On the morning of Friday, February 10th, in an ambiance of business and enterprise, young fledgling entrepreneurs as well as a few seasoned small-business owners, gathered at the Rodney McArthur Auditorium for the opening ceremony of the 4th annual Ethne Richardson Entrepreneurship Exposition.
As is customary, Ethne Richardson, who is a retired business teacher at the ALHCS, was on hand to declare the one-day Business Expo open after delivering her business-oriented motivational speech.
The proceedings began with an opening prayer offered by business teacher, Johnessa Harrigan, and members of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School Choir rendered the school song.
Moderator of the ceremony was Teacher Lois Hazell, and Head of the Business Division, Ms. Avonella Griffith, welcomed the gathering: “It is an absolute honour to welcome you today to the fourth annual Ethne Richardson Entrepreneur Expo,” she said. “We want you to enjoy this day that we have invested so much in…For those of you who are viewing us online, we invite to come to the Auditorium and support our students and teachers in this business endeavour. Thanks for coming and thanks for viewing.”
In speaking to the promising entreprenures, Deputy Principal Pastoral, Cherise Gumbs, shared three important tips for business success: “One, set realistic targets; two, sell your brand well. Your success will depend on how you market your brand; three, stay positive and don’t give up. Flexibility and determination will lead you to success.”
A token of appreciation in the form of an admirable bouquet was presented to a special honouree, Ms. Cynthia Harrigan, who had been instrumental throughout the years in supporting the Business Department of the school. Principal, Rita Celestine Cary, and Teacher Avonella Griffith presented the bouquet:
“Our honouree has been quite active in the Business Division of the ALHCS,” said the Principal. “Mrs. Cynthia Harrigan has been the bursar of the ALHSC who has managed the school’s finances for over twenty years. Now, that is commitment. She is a treasure to our school. Her attention to detail, transparency and absolute proper order are a few of her highly commendable traits.”
She noted that Cynthia has worked diligently in the organization of the school’s annual Heritage Fest, and she has been a source of “motherly” help to all who participate in such events. In her absence, the heart-warming bouquet was received on her behalf by Business Teacher, Johnessa Harrigan.
Teacher Avenella Griffith insisted that the involvement of the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACOCI) has been quite essential in making the Expo possible this year. “In order to do something like this,” she noted, “it costs money and not just physical strength. The ACOCI has sponsored this event this year, and we recognize and honor them today.”
Ms. Griffith invited ACOCI’s representative Mr. Donald Curtis, to make remarks. In part, he said: “We are grateful today to be a part of this event once again. We are happy to see the great turnout this morning. We try to promote businesses, and by doing so we endeavour to promote the economy of the island. We believe that in groupings there is strength and one of our main roles is to encourage entrepreneurship.
“We at the Chamber have been running a programme called Backing Winners. It is an effort where we encourage new entrepreneurs and small business owners in an environment of training. We train you how to be successful. If you are successful then we are successful, and, in turn, we would make Anguilla a successful economy.”
Mr. Curtis stressed the importance of pursuing business ventures while one is young and in the prime of life. “When you are young, your brain works better, you have more enthusiasm and you learn business skills easier. So, we would like to train you now in the Backing Winners programme. “The earlier you get in,” he said, “the faster you get going, and the better it would be for you.”
During her motivational speech, Ethne Richardson encouraged the fledgling entrepreneurs to be like “Davids” in their business and take on the “Goliaths” of adversity, fear and discouragement:
“When possessed with an idea,” she said, “and you firmly believe that its time has come to bring it to fruition, you would often amaze the naysayers, the skeptics and the critics. Anguillians are undoubtedly a creative people, and I would like to encourage all of you creatives to become bold entrepreneurs. Put your products on the world stage, despite the presence of the Goliaths out there.”
