Group chief marketing officer at JMMB, Kerry-Ann Stimpson has said that businesses, especially those from the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), operating in the current economic milieu are not struggling with a lack of mentorship instead what they need is more sponsorship, so as to grow and thrive in the local ecosystem.

Stimpson offered these sentiments while participating in a panel discussion at the second annual Branson Centre summit held under the theme ‘Scaling for impact’, held on December 4 at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

“I don’t think businesses need any more mentors, they don’t need any more mentors. And to anybody who wants to mentor entrepreneurs — they don’t need any more mentors they need sponsors!” she declared.

Noting that her comments may be viewed as controversial by some, she gave justification for the utternace.

“When I say sponsors I’m not just talking about people, who can sponsor financially, but people who will lead us through thoughts, concerns and help to build self-worth and net worth.

“Anybody who is not on the entrepreneurial side can lend themselves as a sponsor; JMMB has been a sponsor of ‘We Inspire’ since the beginning. Currently the founder has a vision to take the business to Trinidad, and we are having a conversation to help open doors using the connections that we have because we believe in what the business is doing,” she said.

Stimpson added that from her position at JMMB and having conducted numerous market surveys, financing always comes up as a challenging issue for entrepreneurs, of which many question the lack thereof. She also stressed that there needs to be that balance, as entrepreneurs also have a role to play in ensuring that people will want to sponsor the businesses that they pursue.

“There is a lot of ongoing discussions which my chief executive officer [CEO— referring to Keith Duncan, who is also the president of the PSOJ] is a part of them — about drafting creative plans around how innovative financial institutions ought to be in assessing and adjudicating credit opportunities for these entities. But, they also need to recognise the other needs that they have beyond financing — such as understanding financial statements, understanding target marketing, and things such as the lifetime value of their customer etc,” she said.

She also chided entrepreneurs for their lack of ability in pushing their businesses to get the required assistance, “I don’t get enough calls from entrepreneurs, to even say, hey! I have a marketing question.”

As a recommendation she urged them on by saying “no more mentors, people. Get yourself some sponsors who can lend support, who can help to build our net worth, open a door, introduce you to somebody — because that will make a world of difference”.

Cortia Bingham, founder and CEO of We Inspire Limited, which is a business aimed at empowering and uplifting women globally, also chimed in to support Stimpson’s argument by further stressing the need for entrepreneurs to know that in order to make themselves sponsorship-worthy, they have to be cognisant that it must be a process of exchange.

“When we make that call we should bring something to the table — not just to beg; there has to be an exchange. The cultural issue we have with how sponsors support brands is that we come to the table with nothing and it’s a matter of us taking. We need to also come to the table with something — come with some brand equity, come with the knowledge, come with a vision and clarity of what exactly it is that you want to achieve and the commitment to fulfill it,” she shared

Bingham, who prides herself on being an entrepreneur, also underscored the need for businesses to have a business plan and execute it well, if they are to attract the relevant funding or sponsorship needed, as cash flow is critical to the continuity of any business.

“Find out what your business model is and align it with your personal brand. We have to focus more on what our business is. Cash flow is also key as this is very important for entrepreneursn because if they don’t have the cash to support the business, the business will die,” she said in closing.