A SEMINAR OF ABUNDANT POSSIBILITIES
A SEMINAR OF ABUNDANT POSSIBILITIES – BASIL SPRINGER COLUMN WHICH APPEARS IN THE BARBADOS ADVOCATE’S BUSINESS MONDAY ON JUNE 30, 2014
“Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord lightens my darkness.” – 2 Samuel 22:29″
In Trinidad this week, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) mounts its 15th Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) – www.tic-tt.com. The TIC mandate is simple: to foster intra and extra regional trade for regional businesses. But they go much further – TIC takes place at the crossroads of the Americas, in Trinidad and Tobago, the region’s financial capital and the largest economy in the Caribbean, with strong links to Central and South American companies and businesses from around the globe. So when you take part in TIC, you’ll potentially do business with more than 35 countries.
Their multi-sectoral tradeshow brings together local, regional and international businesses. Exhibitors with thousands of products meet hundreds of buyers seeking new suppliers, goods and services. With structured networking events, a cutting-edge business education programme and assistance from an experienced team on hand to provide expert guidance and matchmaking services, the TIC experience is an excellent opportunity in the region.
TIC offers a variety of seminars and workshops as part of its annual Business Education Programme. These seminars and workshops span the first three days of TIC (Jul 2 – 4) and are hosted by TIC exhibitors, sponsors and well wishers. The Business Education Programme is a very informative and dynamic way to keep abreast of new products, new ideas and other trade and business information such as non-tariff barriers, trading opportunities, and emerging export markets.
I am privileged to have been offered an opportunity by TIC to facilitate an interactive seminar where I shall share a relatively new idea which could address the global challenge of the high failure rate of start-up business which thwarts the sustainability of economic growth.
Under the theme NOTHING BEATS BUSINESS SUCCESS, the seminar’s topic is entitled “Entrepreneurship: Emerging from Chaos to Order” and will be held at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Trinidad.
I will be sharing the CBET Shepherding Modelâ„¢, an enterprise development initiative, and the ManOBiz Matrixâ„¢, an accompanying Shepherding Tool.
Expected beneficiaries from this exposure, a continuing professional development exercise, will be Entrepreneurs in the Making, Entrepreneurs (with Start-up, surviving, established, branching out and expanding businesses), Shepherds (Life Coaches and Business Mentors), Investors, Board Members and National Policy Makers.
The seminar will be held on Friday, July 4 in the Nelson Mandela Room from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. There will be no charge for admission and complimentary refreshments will be served on arrival at 12.45 p.m. on a first come, first served basis.
If you are interested in participating please register your interest at basilgf@caribsurf.com.
A copy of my seminar PowerPoint presentation will be sent to all persons who register with me, whether you attend or not.
Very often lip service is paid to enterprise development but one does not necessarily focus on the family of stakeholders involved to ensure its sustainability.
Do we really realise that Entrepreneurs in the Making, Entrepreneurs, Shepherds, Investors, Board Members and National Policy Makers each have an important role to play in the ultimate sustainable success of the enterprise and hence the rate of economic growth?
Do we really understand the construct of an enterprise in terms the roles of the idea, the innovation, the entrepreneur and the shepherding process?
Do we think about the importance of the “board meeting”, “customer needs satisfaction”,” profitability”, “productivity” and “return on investment” cultures?
This seminar will help:
1) Entrepreneurs in the Making to make the decision to leave their jobs and start their own business, help them face and address the issues which are getting in their way, so that they can feel confident in making the decision.
2) Entrepreneurs to grow their business through a simple step-by-step planning and monitoring process which, if carefully followed, can put the business on a path to sustained profitability.
3) Shepherds to prepare themselves to help entrepreneurs grow their business through a step-by-step planning and monitoring process which, with their experience, will help the entrepreneurs to clear obstacles along the journey to profitability.
4) Investors to protect themselves from losing their investment, by introducing to them an innovative form of collateral to secure their investment so that they can get an attractive return.
5) Board Members to be more efficient, by focusing on interpreting shareholder policy, approving plans and monitoring the performance of management against those plans, so that the profitability of the business can grow from strength to strength.
6) National Policy Makers to create a user friendly enabling environment to support entrepreneurs on their journey towards enterprise development so that the nation can increase its rate of economic growth, one successful entrepreneur after another.
There will be a clearer understanding of how the innovation feeds from the idea, how the entrepreneur’s role is to make money from the innovation, and how the shepherding process can increase the chances of sustained success.
There will also be a clearer understanding of how:
1) The board meeting culture “start your business with a board meeting” lays a sound foundation for the business.
2) The customer needs satisfaction culture is paramount since this is the source of revenue.
3) Without the profitability culture there is no business.
4) The productivity culture contributes to increased profitability.
5) The return on investment culture gives confidence to investors.
Now let the radiance of the bright and encouraging sunlight that awakens us on a summer morning beckon us all into a day of abundant possibilities.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
See you in T & T!
Dr. Basil Springer GCM is Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust Inc. – CBET. Columns are archived at www.cbetmodel.org and www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.