Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.
By Walter Edey
In celebrating Small Business Week 2022, UWI professor and political economist, Dr. Don Marshall (at a Sir Arthur Lewis Institute lecture), and the manager of an international business franchise in Barbados, Ryan Walters (writing a media guest column) presented designs for the sustainable development of small business. The lecturer and manager both asserted that small business development was a creative process and more than an event, a single action, a point of sale or human effort.
According to media reports, among other things, Marshall believed that:
(1) Transformation calls for a level of state intervention, and a level of partnership with the private sector elements.
(2) The businesses and countries that were doing well, were those where there was a value-added ethos that drives innovation, that drives a continuous disruption that thrives in creating greater value for the customer.
Walters in his column, wrote among things opined that:
(1) “We need to create an entrepreneurial economy and do away with the notion of micro and small business.
(2) Small business is everyone’s business.
(3) Most businesses start from humble beginnings, small in nature and eventually scale and grow over time to become the magnates they are today… There is something counterproductive by labelling the sector with a word that connotes size – “small” making its significance appear little. While individual business may be small, the sector as a collective, makes a big contribution.”
Ryan Walters
Dr. Marshall, in making his case for a public policy/private action partnership and innovative approach recommended a value – added ethos – a proven orderly and systematic path towards sustainable business enterprise.
Value-added ethos is an innovative business mindset that is directed towards creating value for others at every step of a product or service’s life cycle – from its conception to its eventual disposal. It is the kind of continuous effort that results in efficiency, customer loyalty and satisfaction. The kind of process which differentiates businesses in a competitive marketplace, and, effects and impacts the national growth process.
On the other hand, Walters, a manager of a fast-food chain, spoke about small business as a purpose and passion. He argued for a change in the way the development of small business is currently done and perceived. He also wrote: “Trust me when I say that. I know it [small business growth and development] doesn’t happen without hard work, commitment and sacrifice…Before we chip away at the things to be done, we must embrace once and for all the perception of how we view small business owners.”
A scientific (the dynamics flow systems) working definition of an entrepreneurial economy is an interactive network of businesses evolving structurally, over time, in their own self- interest. For example, a few large and many small businesses, given freedom by the continuous changes in policy changes by governments and management – in response to business environment changes, and external shocks), spreading across the social, cultural and economic landscapes.
Specifically, business enterprises individually and collectively, response to value added processes like: mobilizing labour through training; and increasing the flow of products and services – and the movement of business from one level to another by adjusting rules that constrain their movement.
In this continuously evolving innovative space doing business is easier. There is a high level of new business creation. Growth and performance are measured mathematically: in terms of the number of new businesses being created, the rate of expansion of existing businesses, the level of investment in new ventures and the novel business ideas, products or services that emerge. In more than one way, the value-added ethos concept complements the idea of an entrepreneurial economy. They also have invaluable similarities. Both require:
(1) A supportive environment that encourages risk-taking and experimentation.
(2) Factors such as access to capital, development of a skilled workforce, and favourable regulatory conditions.
(3) Emphasis on sustainable growth. Long-term thinking and planning rather than a focus on short-term gains and/or maximizing profits.
(4) A businesses and policy making environment that is nimble and adaptable.
When value-added ethos and entrepreneurial economy concepts are activated, businesses large and small – and the country or island where they exist, are more likely to flourish, generate new opportunities for employment, and assure cultural and social prosperity and civility. The reasons. Both emphasize and live or die by innovative and creative processes. Both of them typically lead to more stable and predictable growth patterns, and both ensure proactive responses to market volatility.
Dr. Marshall and Ryan Walters in their presentations showed how the kites of small businesses can be raised and flown. More importantly, they did so as national winds of adversity continue to rise. Whatever you readers may think of their presentations, it is indisputable that kites rise against the wind and not with it. This fact is consistent with the creative and innovative process, which is difficult and only rewards hard work.
Walter Edey is a retired math and science educator in Barbados and New York.
