Your Business Matters

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

Competition acts as the driving force for individuals or groups to perform. The same principle applies in business. When operating in a dominant industry businesses often leverage their competitive edge in order to stand out and build brand loyalty. Competition is in our nature. From competing in sports to rival companies competing for consumers’ wallet share to individuals bidding for the highest paying jobs, everybody desires to be the best and to earn the best.  Some experts argue that competition is a waste of energy and resources that could be combined for higher-yielding results against external forces. Collaboration on the other side of the spectrum intrinsically encourages work with each other rather than against each other. It enables the use of best practices to increase efficiency and eventually revenue but is it enough to push businesses forward? So how do we decide whether to compete or collab? Does middle ground exist for both to co-exist?  In today's episode of Your Business Matters, we explore the topic "Competition Vs. Collaboration: Which is better for the business."

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Glenice Leechman who posed this question “In the work environment, what drives motivation? Collaboration, competition or both?’”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Honey Bun at Honeybunja.com and the Honey Bun Foundation at thehoneybunfoundation.com. You may contact  Simple Trader Pro at Simpletraderpro.com. Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Steve Jobs "Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

Many people, due to their eagerness to gain employment often overlook or fail to recognize invasive questions posed by their potential employer.   One could argue that information such as marital status and age are  general information but in the wrong hands these can end up being weapons of mass discrimination. On the other hand,  employers  have a right to know who they are adding to their team. So how thin is the line between an employee profile and a privacy breach? According to the Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Jamaica, individuals have the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of being male or female, race, place of origin and social class, color, religion, or political opinions. (Constitutional Amendment No. 4 2011). As we take a deep dive into the topic, ponder for a second, Invasion Of Privacy or Knowing Your Employee: Recruiters should Be Allowed to Ask Personal Questions?

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Kemel Walford  who posed this question to our guests “ Does it come down to competence or culture, which is more important?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Uton on LinkedIn at Uton Vassell or via email at [email protected]. You may also contact Gina at [email protected] and on LinkedIn at Gina Tomlinson-Williams.

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Bob Nelson "An employee's motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his/her manager." Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

Seasoned investors and entrepreneurs alike strongly warn against going into business with kin. Many have witnessed first-hand relationship fallouts and deals gone south but others have told the tale of leveraging family businesses for benefits such as cost-savings, etc. So how do I decide which is better for my business? In an article by media.com, the writer purports that the main street is filled with the corpses of family relationships that ended in lawsuits.  The driving force behind this reality is the inability of the family members to separate their business aspirations from their actual ability to run a profitable business. Research has shown that only 13% of successful family businesses last through three generations and less than 2/3 survive through the second generation. While it is suspected that the loss of growth beyond these generations is due to comfort and complacency, there are exemplary family businesses that are still thriving despite the alarming statistics. What is the glue that keeps the business and the family together? Does the glue even exist at all?  For a business to be profitable, the owner/s must be able to think logically and make headstrong decisions, forgoing emotions as their main driving force as a business strategy and with family comes just that, emotions. So is it blood before business?

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Charlene Humphrey  who posed this statement to our guests “ Are there any organizations that can help family businesses to weather the current storm?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Josh Baron on LinkedIn or visit [email protected] or www.banyan.global. You may also contact Thalia  at  Tlynn@[email protected]

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from   Henry Ford "Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

Corporate social responsibility is a company's commitment to managing the social and environmental effects that its operations have on the community. More now than ever, the need for businesses to be present in community welfare is increasing. With persons losing employment and facing adversities of every kind, customers are looking to the faces of their trusted brands to see just how much they mean to them. The debate continues as stakeholders aim to decide whether a business should alleviate societal pressures or work to increase the wealth of shareholders. Supporters of this theory maintain that by continuing to meet the needs of shareholders, the business guarantees continued success. The legitimacy theory of corporate social responsibility maintains that because businesses have the resources, especially large firms, they are obligated to promote society's interests with much of the responsibility resting on the shoulders of larger for-profit companies. On the other side of the coin, businesses are formed to make a profit, much of which is reinvested into the company to foster growth and reach within the respective industry. So how do you decide the best way to 'pay it forward?

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Andre Gooden  who posed this statement to our guests “ The entities that are responsible for the financial health of the organization, as well as the social health of communities, tend to be the long-standing pillars of the community and those companies have more respect from the community and their  growth pattern is tied to the level of social support around them”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Grace Kennedy Foundation  at [email protected] You may also contact Dawgen Global  at  ‘ [email protected].

