The Small Business Association is once again encouraging members to take a step in the right direction and be a part of the third annual Walk the Talk programme. Spearheaded by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try (BCCI), Walk the Talk challenges employees to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day using a pedometer to chart their progress. At the end of the three month programme, the person recording the most steps wins. This year’s “Walk the Talk – A Step in the Right Direction” is proudly sponsored by Brydens Insurance Inc. and its partners are the Barbados Diabetes Founda-tion , Barbados Employers’ Confederation, the Business and Professional Women’s Club, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados, National Initiative for Service Excellence, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Small Business Association .

Walk the Talk began in 2013 in response to the growing epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases amongst Barbadian employees. It was costing large sums of money in health care and affecting productivity due to lost days. The Health and Wellness committee of the BCCI decided to address this matter by encouraging employees to get fit using a safe and easy approach. Walking is considered to be a great exercise that is simple to do without requiring costly equipment. The idea to reward the person making the most steps using a pedometer was born and the moniker “Walk the Talk” was applied to the programme. Partici-pants would be challenged to put their “feet” where the mouth is and walk!

With all classes fully booked, the first semester of the Small Business Association’s Training and Development programme got off to a successful start, with three QuickBooks classes, one Supervisory Management and one course in Strategic Planning for Small Business. Dozens of young entrepre-neurs, small business operators and professionals have taken advantage of the courses showing they are ready to equip themselves with the tools neces-sary to be successful in their respective fields.

Improving and upgrading the skill sets of employees is just one of the many ways in which small business operators can seek to remain successful and competitive. Doing this is important as small businesses would not want to lose their competitive advantage or posi-tion in the market to newer players who have imple-mented different types of training and technology within their businesses.

We live in a highly competitive environment where the methods of doing business are constantly changing as can be seen with the constant evolution of social media, e-commerce and the use of technology. The way we do busi-ness today will not be the same next year or in the future and as such, small business owners and their employees need to constantly train and upgrade their skills to ensure that their businesses can build and maintain a competi-tive advantage within the market.

The SBA’s Training and development courses’ curricula are all well designed and are in line with the standards set by established institutions. This semes-

ter’s Strategic Planning for Small Business course is designed to introduce participants to the fundamentals and guidelines for effective strategic plan-ning. Participants will gain an understanding of the variables important to the proper structuring of a plan, how to achieve strategic alignment through-out the plan and how to ensure that the plan is produced in a manner that retains organisational relevance in the medium term.

The Supervisory Management and Team Building course is designed to enhance the skills of those who oversee and direct the activities of others,

build understanding of the supervisory role in meet-ing organisational goals, enhance the spirit of team-work and mutual support to achieve goals and promote the skills and attitudes necessary for making the transition from being responsible for personal productivity to achieving results through others.

The third course offered, QuickBooks (basic), allows the student to know the benefits of the software and how to effectively use it to create invoices manage receivables and pay bills.

The Small Business Association is committed to the success of all businesses in the SME sector and will continue its training agenda as a mechanism to build competitive enterprises.

For more information on courses offered and how to sign up, please visit our SBA training page.http://sba.bb/training-and-education/sme-training

Small BusinessASSOCIATION

You Are Reading

Vol. 03 Issue. 2

February, 2015

Edition

Building Networks; Creating Wealth

IMPORTANT DATES 2015 FEATURE ACTIVITY REACH THE SBAHEAD OFFICE1 Pelican Industrial Park,Bridgetown, Barbados

Phone: (246) 228-0162Fax: (246) 228-0613Email: theo�ce@sba.bbWebsite: www.sba.bb www.smallbusinessapproved.bb

February 25Members MeetingBagnall Point Gallery6:00 pm

March 4SME SMART Media Launch

FEATURE ACTIVITY

The Barbados Productivity Council in association with the Social Partnership is offering the opportunity for small businesses to enhance their chances of success. They are therefore inviting companies to be part of their seminar entitled “Developing Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward”. The seminar is geared towards assisting startups and small and emerging business enter-prises to cope with immense competitive and financial challenges in todays’ environment.

This initiative is part of the annual “Week of Excellence Programme” and will be staged at the Barbados Hilton on Thursday February 26th, 2015. This solutions-based seminar will engage facilitators from the Central Bank of Barbados, Republic Bank, the Small Business Association, and Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation on subjects such as securing funding and surviv-ing in a competitive environment. The rate for the seminar including lunch is $150.00.

There will be presentations by Dr. Paul Pounder, Lecturer, Management Studies, University of the West Indies and Mr. Robert Garcia, Director, Global Business Development – Society for Human Resource Management, USA as well as a Panel Discussion.

