YEA gives members income-enhancing push

Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica (YEA) has launched a programme to improve sales turnover for for its 60 member companies in a 14-month period, starting this month.

The effort, dubbed 'Think Noise', will also seek to identify and add foreign exchange earning lines to each entity. A three-pronged approach, the initiative includes financial patronage of a minimum $5,000 per member per month and strategic efforts to increase revenue and expand customer base.

The third component involves marketing, or making 'noise', about that business during the period of intervention, increasing awareness of the company's brand and goods or service offerings.

Samuel Coates, YEA president, customs broker and owner of Coates Logistics Limited, said the entrepreneurs' organisation will be throwing its full support behind targeted member companies each month on a revolving basis until all members have benefited, but that they will begin with two companies in April.

Companies on YEA's roster include operations in manufacturing, food service, marketing, media production and events management, transportation, logistics and packaging, finance, accounting and business services, legal services and human resource outsourcing, retail trade and distribution, technology and website development, printing, education and training, fashion design and jewellery making. A member listing can be found at www.yeajamaica.com.

During the pilot phase, which began on April 1 and will end on May 15, Value Added Services Limited, providing events management, and Elite Business Solutions Limited, providing business consultancy services, will be targeted for service usage and operational review.

major benefit

Yaneek Page, YEA's second vice-president and managing director of Future Services International Limited, who is responsible for designing the YEA initiative, said "$5,000 is to be spent by each with each member. This is a floor, not a ceiling. Marketing will be a major benefit for members as most do not have marketing departments or huge marketing budgets.

"Members will also share experiences, tips and best practice with respect to maximising marketing ROI. We also expect technology to feature prominently in most campaigns, including email blasts, BB (BlackBerry) messenger messages, text messaging, and social-media networks such as Facebook and Twitter."

According to Page, most member companies are small or medium-sized enterprises, and one common issue is that of the inability to attract the best human resource talent.

Another challenge is how to grow revenues and diversify the business.

"Think Noise will address these challenges by harnessing the brain power - intellect, creativity, knowledge and experience - of members. It is important to note that some of our members have worked for Jamaica's top companies and have accumulated a wealth of knowledge," she said.

YEA will not engage external agencies to provide technical services or support during the pilot phase. But this might be done later, depending on review and evaluation, what technical resources are required to improve the programme's effectiveness.

Page states that: "All companies will see a boost in revenues; the impact will depend on the company's annual turnover. (But) the greatest impact should be felt in the brainstorming sessions - we expect that the intellectual collaboration of risk-taking young entrepreneurs - will result in practical yet outside-the-box recommendations for growth, diversity and how to achieve global reach and earn foreign exchange - a goal of many members."

The YEA was formed under the auspices of the Jamaica Employers' Federation in 2005 and is a non-profit organisation.

business@gleanerjm.com