Having successfully completed this year’s installation of the Young Leaders of America Initiative (YLAI), five Jamaican entrepreneurs, who have earned the title of YLAI fellows, are hailing the programme for developing their business acumen and their capacity to contribute to the Jamaican economy.

As part of the six-week programme the entrepreneurs were assigned professional placements with entrepreneurial organisations across the United States for four weeks. During this time, they collaborated with their host organisations in developing entrepreneurial leadership action plans that they will implement upon their return to Jamaica.

In addition, the YLAI fellows completed online and in-person coursework, developed by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) and Arizona State University, which combines technical entrepreneurship training and leadership development.

At the end the entrepreneurs participated in the YLAI closing forum in Washington, DC, as well as networking events with business and social entrepreneurial leaders and US government representatives.

While identifying networking as an area of weakness, St Ann native and founder of God’s Investment for Today (GIFT) Kenene Senior said she gave herself wholeheartedly to this final leg of the programme on US soil, even amidst challenges.

“So I would say that my expectations were met. I’m the kind of person who looks for opportunities to fill the gaps where there are weaknesses. So I know that one of my weaknesses, for example, may be networking, so I would throw myself into the deep end. This was definitely an opportunity for networking and that was definitely met,” she told the Jamaica Observer last Thusday at the ROK Hotel in downtown Kingston.

Her completion of the YLAI programme, however, could have been derailed by a visit to hospital for a minor operation. But with the finish line in sight, Senior shared that she marshalled on, attending breakout meetings and a networking session at the YLAI closing forum immediately after the surgery.

Commenting on the entire programme, the trained teacher and psychologist said her greatest lesson was learning how to balance patience with taking initiative. While Senior said these are traits that many business leaders take for granted, believing that they will develop these qualities over time, she argued that entrepreneurs have to be intentional.

“You learn a lot of patience and you learn to take initiative because we recognise that a lot of things that we may have expected were not going to be handed to you and you had to create your opportunities,” the founder of GIFT stated.

With regard to her work with a social enterprise, Senior noted, “My expectation, given that I am in the area of social entrepreneurship, was really to change my mindset as it relates to social businesses. There is a lot of information on entrepreneurship in terms of for-profit businesses, so this provided an opportunity for me to learn more about improving operational strategies.”

Across the board, the YLAI participant admitted to gaining new insight into creating business strategies to develop their respective businesses as well as learning how to appreciate diversity, networking and teamwork.

For Jannel Alexander Reid, though, her experience in the programme facilitated her realigning the vision and mission of the Institute of JAR, a training facility she founded with the aim of empowering women socially and economically.

“It was not realised until I was having a session with my host and he was, like, your business is really about women. So when I did the statistics I realised we had 99 per cent women and one per cent male. So it was eye-opening and I recognise that I really had to walk in my purpose… to empower women,” she remarked.

Working with Penez, an education-based company in Kansas City, Missouri, she created new strategies to restructure and grow her business, which provides courses in events planning and décor, floral arrangement, make-up artistry, entrepreneurship, and cake baking.

Reid added that she has learned how to be more compassionate as a leader, as well as to become more adaptable in situations.

“I was able to improve on my adaptability skills. There were so many situations that presented [themselves], where it’s either you sink or swim and you have to really think quick[ly]. So that experience also helped me to grow,” she stated.

Her colleague, proprietor for Denni Visuals, Dennis Fyffe, agreed. While the cinematographer and photographer had set goals he wanted to achieve in the YLAI programme, he conceded to not only changing his expectations but also his attitude towards decision-making and teamwork.

Though admitting that before the programme he struggled with organising, Fyffe explained that since the programme he has become more decisive, assertive and is better at prioritising.

Another takeaway for Fyffe was appreciating the value of teamwork.

“It forced me to be a bit more collaborative and shows you that teamwork makes a lot of sense, even though working with people can be difficult, but it is necessary; and how to deal with different personalities and traits and leadership styles and what that looks like for you,” he noted.

Having struggled with imposter syndrome, Fyffe said his work with a diverse team was evidence that “everyone has a contribution for the world. Everybody has their own space and lane and it doesn’t mean that if you contribute in a specific way, you are less than”.

Facing disappointment was one of the challenges Carlyle Grant had to overcome. The leader of Digital Danes noticed a mismatch with his professional placement, Chicago Council on Science and Technology.

“I was paired with an organisation that, in my opinion, had no alignment with my business. They focused on science and technology and I’m in the digital marketing field. At first I felt demotivated and that I should have made a formal complaint to the embassy,” he informed Sunday Finance.

“In that moment it kind of pushed me to say, how can I make the best out of this situation? So with that had to come vulnerability, honesty and communication,” he added.

After some research on the organisation, Grant had a conversation with his host and enquired how he could connect him with advisors, mentors, donors and investors. While he learnt the value of effectively communicating his vision, he pointed out that the greater lesson was “not waiting to be spoon-fed”.

While learning to adapt to the cold climes of Seattle, Washington, Janielle Todd said she became more decisive, but also learnt to ask for help. As a result, she crafted a “a workable strategy to scale” her business.