For further information or to confirm your reservation, please contact Ms Marion Haynes-Barker at The Productivity Council or Ms Roseann Morris, a committee member.Tel: 626-9416 Website: www.productivitycouncil.org.bb

The success of your small business requires continued learning...

Walk the Talk 2015- A Step in the Right Direction Developing Entrepreneurship - The Way Forward

Conceptualised by William Anderson Gittens in 1972, Devgro Media Arts was finally established 42 years later on the 12th of January 2015. During the period between the conceptualisation and realisation of this business, Mr. Gittens worked in both the private and civil service for 11 and 31 years respectively in varying areas and levels.

As a result he has gained a great deal of practical experience in the discipline of Media Arts. This was further enhanced, when he attained a Diploma in Commu-nication Arts in 1990, a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Arts in 1995, in Service of Training Certificate Human Resource Management in 1996, a Certificate in General Management Level 1 in 2002 and Post Master Studies in Cultural Studies in 2004.

In light of the above mentioned he is now equipped to function as the Chief Executive Officer of Devgro Media Arts Services which is now registered in the Register of Business Names under No. 54463. The mission of Devgro Media Arts Services is to provide Quality, Excellence, and Professionalism to their customers as they develop and grow in producing PowerPoint Presentations for Anniversaries, Birthdays, Conferences, Documentaries, Funerals, Graduations, and Weddings. In addition, Consultancy Services in Conference Planning and Publishing are also provided. For more information contact William Gittens“Thorsby” Philip Drive, Pine Gardens, St. Michael Tel: 240 4174 Fax: 246-430-0427 Email: wgittens11@gmail.com or devgro@hotmail.comwww.devgro.net

CTS (Caribbean Telehealthcare Services) provides personal /medical emergency alarm services across the Island for those who want to remain safe and be able to quickly summon help. They provide home units with alarm pendants for use in and around the home and an emergency phone or a smart phoneapp for use when out and about.

Should you have a fall, a chronic non-communicable disease crisis or any other emergency or incident, pressing the pendant or phone SOS button puts you in touch with the CTS’s 24 Hour /365 days a year Moni-toring Centre where a trained responder (Emergency Medical Techni-cian, Paramedic etc.) who knows how to deal with an emergency and manage a crisis will speak directly with you and get you the help you need.

CTS is caring, trustworthy and sensitive to your needs and delivers the highest level of customer care and customer services.

They also provide a FREE telephone check-in service to vulnerable clients to make sure they are fine and this service is tailored to meet the client’s needs.

CTS has extended its Christmas Specials through to the end of February. Being the best prices to-date, the discounts have proved very popular e.g. Bronze home unit with pendant now BB$200 (reduced from $354) and the Monthly Monitoring is now $49.99 (reduced from BB$60).

For more infromation: Call:228-3633 or 255-0455; Email: info@caribbeantelehealthcareservices.com Website: www.caribbeantelehealthcareservices.com

SBA Outlook Newsletter February 2015

Founded in 1995 by Dr. David Homer and Ms. Fun Yuet Wong-Homer, The Wellness Center has been a leader in alternative medicine in Barbados for many years. Ms. Wong-Homer, originating from the far reaches of Hong Kong SAR, China, has over 20 years of experience in nutritional counselling. Their doctor of Naturopathy, Nutritional Consultant and certified Biofeedback Technician, Dr. Hadley Lawrence has been in clinical practice since 2004. As a registered Pharmacist, he holds high knowledge of conventional treatments, providing a more integrative approach to his practice.

The Wellness Centre offers a wide range of services including but not limited to the following: • Clinical Nutritional Microscopy, this analyzes the living microscopic element of the human blood in optimizing health and preventing disease.

• Quantum Resonance Magnetic Analysis, this is an active non-invasive spectral testing method similar to Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) which accurately measures electromagnetic waves associated with healthy or diseased states emitted by cellular activity and provides vital information on major organs, endocrine system, vitamins, minerals, bones and other areas of the body.

• Scalar Lasers, this uses the principle of zero-point to shift the polarity of cells and quickly cancel out stress and undesirable cellular memories and has proven to help with pain relief, improved mood, blood circulation, stress release and faster healing of injuries amongst others.

• Ozone Therapy,this utilizes O3 molecules to detox the body, assist with the purification of blood, boost the immune system decrease stress and many others.

• The L.I.F.E. System is an advanced electro-physiological biofeedback device which identifies and records over 7000 stressor responses by clients during the assessment procedure. Indicated are the most acute and chronic responses which demonstrate the client’s highest susceptibilities and potentials for disease while providing corrective energetic therapy. Specific supplements can be tested to show how well a client will process those supplements, thereby removing the guessing game out of supplement choices.

