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All Woman
Beverly Stewart's Soul successes
By NADINE WILSON All Woman writer
Monday, October 26, 2009
THEY say if at first you don't succeed, get up and try again, and this is exactly what Beverly Stewart did, when after being involved with at least four failed businesses, she started her own company a couple years ago.
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| STEWART... make sure that you get a good foundation (Photo: Bryan Cummings) |
The mother of two adult children says entrepreneurship is in her blood. Her grandfather had operated a school and she has helped to manage at least four other businesses with family members. In 1999, she started her own management consultancy firm, Beverly Stewart and Associates, but with a desire to spend more time with her growing sons, the company was scaled down with her now only doing marketing consultancy for a few churches and non-government organisations, in addition to the business she now operates.
"In many instances, the first business that you start is not always going to be successful, it is going to be a learning thing. Maybe you have to close it down after a couple of years, but maybe after the third one, you usually get it right. Having learnt how to manage your cash flow, you have to make sure that the employees that you secure are the right people because it is very expensive to keep recycling and getting new employees," she said.
Also important is building your company around a common interest. For Stewart, that interest is tourism, having spent over 20 years in the industry.
Stewart spent a good amount of her professional career at Air Jamaica where she was regional manager for the Caribbean. This meant a lot of travelling and time spent away from her sons while they were growing up.
In 1991, she joined the formerly Wyndham Hotel (currently Hilton Hotel) as director of sales.
"While I was at Wyndham, it was wonderful. We handled a lot of the diplomatic accounts - the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the British High Commission, the Canadian High Commission - so I had to be travelling. I went to Washington like every six months, but it was nice," she beamed.
Some of the most memorable places she visited include Paris, Switzerland, Atlanta, London and, most recently, Jerusalem, which she considers to be the vacation of all time. She also remembers days touring the island with her family, which has helped to give her an insight into the country's natural attractions.
It is this knowledge of the tourism industry and a natural drive to succeed that continues to make her eight-year-old company, Jamaica Soul Vacations Limited, a success. The company is a one-stop shop for persons interested in having a fun-filled, family-oriented and relaxing time when they visit the island.
"Jamaica Soul specialises in vacations for the mind, body and spirit, so health vacations, sports vacations, culture vacations, anything that is going to allow you to come down and wind down and go back to your work, your family refreshed and ready to contribute, we are into that," said Stewart.
But her current business was not exempt from its share of challenges, especially in the initial stages.
"The year that we started was the year of 9/11 and there were challenges, as you can well imagine. I had to close Jamaica Soul for a while and start it later; but we are coming along quite well," she said.
Being a part of a tightly-knit cluster comprising about 15 other small businesses geared towards offering tourism products has helped much.
"The other things are falling into place very nicely. Technology obviously assists us and we are working with some overseas consultancies now on some major, major thrusts for the entities that are a part of the tourism cluster," she said.
She believes operating a business is not for the faint of heart as it involves taking risks. Her advice to those thinking of opening a business is straightforward.
"Make sure that you get a good foundation... try and get a business mentor, somebody who has walked the path before and who has made some of the mistakes, who can share with you, hold your hands, guide you through, so that you don't go through the pitfalls."
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