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JMMB Bank Hosts Small Business Seminar – Experts Urge Small Businesses to Get the Fundamentals Right
Friday, August 2, 2019, Kingston, Jamaica…During a recent (July 24) seminar hosted by JMMB Bank, at its Knutsford Boulevard branch in New Kingston, tax and marketing experts urged the small business participants in attendance, to get the fundamentals right in the start-up and early phase of their businesses. This, the experts said, enables entrepreneurs to access financing and other technical support, as their business grows.
Tax expert, Merrick Saddler of Taxwise, in his presentation, highlighted two key areas of taxation that affect all small businesses, namely income tax and general consumption tax (GCT), noting that it is critical for entrepreneurs to understand basic taxation principles, as “ignorance of the various taxes laws does not exempt them (entrepreneurs) from being liable for payment of the applicable taxes.” Saddler pointed out that good record-keeping of the relevant documents, such as: invoices, banking transactions, receipts, and using good accounting principles to manage expenditure and income, can assist entrepreneurs to more accurately determine the amount of tax payable to the relevant authorities. This clear financial management is essential, against the background of the self-reporting approach used by the tax administration in Jamaica, whereby the burden is placed on the business owner to pay the relevant tax.
He further urged entrepreneurs to “separate personal expenses and income from business-related ones”. In explaining the principle of income tax, the tax consultant outlined that this is applicable to all disbursements and expenses wholly and exclusively incurred in acquiring or generating the income for the business. Cautioning that personal property that is used by business owners for dual purposes could not be attributed as a business expense. The following income tax deductions, however, were outlined by Saddler for all small businesses: national insurance scheme (NIS), education tax and National Housing Trust (NHT).
Communication consultant and managing director of DRT Communications, Danielle Terrelonge, in sharing key pointers to scale-up their businesses, highlighted a few marketing fundamentals, noting, “Be clear what you want to achieve for your business, then align your marketing objectives to achieve these one or two business goals.” Terrelonge emphasized the need for small businesses to understand their target audience and be deliberate in choosing the best channels to speak with them, and not simply set up a plethora of social media pages. Instead, “identify a few initiatives that align with your business objectives, which speak to your target audience, and focus on those, refining the initiatives as needed,” was the word of advice shared by the communication guru. Adding “there is no success in life if there is no measurement. This will help (you) to determine whether or not you have met your business objective”.
Access to Financing & Technical Support
The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), during a recent editorial forum, outlined that despite the financing opportunities provided, micro, small, medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) “lack the capacity to undertake sound financial management”. Against this background, the JMMB Group and the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) used the occasion to share insight about capacity-building and financing opportunities and guidelines they offer respectively, to assist small businesses to overcome the challenges identified, and open doors to access financing.
Shani Duncan-Falconer, senior corporate manager, JMMB’s SME Resource Centre, introduced the supporting services and expertise available to the budding entrepreneurs, through the recently-launched JMMB SME Resource Centre and JMMB Bank. Duncan-Falconer detailed a range of resources that these entrepreneurs could take advantage of, through the SME Resource Centre, including: financial opportunities, through grant funding; expertise in business plan writing, creation of financial statements; access to other resources, such as the Branson Centre’s online learning platform; and mentoring.
Development Bank of Jamaica representative, Kerry-Ann Parker, also detailed the financing solutions provided by her organization for SMEs, including: technical vouchers, for capacity building services; grants and loans with partial guarantee, to help SMEs to access financing from commercial institutions; and venture funding. Parker also emphasized the need for SMEs to have the necessary documentation in place, open a business account and develop a solid track record, as these play a key role in the assessment process of entrepreneurs, by the DBJ, in offering financing solutions, in collaboration with the various commercial banks, including JMMB Bank.
The JMMB Bank-hosted seminar is in line with the company’s financial inclusion and integrated financial partnership approach. As part of its strategy, the JMMB Group intends to add value to its small business clients through the provision of the financial partnership, resources, innovative financial solutions and a network, throughout these businesses’ life cycles; thereby providing necessary support for the growth in the sector, and filling the gaps that currently exist in the financial sector.
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Guardsman Metaverse, in collaboration with Jamaican artificial intelligence company Crimsontide AI, is revolutionizing security across Jamaica with cutting-edge, customizable solutions. This partnership brings together Guardsman’s expertise in virtual security and Crimsontide’s advanced AI technology, delivering a suite of intelligent security offerings tailored to meet the unique needs of Jamaican businesses and institutions.
Through this strategic collaboration, Guardsman Metaverse is positioned at the forefront of the country’s security landscape, offering systems that leverage both immersive digital technology and sophisticated artificial intelligence.
The partnership underscores the importance of local innovation in addressing the security challenges faced by Jamaica today, providing clients with tailor-made solutions that ensure effective protection.
Guardsman Metaverse is committed to offering security solutions that go beyond traditional models, emphasizing customization and flexibility to meet the specific requirements of each client. From large commercial operations to smaller enterprises, the platform delivers a personalized approach that ensures maximum efficiency and peace of mind.
This flexibility is what sets Guardsman Metaverse apart—adapting to each environment’s unique security demands and offering a more responsive, intelligent way to safeguard people and assets.
With AI-driven features that allow for real-time monitoring and proactive threat detection, Guardsman Metaverse empowers businesses and institutions to stay ahead of potential security breaches. Each system can be fully customized to fit the environment it protects, delivering advanced functionality across a wide range of settings.
Advanced Features for Comprehensive Protection
- Facial Recognition: Guardsman Metaverse enhances access control through secure, real-time identification of authorized personnel, ensuring that only those with clearance can enter critical areas.
