In this Week’s Issue:
- Quotable Quote
- JBDC Helps Your Businesses Survive, Prosper
- BizProfile: Fay Kessler – The Real Estate Entrepreneur
- Gender Communicate: A Power Struggle!
- The 3 Ways Twitter Will Change Jamaica’s SMEs
- 9 Ways to Ignite Innovation Inside Your Company
- Top 10 PR tips for Entrepreneurs
- August Calendar of Events
- Deadline for SUBMISSIONS!
Quotable Quote: “There is no substitute for knowledge. To this day, I read three newspapers a day. It is impossible to read a paper without being exposed to ideas. And ideas… more than money… are the real currency for success.â€~Eli Broad
* * *
JBDC Helps Your Businesses Survive, Prosper!
- JBDC’s August Calendar of Events
The JDBC Logo!
The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), established as one of the premier business support organizations in Jamaica, helps businesses to survive and prosper by providing them with business advice, consultancy and training of the highest professional standard on both generalist and specialist business subjects.
As a leading player in the provision of business support services for Jamaican businesses, it provides:
- Business and technical support services across the spectrum, from guiding business startups to a wide range of consultancy advice for established businesses.
- Advisors and Consultants who have experienced real-life business management
The JBDC initiative is a cooperative arrangement among Government Agencies and the private sector, associations, academic and research communities. So far, over 2,000 Jamaican businesses have benefited from JBDC’s services over the years, and many have returned to profit from its expertise.
The JBDC team and board are comprised of experienced business people, an administrative team, 30-plus knowledgeable advisers and consultants and operating from a modern office and training suite at its 14 Camp Road, Kingston, Jamaica, location.
If it is your desire to make your business flourish and prosper, then JBDC is the place you need to check out (http://www.jbdc.net; Â 928-5161-5;Â info@jbdc.net.
***
BizProfile Q&A: FAY KESSLER
Fay Kessler (faysiek@yahoo.com)
Fay Kessler (faysiek@yahoo.com)
AGE: 68
Company: Fay Kessler Realty
Position: Owner/Entrepreneur
Q. What do you do to relax?
A. Gardening, listening to music, and taking trips to the mountains.
Q. What is your greatest indulgence?
A. Buying clothes, art, and cooking.
Q. What is the best purchase you have ever made?
A. Real Estate (my own home).
Q. What is your favourite piece of technology?
A. The Computer.
Q. What is the best book you’ve ever read?
A. “This Thing Called You“ (by Ernest Holmes)
Q. What was your first job?
A. A Bank Clerk
Q. Do you remember your first boss and what impact had he/she on your then?
A. Yes I remember him very well. What I appreciated about him was his “understanding nature†toward the staff,  including the “harmonious relationship†he fostered between customer and staff.
Q. you ever been sacked?
A. No
Q. Who do you most admire?
A. People that are positive, honest, hard working, and socially aware.
Q. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
A. To look within myself for all my answers.
Q. What do you love about your current job?
A. Meeting people. I also like interacting with attorneys, bankers, and all the aspects of being in real estate. It makes me a more conscious person of what the corporate world is all about.
Q. What do you find difficult?
A. Dealing with persons who procrastinate.
Q. What haven’t you done that you want to do?
A. Visit Egypt, South America, and Africa.
Q. What has been the proudest moment in your career?
A. When I passed my Dealers Examination. I always thought I was so bad at exams, and this one was exceptionally difficult and I made it.
END NOTE: Fay Kessler has been in the Real Estate business for over 20 years. Now that she has established her own operations – Fay Kessler Realty – going over a year now, she prides her self in not only provide personalised service to her clients, but also provides assistance in helping clients locate properties anywhere in Jamaica.  Mrs. Kessler can be contacted via Mail at faysiek@yahoo.com.
***
Gender Communication: A Power Struggle!
Communication between genders!
Communication between genders!
If you think it’s difficult to discern what your significant other is really trying to say to you, consider how complicated
communication between genders gets when you throw office politics, power struggles, and work challenges into the mix.
Here are a few differences between men and women’s communication styles at work.
***
The 3 Ways Twitter Will Change Jamaica’s SMEs
As Twitter grows it will increasingly become a place where companies build brands, do research, send information to customers, conduct e-commerce, and create communities for their users. Some industries, like local retail, could be transformed by Twitter.
Twitter!
Here are three ways Twitter will permanently change Jamaica’s SMEs:
Hyper-local marketing. Twitter is currently being used as a marketing tool for small businesses. At the same time the local outlets of some of the largest retailers in the world, which are often competing with local vendors, are turning to Twitter as well. As an example, Twitter users can follow the local furniture store’s owner or the latest best seller at your local bookstore. Since Twitter is still mostly a person-to-person service and not a business-to-business service, it is likely that the Twitter relationship will be with the owners of small businesses. With access to their Twitter addresses these small business owners can send customers news about special offerings, sales, new merchandises, store hours, or events.
Philanthropy “as business†use of Twitter will involve social activism and fund-raising. Tea parties, whether they are held in public or in cyberspace, can be set up by getting Twitter users to follow certain political groups and causes. Twitter will be an immensely useful way for people to voice their opinions in response to public opinion polls. This offers an opportunity to access tens of thousands of reactions to critical questions in very short periods of time.
Democratization of the media – Much has been written about the democratization of the media and how blogs and other non-mainstream media have begun to supplant traditional media as a source of information, news and entertainment. Twitter will almost certainly extend this trend. Twitter will also expand the power of the blogosphere by further severing the relationship between mainstream audiences and traditional media which have typically been controlled by TV’s distribution through a large number of viewers, in addition to the millions of people who subscribe to magazines and newspapers. The question is: “Will blogs and other non-mainstream media supplant our traditional media as sources of information, news and entertainment? Your guess is as good as mine!
