The Tribune

By Natario McKenzie

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THREE seasoned Bahamian business owners have acknowledged “power partnerships” as one of the keys to their continued success, while giving candid advice on entrepreneurship.

Peter Andrews, founder of Bahamas Waste and Bahamas Hot Mix; Diane Phillips, founder of the public relations firm, Diane Phillips & Associates, and Chester Cooper, president and chief executive of BAF, and chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), recently participated in a Rotaract Club of East Nassau-sponsored panel discussion: ‘I am my own boss: Bahamian entrepreneurship’.

Mr Andrews said: “I was fortunate, and I still have a very good partner, David Donald, who was also my brother-in-law. Families don’t get along in business, they fight and scrap. Well, we did get along and there’s a lot of strength in being able to say to your partner, what do you think, what’s your idea?”

Mr Cooper expressed similar sentiments, stating: “I was blessed also to have good partner who is an attorney, one of the best in the country, so we complement each other. He is able to give me perspectives that I may not have and vice versa.”

Mr Cooper and prominent litigation attorney, John Wilson. are the principals of BAB Holdings, the company that acquired ownership of British American Financial through a management buy-out.

“I could not do what I do on a daily basis without my partners. Every successful person knows that he or she has to appreciate the people they are surrounded by. Those people may enjoy being rewarded financially, but what they really thrive on is bring rewarded emotionally,” said Mrs Phillips. She noted that the notion of being your own boss was in reality no easy thing.

“You will never work harder at anything than when you will have your own business. You will be the first one in, the last one to leave, the only one there in the office on Saturday, or Sunday. Don’t think about going into business for yourself just because you have a great idea. You have to be willing to put in the hard work and carry that burden. Detail is very important. In the end it comes down to getting it right. People don’t remember all the things you got right. They remember the simple mistake when you got it wrong. You have to get it right all the time. You have to be their early, stay there late and pay attention to detail,” said Mrs Phillips.

Mr Cooper added: “Watching a business grow is like watching a child grow. You see the progression and you fall in love with that development, and you want to consistently see even greater development.

“For some of us it makes you wanting to do it again. The motivation of an entrepreneur is almost a contagion associated with wanting to see progression, wanting to influence growth and really wanting to see what you did with your time. Entrepreneurship can be tremendously rewarding. No day is exactly the same. When you are your own boss, the things that go wrong you don’t pass it on; those are the things that keep you up at night.”

Mr Cooper added: “The successful business person understands very clearly what it is that they don’t know, because often-times young persons starting out don’t fully understand that even though they are their own boss they are not all knowing, and therefore they don’t get the marketing support, they don’t get the accounting support and the technical support to help grow and drive their business.

“A lot of businesses fail because of a lack of planning. Planning is important because you are able to make projections on what your needs are. You must have a business that is researched. Have a business plan and make sure you can defend that business plan. You have to be able to tell your own story and know what you are talking about,” said Mr Cooper.

Mr Andrews added: “Whatever businesses you are in you have to be adaptable. Realise where you are going, what the capacity of your business is and get advice.”