Youths get insight into owning business

The event was part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW ) currently celebrated in 160 countries around the world where young people are inspired by local, regional and international entrepreneurial activities, designed to assist them in exploring their own potential as self-starters and innovators. Hosted by Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago (YBTT), its General Manager Shedron Collins told the youths the event was to motivate them and to show them that entrepreneurship is really an option, and at the same time, and how a change of their mind-set where starting a business is concerned can help them.

Kerron Sealy, aka ‘Sunny Bling’ truly captured their imaginations after giving his story to success. He told them after attend Rosary Boys, then Woodbrook Secondary Schools he enrolled at the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI) to pursue Culinary Management. He opened the youngsters’ eyes when he told them that he interned at the kitchen of the late Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Then standing proudly before them he added that he was also president of the students guild at TTHTI as popularity to him was a big thing, but more important to him was his own branding.

But while he stated that he was a good cook he found comedy was his passion. And so, 14 years ago he auditioned for a comedy show, was successful and to date has done countless shows, worked at Synergy TV and for the last 11 years has been on prime time radio. He is currently on Slam 100.5 FM.

Thirty-one-year old ‘Bling’ told them: “I had no degree but I never settled for less than what I wanted.

I started pushing suits to push my brand. There is no such thing as overdressed but there is something as under dressed. Wear the right shoes, socks and dandy them up and secure your own brand.” He also told them to focus on their dreams and goals and be true to themselves. “Don’t pretend to be anybody else,” he said to them before adding: “There can never be another Sunny Bling,” leaving the children laughing.

He had one more piece of advice for them and that was to be mindful about what they posted on their social media pages since it is now a norm that employers get to know potential employees through the latter pages. Therefore it is important to keep it above board. YBTT entrepreneur Joshua Mangroo was also convincing while sharing his entrepreneurial experience. He said to the children he started off as a legal secretary but that just was not for him.

He decided he wanted his own business and through the YBTT got into the designing and printing of business cards but got stumped after his business was burglarised in 2014.

He said the people around him at the time supported him tremendously and that enabled him to move forward.

Mangroo, 27, then got into animation and is not an animation instructor with the Ministry of National Security working with youths in the YTEPP programme. He and his team of Kevin Bhall, Sheliya Nandlal and Mathew Hudson actually won the Animae Caribe Bootcamp – Best Animated Idea Animae Caribe Animation Award just last week.

He told the youths that the passion inside of him is what drove him forward especially during his challenging times. Keynote speaker David Thomas, former banker who resigned to start his own business, spoke to the youngsters on understanding their entrepreneurial destiny.

The Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner, went into farming and now owns Market Movers Ltd, an online business, where fresh produce from his farms are sold throughout T&T, and paid for with credit cards upon delivery. This story fascinated the young adults.