While comfort is the dream of any human being, it is sometimes a limitation we create that restricts our growth. Entrepreneurs take the risk of flying into the unknown when they leave their 9–5 in order to pursue greater opportunities. However, these opportunities just might lead to the best moments in life. Today’s Corporate Profile highlights Corporate Interiors International Limited and its founder Winston Barrett.

Winston D Barrett was a young and upcoming life insurance salesman when he joined the industry in 1973 at the age of 22. His skills were recognised early as he was one of the top agents and was recognised as agent of the year in his first year in the field. His success allowed him to build up enough capital to start his own company, Klenz Products Limited in 1987, providing food service equipment to Jamaica’s hotels in the expanding tourism industry. This was after previously starting a company with a man in 1973, to produce furniture.

Barrett started his family, eventually fathering four children who have all gone on to be successful in their own rights. His son Oliver, a veteran 20-year pilot in the US Navy; Christopher is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sprint Financial Services Limited; his daughter Sara Stanford who is the founder and CEO of Bliss Bridal Boutique; and Ashlie who was Miss Jamaica World 2016 and is the dispensary manager at Epican, Jamaica’s first cannabis dispensary.

“I think fundamentally though I was doing well in insurance, there was always a burning desire for me to launch out on my own. I had the yearning to be my own boss. I didn’t like the idea of every morning I had to go in and report to my supervisor. He’d ask how many prospects did you see today, how many meetings and closures you had,” said Barrett on his dream to start something on his own accord.

As he was contemplating his next move, a friend brought him a copy of Asian Business News — a newspaper — which had an advertisement where a particular office furniture company was seeking representation in the Caribbean. While Barrett had travelled to more than a dozen countries as a life insurance insurance agent, he had never gone to the Far East. With his prior exposure in furniture manufacturing, he decided to take the bull by the horns and made up his mind on taking a shot at this opportunity.

Barrett flew to Miami to the Taiwanese embassy before going to Los Angeles to jet away more than 14,000 miles to Taiwan. He exited the airport and saw a man holding a sign up with his name. He was taken to a company called Santos Limited, and after discussions with officials, returned to Jamaica and placed an order a few weeks later. Santos had carved out a niche in the corporate furniture space which led to Barrett creating the name Corporate Interiors International Limited. The firm was registered on February 14, 1996.

While Barrett was bullish on the prospects for the business, Jamaica was about to undergo its own awakening as the underlying cracks began to emerge in the financial sector. In prior years, a liquidity crisis had emerged in the insurance sector which eventually spread to the banking sector. The continued deterioration of the financial sector resulted in the creation of the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (Finsac) to prevent a total collapse of the financial sector. The financial meltdown resulted in more than $140 billion in direct interventions and economic stagnation in the following years. Barrett even noted that there used to be more than 10 companies in the ‘true’ life insurance space which has been decimated down to just two players.

When asked why he pushed ahead during what was a period of turmoil, Barrett responded, “Quite honestly, one of the hallmarks of an entrepreneur is that you don’t necessarily always have all the answers and you go with a hunch. At that time, I knew this was an area of business that would eventually get going because when one door closes, another one opens. Philosophically, I got into the business at the time because I knew that the country would have to recover, and I would have wanted to be part of that recovery process.”

The funding he had from Cleanse Products ensured that Barrett didn’t have to borrow at elevated interest rates especially while he had a family and three children at the time. Although the company has international in its name, it has only done one job outside of Jamaica, which was in St Kitts and Nevis. This was based on his bet on Jamaica, which is one of the largest economies in the English-speaking Caribbean. It has only recently expanded to provide solutions in Latin American.

His wife Marguerite assisted in the development of the company which specialises in interior design and construction services, procurement and supply of furniture. Her experience and connections as president of the now defunct Island Victoria Bank helped in the company sourcing its growing clientèle. They even formed Global Cellular Limited in December 2000 which became one of the largest dealers for Digicel when it launched a year later.

“My wife Marguerite was an integral part of the start, development and growth of Corporate Interiors International as well as Global Cellular. She single-handedly spearheaded and supported Global Cellular to the point where we were one of the biggest dealers in the Digicel network. In fact, she was instrumental in the beginning in getting me the first corporate furniture order before we were even married,” Barrett said with admiration.

The company has done work for several government agencies, the largest financial companies in Jamaica and even both major universities in Jamaica. The proudest moment that Barrett recalls is two projects involving The University of the West Indies, Mona. The first one was the setup of Sutherland Global’s first business process outsourcing (BPO) location in Jamaica. Sutherland has gone on to do an additional five locations since.

The second major development at UWI was furnishing the UWI Basic Medical Sciences Complex which spans 250,000 square feet and was completed in January 2013. Corporate Interiors travelled to several countries to ensure that the furniture was made to specifications and desired quality.

The company also recently furnished the 12-storey corporate office building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade in downtown, Kingston. The project started in late 2020 and was one of the company’s largest to date. The company had to adapt in its design approach as the country was dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic which meant extra focus on social distancing.

After celebrating a quarter century in 2021, Corporate Interiors is continuing its pursuit to expand its offerings to the Jamaican market. One such offering is an alternative structure construction metal compared to steel and concrete. This currently involves a recently formed partnership with Chinese construction company Deep Blue Homes, which will see the introduction of more pre-fabricated light gauge steel for residential housing. The company already formed China Sources International Limited in February 2007 to create linkages to Jamaica from other markets.

While Barrett is proud of his work over the years, the 71-year-old founder is now looking to guide the company to its next stage of growth through succession planning.

“Going forward, my plan is to figure out how to execute succession planning. I’m looking at the possible listing on the Junior Market. That would be the big picture. But to bring my adult kids as part of that process as I hand over and sail into the sunset. Retiring is not such a good thing as it’s not good for your health. Even if I’m going to be in the background, there’s still a need for succession planning and for people to be part of that arrangement. Before that happens, there are still a few things I’d like to accomplish, Barrett added.

“My belief, advice and recommendation is for people to be brave, bold and follow their dreams. If you speak to people about me, they will tell you I never give up and I continue to press. Believe in your dreams, go for it, and don’t allow anybody to tell you no. Remember that overnight success is ten years. There’s no such thing as overnight success. If you’re successful overnight, it may be that your business is not legitimate. If you’re going through a legitimate business, you’re going to want to understand that it’s going to take time to be established,” Barrett closed on his advice to young and up-and-coming entrepreneurs.