A powerful and transformative economic development event is happening right now but many are not aware of it, because where it is measured, it requires a granular amount of nerdy data analysis and tracking. “A total of 12,809 business names and 3,935 companies were registered by entrepreneurs and investors with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) in 2020” – this was disclosed by Senator Don Wehby in his opening at the
2021/2022 State of the Nation Debate on June 25, 2021. He further reiterated that the entrepreneurial spirit ignited last year during the global health crisis was a testament to the resilience of locals, adding that “we have to big up our Jamaican entrepreneurs.”
What the data shows is that there has been an unprecedented surge in entrepreneurship that started in 2020, which continues to grow. This information is especially timely as new businesses starting are a material solution to replenish our local economy ravaged by the pandemic, even as many businesses are downsizing or closing permanently.
As background, “The Entrepreneurial Boom!” is a social media campaign being undertaken by digital media interns Abigail Simpson and Mersuda Neils who are students at the University of the West Indies, as well as Kasheem Lawrence who is an agent in the book industry, and Rebecca McIntosh who is an entrepreneur. The aim of the campaign is to identify and encourage entrepreneurial ventures that are able to strive during any form of economic crisis as well as to develop an entrepreneurial mindset for many persons who think the end of the road is where their jobs become obsolete. Through the execution of the deliverables of the campaign such as the surveys, the focus group activity, and one-on-one feature interviews with members of the target group, we have been able to identify major components of what we refer to as a “looming crisis”. Many persons found themselves unemployed in the pandemic and many businesses were forced to close, so this campaign will be exploring this social issue and also reinforcing the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset and sustainable business practices.
In a recent blog post “Mom-Silience: The Story of a Work From Home Momtrepreneur” published on the Live Well Jamaica site for this campaign, we read the story of a work from a home single mother, by the name of Javeila Bryan, who encourages entrepreneurship whether employed or unemployed. In the article, she stated that “entrepreneurship is sophisticated hustling. It is about increasing your income streams that will increase your income security. There is always security in having more”. This calls for the need of raising awareness that entrepreneurship is a mindset, rather than the idea of just starting or running a business.
The pandemic has highlighted three major outcomes:
- Vast numbers of businesses are now permanently closed;
- Existing businesses are struggling because they are unable to innovate their product or service offerings;
- New business entrepreneurship growth is unprecedented
These outcomes identified were somewhat addressed in an interview with Javette Nixon. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Point Global Marketing Group (POINT), Seaforth Holding Limited, and Esther Ventures Limited, as well as a Director at Vein Centers of Jamaica. He is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, and marketing consultant for well over 10 years. In his expert opinion, Mr. Nixon noted three solutions he thinks can address the problem of creating resilient businesses. Entrepreneurs and business owners must:
- Understand the underlining trends that are happening in the economy, whether it is a shift in the consumer base or a trend in the economy. It is important for any business to understand such trends in order to make adjustments to their business where needed.
- Understand that in order to “future-proof” your business, accessing information and mentorship is key. Whether it is through a consultancy agency or even on Youtube, it is important to research how to maintain and grow your business.
- Obsess how you can grow the customer base of the business and for each to see the value in the service that you are providing. Ask yourself, “How do I acquire customers to pay for my service?”, as customers are ultimately what pays for your business.
In preparation to carry out this campaign, we have also been able to identify income security as an important factor that many individuals have been neglecting, whether employed or running a business. Many understand this term as having a “sure source of income”, but again, the pandemic has shown us that this is indeed a myth. Income security. Mr. Julien Henry who is a Programme Manager in the Entrepreneurship Unit of the Department of Management Studies and Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies, noted in his interview session, that the problem many people face now is figuring out how to obtain a sustainable income or in other words, income security within their business. Mr. Henry also highlighted that many individuals start their businesses without delving into strategic business planning which involves financial planning as well as and innovation, which are two important factors that affect the income security of a business. It is especially important to understand that these considerations are necessary for starting a pandemic-proof business. Having a backup plan does not make any business immune to an economic crisis, it however decreases the likelihood of the business succumbing to an economic crisis, much like what we have seen happening due to the covid-19 pandemic.
There is definitely more to come and more to be said about the pandemic, entrepreneurship, unemployment, and surviving an economic crisis, but based on what we have seen so far, it can safely be concluded that that the real crisis seems to be the absence of an entrepreneurial mindset and the absence of sound sustainable business practices, which includes planning for a crisis to better enables a business’s opportunity of a stay in operation, instead of downsizing or closing its doors permanently.
