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Letters to the Editor/ Credits
From Banana Exports to Snacks
Business Lounge: From Banana Exports to Snacks
Festive Earnings How to make money this...
An Entrepreneur’s Life: Welcome to the Club
Street Smart Tyrone (Stall Vendor)
Festive Earnings
An Entrepreneur’s Life By Cherryl Hanson Simpson
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Letters to the Editor
Credits Publisher eZines Limited Managing Director Tyrone Wilson Your Money Reporters Andre Black Latoya Hutchinson
What an excellent idea! The ezine is concise but gives me just enough to keep up with financial and related news in JA. In addition, it is professionally done . . . just great. Nathan Connecticut
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The Business Lounge
From Banana Exports to Snacks Has Jamaica Producers made the right move? by Latoya Hutchinson
Major hurricanes, poor economic conditions, unfavorable export prospects, droughts and disease have all brought the once striving banana industry to its knees. As a result, Jamaica Producers (JP) has decided to switch its focus from banana exportation to the production of tropical snacks. All this in an effort to protect the industry from total demise.
Foster McPherson, 51; Farmer, Portland As a banana farmer in the parish of the country’s first banana port, McPherson has experienced all the hardships the banana industry has undergone for the last 20 years. However, he still believes the industry can rise up again.
Question for this week: Is Replacing Banana Exports with Snacks a Smart Choice?
“This business of exporting bananas came about at a time when the sugar industry was facing its own low in the 1980s; eventually sugar came back on. That’s just it, lows and highs. It (banana exports) can bounce back.”
Here are the views:
Roderick Sanatan 61, “I’m in total agreement with the move. With any business you’re in, you have to learn not only to roll with the punches but when to assess situations and make a switch to more viable ventures.”
Sanatan believes this move to diversify will create new opportunities of employment and offer growers of such crops as banana, cassava, plantain, sweet potato and breadfruit (all crops to be used by JP in their snacks) an immense benefit of having an extra market to sell their produce to.
“In the meantime they shouldn’t use the production of snacks to completely replace exportation of bananas. Despite the difficulties, the sector still employs a lot of persons; so they can’t just turn some out like that,” says McPherson. “I understand the shift now, but they should also try to get the industry back on its feet,” he adds.
He also thinks it is commendable that JP has not chosen to call quit when the banana exports failed but to find a way to survive and in doing so, potentially aiding the Jamaican economy. Tracey Wisdom, 23; Administrator, Carlong Publishers Wisdom describes JP’s strategy as a ‘smart move’.
“Although it may not reach the levels that banana exports experienced back in the days, I do see where it has potential,” she says. Locally, JP has reported sales of its primary snack, banana chips, as having reached over 800,000 bags weekly. “With the variety of products they are considering, the company might be able to make it work,” says Wisdom. “Let’s just hope that they invest wisely and pull out all the marketing gimmicks so that JP Tropical Snacks will be a success both here and abroad.” 4
YOUR MONEY • Business Lounge
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Festive Earnings
How to Make Money This Christmas by Latoya Hutchinson
‘Tis the season to be jolly…and rich! Christmas is usually marked by huge spending on decorations, clothing, food, travel and of course, those million and one gifts. At times, our ordinary holiday budgets are woefully insufficient to cover all these expenditures. So for this week, as a part of our Christmas Special, Your Money is giving you our readers ideas you can use to gain some extra earnings during the festive season: Get a Christmas Job This is by far the surest way of making sure your pockets are never empty at this the busiest time of the year. Companies’ regular staff are usually overwhelmed by the demands of the season and the need for extra help always arises. Restaurants, hardwares, gift shops and clothing stores are just some of places you can apply to. There are big tips to be had this Christmas, so get moving. Use Your Hobbies Whether it’s sewing, baking, or decorating, devise ways to turn those talents and skills into dollars. If you can sew, why not take orders from friends and family for drapery work, sheet sets and cushions. Start now and with proper time management it shouldn’t interfere with your regular 9-5.
services for persons (especially the elderly) may be a viable option this Christmas. Babysitting etc Although one of the designated ‘family time’ of the year, parents may wish to go out and enjoy the festivities - minus the children. Babysitting will have you collecting cash. You could extend your services to include housesitting and or pet watching. These are sure hits, especially with persons traveling a lot during the Christmas season Online Junk Sale Search through your home and stockpile everything you don’t use or need anymore. Then place them all on an online shopping network, e.g. Ebay or Squidoo.com. You’d be surprise at what persons will buy and the profits you can reap. Three years ago, I posted five of my old vintage vinyl records on Ebay and gain roughly JA$17, 000. Now, if your ‘junk’ isn’t enough, approach others for theirs. You could give them a percentage of what you make, that way, you have others gaining Christmas cash as well.
