The fifth season of Do It Fuh Grantley, the life and finance podcast from Fortress Fund Managers (FFM), has kicked off with a discussion on the importance of building and maintaining partnerships in business.
Guests on the first episode, entrepreneurs Dario Greenidge of Shine Automotive Inc. and Andy King of King Marketing, spoke of the importance of having a community of like-minded businesspeople.
“Community is important. You may not necessarily find it in your family or a group of friends,” King said. He explained that a key partnership with someone in the same industry enabled him to gain key insights about business ownership, which supplemented his technical proficiency in marketing.
“That was critical because without that partnership I probably wouldn’t be as organised as I am now,” King reflected.Greenidge has maintained contact with a close group of entrepreneurial friends.
“I would discuss goals or new opportunities within or outside the business with them and use them as a sounding board to get advice and information. I find that associating with like-minded people is very important,” he said.
The second episode of the podcast travelled back in time with two members of the Fortress team, compliance officer Shakira Payne and pension administration assistant Jennifer Holder. They reflected on their 20s and the financial lessons learnt along the way such as living within one’s means, saving and budgeting.
When asked what they know now about managing money that they wished they knew then,
Holder highlighted automatic salary deductions for the purpose of saving and investing.
“I wish I had known about those from the beginning because sometimes the money will disappear before you could get it into your account. That’s why it’s important to pay yourself first.”
Payne said she would have liked to have known about diversifying her money across a range of savings and investments.
“I wish I had known more about mutual funds and how to make my money work for me. At that time I didn’t.”
With regard to credit cards, Holder said that it was “important to control credit cards instead of them controlling you” while Payne noted that she’d always tried to manage her usage and not get “carried away”.
Podcast co-host FFM marketing manager Kim Howard also shared a lesson, saying that she’d learnt that she didn’t have to wait until a credit card bill was due to pay it since interest on the balance was calculated daily.
“If I can pay it between receiving the bill and when it’s due then I’d be paying on a smaller
amount. It’s one of the key lessons I’ve learnt about my credit card,” she noted.
Launched in January 2019, the “Do It Fuh Grantley” podcast seeks to demystify the world of investing and enhance the financial knowledge of Barbadians.
In addition to Howard, the other co-host is entrepreneur, author and investment professional Omar Kennedy. New episodes of the current season are released every Thursday until November 25 and can be heard on Apple or Android podcast apps or at www.fortressfund.com.
Fortress Fund Managers manages approximately $700 million across 11 different funds with regional and global investments. (PR)
