Letters to the Editor/ Credits
Out and Around
Your Money, Out and around...
Business Lounge: Recession in the JA Economy
Your Life Surviving Christmas...
An Entrepreneur’s Life: Procrastination Kills Profit
Dr. Damien King
c o ntent s
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Economics Lecturer; UWI, Mona
Street Smart Titus, tells us how she survives
Titus
Stall Vendor
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Letters to the Editor
Credits Publisher eZines Limited Managing Director Tyrone Wilson Your Money Reporters Andre Black Latoya Hutchinson
I think having an online business magazine was a really good idea. Ezines aren’t very popular in Jamaica, so Your Money eZine is definitely setting the trend for the way forward in the industry. What makes it great is the fact that the articles are interesting and practical, while focusing on issues that most people can relate to. The design is also excellent and it helps to make the eZine attractive and certainly adds to the overall appeal. Good job and keep up the good work. Keresa Jamaica
Columnist Cherryl Hanson Simpson Design and Layout Omar Phinn Subscription subscription@yourmoneyezine.com Editorial editor@yourmoneyezine.com
“Click here to join our Facebook group and interact with our community online. Start topics, answer questions and interact with our fastly growing Facebok community.”
In our issue dated the 26th of November 2008, in the article entitled ‘Samantha Chantrelle – The Eternal Optimist’ Your Money published that the NCB Foundation had donated $30 million dollars to Rising Star contestants to the complete community projects. We wish to retract this statement, as the figure quoted was inaccurate. The foundation, in fact, donated $3 million. We apologize for any inconvenience this error might have caused.
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Out & round...
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1: Retirees, Dudley Ball (left), and Jasper Burnett seemed to be enjoying their time at the annual Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica, held at The Jamaica Pegasus. 2: Lois Christie (left), Financial Controller, Prism Communication, and Claudia Josephs, Accountant, Carib Cement drank, laughed while enjoying the evening goings at The Jamaica Pegasus. 3: At left, Garth Kiddoe, Dean of Faculty Business and Management at UTECH, Caryl Fenton, Senior Partner in Charge, Audit KPMG, and Sidney Fernando, of Deloitte and Touche in all smiles. 4: At left, Granville Newell, Director- Media Relations at the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youths and Sports, Clare Forrester, Life Member PAJ, and Desmond Allen, former President of the PAJ, grouped in a tight conversation. 5: At left, Michelle English, Chief Operations Officer, Flow, JeanLowrie Chin, Founder and Managing Director PRO Communications Ltd, and Antonia Graham, Head of Communications, Digicel Group raps before the start of the PAJ annual National Journalism awards ceremony, at The Jamaica Pegasus. 6: Veteran Journalist Earl Moxam, and Petrina Francis News Desk Reporter, at The Gleaner Company Ltd, took the time to catch up on a few things.
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Can Jamaica Afford A Recession by Latoya Hutchinson
Over the past months, Jamaicans have started to see and face some of the effects that the financial crisis in the United States has triggered in our own economy. This week for the business lounge, Your Money invited three qualified individuals to tackle the question that is now plaguing the minds of thousands of Jamaicans - Can Jamaica Afford a Recession?
country’s main foreign exchange earners – tourism, remittance and alumina production. “In the tourism industry, there have been salary cuts, reduced working hours and so on. The Minister of Finance has already informed us of some of the implications in store for the bauxite sector.”
Dr. Damien King, Economics Lecturer; UWI, Mona
“Despite the lack of a timely mechanism for the output of economic data, I do suspect that we are exDr. Damien King periencing a recession,” explains Economics Lecturer; UWI, Mona Dr. King. “Persons are already feeling effects, especially those that earn from their businesses are noticing where their salaries are decreasing.” As to whether Jamaicans will be able to weather out this recession, King had this to say, “We will have to make cut backs. So even for this season, we’re going to have to buy fewer gifts and have to postpone some of those vacation and traveling plans.” According to the Economist, statistics already show that bad debt ratios have risen significantly, however, he believes the financial sector will remain solvent. “The banking sector is far more resilient than it was 10 years ago. I think it is quite unlikely that there will be a repeat of financial meltdown that occurred in 1990s. Dennis Chung, Chartered Accountant and Financial Analyst Chung also shares the conclusion that the island is in the midst of a recession.