You are considered as the top chef in your circles, then offer your services to those less gifted or with less time. Yard Equipment Rental Getting yards into tip-top shape is one priority of the festive season. Hence, equipments such as bushwhackers, chain saws, hedge clippers and land mowers are in high demand. So owners, set up a lucrative rental system and watch the money pour in. Shopping and Delivery services With the season comes packed malls and crowded sidewalks. And not everyone is thrilled to be caught up in that and are willing to pay to have someone else face it for them. Offering, at a cost of course, to doing shopping and delivery 5
YOUR MONEY - Your Life
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An Entrepreneur’s Life Welcome to the Club!
A client recently lamented to me about the collapse of his first entrepreneurial venture which left him down in debt instead of plush in profit. He was definitely taken aback when I cheerfully responded “Congratulations, welcome to the club!” I explained that having experienced this initial setback, he had successfully passed through his initiation rites into business. Many people consider that failure to achieve a desired result after the first attempt, signals the end of the road for their particular goal. However, it’s important for entrepreneurs to understand that disappointments in business are all part of the game. Once you expect and embrace the inevitable letdowns, you will be able to turn them around to your advantage. Let’s look at some ways in which failures can actually help you to become a better entrepreneur. “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.” Roger Von Oech, creativity consultant To get great results in your business you have to be willing to persevere through the learning period. Success is derived by trial and error - you must keep testing your processes until you find the formula that works. In fact, some outstanding accomplishments only came into being as a result of unsuccessful attempts to do something else. When asked how he felt about failing so many times in his quest to perfect the light bulb, inventor Thomas Edison replied “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure... it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.” - Robert Schuller, televangelist Never look at your lack of success in a venture as a personality flaw or a sign that you don’t have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Your potential to accomplish great deeds is still intact as long as you continue to work at it, and don’t give up on your dream. Psychologist William D. Brown summed it up perfectly when he said, “Failure is an event, never a person.”
Cherryl Hanson Simpson
take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan, basketball star This quote highlights the tough reality of business success – to be victorious you have to open yourself up to making a lot of mistakes along the way. It really is a numbers game - to get more positive responses to your sales pitch, you have to pass through many people who will tell you ‘no.’ Author Mike Litman puts it this way “the reason why you’re not where you want to go or not where you want to be, is that you haven’t failed enough.” “Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities” – Napoleon Hill, personal success author One of the greatest benefits of experiencing failure is that it helps to build your character. Take what you learned from past disappointments and use it to develop yourself into the person you need to be to succeed in your chosen field. Give yourself permission to try even if you might fail, as Lloyd Brown declares “The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.” © 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.
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to 6
YOUR MONEY - An Entrepreneur’s Life
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Street Smart
*Tyrone (55)* Stall Vendor What does it really means to be smart? 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 interview Tyrone, a 55-yearold vendor living in Waterhouse, Kingston. Question: We are now nearing to the winter season. Has your business developed since the Christmas season began?
Question: Should the world crisis hit the local market, what do you think would happen to vendors like yourself? Tyrone: “Ok, ok it will be turmoil because if the customers don’t have money they won’t spend. I say this because there would be a lot of job losses and people wouldn’t be able to buy as much.”
Tyrone: “It’s normally slow but I can see development since last week. I am out here as early as five in the morning, so I can grab a few early birds.” Question: How difficult it is to keep your business going, and what has been your motivation? Tyrone: “Well it is not easy, I would say it is a on and off thing. I am a painter by profession but sometimes nothing is going so I just vent in order to support my children. My family and children are my priorities.” Question: If given the opportunity and power, what would be the first thing you would do to help vendors like yourself? Tyrone: “If I have the opportunity, the first thing I would do for them is to give them a push start. I know the struggles they face, the next thing I would do is to show them the ground rules of vending.”
Tyrone preparing an orange for a customer
Question: You have a number of different items selling, which product is most requested by your customers? Tyrone: “I would say Cigarettes and ripe bananas, I get at least twenty or thirty customers coming asking for them.” Question: Do you think it’s an advantage for a vendor to have different sets of items selling? Tyrone: “Maybe yes, when you look at it, a man could be selling faster that me, but don’t have certain products which most customers demand, so I benefit from that as well.”
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YOUR MONEY - Street Smart
It’s normally slow but I can see development since last week. I am out here as early as five in the morning, so I can grab a few early birds.” w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m
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