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MESSAGE FROM THEEDITOR/CREDITS
BUSINESS LOUNGE:Tank-Weld Metals
New Cement Supplier
AN ENTREPRENEUR’S LIFE:Make Resolutions, Not Excuses
STREET SMARTAnnie Shopkeeper
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3 YOUR MONEY w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m
PublishereZines Limited
Managing DirectorTyrone Wilson
Your Money ReportersAndre Black
Latoya Hutchinson
ColumnistCherryl Hanson Simpson
Design and LayoutOmar Phinn
Your Money is a Product of eZines Limited, and is distributed weekly via
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Credits
A Happy New Year!For 2009, continue to rely on Your Money for your business insights, unique angles and top-class designs.
With a new year comes new possibilities…so get on the ball and make ’09 your year of fi nancial success!
All the best,Your Money Team
“Click here to join our Facebook group and interact with our community online. Start topics, answer questions and interact with our fastly growing Facebok community.”
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w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m4 YOUR MONEY • Business Lounge
The Business LoungeTank-Weld MetalsNew Cement Supplier
The Jamaican cement market is to become home to a new sup-plier come February 2009. Tank-Weld Metals Jamaica Limited recently signed a 10-year agreement with Vulcan Materials, an US construction fi rm; under this agreement Tank-Weld will import cement from Vulcan on a monthly basis into the island.
For this week’s Business Lounge, participants shared their views and expectations, as it regards this new move within one of the country’s most important industries.
Donovan Harris; Contractor, Harris Constructions“I love the new level of competitiveness this move will stir up in the (cement) market and the construction sector,” he says.
As the operator of a construction fi rm, Harris describes the cur-rent cement prices as “heavy” and admits that the presence of a new supplier should result in more competitive pricing.
“Construction is low right now, going into 2009 it may rise up again. So, if this new cement becomes a major player in the market where pricing and quality are concerned, I will use it,” he adds.
Tank-Weld has made the promise that this cement, called Port-land-Slag cement will be of the highest quality and will be made available at an affordable price.
Melvin Campbell; Proprietor, Bethany Hardware & Supplies“ I was aware of the negotiations and I’m happy that it is now a done deal. I predict that this will be a very good thing for the country on a whole and the respective sectors,”
Campbell believes a new cement supplier will provide Jamaica with a much-needed alternative. “ It’s about choices, too long we’ve just had basically one supplier (Carib Cement). With Tank-Weld’s new initiative, we can prevent any reoccurrence of a cement crisis,” he says.
The 2006 cement crisis occurred when the largely monopoly company Carib Cement was unable to meet the country’s demand for cement. This prob-lem was due largely to damage during a major hurricane and exacerbated by the failure of the company’s quality control system, which forced the company to recall tonnes of substandard cement from the market.
The crisis came at a time of robust growth in the construction sector and a number of projects were either stalled or cancelled.
“The crisis was so severe because we couldn’t readily get imported cement to offset the defi cien-cies locally. But now that the market has opened up, hopefully that will not have a chance to happen again.”
Margery Hoffner, Home OwnerHoffner praises the move by Tank-Weld to get inon the market. “ Trends show that most sectors are being infi ltrated by new comers. Why should it be different with cement?”
“From my little research, this agreement is going to have very positive spin-off benefi ts, such as in-creased employment,” she explains
Tank-Weld’s newly built Rio Bueno port in Trelawny will be the base of the company’s new venture and is set to boost employment for the town of Rio Bue-no and surrounding areas.
“We need this! A good product, possible favorable prices and extra jobs…I’ll be satisfi ed if it works out the way Tank-Weld proposes,” Hoffner adds.
by Latoya Hutchinson
w w w. y o u r m o n e y e z i n e . c o m5 YOUR MONEY - An Entrepreneur’s Life
As we count down to the end of 2008, many people will mentally review the successes and disappointments that happened over the year. Many of us will dust off our list of must-haves and things-to-do that were optimistically written in the dying moments of 2007, and vow once again to turn them into reality.
When we look back at all the business resolutions than remain on the drawing board, year after year, we may wonder why it is so easy to make plans, but so hard to actually see them into fruition. It’s not that we don’t really have a desire to see improvements; the problem lies in our habit of making excuses.
