St. Lucia Simply Beautiful

Since 1969, Eric Hassell & Son Limited (founded by Captain Eric Hassell) has been a vital conduit linking Barbados with the region and the wider world. Both Eric’s father and grandfather were seafaring men, and in 1926, when Eric was a mere 11 years old, at the insistence of his father, he was signed aboard a 65-foot trading schooner to learn the ropes from the bottom. In 1936, after serving his apprenticeship, Eric assumed captaincy of the vessel Edward VII. He also captained the Comrade Manuata and Lucille Smith before taking over the motor vessel Zipper in 1959.

(3) Profitability is a necessary condition for a sustainable business. Profitability is rooted in revenue generation. Revenue generation is a derivative from aggressive and persistent sales activity. A late colleague of mine used to say: “Give me a business with revenue and leave it to me to generate profits – give me a business with no revenue and I shall not be able to perform magic.” All of the businesses to which I have been assigned as a shepherd have nice thick well dressed business plans because that is the culture.

(5) The CBET Shepherding Model is an innovation which addresses the selection of enterprises with the “DNA of an Elephant”, the mitigation of the business failure rate for start-ups and how to establish a quick response seed/equity fund to meet the investment finance needs for new businesses. This model is under consideration in Barbados and Trinidad.