Chung states that trends show negative effects for three of the 5
YOUR MONEY • Business Lounge
Dennis Chung
Chartered Accountant and Financial Analyst
Overall, the financial analyst believes that the country can survive the recession as long as recession-proof mechanisms are put in place and proactive steps are taken. “For example, if we show less dependence on imports, such as agricultural imports.”
“As for our ability to access loans during this time, I see no problem there as our Finance Minister has made it known that the government has raised US$600 million from multilateral agencies,” Chung adds. Peter John Gordon, Director of Economic Planning and Research, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Director Gordon admits that the country will suffer from common effects of a recession such as lowered purchasing power, high default rates and a possible increased national debt. However he expresses a high confidence in the economy’s ability to pull through. “In addition, the regulatory system governing the financial sector is very good and have taken precautions. Can we survive a recession… we have no choice, we can’t roll over on our faces,” he says. w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m
Surviving Christmas During a Recession by Latoya Hutchinson
It’s the season of good cheer, but many are not feeling that special Christmas spirit- it has been dampen by the ill effects of a worldwide financial crisis. Here, in Jamaica, persons are already experiencing salary cuts, lay-offs, high credit rates and drastically increased prices. Is this the making of a ‘Black Christmas’?
Decoration As holiday enthusiasts, you may already have bags of decorations from the Christmas before – use them. New ones needed? Go for the cheapest option available or use your artistic talents to make some.
It does not have to be. As a part of our Christmas special, this week Your Money provides you with tips on how to survive Christmas during an economic slow-down:
Touch Not Thy Savings Greater is the temptation now, more than any other time, to strengthen your reduced spending power by dipping into your savings. Resist the urge. The length and severity of recessions are unpredictable, leave your savings for when you will need them the most.
Christmas Budget By now, you have been repeatedly told how constructive and sensible it is to budget, well its importance has just increased by an hundred fold. Especially in this recession year, knowing how to spend and what to spend on will be crucial to your financial survival. Use your budget to figure out where you can cut expenses this Christmas, review it constantly and lastly…stick to it! Food No matter how dismal the period may seem, starvation is not an option this holiday. After all, it’s the planning and preparation of special meals that adds some of the cheer enjoyed during this festive season:
In fact, there is no rule that restricts you from continuing to save at a normal rate during this time. Revise your investments and make new ones if they seem profitable enough. Yes, we are in a recession, but with careful financial planning, it can still be a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Shop early for your desired food items, when you can still benefit from Christmas specials and discounts. When planning that Christmas family dinner, encourage each relative and guest to bring a food item to add to the spread; thereby lessening the strain on the host’s pocket. It is far cheaper also to arrange to have as many meals as possible within the home than it is dine out. Gift-Giving Gifts are great, but a verbal expression of ‘Best Regards for the Season’ may be more heartfelt and appreciated. Where gifts are a must, decide firstly what is to be spent on them (according to your budget) and do some comparison shopping before purchasing.
