Growth & Jobs | ‘Don’t only focus on your craft’

ASPIRING FEMALE entrepreneurs and women already in business in the creative industries are being urged to seize opportunities and information that will prepare them to access capital and build their enterprise.

The advice came from three women financiers who were panellists dissecting the topic ‘Fund Her’, one of the featured segments in this year’s return of the Women in Theatre Festival, organised by theatre and media expert, Dahlia Harris. The event was held at the Little Theatre in St Andrew on March 24 and moderated by veteran theatre practitioner and broadcaster, Fae Ellington.

Sharon Smith, head of business banking at JN Bank, outlined that there are many networking events and workshops now being targeted to, and created for, women, especially during months such as International Women’s Month observed in March, which women should capitalise on.

“Seize the opportunities. Do the research. Get the information ... . As a creative person, you can’t just focus on your craft. You have to look for all the support that will make that craft [a viable business],” she urged women creatives, to which moderator Fae Ellington responded by reminding the audience of mainly women in the creative and performing arts that agencies, such as the Jamaica Business Development Centre, also put on various workshops that cover the basics of business, which are free of charge or inexpensive.

Further, both Smith and fellow Sagicor financier Nicola Speid Morgan also highlighted that their companies provide opportunities through their SME Business Resource Centre and JN Financial Academy, which provide training in business-specific areas and financial literacy free of charge that women can take advantage of to sharpen their financial acumen and skillset.

Despite the opportunities, Smith argued that networking has been traditionally a challenge for many women, a point which relationship executive at the Development Bank of Jamaica, Nickesha Barrett, further doubled down on, noting that many working women find it difficult to network because they are occupied with their roles as caregivers.

“We may not be able to go to do the networking after [work] because we have to rush home to the family and the children – make sure everybody does homework and ensure the meal is cooked. So, often you may find that we are not as social as the men who will go out and have a drink,” she opined.

But she acknowledged that women are becoming bolder, more assertive and creative about networking and connecting, confirming a point made earlier by Sagicor’s manager of SME business banking, Speid Morgan. But Speid Morgan noted that, although women are becoming empowered, they continue to face difficulty accessing funding.

“They can’t get persons to invest in their businesses. Why? It’s because sometimes persons don’t think that we have the skillset, or back [in time] they used to say women can’t run businesses and manage a family. But we have proven them wrong and have shown them that we can do both,” she declared.

Notwithstanding the changing attitudes, women often must perform a very careful balancing act, she noted. She urged them to assert themselves, even if they are criticised and described as being “aggressive” for doing so.

“You have to be out there, be determined, be strong for you to get your message out there as a woman,” Speid Morgan emphasised.