A Home for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Incubators, entrepreneurship schools, garages, and more. I love it. Places where aspiring entrepreneurs can go for space, resources, inspiration, mentors, advice, and possibly funding. A place to network with other aspiring entrepreneurs, to create, and to make things happen. I see opportunities for incubators in many developing countries where they do not currently exist. Guyana doesn't have one yet....but maybe one day :)

A Garage, a Sauna and some Uni Students? The Aalto Venture Garage – putting the cool into startup schools…

http://theemployable.com/2012/02/13/aalto-interview/

Women's Entrepreneurship is Climbing

“It really is when the spirit speaks … and the stars align,” Pastore said. “That’s what being an entrepreneur is – you see an unmet need and you fill it.”


Womens' entrepreneurship is climbing....and very fast! All over the world we see NGOs, governments, and the private sector investing in female entrepreneurs with new projects, loans, support networks, and more. These women are passionate, determined, and hardworking but many of them lack the confidence to get things going. Micro-finance, mentors, training, and support groups have helped women excel as entrepreneurs who will make a difference. 


I found this article below about female entrepreneurship on the rise....check it out!
http://linkd.in/ApvOp2

A Young Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon...

Check out this great article on one of the most important things needed for an entrepreneur to succeed...a mentor!

A mentor will be someone to support, encourage, and give advice to the entrepreneur. A good mentor will be someone who has experience that they can share from starting their own business or working with entrepreneurs. As a part of the Women's Entrepreneurship Project that I coordinated in Guyana, we matched every entrepreneur with a mentor which was critical for the success of the project. Everyone should have a good mentor that they can go to for advice. All of the women I worked with felt that it was necessary to have a mentor and many of them needed a strong, confident, and successful mentor with experience and business education to give them encouragement and advice to take their business one step further.

Working with entrepreneurs? Be sure to incorporate a mentorship program!

Mentors: A Young Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon...http://linkd.in/whlRbv

Entrepreneurship is changing the world

"An entrepreneur is an artist of sorts, throwing herself into impossible situations and seeking out problems that require heart and guts to solve." - Seth Godin

Entrepreneurship is incredible. I love learning about new businesses that are creative, unique, and contribute towards changing the world. Threadless.com, http://www.threadless.com/, is a really great business that supports artists and encourages collaboration and TOMS Shoes http://www.toms.com/ was started to provide shoes to children  in need. Starting up a business is challenging, hard work, and risky but it can be so rewarding and you can help so many people. 

As an entrepreneur, the most important thing is that you are PASSIONATE about what you are doing :)

17-year old Guyanese, Jenell Pierre, youth entrepreneur who has a passion for bows. She has started a business making and selling hair accessories, bow-ties, belts, and more! 

I have the greatest job right now because I work with over 50 entrepreneurs and I absolutely love it. Nothing beats combining business with social good. While I provide support and networking opportunities to female entrepreneurs, ideas constantly float around in my head....especially here in Guyana. There is so much opportunity in developing countries like Guyana. However, there are a lot of additional obstacles and challenges as a result of laws that are not enforced, crime, and a lack of support for small businesses. 

I'm reading this great book right now called YOUNG WORLD RISING by Rob Salkowitz. How youth, technology, and entrepreneurship are changing the world from the bottom up. Entrepreneurship creates jobs and wealth while providing a needed good or service to communities. Entrepreneurs have the power to change the world in a sustainable way and I encourage all of those passionate, hardworking individuals interested in starting up their own business to do so :) Turn your talents, education, experience, and passion into something great!

"The optimism, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit of youth are channeled through the medium of information networks, driving sustainable growth by creating new markets and better solutions to local and global problems" - Young World Rising, Rob Salkowitz

A picture is worth 1,000 words...

Youth Challenge Guyana's Volunteers - Peer Educators at the award
ceremony for a play that we did for the National Drama Festival

Youth Challenge Guyana staff on Emancipation day
celebrating the end of slavery

The whole Youth Challenge Guyana team on fun day! :)

Some coworkers and I...I'm really going to miss everyone :)

