By Michron Robinson
Birthed out of the need to take care of herself and to be as financially independent as possible, 23-year-old Zaria Griffith decided to kickstart two businesses and she’s putting in the work to get where she wants to go despite the obstacles.
She’s petite in size, but her mission is grand – to become the best version of herself and bring other young women along with her. This registered farmer is the owner of the Bajan Health Corner and Northern Premier Events.
She sat down with Barbados TODAY during an exclusive interview about her journey. She said her zeal for business came out of simple needs. “I think that this passion came from the need to be taken care of and the need to ensure that happens,” she said candidly.
“I wouldn’t say that I am passionate about agriculture, but I am passionate about business. Once it is entrepreneurship, I don’t think the field matters. Once it is business, I am passionate about it.”
Griffith is from a family of entrepreneurs- her father and paternal grandfather are both involved in agricultural entrepreneurship. “My grandmother, father and grandfather are involved and my mother as well, who is now starting out,” she said.
That support from her family has come easily, even after she decided to pursue business over a degree in mass communication. “I had comments about why I decided to quit college to do what I love, which is entrepreneurship, but now they see it’s getting somewhere [the respect is there],” the former Darryl Jordan Secondary School student said.
This aspiring motivational speaker and philanthropist has had her fair share of trials, but she’s committed to making the world a better space through spreading positivity. “My main goal is to be a motivational speaker. Once I could impact someone’s life by showing them how to do better with personal development, I guess that is the main thing for me. But obviously, I have to start somewhere and put in the work for my personal growth in order to get there.”
And she’s honest about how tough life can get: “I would say every day is not a motivated day. You don’t feel like it every day, but it is about your mindset. You must have the mindset that you are doing this for a higher purpose. You have to be disciplined [and keep going] even when you don’t feel like it.”
Griffith believes some are naturally keen on business. “I think people can become entrepreneurs, but I think some people are born true entrepreneurs. I would say that I was born an entrepreneur because I eventually ended up leaving everything to do entrepreneurship – leaving everything behind and I am passionate about it,” she said.
Even though she hasn’t formally completed school, Griffith has been putting in the work to take her businesses to the next level by taking courses in QuickBooks and Social Media Management.
“I did outside classes because it is okay to have a passion, but you still have to know what you’re doing. So in the future when I get my business to the next level where I can work and study, I want to do business management and marketing,” she said.
Issues sometimes pop up with the crops from her plot at Mount Poyer, but she stressed she’s not giving up and unwilling to give in. “Sometimes I’m overwhelmed, feeling like I’m pushing hard with little rewards and even after overcoming obstacles there seems to be even more [trials] but [I’m resilient].”
Currently, she is focused on making Northern Premier Events, her events hosting company, the best it can be. “I just want to have an event that is always successful and ensure that my vendors are always happy. I would like to see my hard work payoff because once my customers are happy I would be happy,” she said.
She’s thankful to companies that have assisted her – Zepherins, KFC and Wibisco – in producing one of her first projects, The Northern Flea Market.
Griffith has her sights set on expanding both of her businesses and is looking for opportunities such as grants, mentorship and practical training programmes.
Call her little ‘Ms Ambition’ – she is set on what her ideal life looks like and it’s simple: “I want to be the best version of myself. In terms of the different aspects of [human livelihood] like mental, financial, physical, social and environmental, my perfect life is having all of those in balance.”
(MR)
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