The Tribune

A few years ago I was doing some consulting work for a large Bahamian retailer, and I ran into a technical problem that was beyond my capacity to solve. So I did some research and found some highly-qualified Bahamians to help me solve the problem. In talking to them I said how delighted I was to find this level of expertise in the Bahamas.

They explained to me how the recession had reduced their business significantly. When I asked how many international customers they had, I was surprised at the answer - none. One of the partners revealed they had not thought of bidding for foreign contracts.

There are still many barriers to doing business in the US from the Bahamas. These barriers range from structural issues, such as exchange control, to mental blocks. Some of us do not really believe we can compete with anyone other than Bahamians.

But, thanks to the power of the Internet, these barriers are quickly crumbling. The final barrier that remains is really our own education on how to circumvent them. As well as a mindset on how to build a profitable business using the tools that are out there.

So I got together with some like-minded partners who have had success in attracting clients internationally, and we held a seminar over the weekend. I spoke on fast product creation. Now, as regular readers of my column know, I am a large believer in practicing what I preach. So from the seminar I produced a series of three training videos, with some content in them, that I think everyone can benefit from.

The first training video is by Paco Nunez, a media professional and PR expert. In it he explains how to get organised. There are so many people with great ideas that die with them. He tells the story of one lady for whom he helped organise 20 years’ worth of notes, so she finally could come out with her book. He took years of notes and organised them in a few weeks.

The second training video is by me. I speak on the perceived value of products, and how you can take the same material and turn it into several different products. Combine them and create an entirely new, perceived value.

For example, a book has a known value because we regularly buy books. But take the same material, spiral bind it and add some DVDs to it. Add one more secret ingredient, and what you have is a course that can sell for 10 times as much.

Finally Drew Roberts, an online pioneer, spoke on some of the tools that allow you to have the entire product created and shipped from the US.

We decided to take some of the gems from these talks and package them into three free training videos, along with a three month subscription from our newsletter. We all agreed that anyone who needs a quick start to getting products out there internationally should benefit from our knowledge. Because we really have to change a national mindset that we are restricted to competing against each other in a handful of industries based within our borders.

So go watch these free videos at my website at darcyrahming.com, and let me know what you think of them.

• NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. He is also treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. To contact him he can be reached at DArcyRahmingsr@gmail.com.