One of the top resolutions for many small entrepreneurs is to develop a business plan. They decide that the coming year must not find them without a viable strategy for growth, but months will slip away without even the first line being written. Before you can say ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ another New Year’s Eve comes around and the vicious cycle is repeated.
Excuses, ExcusesWhat are the typical reasons why many entrepreneurs leave this important resolution undone? - They can’t find the time to strategise, as there’s too much work to be done; - They don’t know how to write a business plan;- They can’t afford to hire someone to write the plan for them.
These excuses are very weak justifications for not getting the job done, as:- There is no more important entrepreneurial task than planning business strategy;- There are books and online resources that can guide us how to write a simple business plan;- There are organizations such as Jamaica Trade and Invest and the Jamaica Business Development Centre that can provide low-cost, high quality assistance.
If the major challenge to fulfilling our resolutions is our tendency to invent reasons why they can’t be done, then we first need to find ways to counteract these excuses. One way to accomplish this is to focus on the negative effects of not sticking to our goals.
How to Lose the ExcuseIn my own business, I’ve suffered from several bad cases of ‘excuse-itis’. However, when I realised that the end result of my excuses was lost income, and I started putting a dollar figure to each missed opportunity, my outlook changed dramatically.
Now, for each target that I set for my business, I write down what will happen if I don’t achieve the goal. How will it impact my earnings? How will it affect my customer base? How much do I stand to lose if the resolution is not carried out on time?
So, as you create your 2009 business wish list, beside each item put a compelling reason why you must complete your objectives. If you’re fed up of making resolutions that you never stick to, this method just might work!
Here are my top five entrepreneurial resolutions for 2009:
1. Learn and apply effective internet marketing techniques2. Create multiple products and services that generate passive income 3. Build procedures that will produce a repeatable business system4. Delegate activities that other people can do better than I can5. Carry out a consistent publicity strategy
Best wishes for a New Year of fulfilled resolutions!
© 2008 Cherryl Hanson SimpsonCherryl is a financial columnist, consultant and coach. See more of her work at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com and www.financiallysmartonline.com. Send questions and comments to [email protected]. Please add this address to your email address book in order to ensure you receive a response.
Cherryl Hanson Simpson
An Entrepreneur’s LifeMake Resolutions, Not Excuses“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” – Oscar Wilde
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Street Smart*Annie (30)* Shopkeeper
6 YOUR MONEY - Street Smart
Being smart doesn’t always apply to the office. If you want to survive in this society you have to be street smart. In this week’s edition we interview Annie, a vendor who is preparing herself in the case that the global financial crisis hits the local market.
Question: From the first day of business, how much has your business improve?
Annie: “Well it doesn’t go anywhere as yet, like how you see it that is what it was. For me, my business will only improve when I move from a shop into a big wholesale.”
Question: What are the odds against Jamaica, should the global financial crisis hit the market?
Annie: “Well Jamaica would fall. From the crisis start everything gone up, see them say free school fee and a lot of people still a face it hard. When you check, rice, flour, sugar, and everything raise.”
Question: Are you preparing for it, and how are you doing so?
Annie: “(Laughs)… I don’t think anybody can really prepare for that still, because it is going to get worse every year. But what I do is when I save I do it in both the Jamaican and foreign currency, I think that is the best way out now.”
Question: From your shop, what item was most requested by customers on Christmas day?
Annie: “Definitely the Digicel phone cards, last week was a blast. It seems everyone was talking, I don’t even remember how many cards I sold that week.”
Question: Do you prefer working in commercial areas, or working at home?
Annie: “Sometime the people them in your area use the advantage of knowing the shopkeeper. So them come and trust, and at the same time when you in commercial areas it can be very difficult you not sure of any sale.
Goods stock in shop... (Face not showing for personal reasons)
What does it really mean to be smart?
Definitely the Digicel phone cards, last week was a blast. It seems everyone was talking, I don’t even remember how many cards I sold that week.
At least at home, when the people them trust you know you would get it back one day.”
Question: Do you make an effort to sell different goods from those sold by your competition out there?
Annie: “Not really, because I have a lot of competitions. I don’t mind selling the same item with anyone, because I don’t to miss out on any sale especially if it is one of the fastest selling item like the phone cards.”
by Billy James
