BUSINESS AGENDA: Cavalee Freeman is in ...The business of jobs

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

After university in Connecticut, Cavalee Freeman did a stint in public relations in New York and then moved to an advertising agency in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.

The latter job was pivotal.

"They dealt with advertising the openings for employers," says Freeman of her old firm. "I studied the business model and realised how profitable it was. I observed what they did to get the business up and followed the same steps."

So, these days, Freeman is running her own business in Jamaica: Caribbean Job Network.

In fact, there are two sides to the business: a job website called caribbeanjobnetwork.com, and an employment agency at the Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC) at Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston.

The ventures were launched in 2009.

"Business has been good," says Freeman. "The demand is there. Students want to go away and work and travel and get a different experience."

Returning resident

The Network prepares them for that experience, hosting workshops to ready them for interviews.

As a young Jamaican entrepreneur, Freeman is a bit unusual. At a time when most graduates scramble to leave or choose to stay away, she came back.

"I am a returning resident," she says.

She left Jamaica - reluctantly, she says - as a child, following one parent to the United States. At the time, she had to make a choice between the US, or going with her other parent to England.

Freeman, however, was clear that leaving would not be good.

"I never wanted to leave," she said. "I wanted to come back here and create. I felt you could not depend on the Jamaican economy to provide a job. Anything can happen."

Atlanta was the cradle of not only the template for Caribbean Job Network, but also Freeman's entrepreneurial spirit at a time when she did not see herself as a business owner.

"It is a great place, people are forward thinking. Even if you have a main job, everybody has something else (doing)," she said.

Having a job was key to Freeman's plans. She needed to accumulate cash to help launch her business. The start-up costs were US$15,000.

"I decided to work and save and finance the project," she says.

But the business was likely to require additional investment to grow.

"I started off thinking about an investor. I was looking for investors in Jamaica and I could not find anyone," she said.

But then: "I found an investment fund in Trinidad that agreed to review the project."

Now that Caribbean Job Network is preparing to send its first batch of temporary workers off to North America this summer, Freeman says that she is no longer intent on attracting an investor.

"Based on my experience so far, I want to keep it to myself," she said.

Freeman launched her job-placement business at a time when jobs were scarce on the ground.

"Launching a recruitment/job agency in the middle of a recession was a real challenge," but "we found ways to work around that and waited for it to pass."

Now, the market is opening up again. She is looking to place half of a batch of 50 to 75 students in jobs overseas this summer.

With her experience as a student abroad herself, Freeman says: "I felt I could give a different point of view to the students who were leaving."

On the website, a job seeker can upload a photograph and develop a career profile which Freeman says "helps you to stand out and brand yourself".

Goals

She says her short-term goal is to "brand myself in the marketplace as the best recruitment agency".

In the long term, she intends "to have a fabulous office in New Kingston", she says, then laughs merrily as she comes back to earth; back to the practical businesswoman who chose the JBDC offices — which provides small businesses with facilities such as meeting rooms — to reduce overheads.

In its nascent stages, the Caribbean Job Network has enough operating space for its three-person workforce: Freeman, a recruiter, and a secretary.

While there were no problems with registering the business, Freeman says "the process for getting a business account with a bank, it was crazy. They wanted a lot of information".

She holds a thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart as she describes a thick stack of forms that had to be filled out, the account-opening process taking two weeks. And she says, "If you have a good relationship with your banking officer, which I do, they will work with you. I got great assistance in the process."

She also points out that even if a business is not making money immediately, there are still tax requirements to satisfy.

While Caribbean Job Network is now placing students in summer jobs, Freeman says, "Our goal is to work with Caribbean nationals and place them in any country where there is an opportunity for them to grow and excel."

She points to the strong demand for professionals such as teachers and nurses. And she emphasises the need to follow the entrepreneurial path.

"People need to realise there are so many ways to make money. You need to be innovative, take risks, travel, listen to people. Stop thinking that 9-5 is the only way and the government has to provide you with a job," Freeman said.

Still, she says, "It is always good to have a back-up plan. I think I prepared myself by going to school. You can branch off into being an entrepreneur once you have built up your experience."

melvile.cooke@gleanerjm.com