Winning Strategies For Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises: The Small Business Guide

ABOUT THE BOOK! This book is dedicated to all those persons who seek to break loose from the pains of poverty and seek their financial independence, through owning their own businesses. Whether you are handicapped by insufficient finance or have adequate start-up capital for your business, the same level of discipline and knowledge will be necessary. I am very much aware of the volumes of books that have been written on the subject of Small Business Start Up, Development and Management. However, I made the conscious decision to take a different approach and share my personal experiences, highlighting the many obstacles I encountered along the way in my more that 55 years of active involvement in the private sector in Guyana and the Caribbean. The path to achieving success in business begins with a mindset, which is based upon information and education about the implications of business and a passion to succeed. In this age of information technology, the path to establishing a successful business is well documented. There is no lack of information on how to develop a business and take it through its stages to being successful. My objective in this book is to present to my readers a holistic approach to developing and maintaining a successful business. The information provided herein is not limited only to my personal experiences and successes but also shares my several failures along the way, especially failing to do the necessary things for achieving success. I wish to address specifically the operations of the MICRO, SMALL and MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs) within the private sector which account for as much as eighty five (85) percent of the workforce in some countries. The private sector is referred to as the engine of growth but MSMEs are the engine of employment. Many governments fail to give the level of support necessary to this vitally important segment of the economy. I invite you to journey with me as we navigate a path towards understanding the peculiarities, intricacies, technicalities and strategies employed in the operations of MSMEs globally but the Caribbean in particular. Cultures may differ, but business speaks an international language whether you are in an underdeveloped, less developed or developed country. It is my sincere wish that all persons reading this publication, especially employees who in our modern society seem to be at war with their employers, will get an understanding of the challenges involved in managing a business. I am convinced that a lack of understanding of what it takes to be in business among employees is largely responsible for the state we find ourselves as business leaders and owners. I am fully convinced that every worker has the potential to be a business owner, surely many will. I exhort them to be the best example in their actions as they strive to equip themselves with the discipline and skills that will turn their entrepreneurial dream into reality - when they in turn will expect nothing less than commitment from their employees. Nothing but the best will do! I am delighted to share my experiences with you. It is my fervent wish that you will take action on whatever business idea that resonates with you. I present to you what I consider to be winning strategies for MSMEs – Enjoy! You are invited to visit my archive of approximately 400 articles: www.stluciasimplybeautiful.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Edward Alphonso Harris is Guyanese by birth, currently a nationalized Saint Lucian who has travelled extensively. He has lived and worked in several countries outside of his homeland, Guyana, including Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. He is tireless in his quest to share the Principles of Affirmation and to set alight the power of the Entrepreneurial Spirit as a means of assisting in alleviating poverty in the Caribbean and around the world. As a child he helped in his mother’s Parlour (Cake Shop), which was located on Water and New Market Streets in Georgetown, Guyana. Later, while still in his teens, he worked as a counter clerk at a pharmacy in Stabroek Market, a landmark location in the capital, Georgetown. After a short stint in the Postal Service, where he got his first experience of job discrimination, with the encouragement of his uncles, he secured employment as a Counter Clerk with a leading grocery retail and diamond trading business in the interior of Guyana. In the first year, he was promoted to manage a branch shop and subsequently returned to the main office as Book Keeper. Edward Harris began working at the tender age of fourteen and worked in his adult life almost entirely in the private sector in areas of manufacturing, distribution and services. At 73, he is not about to retire and is actively engaged in the areas of Business & PR Consulting, Real Estate, Networking, Freelance Journalism, Motivational Speaking and Private Sector Advocacy. Currently, he holds the position of General Manager for Essential Hardware Limited located in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia. Edward Harris founded the Guyana Association of Sales Personnel (GASP) in 1975 and the Guyana Small Business Association in 1989. In 1979, he sponsored the Castries Toastmasters Club and in 2007 he was elected Chairman of the Steering Committee which charted the course for the establishment of the Realtors Association (Saint Lucia) Inc. He was awarded the status of Honorary Member of the Association in May, 2010. He served the membership of the St. Lucia Industrial & Small Business Association (SLISBA) for sixteen consecutive years, during the period 1993-2009, in capacities as Secretary, Treasurer, President, Immediate Past President and Management Consultant.