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Bill Ford  "Creating a strong business and building a better world are not conflicting goals- they are both essential ingredients for long term success. “Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

Many businesses have had to pivot to protect their profits and stay afloat.  In order to be effective, businesses need cash flow to fund operations and as the economy tightens, an entrepreneur's  cry is often about the options available for financing. There are two basic types of funding available to small businesses. These are debt financing and equity financing. Just like purchasing a car via a loan or using a credit card, debt financing is dependent on the entrepreneur's ability to repay monies borrowed with interest. Equity financing on the other hand requires zero loan repayments   but will require the entrepreneur to sell shares  of her company to her investors. Figuring out how to finance your business is a very important decision that may come with  daunting consequences, so how do you decide between the two?  Very few have mastered the skill of debt leveraging in business so careful risk assessment is always advised before one steps into the bank or attempts to pitch  their business to potential investors.  Today on Your Business Matters, we venture into the business funding tour with Sandra Glasgow, Founder of Biztactics Limited & Co-Founder of First Angels & Banker, and Kevin Foreman, Country SME Relationship Specialist at JMMB  as our guide.

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Ariff and Davine Butler  who posed this question to our guests “ If a client applies for a loan and you realize that you are not the best fit for the client’s needs do you advise them to apply elsewhere?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Sandra on [email protected]/ [email protected] 876-819-3311. You may also contact Kevin at [email protected] or call 876-410-9465.  ‘

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Peter Drucker "People who do NOT take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes per year."Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

If you have never heard about casual Fridays, chances are you have not been around that long at all. The idea came about in the early 1960s  from the concept of 'Aloha' Fridays in Hawaii and has since then been adopted by the rest of the world. Bill Foster, president of the Hawaiian Fashion Guild at the time needed to make sales on his Hawaiian fashion shirts and he needed the sales fast. As a result, he concocted a plan to bring comfort to the workplace and used the government to help him do it. Each member of state in the Hawaiin House of Representatives was then given two of the Aloha shirts under the theme 'Operation Liberation". Tech giant, Hewlett Packard in an effort to spark more creative ideas and initiatives in its employees also made use of the casual Friday custom and well, we see how that has been turning out over the years. Corporate fashion has been revamped and revolutionized a lot over the years but many employers still cling to the idea that formal wear, that is, a three-piece suit and tie in a tropical climate still make for good business. The discussion continued for years and today, it is right here on Your Business Matters, so what say you listeners, do you believe that casual dress codes are beneficial to corporate companies or should we stick to the status quo of formal wear on the 9-5? Joining me for the showdown are Janice Sutherland, Executive Coach/Author/Speaker and former CEO of Digicel, Antigua & Barbuda & Montserrat, and Dr. Gail Hudson, Senior Director of Strategic Human Resources Management and Administration at the Ministry of Health.

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Yunique Francis  who posed this question to our guests “How do we navigate the dress code discussion with the work from home reality?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Janice on LinkedIn at ‘I am Janice Sutherland’, podcast ‘This Woman Can’ our visit her website at janicesutherland.com. You may contact Gail Hudson at 876-855-1135 and email [email protected] .

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Andrew Davis Edith Head "You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it." ” Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business

A picture is worth a thousand words but your brand image could make you millions of dollars. Creating a corporate image is hard work, protecting it requires discipline. A brand represents a collection of people's perception of your business' customer service, reputation and logo, all of which is aimed at building trust with a business' target audience. Believe it or not, consumers pay attention to the fine details of a business. From the mission statement to business' email address, these elements combined paint a picture of who your business is as a person and helps  determine whether or not your business is trustworthy. When built and sustained in a positive light, corporate image brings about several benefits which include brand loyalty and improving recognition but is a good corporate image directly proportional to business success? In 2017,  popular children's brand 'Toys R Us' filed for bankruptcy with over 1 billion US dollars in debt. The toy company is one of America's  largest toy store chains with a strong media presence and customer loyalty. In 2019, Toys R Us was acquired by Tru Kids and since then only kept two physical locations opened for business according to collectivecampus.io. and cnbc.com.    The store closed the doors of its only two remaining locations in January 2021 after several years in  business due to hardships faced by the pandemic. Here is a toy store, trusted household brand and America's number one toy retailer since inception, now in debt, calibrating its next move with plans to set up shop in other countries. In today's episode of Your Business Matters, we will ventilate the topic 'Corporate Image Ultimately Determines Business Success'. .

