c o ntent s
Claro Building, Knutsford Blvd, New Kgn Top 5 Business moves for 2008
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Letters to the Editor/ Credits Business Lounge: Creating a Profitable Business Exit Strategy
Top5 Business Moves of 2008
An Entrepreneur’s Life: Lead the way
Street Smart Janet Stall Vendor
R. Danny Williams Discusses exit strategies with Your Money”
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
I just read your e-magazine and was enormously impress. I found this issue to be a timely and appropriate production as some look towards 2009 with hope, despondency and mix emotions. Continue to probe financial issues and keep your readers inform as 2009 unfolds. I hope with time more people will find this e-magazine useful and timely. Good job, keep the work burning in the fields. Devon Lawrence
The magazine is very interesting, short, to the point and simple. I especially liked the article on procrastination. I keep coming up with these business ideas, but never follow through. I think I’ll try one of the suggested methods for getting past my inclination to procrastinate. Debbie-Ann Wright
Columnist Cherryl Hanson Simpson Design and Layout Omar Phinn Subscription subscription@yourmoneyezine.com Editorial editor@yourmoneyezine.com Your Money is a Product of eZines Limited, and is distributed weekly via e-mail. To subscribe FREE log on to www.yourmoneyezine.com today or email to subscription@yourmoneyezine.com
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Creating a Profitable Business Exit Strategy by Latoya Hutchinson
Building a successful business can take a lifetime of hard work. However, many have failed to reap the benefits of their labour by not creating a profitable business exit strategy.
R. Danny Williams
Jamaican business mogul, R. Danny Williams, in a recent interview with Your Money, spoke on five main points business owners should consider when planning to exit a business, both financially and as a manager:
Discusses exit strategies with Your Money
Plan Early “Planning ahead is extremely important. Most instances, business persons get to a point where basically they are just too old and tired to continue, but they did not have a suitable plan for when they are leaving the business,” says Williams. “You should not wait until this point, make the effort to develop an appropriate exit strategy long before you need it.” New Blood Williams advises that business heads, as a part of their exit planning, incorporate as much new talent into their organization as possible. “This is just the smart thing to do, pull new blood in…get fresher minds involved that can help you to build your company to the point where you can exit comfortably ,” he says. “These should be persons who are confident and capable, who will efficiently carry out their given responsibilities and duties.” Succession Plan A business succession plan involves identifying and preparing suitable employees within an organization to replace key company players, such as the chief executive officer.
LOJ, our succession plan entailed having a strong managerial group.” As a result of this plan, Adrian Foreman, Vice President of Agencies was ready to take over the reins of the company when Williams was called to national service in the 1970s. It is also through such planning, that Richard Powell was chosen as Williams’ successor after his retirement at the end of 1995. “ I’ve helped with the succession plan within Jamaica Broilers, about10 years ago. Among the potential successors at the time were Ian Persaud and Chris Levy,” he adds. As of February 2009, Chris Levy will to take over from his father, Robert Levy, as president of the Jamaica Broilers Group. Other Appropriate Exit Strategies “Nothing is chiseled in stone. A succession plan is an option, there are other exit strategies that are appropriate depending on the circumstances,” says Williams. Other exit strategies include mergers, management buy-out/ buy-in, trade sales and stock market flotation. Pension and Investments In order to keep the rewards of a successful business and to continue maintaining a certain level of lifestyle after exiting that business, Williams suggests that business owners create additional income sources and arrange for a separate pension outside of their businesses. “ When I left LOJ, I had no fears financially. I had a decent pension and an income from some of my private investments,” he says.
As the former CEO of Life of Jamaica (now Sagicor Life Jamaica), Williams has himself implemented this type of exit strategy. “At 4
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Top 5 Business Moves for 2008
by Latoya Hutchinson
will be giving away nine 2009 C-class Mercedes Benz. For the year 2008 corporate Jamaica underwent some major transformations. We witnessed mergers, buyouts, name changes and also the movement of some top executives amongst companies. Your Money has compiled a list of the five (5) most impressive business moves for 2008:
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RBC’s acquisition of RBTT
Also in June, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced that it has purchased the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) for a whopping US$2.2 billion.
This move has created a new platform for competition within the banking sector, as RBTT has now become the largest bank in the English-speaking Caribbean. Although a big acquisition, we have yet to see any changes regarding marketing strategies and/or the re-branding of the group.
Overall, a good move but there were glitches; for instance, they took quite some time to update their website.
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Digicel recent marketing
Your Money rates this at number two, as it was a bold and reassuring step in responding to the competition. Way to go, Digicel!
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Life of Jamaica to Sagicor Life Jamaica
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In June of this year, Pan Caribbean Financial Services started the necessary plans to launch their commercial banking sector.
Mr. Donovan H. Perkins President & CEO Pan Caribbean Financial Services
However, the launch was successful and Pan Caribbean Bank has since started it services. This move earns Pan Caribbean the position of number four.
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MiPhone to Claro
This is a move that has sparked new flames of competition – this time in the telecommunications sector. For years, this sector has been regarded as the personal playground of Digicel and bMobile; with MiPhone not even considered as a threat. However, after its multi-million dollar transformation, Claro has risen to a new level with sharp and compelling marketing campaigns – check their Christmas Bubbles of Joy promotion, they 5
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Since the rebranding of Cable and Wireless to LIME and the introduction of Claro, we have seen an awakening of the “Giants”, Digicel. Never a slacker, Digicel quickly responded to the opposition. The launch of the ‘My Digicel Matters to Me’ campaign , which seems to play positively on the psyche of the Jamaican people has solidified their stance in the telecommunications market.
