ntrepreneurs are risk-takers by nature. They are the ones who

see a door where everyone else sees a brick wall. Young entrepreneurs in par-ticular have always been on the cutting edge, taking chances that even the most intrepid ‘mature’ businessperson would think twice about committing to. Jamaican entrepreneurs are just as innovative and intuitive as any in the world. However, our CEO and bold entrepreneur himself, Tyrone Wilson, laments a disturbing trend amongst his peers where after diving in and getting their feet wet, their ambition starts to dwindle and they become… tame.

“When I look at countries like the United States and look at start-ups such as Fa-cebook and Google, what I mostly look at is how fast these companies reached the top. We need a culture of fast-paced entrepreneurs. Fast-paced entrepreneurs are those who have extremely good ideas and are willing to stick to their ambitions no matter what roadblock they face,” he declares. “In Jamaica, it takes too long for a good idea to attract capital and attract the interest of the market, thus increasing the period of time this company will take to grow.”

Wilson also notes several other major roadblocks to bold, fast-paced entrepre-neurship in Jamaica:

1. The lack of credit rating facilities that grant easier access to loans negatively af-fects most start-ups and tends to be par-

ticularly detrimental to entrepreneurs in the technology sector, whose businesses don’t own many physical assets to use as collateral. If Jamaica is to develop a thriv-ing technology sector, credit rating facili-ties must be made available to these en-trepreneurs.

2. The high rental costs for office facili-ties and equipment is also prohibitive to entrepreneurship as many start-ups do require working space and assets to con-duct their business.

3. It is also expensive to import or pur-chase other assets such as motor vehicles. In fact, the 40 percent custom duty im-posed by the Government is the highest in the region -

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busi-ness/Why-you-pay-so-much-for-cars-in-Ja_8250752

Entrepreneurship is the main driver of local economic development. Therefore, facilities must be put in place to encour-age entrepreneurs to continue to discov-er and create new frontiers, especially in technology, which holds untold potential for those with the vision to embrace it.

CEO’S THInk Tank

yourmoney ezine

Where have all the BolDentrepreneurs Gone?

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CEO Think Tank is a weekly discussion between Your Money reporters and our CEO, Tyrone Wilson. It will focus on pertinent business issues that are dis-cussed on a regular basis among cor-porate executives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, political leaders and other key leaders in our society.

ceo’sthink tankbyTracey-Ann Wisdom

Tyrone WilsonCEO of eZines Limited

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The February Mayberry Investor Forum dealt with building a good investment portfolio. Speakers included Wade Mars, Manager – Asset Management and Eq-uity Trading Manager and Erica Crawford-Bryan, Vice President – Sales and Client Services. The following is based on their presentations.

portfolio being managed for income looks for assets that provide consistent pay-outs. Interest is the chief revenue

source in a fixed-income portfolio, whereas dividends are paid in a stock-based portfolio.

Common Asset ClAssesCash/liquid Assets: Cash invest-ments include money market funds, bank accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and Treasury Bills. Investors ben-efit from the low risk and high liquidity. However, cash investments are unsuit-able for the long-term as interest rates are low and are susceptible to inflation.

shares: These are also known as eq-uities or stocks. Purchase high-yield stocks where possible to take advan-tage of substantial interest pay-outs. Shares are good for medium- and long-term goals, like buying a house or re-tirement planning.

Bonds: Bonds offer better returns than cash investments and pay interests at regular intervals. However, young investors should limit their bond pur-chases as long-term bonds don’t offer high returns. There is also a higher risk of default by the issuer, plus the income is taxable.

FACtors to ConsiderCarefully consider these factors when planning your income investment port-folio:

What are my investment goals?Setting clearly defined goals will help you determine what assets to buy. Short-term goals would best benefit from cash investments while stocks are best suited for medium- and long-term goals.

How much money do i want to invest? It is always best to have a budget. Do not put in more than you can comfort-ably afford to lose, should the market fall.

What level of risk am i comfortable with?Some investors are cautious while oth-ers are fearless. knowing your type will help you determine what to put money into and which strategies to use.

How much short-term liquidity do i need?This goes back to your budget. always keep enough cash at hand to comfort-ably manage your day-to-day needs.

investment strAtegiesBuy and Hold: This long-term strate-gy is best for stocks, which offer higher returns than other asset classes. It also carries lower tax rates.

Active: This is a good option for short-term profits. active investors trade frequently, buying and selling assets in order to exploit profitable market con-ditions.

diversification: Don’t put all your money into one company. It is best to have a diverse portfolio, with different assets across several companies as a cushion against market volatility.