- License Plate Detection: For commercial properties, this feature allows for real-time monitoring of vehicle activity, helping to identify unauthorized or suspicious vehicles and notify security personnel immediately.
- Personnel Counting and Crowd Management: Especially important for businesses, this feature tracks occupancy and manages crowd flow, helping to ensure safety, meet regulatory requirements, and optimize operational efficiency.
- Firearm Detection: Using AI-powered analysis, Guardsman Metaverse detects the presence of firearms, providing instant alerts to security teams to ensure a rapid and effective response to any threat.
- Customizable Behavioural AI: Tailored to each client’s specific needs, Guardsman Metaverse’s behavioural AI can be trained to detect and respond to specific actions or patterns that are unique to the environment it monitors.
- Infrared Drone Surveillance: Equipped with infrared technology, Guardsman Metaverse drones provide round-the-clock aerial surveillance, ideal for large properties, high-security areas, and search-and-rescue missions, offering comprehensive monitoring that goes beyond traditional methods.
These advanced security features are fully customizable, ensuring that businesses receive a solution designed specifically for their needs. Whether it’s safeguarding large commercial complexes, healthcare facilities or educational institutions, Guardsman Metaverse offers tailored protection that provides complete peace of mind.
The partnership with Crimsontide AI, a rapidly emerging Jamaican company specializing in state-of-the-art patent-pending artificial intelligence software, ensures that Guardsman Metaverse’s solutions are not only technologically advanced but also locally relevant.
Crimsontide AI Limited is at the forefront of technological innovation, and its expertise allows the system to be fine-tuned to the specific security challenges that businesses in Jamaica face.
Through this collaboration, a diverse offering of services is available to various customers and industries, including theft detection at banks, supermarkets, and retail stores, intruder detection and breach prevention at hotels and resorts, as well as risk mitigation and compliance solutions.
Crimsontide’s AI technology also enables businesses to recognize trends in data, detect outliers, and summarize data sets, all aimed at informing better business decisions.
This partnership ensures that Jamaicans are at the forefront of solving their own security issues, with solutions designed by Jamaicans, for Jamaicans. At Crimsontide AI, the commitment to rebuilding a safer Jamaica is at the heart of every innovation, working toward a future where local technology empowers local security.
However, beyond responding to security threats as they happen, Guardsman Metaverse is designed to predict and prevent potential issues before they escalate. By leveraging AI to analyse behaviours and patterns, the system can foresee risks, giving clients the ability to take proactive steps. This predictive approach ensures that businesses and homeowners are always ahead of security challenges, helping to mitigate risks before they become serious threats.
With Guardsman Metaverse, clients are empowered to protect their environments not just reactively but pre-emptively. This next-level security capability, combined with fully customizable features, ensures a comprehensive approach that adapts to the ever-evolving nature of security threats in today’s society.
Studies consistently show that most strategic plans fall short.
The reasons are varied, but a common mistake stands out: teams often assume they understand “strategic” planning, only to end up misguided, compromising their organizations’ success. Often, what they call a “strategic plan” lacks real strategic thought.
How Missteps Occur
If you’ve ever reviewed a company’s strategic plan, you’ve likely seen a list of ambitious goals. They may be grouped in catchy ways, but as you read through, doubts surface. Why?
You sense the organization may lack the resources or focus to achieve all these objectives simultaneously. The longer the list, the more you suspect it may be abandoned when daily issues arise, with lofty goals slipping out of view.
Redefining “Strategic”
One way to prevent this common pitfall is to rethink how we use the term “strategic.” Today, the label “strategic” is often used casually to signal importance, so much so that it’s lost its impact, and audiences tune it out.
This isn’t just a communication issue. When teams invest time in a strategic retreat, they expect the final plan to be truly strategic, yet often that’s not the case.
Typical brainstorming sessions encourage a mix of ideas and positive intentions without much structure. The result is often an extensive report of hopeful outcomes, which can look similar to other plans within the industry—ultimately, another reason for failure.
Enter the Strategy Triad
Peter Compo’s book *The Emergent Strategy* introduces a helpful redefinition of “strategic” by proposing a triad approach:
1. Aspiration: A meaningful, challenging goal that requires effort and won’t happen automatically.
2. Bottleneck: The main obstacle preventing the organization from achieving its aspiration(s).
3. Guiding Principle: A decision-making rule to help navigate actions that address the bottleneck.
Consider a store aiming to increase profits. If the biggest bottleneck is low brand recognition, the guiding principle could be to improve brand awareness through multiple channels—online, in-store, and through partnerships.
Applying the Strategy Triad
At a recent strategic planning retreat, a leadership team was challenged to apply the triad. Initially, it was difficult; identifying bottlenecks from new perspectives required collaboration and creativity, especially without cross-functional data, which led them to rely on firsthand experiences. Yet, they successfully defined bottlenecks and guiding principles that empowered employees to align their daily choices with the strategic plan. This alignment is what leaders want but is often rare.
Why Alignment is Rare
Leadership teams often avoid the challenging, healthy conflict required to build a robust strategy triad. They may take the easier path, creating lists of goals rather than diving into critical strategic planning. Alternatively, when discussions become too heated, leaders may intervene prematurely, cutting off debate and limiting essential buy-in.
To achieve meaningful alignment, it’s important to work through differing viewpoints until agreement is reached. Though challenging, this process builds the intellectual and emotional commitment needed for successful execution. By persevering through difficult conversations, leaders can significantly improve their strategic plans’ success and longevity.
Found this topic interesting? You may want to delve into my long-form content in my JumpLeap Strategic Planning Newsletter/Podcast.
Francis Wade
JumpLeap NewsletterPodcast
Framework Consulting
http://blog.fwconsulting.com : http://fwconsulting.com
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