A series of small business development workshops this week kicked off with a forum held at the Hyatt Regency on Monday afternoon.
The workshops are facilitated by the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau and the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas
Two private sector volunteers for FAVACA, James Greear and Edwin Rodriquez, are the presenters of the forum and workshops.
Even though the workshops were formulated for people in Florida, Mr. Rodriguez said they were general enough to help people in Cayman.
‘We’ll be looking at proven models and frameworks of highly competitive businesses in communities,’ he said.
Monday’s kick-off forum was geared more for institutional purposes and focused on the models used in Florida to increase economic prosperity
The rest of the workshops are tailored toward small business owners or those who wish to start small businesses.
At Monday night’s workshop, more than 110 people attended to hear presentations about establishing a business and organisational skills.
‘We had a great turn out,’ Mr. Greear said, noting that some people had to be turned away because the room was filled to capacity. ‘More than half of the people here had a serious entrepreneurial interest in starting a business.’
The workshops move to Cayman Brac tonight and conclude tomorrow night at the offices of the CIIB in the Cayman Corporate Centre. Tomorrow’s topic will be strategic marketing and customer service.
Mr. Greear said customer service is vital to small business success, ahead of product quality and price.
‘But the most important thing is cash flow management,’ he said. ‘You’re sunk without good cash flow management.’
Mr. Greear noted that starting and running a business was not easy, but said the CIIB was a good organisation from which Cayman’s businesses owners could seek help.
‘They’re services are free and they’re right here,’ he said.
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