She then listed a series of local Davids, great businessmen of the community, who have remained as stalwarts of entrepreneurship:
“Be like David Lloyd,” she said, “who was not content to be a pilot with his own airline, but saw the opportunity presented to him to be part-owner of Davidas on Crocus Bay to serve discerning dinners and, even now, to be the proprietor of Lloyd’s Aviation, an innovative business providing service for private jets…Be like David Hodge who established Tropical Flower as a night spot and grew it into Tropical Distributors, a giant family wholesale/retail merchandising business…
“Be like David Carty who accidentally created Rebel Marine, when his small boat which he had built for fishing was bought before he could launch it. He eventually realized that he could build boats, not just for the local market, but he developed his business for regional and international markets as well.
“Yes, be bold and be challenged with your Goliaths and slay them through your courage, with your creativity, innovation and your tenacious entrepreneurial spirit. Your youthfulness and your size and the size of Anguilla’s market need not a constraint, thanks to the internet and network marketing.”
“So I implore you to study the market,” she encouraged, “and select niches where your product would be appreciated and in demand. And, most importantly, follow you dreams.
“I now declare this 4th annual Ethne Richardson Entrepreneurship Exposition open.
At the end of the ceremony, The Anguillian toured the several sale stalls and spoke to some of the young business people who displayed their merchandise on site.
Jarine Liburb, who owns “Jay’s Things”, said: “My mom inspired me to start this business. She has been an active entrepreneur for many years now. She is very creative, and can make something out of nothing. While helping her, I have gotten the experience of managing and operating a business. I have the experience now to push this business forward. I have great faith, and with the help of God I know I can succeed.”
Germin “Tacita” Bryan owns “Backyard Gardening”, and specializes in growing and selling plants. “I don’t know if I should call myself a horticulturist,” she said. “I just love plants and gardening, hence I have called my business Backyard Gardening. I started in the backyard, and I operate from my backyard. My grandfather was a farmer, and most likely I picked up the love of gardening from him. Not only do I sell plants, I also offer my customers tips for growing their own. Apart from making sales, as a business, gardening for me is therapeutic so it has much benefit for me.”
Michala Thomas runs her new business called “Shopping with Dimples”. “I just started this business lately,” she said, “and I like to sell things that would accent people’s appearance. I sell perfumes, lady’s bags, sunshades and, now, Valentine baskets. For my next purchase, though, I will be carrying many other accessories including chains, nose rings, etc. I just love to sell random items which I think would make women look more beautiful.”
Johnessa Harrigan operates “Tropical Brew”, a business that carries local drinks and lovely homemade goodies. “Tropical Brew is a cottage business that is family owned,” she said. “My Dad is the one who came up with the idea, and my Mom and I assist him. He specializes in making local drinks, he makes potato pudding, coconut cake, and tasty johnny cakes. He produces lovely black cake too. Our aim is to expand our offerings and make this business bigger and better.”
We also met with Verilyn Bruno-Mason who operates a knitting and crochet outlet called “Hooked By Dove”. “We make anything in crochet,” she said. “We produce baby clothing, swimwear and beach cover-ups, tablecloths, and anything you could think of. All of our items are handmade with love.”
Kishma Hodge runs “Kay’s Cosmetics”. “We sell locally made lip gloss, as well as lip scrubs and lip oils. We also carry a host of body care items such as fur balls, scrunchies, jibbitz, head bands, bags, bucket hats, clutch bags, wristlets and many more.”
We finally spoke to Candisha Richards, owner of “Sapphire Swim”. She specializes in merchandising in classy swim wear. “I wanted to feature something unique and different. I have extended my men’s line to carry men’s swim sets, which are somewhat rare around here. We also carry special linen and athletic wear. We have quite a wide variety of men’s swimwear and sportswear. What really inspired me is that I love to sew, and I plan to make the business even more unique by featuring customised swimwear which I would sew on my own.”
The auditorium became abuzz with quite a lot of buying and selling activity during the course of the day.
The Principal, Mrs. Celestine Carty, particularly complimented the teachers and business students for their ambitious efforts in pulling off, once again, another successful Ethne Richardson Entrepreneurship Expo.