Launch of Pan Caribbean Bank
This came at the time of a worldwide financial crisis and when Jamaicans started to question the ability of our financial institutions to withstand the pressure.
upsurge
Mr. Richard O. Byles President & CEO Sagicor Life Jamaica
This is a move that promises great benefits not only for the insurance company but also for its Jamaican clients. It came about smoothly, mainly as a result of aggressive marketing campaigns to solidify the fact that there is a new brand around town.
Parent company Sagicor is a financial powerhouse with operations in the Caribbean, Latin America, the U.S. and U.K., and is listed on the stock exchanges of London, Barbados and Trinidad ; as such the rebranding of LOJ as Sagicor Life Jamaica has placed the company in line with the changing global financial arena. Because of the uniformity in all advertisement, the swift notification of and education of employees & stakeholders and the new compelling message that Sagicor has brought to corporate Jamaica… Your Money awards this move as the # 1 Business Move of 2008. w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m
An Entrepreneur’s Life Leading the Way
Cherryl Hanson Simpson
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” - Dwight Eisenhower
Many small entrepreneurs start their businesses as ‘one-man’ shops, taking on the responsibility for all the tasks required to keep the operation running. They are receptionists, product developers, accountants, marketers, deliverymen, and janitors all rolled into one. Once the inevitable burn-out of trying to fulfill all these roles sets in, it gradually dawns on the entrepreneur that other people will need to be hired or contracted to carry out these services. As the organization grows, the business owner will need to take on a challenging new role – that of leader. Just like any other job function, learning how to become an excellent leader will take both book knowledge and experience by trial and error. Leadership expert, John Maxwell, has many great resources to help you become better at managing people. Two of my recommended picks are The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and Developing the Leader Within You. After working in different companies over the years, I have seen the differences between good and ineffective leaders. I can now appreciate how important it is to portray the right leadership qualities in order to realise my business dreams. Here are six things that you need to be successful in leading the way: Clarity Great leaders need to be very clear about the vision and mission of their organizations, in order to inspire others to buy into their plans. If the leader lacks a clear set of set of goals and objectives, and the imagination and insight to turn the dream into reality, then the organization will not be successful. “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” – Proverbs 29:18. Competence It’s crucial for you to be knowledgeable about your field, and to demonstrate your abilities to your workers. More importantly, you must know your shortcomings and get assistance in these areas, instead of pretending to know-it-all. The best leaders are ones that can effectively delegate details to capable persons.
support of their workers because they lacked confidence in themselves. Courage As Erich Fromm points out, “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” Good leaders must be excited about embracing the unknown to create a new future for their businesses, and be willing to accept responsibility for the decisions made, whether wrong or right. Business owners who persevere despite the challenges, and fight their own fears to guide their teams through difficult times, will inspire loyalty and respect. Character Effective leadership requires the respect of your workers. You have to cultivate personality traits such as sympathy, loyalty, understanding, fairness, humility, and the willingness to lead by example. People might obey you out of fear of losing their jobs, but you will never get the performance necessary from them to help your business grow. Co-operation Some leaders try to lead by force, but to be truly successful you must have the consent and desire of your followers. An effective leader should help to increase the efficiency of others by encouraging them, not bullying them into action. The leader must live by the mantra “TEAM- Together Everyone Achieves More.” © 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.
Confidence A firm and unwavering belief in your ability to lead your team is vital, as no one wants a leader with low self-esteem issues. John Maxwell says that the greatest liability of a leader is his insecurity. Many bosses have made big mistakes and lost the 6
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Street Smart
*Janet (30)* Stall Vendor by Billy James
What does it really means to be smart? Being smart doesn’t only apply to the office. If you want to survive in the office you have to be street smarts. In this week’s edition we stop by to interview Janet, another vendor who has been barter system for her entire life. The interview was a very excited one. Janet, who operates her business in downtown, Kingston was quick to give her views on today’s society. Question: What joy do the Christmas seasons bring to you whenever it comes around?
run from them. Although we pay for our spot and register them still a bother us.” Question: Do you have any other business running and where do invest your money? Janet: “No this is the only business am running. I put my money in the bank and the rest I use it to finance my children’s school fees and other things.”
Janet: “Well nothing not happening now. But, you have times when it goes good and then you have times when it goes bad. Hopefully by this weekend things would change and pick rapidly.” Questions: Do you enjoy your job, and how did you get started? Janet: “I started at age sixteen. Hey! Sometimes I enjoy myself so much that even when I don’t sell anything for the day it really doesn’t bother me… and then you meet all sort of people, which are also a plus for me.” Question: What is the difference between vendors who sells in a commercial area, compared to one who sells at home? Janet: “When you sell at home the people them love to come and trust your goods to much, because they know you. The commercial area is different, the people them always come to buy, so you sure about your sales them.” Question: Are you in anyway affected by the world financial crisis? Janet: “It affect everybody yes, because when me ready to go buy my dollars them it ago high. Not to mention when I want to buy my clothes and those stuff.” Question: Describe the difficulties that you face on a day to day basis? Janet: “The police them who have we up and down a 7
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Janet smiles while stacking out her stall.
The police them who have we up and down a run from them. Although we pay for our spot and register them still a bother us. w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m
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