‘Have an independent mindset!’
St Elizabeth businesswoman urges youngsters to create their own jobs
WHILE STRESSING that nothing is wrong with getting a traditional job and working for a company, St Elizabeth businesswoman Keisha Grant is encouraging young people to seriously consider entrepreneurship. The jewellery maker and Junction resident has consistently bet on herself and believes that youngsters coming out of school can benefit from what she calls an ‘independent mindset’.
“Think about doing something for yourself. It doesn’t have to be big at first. It could even be buying and selling panties to your co-workers. It just needs to be your own thing. You can get a job and work for someone, enuh. That’s OK. But make sure you’re saving, if it’s even $1,000. Set that money aside to do something for yourself later. Have an independent mind. Remember that you can always lose that job, so you need to have something to fall back on, ”asserted Grant.
The 37-year-old mother of two knows a thing or two about bouncing back from challenges. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded commercial activities to a halt, Grant was building her entrepreneurial muscles through a bar business. “I actually run different bars for a number of years. I got into Access Financial Services, and I would take loans to stock the bar. It’s not an easy business. At one point the bar I was running was not in a good location, so business was slow. It was at that point that I started the jewellery making on the side,” she shared.
Grant quit the bar and jumped into the jewellery business fulltime just before the pandemic. Despite that challenging period, the businesswoman says she doesn’t regret the decision to take a new route in her entrepreneurial journey.
“Things are much better now than when I first started. I have achieved several goals. It has helped me to invest in another line of business. I was able to buy a car, with some support from my boyfriend, and now I’m able to get more business because I can get around easier,” she explained.
BIG ROLE
Regardless of the business venture, Grant stands firm in the belief that entrepreneurship is the way to go. Reflecting on the years she spent raising her children, Grant said that as a single teenage mom, she had to give up her own childhood to make a life for her children. She is confident that being her own boss helped her navigate motherhood at a young age.“The other good thing is having support from a lender like Access Financial. Whatever business I am in, Access always helped to stop a gap. Whether it was the bar or jewellery, it plays a big role,” said Grant, adding that she has seized every opportunity provided by the microfinance entity. Grant is one of several entrepreneurs whose businesses has been highlighted under Access Financial’s ‘Champion of Small Business’ campaign, which was launched last year.
Now operating from rented shop space on a plaza in Junction, Grant is still chasing her dream of one day running her own variety store to sell products for women, including hair, perfume, clothing, handbags and, of course, jewellery. “Right now, KG Jewellery & More is small, but I’m using Instagram and other social media to help me grow my business. I am a godly person and I pray all the time. But my Bible tells me that ‘faith without works is dead’, so you have to work for what you want at the same time. I’m gonna get there. And if I can get this far, every young woman can get there, too, no matter where you’re starting from.”