The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A LARGE number of Bahamian companies enjoy repeat business simply due to lack of competition, a Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) executive said yesterday, noting that many also have no long-term plans for their employees. Marcus Cunningham, assistant manager at the BDB, who was a panellist at an small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) forum hosted by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) and the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), said: "In the Bahamas, a large number of businesses have repeat business because of lack of competition. "Most customers that I talk to are highly dissatisfied, but because there is no other business to go to, the business keeps making money. That's a serious position to be in, especially when someone comes into your market and brings competition. If you take care of customers you won't have to be worried about losing your business." Mr Cunningham addedd that investing in human resources was also critical for Bahamian companies, stating: "It's shocking to see how many businesses have no long-term plans for their staff." He said it was important for potential and current business owners to recognise that business planning is a process. "It's not exhaustive. It's something you should continuously be doing," Mr Cunningham added. As for why small businesses have difficulty accessing finance, Stephanie Missick-Jones, general manager of the Bahamas Co-operative League, said: "Businesses, and especially small businesses, are not widely offered loans in this country. The loan portfolio type is considered very risky." Noting that up to 85 per cent of start-ups fail within their first year, Mrs Missick-Jones said businesses in the Bahamas were not known for record-keeping, which she said was crucial when trying to access finance to expand. "Business persons in this country are not known for keeping records. When they try to get loans, for instance to expand their business, they have nothing on paper to show how their business is actually doing. The first thing we want is to ensure you have a track record," Mrs Missick-Jones said. She added that entrepreneurs should start small, then expand. Pointing out that the Bahamas needs a credit bureau, Mrs Missick-Jones said: "How do you track the credit history of a person unless you can go to a bureau and get a rating on a person. That may be one of the ways whereby we may not need as much collateral as we need now."