KNOWLEDGE IS POWER – READERS ARE LEADERS
April 21, 2006
Edward Harris At Large
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER – READERS ARE LEADERS
IN BUSINESS AND IN ALL OTHER ENDEAVOURS!!!
You are never too young or too old to learn. One of the best ways of gaining knowledge is by reading. I try to read a chapter of a book everyday “Knowledge is power – whether you are an entrepreneur, a corporate leader or someone leading a family, you can profoundly change your life and the lives of those around you with a single ideaâ€. This quote is taken from a National Best Seller – Mega Living! 30 days to a perfect Life by Robin S. Sharma, www.robinsharma.com I challenge myself to share new ideas with my readers and I feel a sense of achievement when I share ideas that you can take action to bring about change in your circumstances.
In recent weeks, people meet me in the streets or as I visit various offices and they give me ideas to share with you. This week, I was given a website, www.howstuffworks.com to include in my article to help you learn about the gadgets you use everyday but really should know more to about, to effectively utilize the products and get beyond the basics.
It seems that the slogan “there is never a dull moment†is very apt to St. Lucia at present. As a matter of fact it has been so for a long time but the next twelve months will be extremely hectic as the activities of Jazz, Carnival and World Cup Cricket take centre stage. It will be a challenging time for many of us, especially the business leaders in our community who are saddled with the responsibilities of running their businesses and the leadership of their Associations. As the Elections fever temperature rises, there will be further excitement in the air and for many it will be overwhelming. I increased my regular course of multi vitamins and stress formula and am gearing myself to keep on top on the situation.
I was moved by the interest showed by the Hon. Philip J. Pierre, Minister of Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs in the work of SLISBA when he met with the Management Committee of SLISBA for almost six hours in the board room in his office listening, sharing and planning with the delegation to make the Association move effective to take its rightful place within the local private sector. President Patrick H.Joseph is getting the support of his team and it is expected that with assistance from the Caribbean Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CSME) in Barbados and the Barbados Small Business Association, SLISBA will be geared to meet the needs of its members within a few months. The Association has received assistance to undertake a major study of the needs of the Small Business Sector in St. Lucia. It is very necessary that operators within the small business sector come forward and become members of the Association and participate in the activities of the Association.
Young Entrepreneurs are making their mark and investing in all sectors of the economy. On Wednesday evening, I met with a group of Entrepreneurs and Sports/Entertainment Executives at Patrick’s in Rodney Bay which used to be Capone’s Restaurant and now under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Roderick Cherry. They have made a timely move in entering the restaurant business at this juncture when the Food and Beverage Services Industry will be in great demand. The atmosphere is great, the service is excellent. I had the pleasure of enjoying the complete service of the establishment from the bar to the kitchen. Your support of the venture can make the difference. Check out my new find. Congratulations to the owners.
While the tourism and manufacturing sectors are expanding the need to promote our
services and products internationally will continue to be a challenge. The more the people of the world know about St. Lucia, the better it will be for businesses that depend on foreign customers. During the past week, a real opportunity for reaching Europe and the rest of the world was made possible by eCaraibes Magazine (www.ecaraibes.com) establishing a presence in St. Lucia to assist in the promotion of St. Lucia as a destination for business and pleasure. (see Press Release).
Over the years, I have always wondered why the Black Stars in Sports and Entertainment have not invested in St. Lucia and I think that it is time that we engage them at the Government and Private sector levels. A handshake from the Prime Minister of a country can make a lot of difference. Maybe we can put together a weekend comprising of two activities an Evening with Stars, and an Investment Conference the following day. Given that they are very likely to arrive at Hewanorra, View Fort, on their journey into Castries, they can travel the scenic West Coast route and on their way back, they can go via the East Coast which will give them an opportunity to get a tour of the island.
It is time that we utilize the thousands of Blogs on the internet to give St. Lucia the additional publicity it needs to sustain our tourism industry. Let us undertake a project to seek out black business websites. In the meantime, I invite you to visit www.blog.thestlucian.com register and post a blog, and invite your friends to visit the site, read your article and do the same.
I am looking forward to your contributions, bring new developments to my attention and tell me what you would like me to write about.
Keep the faith, God is in charge! In the meantime, Knowledge is Power and Readers are Leaders!
Edward A. Harris
Email: eaharrisdestiny@gmail.com