Wah Dem Seh

Wah Dem Seh... (What the people say...)
I love how as time goes on here I continue to learn more and more about Guyana, the culture, entrepreneurship, cooking, football, history, myself, and life in general. Every day a new interaction with a stranger or someone I know teaches me new things. Every day I learn more about Guyana and the struggles that a lot of people face here...unemployment, corruption, crime, drugs, sexual abuse, prostitution, domestic violence, poverty, and so much more. Every day you hear about these same things in the news and more: suicides, murders, unwarranted police searches, and unsafe public transportation leading to innocent people dying. And every day you realize that life is never easy but we should appreciate what we have, surround ourselves with positive people, and work hard to improve the world that we live in.
The best part of my time here has been with locals just gaffing and liming (talking and hanging out). I've recognized the value and importance of triangulation in terms of cross-cultural work and communication. Ideally, you should get a minimum of 3 different opinions and answers (of course as many as possible is best) about something in order to effectively understand cultural norms and behaviours that you are learning about. It is critical to get as many different opinions about something as possible, especially when learning about a new culture so I make sure to ask several different people here about any question that I have. Below are some common things I've learned about from observation, experience, and talking to my Guyanese friends and colleagues. Of course, these observations are definitely not true for everyone in Guyana but they are the things that stand out and are more common...
• There are a lot of single parents and young mothers. This tends to be related to education levels, socio-economic status, and family. I've also been told that some young girls will have children in order to "keep their man".....but it doesn't necessarily work.
• Guyanese can be very fast. Fast = curious. As well, they are a lot more open about certain personal things that Canadians would not be. For example, some people will comment on anything that looks different or funny about you from your hair and clothes, to your weight and the mosquito bites on your legs. Back in Canada we tend to avoid talking about personal things that people might be embarrassed about. Guyanese have told me that they tend to do these things out of concern for the other person.
• It is very normal, and polite, to talk to complete strangers and greet them with "good morning/afternoon/night" if you walk past them or interact with them in anyway. I really like this because in Canada we really don't talk to strangers at all and wouldn't really greet someone randomly on the street. It is the polite thing to do here, and a lot of people will say "good morning/afternoon/night" to everyone as they enter a bus, office, or a room.
• Guyanese will always call or text you to make sure that you have reached home safely.
• Some very common phrases that I get asked when I meet some Guyanese men for the first time: Do you have a boyfriend/Are you married? Do you have kids? I find it interesting because I wouldn't usually get these questions back in Canada, especially not when you first meet someone and at my age (23). However, to Guyanese I could easily have kids and be married at my age. Also, if men meet someone who they are interested in they want to know what they are dealing with right away (i.e. if she has a child-father, boyfriend, or husband). Being single is shocking to some Guyanese people too since some think that a woman needs a man for financial support and a man needs a woman for emotional support.
• A lot of Guyanese men speak about the importance of being with a woman that knows how to cook and clean. This is something that comes up in conversation often when talking about relationships, marriage, etc. Cooking is high up on the list of things to know how to do if you want a man.
There are two groups of very kind Guyanese men that live and lime on my street that I frequently have conversations with - one group of younger men aged 17 to 34 and another group of older men over 40. Most of them were born and raised in my neighbourhood and have been friends with each other since they were very young. A lot of the younger ones are out of school and not working; relying on their parents, grandparents, or relatives oversees to support them. And some of the older ones do odd jobs here and there if the price is right and they also work in the mines when the opportunity comes up. They all look out for me, help me carry the large 20L water bottles home from the water filter place, and gaff with me every day. I learn a lot from them and after speaking to them more I've started to see a recurring trend. Recently two of them told me almost identical stories of how they had to drop out of school (at age 13 and age 15) and start working because their parents couldn't afford to feed them lunch (lunch is the main meal in Guyana, equivalent to our dinner back home). They didn't want to drop out but they had to and they never had the chance to go back. They speak thick Creolese, an English-based creole language, with lots of slang and as a result of dropping out of school it is difficult for them to speak English with proper grammar. I can't always understand everything that they say but I'm learning some Creolese :) I know that there are many young people who have very similar stories. No child should have to drop out of school because their parents can't afford to support them.
Below are some more things about Guyana...
Some Creolese...
• "buddy" pronounced "budd-ay" | A common term used when talking to a friend or stranger
• "blow" = cheating on someone | "You get blow"
• "vex"= angry | "I vex with you"
• "lime" = chill or hang out
• "gaff" = talk/chat
• "I gone" = I'm leaving/going
• "Ah comin" = I'm coming
Some Guyanese Food...
• Breakfast | Bake and salt fish (a classic Caribbean breakfast)
• Snacks | This is basically anything that isn't considered "food" (see below)
• Lots of pastries....pine tart, cheese roll, pinwheel, egg ball, polari, cinnamon roll,
• Channa (e.g. Chickpeas with onions, hot peppers, etc.)
• Plantain chips
• Hot dogs & hamburgers (yes, these are just snacks)
• Food | The word food is used to describe large full meals which should include rice (e.g. Fried rice and chicken/fish, cook-up, curry, baked chicken with rice, etc.). Hamburgers, hotdogs, fish and chips, sandwiches, and many other smaller meals are not considered food.
What I've experienced...
1. My speech pattern and accent have changed. I've even had someone think I was Guyanese (speaking to them on the phone) and everyone laughs and loves it when they hear me say certain Creolese phrases.
2. Lots of people think I'm Brazilian (from my appearance)
3. There are lots of jokes, nicknames, and other "That is so Amanda" comments in the office
• My most popular nickname at the office is Snowflake (variations include Snowflakes, Snow and Snowy)
• Other nicknames include Cotton Tail and White Chocolate
4. New friendships with people of all ages. When you travel or move to a new place you meet a lot of new people which is great :) I now have a lot more older friends who are 30, 35, 40 and even older than that. It is interesting to gaff and lime with them since they have been alive for twice as long as me and the interaction in general is very different than with someone my own age.
Below is a section of Kaieteur News, one of Guyana's newspapers, that I always like reading because it is the only part written in Creolese. Try to read it and see if you can understand what they are writing about :)
Dem boys seh….People mouth gun up
OCTOBER 20, 2011 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER DEM BOYS SEH, FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, NEWS 
People hiding. Reporters got a hard time getting information from all dem people who know wha going on but who ain’t talking. Is only dem politician in de news these days. When dem boys call people to find out wha going on everybody talking bout how dem prefer to keep a low profile. All of dem get dumb and is easy to understand why. Dem don’t know wha gun happen when de elections done and all of dem want to keep de wuk.
Now dem boys want to know if that is how things does do in a democracy. A man come up to de Waterfalls paper de other day and he did really vex. Something happen along time ago and de government squeeze suh till he couldn’t even afford milk fuh he baby.
People tek notice. Dem decide that dem ain’t talking.
Is like if dem need doctors fuh open dem up. Some doctors would have to cut dem from dem tail because that is wheh some of dem now got dem mouth.
Dem boys seh that it easy fuh talk but it hard fuh face de backlash. Dem know that all de people who talk now getting dem name in a book. It depend on wha dem talking bout. If dem cuss de government then if de government get back in power is problems.
Dem lawyers can talk because de government can’t stop dem criminals from tekking who dem want to represent dem. And is nuff lawyers is politician.
That is why dem lawyers joining all de political parties. Dem don’t have to worry. Was a time when a certain Big Man did want to become a lawyer. He look and he see de money. He also see de easy way how lawyers does mek money. But he change he mind when he hear that he can get de whole cake. And Amaila is a big cake.
Talk half. Lef half.
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/10/20/dem-boys-seh-people-mouth-gun-up/

