Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! Quote:

Marketing is everything and everything is marketing," suggests that marketing is like quality. It is not a function but an all-pervasive way of doing business. "The goal of marketing is to own the market, not just to sell the product," is a remedy for (Business) that adopt a limiting "market-share mentality." When you own a market, you lead the market. ... "marketing evolves as technology evolves." Programmable technology means that (you) can promise customers "any thing, any way, any time." Now marketing is evolving to deliver on that promise. ... , "Marketing moves from monologue to dialogue," argues that advertising is obsolete. Talking at customers is no longer useful. The new marketing requires a feedback loop--a dialogue between (You) & customer. ..."marketing a product is marketing a service is marketing a product." The line between the categories is fast eroding: ... the best (micro-business) think of themselves as offering high-quality products. Harvard Business Review.

Read all 5 comments & look at A&B's Business Ranking Factors. As you have stated with ABST we fail on Taxes.
Success & All The Best!

Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! Quote:

Ms J - As a small business owner I come here with a heavy heart. ... even after doing the level of advertising that I could not afford, I came away this Christmas practically empty handed. ... I was really disappointed because ... at lease break even considering the state of the economy.

Who can not find sympathy? Let us salute you for your motivation and entrepreneurial spirit.
Being the low cost producer/seller are sentiments which we are reticent and unwilling to accept. It is a reality which must be taught to all. Sincerely understand your efforts for huge emphasis on Advertising. Succes is when small efforts leverage huge revenues Small Micro-businesses need to focus more on Marketing.
Quote:

Technology is creating customer choice, and choice is altering the marketplace. Gone are the days of the marketer as salesperson. Gone as well is marketing that tries to trick the customer into buying whatever the company makes. There is a new paradigm for marketing, a model that depends on the marketer's knowledge, experience, and ability to integrate the customer and the company. Harvard Business Review.

Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! Quote:

Antigua Bill - "Partnership is a leaky ship" & the mentality has not changed.

That willingness to grow & assume risk, including delegation of responsibilitie s & sharing ownership are all significant determinants for the growth of micro-business is not to be denied. It must be understood that Motivation to Grow should be complemented with a willingness to share control & responsibility. On the Rock many folk, thirty & beyond, believe that it is their ability to maintain control of all business functions that allow success of their enterprise. It is clear that if GoAB"s Policies are devoted to promoting growth aimed at the general micro-business population, success may not be achieved, since not all of the small entrepreneurs may wish to grow. What is needed is to change Behavioural Patterns. Hence my suggestion to develop Policies aimed at Youth & Women, Community Initiatives & Joint Ventures through net working with Skilled & Seasonned complementary Practitioners.
From Vision to Mission to Strategy with requisite Structure, Systems & Skills to Culture Change. Knowledge Trumps "Ethical Badmindedness".

Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! Quote:

Skyewill - To Start a Business in Antigua is extremely difficult & costly.

A&B ranks 63rd in the World for Ease of Doing Business by the World Bank only St. Lucia in Caricom ranks higher at 53. With Regard to Starting a Business you are correct, sadly A&B ranks last among Caricom SIDS. For more Data & Stats see www.doingbusiness.org/rankingsYou will find this Data most informative and helpful as you can rearrange the Data by Region, eg Latin America & Caribbean, by Income & By Population. It is for those reasons why it was suggested that GoAB vision and create an innovative Youth Agenda & Policy Makers develop policies to engage youth and women with lenders.
Visoning & Creativity should drive us. A&B's main economic driver is Tourism where "The Beach Is The Beginning"! Cricket & Soccer are leading sports which have paid dividends. Why is there no focus on Aquatic Sports? Why Track & Field? We know that Sports Build Character but it should also provide an avenue for lifelong gainful enterprise & employment in Land Tourism, Yatching, Fishing etc. Strategic Thinking for Success.

As a small business owner I come here with a heavy heart. After spending a few thousand dollars on purchasing items for resale during the Christmas season including customs charges and freight and even after doing the level of advertising that I could afford, I came away this Christmas practically empty handed. I had toys on display outside my store, good quality ones too and at reasonable prices but everyone who stopped said they would come back. Moments later you saw them coming back with bags from Shouls or heading into the Chinese store nearby.

I believe that the ABST initiative also worked against us small businesses because we could not give the discounts like the big stores as we are not eligible to file for ABST. Therefore when we pay at the port or from wholesalers we have no other choice but to reclaim it in our sales. I was really disappointed because while I was not expecting to come away with tons of profit I really hoped to at least break even considering the state of the economy.

Remember the old saying in Antigua, " Partnership is leaky ship" and the mentality has not changed. Some business people in Antigua might seek out a partner but their objective for doing so is to have someone assume some or most of the risk and not an equitable portion of the profit. Is this considered badmindedness or a good moral/ethical business practice?

Sometimes in the cruise ship season, we have a ship or two coming on sundays but the shops in the whole marketstreet are closed. I don't get it.

It is unruly to block,interfere ,sanction other business establishments especially since they do not have the portability that these mobile businesses have come to enjoy. What are the economic stimulus that the government has in place or will be rolling out to push trade & consumerism into Antigua/Barbuda ? The spending, stealing,misapp ropriation of funds have been going on for decades (by many in Leadership/Gove rnmental positions) and we the people must convene to expose,erradica te and push accountability to ALL those involved. We the people are really who suffer at the end of the day and at the end of these high post tenure of Governmental/Pa rliament workers, they seem to benefit heavily than we the people who have entrusted them to lead by exemplary measures and we are constantly disappointed, to say the least.Why? Place Antigua/Barbuda first. Fixed Antigua/Barbuda 's infrastructure and remember that without us (We the People), there is no you (The Leadership in Question). Rally around businesses of ALL sorts, Hotels,Small Businesses,the Mom & Pop Businesses,the big Businesses for the common cause.