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience kayon Vase who posed this question to our guests “How important is it for an individual to know their core beliefs so that they can in turn know their personal brand?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Steven Hart at StevenAHart.com and at Steven A. Hart on all socials   and  Karen Yonkovich at karen Yonkovich on all socials and ‘Good Girls Get Rich’ podcast .

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Seth Godin “There is no shortage in remarkable ideas. What's missing is the will to execute them” Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business.

Entrepreneurs enter into business partnerships for several reasons, some of which include combined skills and knowledge, increased resources, more business capital, and of course tax benefits. According to entrepreneur.com, 80% of business partnerships fail, so how do I ensure my business stays in the fortunate 20%? The same article stated that partners complement each other best when they each possess a skill that the other lacks but not much is said on how to handle business conflict when it arises. Business partners and shareholders alike must work toward the same business goals and agree on the strategies which will be used to achieve them.

Former CEO of Walt Disney stated, "It is rare to find a business partner who is self-less. If you are lucky, it happens once in a lifetime". Working with partners who provide more problems than solutions can be detrimental to business life not to mention annoying. When you are just starting in a business, it is easy to forge business relationships with just about anyone who will give you the time of day. Later, only to find that you are at the end of your rope with your current business partner or Board of Directors.. In today's episode of Your Business Matters, we explore the topic Collision of Values: Should I Stay For the Sake of the Business? What happens when business partners are not seeing eye to eye on a business deal or in general.  When is enough really enough?

Some of what we discussed include:

We also touched base with a member of our audience Omar Ewen who posed this question to our guests “What characteristics do you look for in a business partner, in terms of authenticity especially when starting a business?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Brian Rolland  on brianrolland.com and  Monique Russell at clearcommunicationsolutions.com.

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Peter Drucker “ The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said."  Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business.

There are many factors to consider when starting a business. What product/service to offer? Will I host the business online or open a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment? And so on and so forth. But before you settle on any of these, you need capital, yes hard currency. In this week's episode of Your Business Matters, we tackle the issue of start-up funding. Is it wise to borrow from a bank to start my business or can I afford to shoulder these expenses out of pocket? Or better still explore non-traditional ways of sourcing funding? Perhaps you've heard of the term 'good' debt, low-interest debt that over time, helps to increase your income. However the risk-averse may argue that making use of a loan when the return on investments is uncertain is too much of a risk to take.

While it can be argued that the use of personal savings would be easier, the option is not feasible for many entrepreneurs, and attracting investors especially for start-up companies is a task and a half. So what then is the verdict? Do I fund my business out of pocket or from other non-traditional ways or should I seek funding from a bank? Find out more on this evening's episode of Your Business Matters...

Some of what we discussed includes:

We also touched base with a member of our audience, Codian who posed this question to our guests “What are the requirements for a small business owner to get a loan?”

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Tom Ryan on LinkedIn and at Captivated Health.  Miguel Thompson can be found at jncm.com or contact customer service for more information and Miguel can be found at Start100.com

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Seth Golding ``There is no shortage of great ideas, just the will to execute them, and where there is a will there's a way."  Take care.

Guests:

Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business.

COVID-19 has taught us the importance of pivoting and has changed the way we define productivity. Countries across the world, in an effort to protect their human resources have implemented the 'work from home' order which has employees carrying out their professional duties from the comfort of their own home. According to Apollotechnical.com, several studies have shown that working from home remotely versus being in the office space has seen persons spending 10 minutes less being unproductive, employees work one extra day per week and has a 47% overall increase in productivity.

Open office space also has its place. The open office concept became a vastly growing trend since its inception in the 1960s. The idea behind the model was to increase collaboration and creativity among staff as employers found these phenomena hard to quantify.  Some employees have reported that they prefer the open office plan versus working from home as they find the setup to be less stressful while on the other hand, a survey done in 2019 according to fastcompany.com stated that many employees struggle to focus within open office spaces as there is increased distractions and therefore a fight for focus on day to day tasks.  Apart of working in a company is teamwork, it is the foundation on which a business is built. And as we know,  'a building is only as good as its foundation', the structure of companies going forward remains questionable.  Open office or Remote Office

Some of what we discussed includes:

We also touched base with a member of our audience, Ciaron Walker who posed the questions of our guests.

Connect with our guests:

Connect with Mark Guanyja on LinkedIn and at Captivated Health.  Dr Dayton Robinson can be found at the Victoria Mutual Group.

Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast.

Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals.

To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources.

As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from Amy Freshman “It is about workplace flexibility. it is about giving our associates the opportunity to be who they are as an individual, whether that is a community member, a spouse or a parent, or anything in between."  Take care.