EDITORIAL: Making your business better

It is widely accepted that one of the main ways for this country to grow its economy is for people to develop their entrepreneurial spirit and build their own businesses. But although start up of a business is worthy of praise, it simply is not enough in these tough economic times. Companies must then become successful locally, and ideally make their mark on the regional and international market as well.

 

It is from this viewpoint that many local small business people fall down. Armed with a love, passion and talent in a certain field, many entrepreneurs seek assistance with the finance to start their companies, but seldom benefit from full training on how to operate towards success. For instance, those who may gain management or marketing training, may not take in customer relations or human resource management seminars. This results in numerous entrants in the field of hair, cosmetology, or food or clothes sales for example, who barely manage to keep afloat and whose operations do not grow and expand to greater levels of success.

 

Case in point, a few years ago there was a big outcry by tenants of the Pelican Village, who complained that no one seemed to know they were there and complained of business being slow. According to them, "more needed to be done" to promote the craft centre and they called on the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), as the State body responsible for the facility, to do more to boost traffic there.

 

We are well aware that small businesses do not have a large marketing and advertising budget, but there are several self-promotion techniques that could be employed which would demonstrate the entrepreneurial attitude of any business owner in a similar situation, the most obvious being the use of flyers and printed material placed strategically in the Port and other places where tourists congregate, and another option like social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and emailed mailing lists to promote one’s product locally.

Small business owners need to fully assimilate the unvarnished truth, that the onus to make their business thrive lies with them.

 

A perfect example of a thriving business is local company WIBISCO (West Indian Biscuit Company Limited), which is on the verge of a breakthrough into the Cuban market with its products. This was revealed by the company’s Chief Executive Officer Adrian Padmore recently, who noted that WIBISCO officials had done considerable work negotiating and having discussions with interested distributors in Cuba – in a foreign language – while getting acquainted with the different cultures, foreign currencies and norms. This type of groundwork demonstrates the initiative needed for a company to succeed and grow, and is a perfect example of why WIBISCO won the NISE (National Initiative of Service Excellence) 100 Improvements Award in the large company competition last year.

 

Local entrepreneurs therefore need to think beyond the initial stages of opening the doors to their business. They need to consider the people they hire and their attitude to customers; they need to explore techniques to drive business to their doors in increasingly creative ways; they need to ensure continued excellence in product and service; and finally the need to consider expanding their presence in the marketplace locally, regionally and internationally. This approach will not only benefit your business, but Barbados’ economy as well.