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An Entrepreneur’s Life Procrastination Kills Profit
Cherryl Hanson Simpson
“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” – Victor Kiam The failure to complete important tasks is one of the major factors that can impede your business growth. Many entrepreneurs excel in creating a vision for their businesses and in talking about their ideas to start or expand their operations. However, months or even years later they are still speaking about their plans in the future tense. I will confess that I’m a serial procrastinator. Looking back over the years, I’ m disappointed about all the money-making opportunities that died a lonely death because I failed to take action. Sometimes the project stopped just because a simple follow-up phone call was not carried out. Other times, a lack of determination or courage led to an unreasonable fear of doing the necessary actions to get the job done. Slaying the Procrastination Dragon Over the years I’ve tried to conquer the demon of procrastination. I’ve tested different methods, but most have only brought temporary success. When I discovered the book, Eat That Frog!- 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, by peak performance guru Brian Tracy, I thought that I should find at least one way to cure the bad habit forever. I zeroed in on method number 17- ‘Do the most difficult task first’, to solve my problem. Tracy advised us to “Begin each day with your hardest task, the one that can make the greatest contribution, and resolve to stay at it until it is complete.” That inspired me for a while. Eventually, I regressed into old practices as the reality is it’s hard to do things you really don’t like doing. I later bought a book with a very promising title – The Procrastinator’s Handbook – Mastering the Art of Doing It Now, by Rita Emmet. With tremendous insight, Emmett revealed that “The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself.” The first step in curing procrastination was to make a list of every outstanding activity, and tackle them one by one. I’m not ashamed to admit that after starting to look around my house, and thinking about all the undone business tasks, I threw my hands up in the air and gave up. It was just too much for my brain to process!
that while undone laundry and unpacked suitcases might be petty annoyances, procrastinating in business is suicide. I had to find a way to destroy this evil force once and for all. Success At Last? I recently came across a discussion on procrastination in a marketing course presented by Stephen Pierce of Impulsive Profits. In the lesson, Mike Litman bestselling author of Conversations with Millionaires, disclosed a sure-fire method of dealing with business procrastination. Litman said that the first step was to write down the question, “What is one thing that I don’t want to do today, but if I did, it would change my life and/or my business?” Step number two was to think, “How will I benefit from doing it?” Litman advised us to be very specific and to write down the answer. The third step was straightforward. “Do it now. If you can’t do it immediately, schedule a time in writing to do it.” This advice might seem too simple to be really helpful, but it got me to quickly complete a very important task that had been lingering for a long time. This three-step process has worked for me many times, as it gets me to focus on the end result - the reward – not on the dreaded task at hand. If you’re being held back by procrastination, test this method for yourself. Just don’t wait to long to try it! © 2008 Cherryl Hanson Simpson Cherryl is a financial columnist, consultant and coach. See more of her work at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com and www.financiallysmartonline.com. Send questions and comments to info@financiallyfreenetwork.com. Please add this address to your email address book in order to ensure you receive a response.
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Street Smart *Titus (37)* Stall Vendor
What does it really means to be smart? by: Billy James
Being smart doesn’t only apply to the office. If you want to survive in society you have to be street smarts. In this week’s edition we had a very interesting interview with Titus who was quick to talk about the struggles vendors face. Questions: Looking back at the challenges throughout the year, are you satisfied with things, and what would be your most disappointment? Titus: “Yea man I am satisfied. The sale good sometimes yes, but at times you get a lot of sale and then you have none at all. The challenge is to get your own spot.” Questions: What it is like for vendors like you on the streets, and what would change it in the coming year? Titus: “Well I would like the thief them to give us a break, sometimes it unfair for us to working out here so hard and them come rob us like that. Look how late am out here, it no easy at all.”
The night drew closer as Titus prepares himself for the set of customers.
Questions: Where do you see yourself in the future, and how did you get started in the business? Titus: “By the next year it’s a bigger business I am planning to set up, the greatest part of this is that you have life and if and from you have that everything would be ok. I started three years ago, and it was just two little extensions I started with.” Questions: Fill in the blank space… The only thing I would love the government to do for vendors like myself is… Titus: “I would love for them to set laws that would allow us to sell on the roads, because every minute we have to a run from the police them who want extort our money.” Question: Do you think that vendors should get more respect, and why? Titus: “Because we contribute to the country’s economy also, don’t we pay light bills, and water rate too? Not because we are out everyday on the streets looking food we should be treated in any bad way.” 8
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Titus packing away his products from his stall.
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