Business boosted with CIIB advice

Executive Director Dax Basdeo, James Greear, CEO
Innovative Partners, and Edwin Rodriguez, President
of Connectivsolutions, present workshops on Cayman
Brac as part of their series of small business courses
on both the Brac and Grand Cayman this week

Friday,  February 10, 2006

The Cayman Islands Investment Bureau (CIIB) hosted three business seminars on Cayman Brac last week, as part of a series of free workshops for small-business owners on both Grand Cayman and the Brac.

The workshops are sponsored by the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA).

About two dozen Brackers attended the public workshops held in the District Administration Building on Wednesday evening 1 February, on Customer Service Excellence, and Strategy Marketing, given by business consultant James Greear.

According to George Walton, who owns and manages Mango Manor, a small resort on Cayman Brac, he particularly enjoyed the lecture on customer service.

“I thought it was an excellent lecture. It gave some very practical suggestions on how to treat customers and how to keep customers coming back. The other lecture on how to determine pricing was also very useful,” thought Mr Walton.

He said he learned a lot from the lectures, especially how to listen to what customers are saying. Many people do not want to listen to negative feedback, about things that don’t work, so they don’t learn how to deal with the problem, he felt, and thought more should have attended.
“You go into some places, even Government offices, and people look as though it cost them to smile. I think behaviour is very important and the first impression is often the last impression – it can set a person up for good,” said Mr Walton.

The workshops emphasized appropriate behaviours which Mr Walton thought was a very good thing. 

“I think it should be mandatory for staff at the District Administration Building to come to lectures like this, and if I had Admin to deal with, it would be,” said Mr Walton, who thought the same for staff at the hospital.
He said that in private business, where you have to make money, there is incentive to be friendly.

“Sometimes affirmation is as good as learning something new, and meetings like this can reaffirm or refute ideas that you have. If you are open, you can improve,” he said.

He thought that anyone in tourism and anyone who employs people who meet the public should be encouraged to come to such lectures.

“There’s nothing wrong with having a rationale for their behaviour; it makes it reliable.

Information is power. Some people here are kind by accident almost. They need a background to make that meaningful behaviour - to be consistent and authentic.”

Mr Walton said he would like to see more small business lectures on Cayman Brac, particularly in time-management.

“People spend their whole day at work and don’t get anything done. If they have a whole day to do a job, then it’s going to take a whole day,” he said. 

The lectures followed a five week course in the Cayman Brac Small Business Workshop programme hosted by CIIB, which covered a variety of topics last August. 

Mr Greear is chief Executive Officer and owner of Innovative Partners, Inc, in Orlando, Florida, which is a creative sales and marketing growth consulting firm.

   Back...