WHILE many Jamaicans were hobbled by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, six young female university students saw a silver lining in the crisis and started their own businesses which, they say, for the most part, are doing well.

The six — Velonique Bowen, Britney Forsythe, Romona Hanson, Breanna Willingston, and Monique Stewart, all students at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and Shanice Smith, who studies at the University of Technology, Jamaica — expressed mixed feelings of apprehension, strong confidence, or hopefulness for what many consider a brave move, given the heavy body blow that COVID-19 has delivered to the economy.

Bowen, a third-year journalism student who said she had always wanted to start a top-quality business, developed GetAced Academic Services, providing online tutoring for students sitting sociology, literatures in English, and law in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination. She also offers proofreading and resume writing services.

“In terms of the nature of the business, it is not something that is new to me. I am known to help people in that regard, so I just decided that I needed to start something and I definitely made use of the opportunity presented,” Bowen told the Jamaica Observer.

“Being a university student and a small business owner takes a lot of effort and hard work, but it helps to develop my confidence and self-actualisation. If the pandemic did anything for GetAced Academic Services, it blessed it and allowed it to flourish,” she added.

Forsythe, who is in her third year of integrated marketing communication studies, used the skills obtained from her programme to co-found Kingdom Kreative Koncepts, which provides digital marketing and graphic designing services.

“My business partner and I had the intention to start a business, but we kept on delaying the process. During the pandemic, reality hit as we were home and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to launch,” she said.

When asked if she was fearful of the pandemic having a negative impact on her business, Forsythe said ‘yes’.

“I was definitely fearful at first, seeing how the global and local space were operating. Businesses were shutting down and people were losing their jobs, and here we were starting a business in all this chaos. Fear of failure definitely tripped in, but we managed to put it aside and still launch out by faith,” she told the Observer.

Hanson, a final-year psychology student, launched RH Professionals to provide customers with several services — among them wig-making, make-up, and event planning.

“To my knowledge, there is no other company here in Jamaica providing customers with the luxury of obtaining so many different services from one business,” she said.

“I was just hoping to use this time to market, build my brand and get the name RH Professionals out there, as I decided to not offer services during the COVID-19 outbreak because of the risks associated with face-to-face contact.”

Meanwhile, Willingston, a final-year integrated marketing communication student, developed SugarPlumBeauty to supply customers with homemade vegan lip gloss.

“I have a very personal connection with lip gloss and it was very important for me to create something organic and high quality,” Willingston told the Observer.

She admitted being “a little bit scared” that the pandemic would have a negative impact on her business, as she was unsure whether people would be receptive to the product. However, the business, she said, has started to progress.

“Now, a lot of people are at home, which means that there is an increase in phone use and the products are getting more recognition through social media,” she said.

Meanwhile Stewart, who studies hotel management, created a virtual bakery which she named Tasty Pastry.

“The influence behind starting my own virtual bakery was, of course, my passion for baking. It was always a dream of mine to be a part-time pastry chef. Therefore, during the pandemic, having classes online enabled me to have a lot of free time, which meant flexibility and extra time for me to do what I love,” Stewart explained.

“With people being unemployed, times got a little harder for most persons. I wasn’t confident about how sales would work and whether I would make enough money or have enough customers, as everyone was affected, but it turned out to be great,” she added.

Smith, a final-year marketing student, started not one, but two online businesses during the pandemic — Event Planning by Shan, and Shay Cosmetics.

Smith told the Observer that she has a love for planning events and knew she wanted to create products as well.

“I feel accomplished knowing I created everything on my own,” she said.

As it relates to the event planning business, Smith explained that she knew it would not flourish immediately as events were not being held at this time. However, she still launched the company so that people could become aware of it.

In relation to the cosmetics operation, Smith said: “I knew persons were focused on all natural products and I could have the products delivered.”

The young women all expressed gratitude as they continue to get a lot of support from their families, friends and new and existing customers. To top it all off, they are all doing well academically.