Because it is a very important Driver Segment of the Economy JFII. I spent many years developing strategies for micro businesses in South Florida and did some research in West Africa were almost everybody work for a living including children. I also believe that a certain level of Antiguan society can not move up due to them not being connected to the b**. To start a business in Antigua is extremely difficult and costly. I truly believed that the current administration would have made good those promises of putting people first but like the youth, I’m seriously disappointed. With hopelessness on their side they protest with violent and disrespectful behaviour. This will increase especially since they are of the opinion that our higher ups leave them to declare, “if they can tief, then me can tief to”. Instead of flying all over the world spending tons of money and come home with your empty hand. Why not give some of these micro businesses a chance to see how the real world operates. Some of these trade shows are packed with businesses that are looking to expand. One small product from a micro business could go viral on the market. It happens all the time.

Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! Thanks for always giving to support to this Driver Segment of the Economy. It is most distressing to read some who see value only in the Chinese & Arab small Entrepreneurs. How can you build a Nation with such Values. One of the country's foremost small enterprise woman, always lamented to her death, that the people were not willing to see local - People of African Descent - small enterprises move on to "Scot's Row". The same pertains today.
It would be most helpful if GoAB, given the high drop out rate of youth could maintain a high priority on a youth agenda. GoAB's policy makers should ensure that lenders engage women and youth. Initiatives that encourage community development should be encouraged especially in St. John's and its Rural Environs and above all should encourage joint ventures by facilitating networking for microbusiness owners to find good business partners. Some of these owners would benefit from others skilled in Marketing, innovation in e-commerce & Import logistics.
Oh Gad! Pray Wid Mi Picknees! Peace, Love, Success & Unity to All.

They can't sell for any less in most cases. They also pay taxes and because of the high cost of importing a $5 item can cost as much as 20 or more. Remember they don't buy in bulk as larger businesses do. and in most cases the pay the tax overseas also. it is hard for them to compete.

This is the time of the year when vendors and small businesses should be making "profits" and not 'loss" statements.Quote:

Business gets worse every year; spending power really tight in Antigua right now; people mainly buying food. This nuh Christmas. In years gone by I use to make like $5,000 on Christmas Eve night alone. During the day I would make something like $200, now sometimes I don’t even make $5.”

The 'signs-of-the-t imes' are here and is real, as more and more businesses will not last around here too long, if this "trend" continues! Not everyone call sell "food" in this economy, so these "struggling" vendors and businesses only hope is to either have more "innovative products" with "reasonable prices" or work together in more "partnership ventures" to keep overhead or costs down. The MOF "reduction" in ABST from 15 to 10% will do very little to help many businesses, unless the ABST is "eliminated" on a temporary basis for this holiday season. Yet, again, in order for vendors and small businesses to do well or fairly, money must "circulate" in the economy, as "taxes" only can't "stimulate it." Bless those businesses!

We as business owners, pay rent, electricity, water, taxes and wages and we employ alot of people throughout the year, for the government to give licenses for $300 for the season and they place vendors right infront our stores and showcases and even block our entrance, and that can cause severe downfall of sales and obviously result in small businesses going out of business and eventually close down.
I just wanted to voice our issues too, it's really unfair.

One of the reason vendors not getting sale their prices are very high, and they went abroad and brought their stuff very cheap. Now that doesn't mean you not going to put a little extra on them but they want to sell them for triple times what they bought them for abroad. Someone made reference to the internet shopping online and that is true, you see something online and the shipping is free so who is going to buy from vendor for triple times the money when u can get it at a cheaper cost? They have not intention neither of dropping their stuff price don't care how Chinese have the same thing cheaper. Some of them are greedy and want to sell one item so expensive that it should cover for all the days they haven't get any sale.

There is no focus on these businesses by any government agency. Micro business plays a very important roll in economic development so it is important to address their concerns. A flat tax would assist these people and the government at the same time. There need to be assistance in finding new products and also training on new technologies to be on an equal playing field with foreign shore owners who get credit and have much better access to manufacturers. They need to be introduced to sellers and buyers by participating in trade expos. This would be much more effective than the current MO of only government officials attending these conferences and expos and come home empty handed with grand stories of a successful conference but no real money traded as a result.

Sad but true

The peoblem with small busines is no tallent in buying. If everyone sells the same stuff why not get it cheeper and not off the street. If small business wants to suceed do/sell something different that attracts interest and fills a need.
Doen't look at the government , they sell the same old stuff and it don't work!

Say one say two. People have come of age, gone are the days when vendors would go overseas buy goods at cheap prices, then come back and sell at a high marked up price. Today, with the everyone having access to a computer and the internet; and having the opportunity to shop online for cheaper and sometimes free shipping, people are opt to doing their own thing. With less spending power its going to remain this way for long.

I used the CABI initiative to build my first home and I do not think it was a good experience. There is a Hardware Store/Construct ion company/develop er on Hxxxxxs Main Road who are not doing what they should be doing with respect to this programme. As a result of this behaviour and the failure of the builder/develop er to carry out his utilities installation equipment in a timely manner, I am left out of my new home going into the new year. Stay away from the Hardware/develo per/builder on the Hxxxxs Main Road. Up to now nobody else has moved into the so called gated community that we were duped into buying into.

Does this woman pay any rent, electricity, water or any wages -ABST-- but she says Employers should raise salaries- Get Real!!

Small Businesses are feeling the squeeze because the same things they sell people can get from Chinese Stores at half the price. People are spending but they go where they can get the most for thir money. Check Chinese you see how many people in there, and check the show tonight and you will see its probably sold out.