Jamaican-born entrepreneur Beverly Johnson has called upon citizens to start their own businesses and take advantage of the vast opportunities offered by overseas markets.

“Business is not a one-way street. There is an opportunity for us to take Jamaica to the marketplace overseas,” Johnson said, as she stirred budding entrepreneurs to action at the closing of the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston from July 23 to 26.

The biennial conference was held under the theme ‘Partnering for Growth’.

“Whether you are looking to do business as a social enterprise, as a charity, as a micro business, as a small business, or a medium-sized business, we are inviting you as an outcome from the conference to let’s get down to business, and by so doing we will build the workforce for the future and the growth of this country,” Johnson charged.

She was giving the report on the outcome of a plenary session on small business and entrepreneurship.

The businesswoman pointed out that a significant percentage of retail sales are being captured by Asian entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, and that more Jamaicans should try to carve out their own share of that segment of the market.

“Let’s get to work and get some business going,” she said.

Johnson highlighted the advancements in technology which, she said, can help to grow businesses more quickly and efficiently.

“To do business as a small business you don’t have to panic anymore… If you don’t understand marketing, there is a virtual world out there… If you don’t have the capital to start an office, get into the virtual world — you can have an office for which you pay just for the time that you need to sit there to have a meeting and run your business from your front verandah or your study at home. There are so many opportunities that we can get into at this time, and I would encourage us to look at doing business in Jamaica. I did it, so can you. If you have a concept, we need to begin to speak to each other.

— Alphea Saunders