building his company’s portfolio and reputation before nominating himself. At 24 years old, the cut-off age for eligibility, timing was crucial.“This was the right year to apply, based on the company’s growth. Any other year would have been premature,” he says. “It gives credibility to the company and what we’ve been doing for the past two and a half years. Receiving the award is an indication that we’re on the right track,” he notes.
ence. We’ll be attending conferences, seminars, going to supermarkets and institutions where we can access their foot traffic and get people to sign up on location. We’ll also be using social media more effectively and launching our website in February, which will be more interactive and used as our main subscription tool.” advertisment
Tyrone Wilson Managing Director of eZines Limited
Today, eZines Ltd.is growing steadily and seeking to solidify its place in Jamaica’s media landscape. To this end, the team is stepping up its publicity and sales campaigns, targeting potential readers and advertising partners alike. “We have to sensitize more advertisers about our publications, give them insight on readership and feedback, and educate them more about the online media market. Advertising with eZines is more costeffective because it’s interactive and gives us the ability to track readership,” Wilson states. The company’s third publication,Teen Spirit, will also be launched in mid-February. This is coupled with an extensive drive to boost brand awareness. “We want to continue to build strong brands and develop a series of publications that appeal to a wide audience, covering lifestyle, wealth, premium sports, teens and other niche areas,” Wilson states. “We have to focus on building readership every single day, get more people to become a part of the ezine experi-
Wilson’s team is ready for the challenge, tirelessly dedicating themselves to the work at hand. “They have made a lot of sacrifices over the last two years to see the company to this point,” he says. “We have to keep building up the team and creating a first world office culture, because the success of the company is based on the success of everyone on the team.”
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insights by Paul Mattis
TOP 3 RECOMMENDED JAMAICAN INDUSTRIES
FOR 2011
M
obile Business Application Development
With an increasing amount of mobile technology emerging these days, mobile distributing companies are now making special efforts to suit the needs of the business community on the commuting/mobile level. Apple has by far been one of the companies that started the trend of mobile applications for both recreational and business use. Other well known mobile companies such a Blackberry have follow suit, recognizing the turn that the mobile age has taken. Creating mobile applications for your own business or for others could be your move into this industry, which is rapidly developing and yearning for the right applications to suit the recreational, social and business needs of avid mobile users. Commuting applications development should be your next industry takeover for 2011.
Manufacturing As a result of the Jamaica Debt Exchange Programme (JDX) and other initiatives by the Jamaican Government, interest rates have decreased drastically. There is even scope for further decrease. This is good news for the local manufacturing sector, as a low interest rate regime means cheaper cost of loans. This will lower production costs, thus enabling manufacturers to
profile with vendors starting to use the internet to sell new, used, handmade and vintage artifacts online. It not only reduces but in many cases eliminates the overwhelming maintenance costs of owning a physical store. Get used to the web and broaden your reach while increasing your profits in 2011.
Creating mobile applications for your own business or for others could be your move into this industry, which is rapidly developing and yearning for the right applications to suit the recreational, social and business needs of avid mobile users. produce more goods for export and be more competitive on the global market. Develop the courage to enter what has become a competitive industry and start your own unique manufacturing company. Reap benefits such as ease of production, increased export potential and maximized income by investing in the business of manufacturing products from your own environment.
Online Retailing Forget about finding store space, reliable employees and expensive security details to protect your merchandise and use the Internet to house your unique retail store. Retailing has been around for centuries, but the industry has become fresher and given a new yourmoney ezine
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Dúo dinámico! Erica Wynter and Cyreca McGaw
C & E Innovational Services Limited
I
entered the cheerfully coloured office to see Erica Wynter talking on her landline while scurrying to get sorted for the interview. I took a seat and waited. She ended the call and within a second, her cell phone rang. The Managing Director of C & E Innovational Services Limited is a busy woman, I thought to myself. She smiles, I introduce myself, we shake hands and got underway. Erica’s route to becoming an Entrepreneur Erica Wynter always knew she was meant to be a leader, and this led to her starting a dress-making business immediately after high school. “I am not ashamed to say prostitutes were my customers. They would sleep on the floor of the room until I was finished with the skirts and then they would go to their parties,” she recalls. The dressmaking business did well, but after seven years she wanted more. Attending the University of Technology in 2004, she received an Honours degree in Food Service Production and Management in Education. Her childhood dream of being a teacher came to light. However, few awards and a few years later she decided she wanted to do more for her country and moved to fulfill her other childhood dream of owning her own company. “I bought books. I read a lot,” she said. Armed with the knowledge she gained from reading, family support and determination, Erica called several companies, asking them a few questions as a market research mechanism on her way to get-
(left) Erica Wynter and (right) Cyreca McGraw
“It’s good to be a part of an organisation of like-minded people, and it allows you to network. “
Erica’s thoughts on Networking and Mentorship Last year, Wynter and her business partner, Cyreca McGaw, became members of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica. “It’s good to be a part of an organisation of like-minded people, and it allows you to network. We benefit from each other, for example, the members support us at our Seminars that we keep,” Wynter says. Despite the recession that loomed over 2010, Wynter says the company did well and grew each month. However, she admits that being an entrepreneur has its challenges. “There are challenges, but on those days I look at this picture of my grandmother and my son and I know I must go on,” she says.
ting started. “A lot of them didn’t even know what I was talking about,” she recalls. It turned out that many companies were being poorly managed in areas of accounting, taxation and record-keeping. Seeing the need to fill this gap C& E Innovational was formed in 2009. The core services of C&E Innovational Services Limited C & E offers five categories of services: accounting and payroll, executive search (employee recruiting), company and business name registration (which includes all compliance certification), business plan and mail management. “We do everything for you. We offer everything under one roof. Even after the business is established we follow up to see how it’s doing,” Wynter says with a smile, as her phone rings again. yourmoney ezine
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