Vendors urged to create business plans

The Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN) is pleading with local hawkers to replace traditional “pack and pray” approaches to vending with comprehensive business strategies that will ensure the survival and eventual expansion of their enterprises.

In fact, BARVEN’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) and Chairman of the organisation’s Fairchild Street branch, Valentino Barrow suggested that such factors will likely be considered by the Markets Division of the Ministry of Agriculture when allocating spaces to its newest market.

“What we want the public to know, as well as those who have an eye on the Fairchild Street Market Village, is that we no longer have the intention of doing business the old fashioned way. I respectfully call it ‘pack and pray’, as was the thing in the old days when I was a young lad on the same premises with my granddad. I would watch people pack [their stalls] and literally pray. They would take out their Bible, chant some Psalms and do whatever they were doing in the hope of getting a sale,” he recalled.

“But those days are gone, and we expect in this new dispensation of the market village, that people will have an individual business plan for their business according to which business they ‘vend’.”

During a press briefing on Monday afternoon, Barrow indicated that vendors moving into the 116 stalls at the new Fairchild Street market are expected to receive much-needed training in business management. This, he explained, would augment a “collective plan” from BARVEN to ensure the survival of these businesses.

“I don’t want to put myself out on a limb, because all of this is subject to verification, but we have Joyann Haigh on board and we will be having business consultants, I presume, who will come and give some workshops to put people on the right track. We would also be trying to give some financial assistance to those who may be a little [short] on cash, and we hope that that will come to bear in the form of a loan for those who qualify,” the BARVEN PRO disclosed.

“[BARVEN] will also have a collective plan for the village that highlights the many programmes that will be a collective. In other words, where you would see the whole village being [included], but we also expect people to have individual plans for their business because I believe they should have a plan for where they want to go,” he stressed.

The PRO noted that while most of the spaces at Fairchild Street will be given to those currently plying their trade in surrounding areas, a number of visual artists, florists, and shoemakers will be facilitated. Newcomers to the area will have to apply for spaces when advertisements are circulated.

When asked if their ability to secure vending spaces would depend on their willingness to present business plans, Barrow said: “Of course we will take into consideration all of those things, but it is not a requirement per se. Let’s say that you have a plant nursery and you could supply plants on a constant basis to facilitate the demand. That is a basic [requirement].

“You don’t need an illustrious plan, and BARVEN will also be there to help them with their plans, to suggest ideas, make recommendations,” he added.