HER story is one of resilience and resourcefulness in the face of adversity.

By age 33 internal auditor Antoinette Hamilton had found herself out of a job for the second time, after being made redundant.

For weeks she questioned how, after years of hard work and self-sacrifice, she had ended up on the redundancy list twice. But it was during that roller coaster of emotions when Hamilton had a pivotal moment — she was determined not to rejoin the corporate world. Instead, she wanted to spend her time building a business of her own.

“I spent four years at the last job before I was laid off, and when that happened I thought about how much time I had spent helping that company to grow. I decided that I would use the redundancy money to start my MBA, and during that time I realised that I did not want to go back to corporate,” Hamilton told the Jamaica Observer.

Hamilton registered her business — ProHamco Business Consulting Limited — in 2019, and with just a single client she started her journey as an entrepreneur.

With limited savings Hamilton would do the majority of her business from her living room in Spanish Town, St Catherine. When it was time to meet up with clients she would book co-work spaces or head to their place of business.

“Of course, I was barely getting by. I only had one client and my bills were still the same and so I started hustling to get maybe another client or two. But, as soon as I felt like I was making progress then came COVID-19,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed an unprecedented wave of disruption, profoundly affecting businesses of all sizes and sectors worldwide. From retail and hospitality to manufacturing and technology, virtually no industry was spared.

The impact on Hamilton was particularly pronounced, given that the majority of her services catered to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses — the segment that bore the brunt of the pandemic’s effects.

“So I started looking for work again because by this time I was really running out of cash. But after getting a few work interviews I got a client, and then another one. And so it was [at] that point that I decided that I would put my focus on developing my business,” Hamilton said.

Today Hamilton, who is a chartered accountant, has assisted over 100 companies with financial statement audits, internal controls audits, accounting, tax consulting, business process mapping, business plans, and financial literacy training.

ProHamco’s growth was aided by Hamilton’s decision to become a member of Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica (YEA), along with guidance and funding from Development Bank of Jamaica.

The boutique firm brags on helping MSMEs access over $300 million in loans, more than $100 million in private equity, and over $330 million in public equity, in little over three years. Her list of clientele includes: One Great Studio, Zalco Distributors, Purity, Thomo Vybes Trang Back, Facey and SimSpeak Communications Limited.

“The clients are different each year. Some clients are just one-time clients for tax filing, some are retainer clients, and some just drop in for things like business registration, consulting, or a budget. So it varies, but in any given year I am seeing over 40 clients,” she said.

With the growth of the business Hamilton has hired four permanent staff members. Recently, she also secured a 600-square-foot office space at the newly opened Hung Way Shopping Centre in Portmore, St Catherine.

“There are products that we do specifically for the larger companies, for example business process manuals where we map business processes and we present them in both written and graphical formats — so a company like Facey would be interested in services like that.

“But the majority of our clients fall in the MSME category, which includes the hairdressers and skilled workers,” Hamilton said.

Doubling revenues by 2026

Prior to securing the office space ProHamco largely relied on referrals for business, but the CEO says the company has now set aside a budget for marketing aimed at doubling the company’s revenue target within the next year or two.

The company currently earns the majority of its revenues from auditing, financial management and accounting services.

“Our objective is to become the go-to financial advisory business in St Catherine. Portmore has a growing population and so having an office here puts us in arm’s reach of business operators, particularly MSMEs. Additionally, we are not too far from my hometown of Spanish Town and so I still hope to get business from that side of the parish,” the 38-year-old entrepreneur said.

ProHamco will also offer a co-working space for entrepreneurs who are looking for somewhere to host business meetings.

“Our profit won’t necessarily grow exponentially this year but we will be growing the top line, hopefully double, by year end. Then the following year, when we are settled in the market, we may see improvements in profit,” Hamilton said.

The CEO and founder also has ambitions to open a second branch in St Ann by 2026.

“St Ann has a good population size and, based on research, I believe the parish could do well with another accounting firm,” she said.