The Wellness Centre’s Organic Wholefood Shop also provides quality supple-ments and food supports to compliment a healthy lifestyle.For further information call 4263826 or visit their websitewww.wellnessbb.com

Caribbean Telehealthcare Services Devgro Media Arts

The Wellness Centre

Writing your business plan will make you think objectively about your business, and you may even come up with new business strategies in the process. The plan will also serve as a record that you can revisit over time to remain on target or reassess your direction.The following are a few of the most common pitfalls of writing a business plan, and some tips on how to avoid them.

1. Create a VisionBefore you get lost in the details, outline a clear vision and a coherent set of values for your com-pany. Develop a mission statement, and use it to define short-term goals and priorities. Once you have a clear, big-picture road map for your busi-ness, you can plan your journey with confidence.

2. Know That a Budget Isn't the Same Thing as a PlanA solid business plan consists a budget and a financial forecast. But a budget should reflect all the other elements in your plan. If you don't have a clear picture of your industry, customers, com-petitors, and market conditions before you devel-op a budget, your numbers aren't likely to reflect reality.

3. Don't Ignore Your CustomersToo many entrepreneurs assume they know exact-ly what their customers need without bothering to ask. Take the time to learn about your customers,

and build your business plan around their needs and desires.

4. Don't Underestimate CompetitorsPay attention to the competition and you won't be unpleasantly surprised. Also, your competitors can be a great source of information about what works and what doesn't.

5. Be Prepared to Take RisksCreating a business plan isn't about avoiding risk; it's about understanding and managing risk. That's why a good business plan anticipates possible challenges, as well as possible good and bad scenarios. It should also include a variety of strate-gies for meeting challenges and taking advantage of opportunities.

6. Get a Second OpinionEven if you're the only person involved in your business, find someone who can study your plan objectively and point out possible weaknesses as well as areas of strength.

7. Expect the UnexpectedEvery business plan needs some wiggle room to allow for unexpected changes. Part of this involves creating budgets and marketing plans

with some built-in flexibility. But adapting to change also means you might have to modify or even abandon business practices that worked well in the past. Stay nimble!

8. Don't Forget What Makes You UniqueWhile it helps to look at your competitors, don't model your business after them. After all, you're in business to flourish and beat the competition.Learn from your competitors' strengths, but also learn how to spot their weaknesses and use them to improve your own business plan.

9. Be Clear About the RewardsSet a clear set of rewardsAess plan, include some concrete motivation that goes beyond the satisfac-tion of a job well done.

10. Don't Skip the Plan!Of course, the biggest mistake of all is failing to create a business plan in the first place. Planning is hard work, and there's no guarantee it will make your business succeed. But a good plan is still the best way to turn your vision into a realistic, coher-ent business. So don't just think about this step -- really do it!

Adapted from www.allbusiness.com

For more information on starting a business or to obtain a business plan template, please visit http://sba.bb/start-a-business

SBA Outlook Newsletter February 2015

The Small Business Association welcomed seven new businesses to its mem-bership during the month of January. As part of the induction process for the members, the association hosted an orientation session, where firms were intro-duced to the organisation, its history, philosophy, strategic plan and members’ programmes.

CEO of the Small Business Association, Lynette Holder welcoming new members to the association

CEO of the association, Ms. Lynette Holder, in welcoming the businesses, shared the goals of the association and informed the new members that the

SBA’s programmes were influenced primarily by an understanding of the members’ needs. This therefore underscored the importance of firms providing periodic feedback on their business operations, participating in surveys, sectoral group meetings and other discussion fora. During the discussion on the SBA’s programmes, the representative from the Atlantic Taxi Association expressed an interest in the TechSmart project and signed up as the first member to receive one of the 20 free websites in the asso-ciation’s second phase of the project. This initiative was introduced in 2013 as part of the SBA’s effort to facilitate members to use the Internet as a key feature in their business operations. Fifty free website were provided to members during phase one of the project.

The presentation concluded with the new members networking and sharing their reasons for joining the association. The feedback from all members confirmed that membership in the SBA was considered a good investment in assisting the business to reap significant benefit in positioning the firm for growth and development.

For more information on how to register your small business with the Small Business Association, please visit http://sba.bb/become-a-member

Welcoming New Members

A little planning goes a long way...

The Small Business Association (SBA) is the island’s non-governmental, non-profit representative body for micro, small and medium enterprises. The SBA seeks to expand business opportunities for its members, provide educational and developmental services and lobby to ensure an enabling environment for the growth

and sustainability of the SME sector. For more information on the work of the Small Business Association, please visit our website www.sba.bb