Scores of entrepreneurs are now better equipped to run their companies following a series of small business seminars held recently by Scotiabank.
Tips on accounting, entrepreneurship, record keeping, profit maximisation and employee management were shared at the seminars held at the bank’s Bridgetown and Haggatt Hall branches.
Chartered accountant Michael Grimes, senior partner at UHY Barbados SRL advised business owners on how they could avoid some of the common pitfalls that plague smaller businesses such as poor accounting and financial record-keeping. During his presentation at Scotiabank Bridgetown, Simple Accounting Principles For The Business Owner, Grimes pointed out that a lack of financial records impair a company from qualifying for financing and hence stifle their growth potential.
Avoiding common business mistakes was also on the mind of action coach and former LIME executive Ian Blanchard when he spoke at Scotiabank Haggatt Hall on Five Ways To Maximise Your Profit.
Blanchard stressed that business owners need to demonstrate consistency in standards and good time management if they expected the same of employees. He asserted that staff follows the example set by their employers and hence asserted that employers often get the employees they deserve as they set the precedent for negative staff behaviour.
Blanchard stressed the importance of participating actively in one’s own business and not letting it run on auto pilot.
Scotiabank’s small business development manager, Ouida Murrell, in explaining the rationale for the seminar series, said that even amidst the prevailing economic challenges “Scotiabank still believes that there are opportunities in Barbados to grow and we think that of the key areas for opportunity is in small business.”
Murrell added: “We think that by educating both our small business customers that we give them the tools to create a more robust and profitable small business sector – which benefits us all.”
