Entrepreneurial encouragement

May 12, 2021 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

As the years went by, I’ve looked within the stretches of the entrepreneurial world and one thing I’ve come face to face with is the lack of enthusiasm when it comes to entrepreneurial encouragement. Like many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’ve sat down picturing what my entrepreneurial life would be like, the success and the wealth but one thing discouraged me, not because I was scared, but because, in Guyana, I saw limitations on getting finances to start a business of my own.
The saying, “you don’t need money to make money” was partially true just like the saying, “you need money to make money” but as we all know, it depends on the type of business you want to start up that either one of those sayings would depict. Both phrases played a big part in my life for the past year while I was trying to figure what business I should pursue. I saw so many opportunities but that’s when I realised that the money wasn’t the problem, it was the lack of practical experience. I’ve listened to a few audio books, I’ve been around businesspersons, lawyers, doctors, teachers and many other people, but something was missing and that something became “someone.” I needed a mentor, I needed practical experience, I needed someone showing and telling me in person what the business world was all about, because over the phone was just another virtual world, like those fairytales I’ve read or seen on television when I was a little girl.
In Guyana, the banks favour giving small business loans, but what I also do know, is that a lot of people who they’ve turned down could’ve done right by that money. Business programmes in Guyana lack the credibility, exposure, enthusiasm and adrenaline that aspiring entrepreneurs need. Many successful businesses happened because owners decided how strategic their operations should be; without order there will be no business, but order can be fun and not boring like it seemed to be when printed on a piece of paper and stapled to the wall; the thing is, those people who make discipline less fearful are the people who earn millions annually.
I really wish us Guyanese didn’t have to depend on foreigners to show and give us advice on how to become successful because that’s where the brain drain starts, especially when it comes to education. Currently, Guyana is going through a lot of development and will be permitting many future developments, but I don’t think Guyana is prepared to extend the help that aspiring entrepreneurs or existing entrepreneurs need. For example, all those famous branded hotels that I’ve read about, I wonder if anyone would want to hype the small inns that are so homely, because all I’ve heard is people talking about those famous branded hotels. If Guyana only knew the talent they’re pushing away or the talent they’re stepping on or locking away in a dark room, it would be disappointed because oil might make a country rich, but it’s the people and the talents within it that makes a country economically sustainable by exposure and creativity.
Probably Mr. Burnham really thought things through with local impact and even though things might have been tough, I could understand the fact. But that doesn’t mean that things should go back the same way, but all I’m saying is that, if Guyana gave the support needed to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs then foreign help would just be a BONUS. I hope one day something like this could be possible.

Sincerely,
Aneesa Razack