***
9 Ways To Ignite Innovation Inside Your Company
“I’ll be happy to give you innovative thinking. What are the guidelines?â€
“I’ll be happy to give you innovative thinking. What are the guidelines?â€
If you’re going to survive this season of turmoil, you must innovate your way out of it.
***
Top 10 PR Tips for Entrepreneurs
“Be aggressive in getting media coverage.†(Liz Lange)
My Take: Media coverage is free, which is a very attractive price tag for most small businesses.
But media coverage usually is not an accident.
You have to take it in your own hands to get coverage.
And as Liz’s experience illustrated, you have to be creative in order to get media coverage.
For instance, Liz sent maternity clothes to celebrities.
The media were more likely to cover a celebrity wearing Liz’s maternity clothes, than to write an ordinary article about maternity clothing.
Here are public relations tips for your small businesses:
- The old ways to get noticed were to buy expensive advertising and beg the media to write about you and your products. The best way to get noticed today is to publish great content online, (e.g. Start your own newsletter of blog).
- Don’t talk about what your products and services do. Instead talk about how you solve problems for your customers.
- Be enthusiastic and have fun. People want to do business with people they like.
- Don’t rely on “spamming†the media with your press releases and PR pitches.
- Use press releases to reach buyers directly.
- Comment on blogs, forums and chat rooms (but don’t talk about your products and services).
- Read the popular books in your market and write a review on Amazon. Use your real name and affiliation.
- Shoot a short video and put it up onto YouTube.
- Know what search terms people are using to find products and services like yours and create content that search engines will reward with high search engine rankings.
- Don’t be egotistical. Nobody cares about you and your products. Your buyers care about themselves and solving their problems. So solve their problems!
***
August Calendar of Events
- AUGUST 12 – A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS ‘REDUCING LEGAL EXPOSURE†MEETING: PCJ Auditorium, New Kingston. Admission Free. For Business owners, CEOs, Directors & Managers. Presenter: Graceann Cameron, LL.B (Hons.), Attorney-at-Law. Contact: Phone: RSVP: 365-0417; Email:lawofficegc@gmail.com
- AUGUST 12 – WPS: SPEAKING DYNAMICS & PLATFORM COMPETENCE MEETING: Win Professionally Speaking. William Knibb Baptist Church Hall, Falmouth. Contact Information: Phone: 818-7832.
- AUGUST 12 – HKA: NET SUCCESS SEMINAR/WORKSHOP: By: Hamilton Knight Associates Ltd
Where: Contact Hamilton Knight Associates Ltd. Contact: Phone: 929-4632; Email:careers2000@cwjamaica.com - AUGUST 12 (10:00 am-1:00 pm) – PROPOSAL WRITING FOR GRANT FUNDING WORKSHOP: JBDC Incubator & Resource Centre – Garmex Freezone, 76 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 13. The training will provide participants with the basics of writing grant funded proposals, and successfully utilize the proposal and grant writing process with emphasis on critical elements from the initial idea through the final submission.Admission: FREE and includes handouts and refreshments.
- AUGUST 13 – TIC: TIME MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP: Technology Innovation Centre (TIC). TIC, Utech Campus at 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6. Admission: J$13,000. Contact: Phone: 512-2500/ 512-2505; Fax: 977-2050/ 977-1925; Email: information@ticjamaica.com
- AUGUST 13 (5:30 pm) – WPS: SPEAKING DYNAMICS & PLATFORM COMPETENCE: Evita’s Italian Restaurant, Ocho Rios. Contact Information: Phone: 818-7832
- AUGUST 14 (5:30 pm) – WPS: SPEAKING DYNAMICS & PLATFORM COMPETENCE: Win Professionally Speaking. BT Community College Technical Campus, Discovery Bay. Contact Information:Phone: 818-7832
- AUGUST 18 – WORKSHOP – FORMALIZING YOUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS: JBDC presents a workshop titled ‘Formalizing your business operations’, Tuesday, August 18 from 9:00-1:00 pm. Venue: JBDC Incubator & Resource Centre – Garmex 76 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 13. Cost: J$1,500.00
- AUGUST 18-19 – BEYOND BOUNDARIES, CREATING WEALTH THROUGH WELLNESS: Whole Limited/Jamaica Wellfest in association with the Jamaica Wellness Cluster presents Beyond Boundaries, Creating Wealth through Wellness – a seminar series for Entrepreneurs in the Wellness Industry & Related sectors. Date: August 18-19, 2009.Time: 8:30-4:00 pm. Venue: Knutsford Court Hotel, 11 Ruthven Road, Kingston 10. Keynote speakers: Donna Duncan-Scott – CEO, JMMB & Dr. Carolyn Hayle. Cost: J$3,000.00 per day OR J$5,000.00 for two days. Cost includes meals and materials. Limited spaces – early registration is recommended. Tel: 946-9489 or email: wholelimited@gmail.com.
- AUGUST 20-21 - WORKSHOP – BUSINESS PLAN WRITING: JBDC presents a workshop titled ‘Business Plan Writing, August 19-20 from 9:30-4:00 pm. Venue: JBDC Incubator & Resource Centre – Garmex 76 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 13. Cost: J$3,500.00
***
SUBMISSIONS
The Blog Enterprise! Â Promoting You, Promoting Your Business!
The Blog Enterprise (http://whytehallcommunications.wordpress.com) is an online publication that publishes the latest Jamaican small business news, information, profiles, and industry trends, and is published weekly by multi-award-winning Caribbean journalist, copywriter and blogger, Delroy A. Whyte-Hall, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief.
You are invited to send your submissions (notices, news releases, profiles, or any other small business related information) to:Â enterpriseblog@aol.com. Deadline for submission: Fridays.
Delroy A. Whyte-Hall