Finally, it is wise to consult an invest-ment advisor before making any deci-sions. Your advisor will guide you in de-ciding how much to invest, which assets best suit your needs and which strate-gies to employ in order to capitalize on your investment.

kEYS TO CrEaTInG a SUCCESSFUl

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Income Investment portfolIo

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Wade Mars (L) and Erica Crawford Bryan (R)

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InvESTOr FOrUm FEBrUarY 16, 2011mayBerry Investments’

the Key to prosperItyFinancial literacy

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insights

he term ‘financial literacy’ has been a buzzword since the global economic recession begun in late 2007. This was

precipitated by the implosion of the american banking sector, spurred by the actions of millions of homebuyers who spent outside their means – a clear case of financial ignorance. Countries like the USa and Britain have docu-mented abysmal levels of financial intel-ligence. This also seems to be the case in Jamaica, judging by the CashPlus and Olint debacles of 2008.

Financial literacy refers to a person’s ability to make informed decisions about the use and management of his money. The Financial Services Com-mission (FSC) has been working with several partners to develop a national Financial literacy Programme (nFlP). It has also begun offering financial edu-cation in schools to teach students fis-cal responsibility as well as their rights within the sector. This initiative was launched last month with 120 high school students from grades nine to 12 participating in a five-week course.

This is a commendable move by the FSC and its programme partner, Junior achievement. The need for smarter monetary judgement cannot be over-stated, given our tight economic con-straints. The fact is, some people re-ally don’t know how to live within their means and are surviving hand-to-mouth, constantly in debt. If we teach the upcoming generations how to be re-sponsible with their money, make wiser spending choices and create and stick to a budget, then many of the problems currently crippling our economy can be solved.

Still, according to a recent Brookings Institute report out of the USa, “none of the four traditional approaches to financial literacy – employer-based, school-based, credit counselling or community-based – has generated strong evidence that financial literacy efforts have had positive and substantial impacts.” The paper goes on the state, “Evidence on the impact of high-school financial education mandates or classes is ambiguous and inconsistent. While early work suggested a strong impact, recent work with more general models has rejected that finding.”

Based on these results, it seems imper-ative that financial education begin from as early as basic school, where children can be encouraged to use piggy banks to save coins, for instance. Ingraining positive fiscal habits from this stage will most likely ensure that these children grow into penny-wise adults.

The FSC should also endeavour to col-laborate with the ministry of Educa-tion to develop a curriculum for all our schools, where financial literacy can be taught as a module of mathematics, for example, or as a separate subject. It is also critical for parents to teach their children the fundamentals of saving and spending wisely. Despite the evidence against their success, programmes aimed at adults can still help parents to acquire some basic skills that they can then pass on to their children.

T

The fact is, some people really don’t know how to live within their means and are surviving hand-to-mouth, constantly in debt.

byTracey-Ann Wisdom

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Small Business Banking

t first glance, alex morris-sey looks like a typical 22 year old. Wearing a polo

shirt, shorts and slippers, he is fixated on his Blackberry, glancing occasion-ally at his laptop. nobody would guess he is the mastermind behind www.jamaicansmusic.com, the three-year-old website that now accounts for the largest Facebook fan base in the Ca-ribbean.

Glancing at his phone under the table, he laughs at how the website started on January 31st 2008, while he was a student at the art Institute of Fort lauderdale. “I used to do websites for freelance. While I was learning how to make websites, I started my own be-cause I couldn’t find a Jamaican music website that had everything I wanted. I created the site really for myself,” he explains. He realized that quite a few people were visiting the site, so he asked them for feedback and expand-ed the website’s offerings. alex admits that a lot of research went into the formation of the site, because some genres like Ska and mento were way before his time.

The website not only provides in-formation on all genres of Jamaican music but lists featured artistes under each category, showcasing their songs, videos and mix tapes. It also includes a virtual disc jockey feature.

The Facebook page was created last may and since then, traffic to the site

has increased significantly. The page made the news last month when its fan base surpassed that of telecom-munications giant Digicel. It now has over 320,000 fans, while the Twitter account has over 12,000 followers.

Even though feedback locally and from the diaspora has been good and even led to the establishment of of-fices in miami and Indonesia, alex is planning further expansion. “We try to do something new every three months, so at the end of this month, we’ll be launching the new website,” he says. This new site will offer a vari-ety of new features, such as listing an artiste’s upcoming events on his page, which will incur a charge.

although a lover of Jamaican music, alex never saw himself making a ca-reer out of it. However, with big plans for the new site and the establishment of offices in Jamaica and Singapore coming soon, he seems very happy with where the music has taken him.

“at some point, I guess I will have to become the traditional businessman and wear suits, but for now, I go to meetings in my polo, shorts and slip-pers,” he says with a smile. When asked about his business role mod-els, he states: “I don’t have people I look up to. I look up to companies like Google and Facebook. They started off small and became huge. That’s the aim.”

tAking jAmAiCAn musiC WorldWidealex Morrissey

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“I used to do websites for free-lance. While I was learning how to make websites, I start-ed my own because I couldn’t find a Jamaican music website that had everything I wanted. I created the site really for my-self.”

byNicolette Jones

Alex Morrissey founder of Jamaicansmusic.com

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