Small business is about more than ‘eating a food’ – Trainer

Entrepreneurs in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), are being urged to develop their businesses into sustainable and viable models as business ownership involves more than just ‘eating a food’.

This advice was offered by Training and Education Coordinator with the Center for Enterprise Development, Keisha Phillips, during a ‘Formalize Your Business’ training seminar for local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s). The session was held in collaboration with the General Employees’ Cooperative Credit Union Ltd (GECCU) on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at the UWI Open Campus, and was attended by close to 50 participants which included a mix of GECCU members and non-members.

The session was geared towards providing financial support and support tools for business innovation.

“Business is not just about eating a food. We have a lot of that going on in St Vincent and the Grenadines. There is a big difference between hustling and entrepreneurship, and we tend to categorize them as the same; they are not the same.”

Phillips said business owners need to focus on the viability and sustainability of their operations. She said addressing these elements can help small businesses more easily access financing, which has, in the past, shown to be a big hurdle for this category of businesses.

“Too often MSME owners, entrepreneurs would express the fear of approaching financial institutions because they will actually say they feel like financial institutions don’t like small business people. In some cases it is justified, based on experiences, so MSME owners who want to develop their ideas, they can’t because they don’t have access to the financing or the support services they need. But it is one thing for you to start a business even if you do not have any monies at all…it is not enough for you to just make a product or sell a service. You have to build yourselves.”

Phillips lauded GECCU for facilitating the training seminar and challenged other financial institutions in SVG to make similar steps toward assisting small businesses.

“What GECCU has started with this series of business training is a journey that will bear fruits…and develop overall our economy in St Vincent and the Grenadines. I want to encourage other financial institutions in St Vincent and the Grenadines to follow in this pattern.”

Meanwhile, President of GECCU, Michael Sayers, urged participants not to become discouraged by the challenges of running a business, adding that support is available from the institution if needed.

“Being the manager, the owner, financial controller, the secretary- everything in your small business is not easy. You have to learn a lot, and there will be some days when you feel like giving up…but the reality is that it is not about how many times you fail, it’s about how many times you feel to stand up again and keep moving forward.

“As we look as the registrants we realize there are persons from a very wide cross section- food, clothing, cosmetics and different areas. It is important that an organization [like] GECCU shows that we are here not just as a financial institution but also as a people-centered organization. An organization that backs our members, our nation and our citizens to let you know you have that financial support, you have that support in terms of education to ensure that it is formalized.”

Out of the seminar it is expected that business owners will be able to unlock much needed financial support from financial institutions.