Dream Big. Start Small.

Dream Big. Start Small.

Those are the words I was told by the first Guyanese I ever met during my training in Toronto 5 months ago. Those are the words that I am living by. And those are the words that I continue to repeat to the female entrepreneurs that I work with.

The objective of my programme is to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs in Georgetown, Guyana. My dream is that these 50 women will become sustainable and be able to support themselves and their families comfortably. But my dream is much more than that. I dream that these 50 women will grow and grow and grow to help many other people in Georgetown who are unemployed and disadvantaged. My dream is that these 50 women will inspire others across Guyana through the media and personal encounters. My dream is that these women will be successful, providing a needed good or service to the community which will contribute to the development of Guyana. I am hoping to initiate a "pay-it-forward" type activity where the women share their knowledge and experiences including their successes and challenges to other female business owners and young aspiring entrepreneurs. Dream Big. Start Small.

All of the female entrepreneurs that I work with are really great :) They have dreams and they have the desire to achieve those dreams, they just need a little extra push. They need someone who believes in them, someone who will listen, and someone who will give them some extra encouragement. As time goes on I learn more about the female entrepreneurs, their businesses, and the challenges they face. As an entrepreneur you immediately face additional pressure and challenges and as a female you must work extra hard in order to be taken seriously as a business women. On top of that, 36% of the group are single mothers (18 out of 50), and 60% have no post-secondary education.

I find that a lot of the social problems that exist here in Guyana are sometimes hidden but more and more I hear about the poor treatment of women. It is usually behind closed doors but involves domestic violence, sexual assault, unfaithful partners, child abuse, and incest. Domestic violence and unfaithfulness are the most common things that I hear about. Although I have met many very strong and confident women here, there are so many more women in Guyana who don't have the confidence and strength to stand up for themselves and get out of the situation. They fear that there is no other option. Many women depend on a man for financial reasons as well. Some men are very controlling and will not let their wife or girlfriend leave the house.

Not only do women face these challenges, but the women in my programme face so many more challenges as an entrepreneur in Guyana. From crime and theft to unenforced laws and untrustworthy staff, business owners have so many more challenges to deal with on a daily basis. Ideas can easily be stolen, businesses are frequently robbed, and staff members are not to be trusted. Almost every business has security guards and the cashier is located behind bars or glass to prevent theft. Our training facilitator recommended avoiding developing a pattern of going to the bank on a specific day and time to deposit money. Many of the women try to put measures in place to avoid theft from staff - measuring the level of juice, avoiding sharing too much information about the business and how things work, random checks, and more. The reasons for staff stealing from the business could be out of necessity if they are not being paid enough to provide for their family. 

I enjoy learning more but it is difficult to deal with the harsh realities of life as well. As much as possible, I share my words of encouragement with the women in the programme to build their self-esteem and give them that little extra push that they need to succeed.

Never give up. Reach for the sky. Follow your dreams. Don't ever let anyone put you down. Inspire others. Be confident in yourself. You are smart and capable and you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Seize every opportunity. Treat your staff and customers like you would like to be treated. Support each other. Share ideas. Entrepreneurs will change the world and make a difference.

Dream Big. Start Small.

“When people are passionate and excited about what they are doing, they will move forward” - A mentor from the programme