Today my sister Svetlana Abrams tells the heart-warming journey of supporting her young daughter’s dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
“For almost two years, my daughter, Princess Jonique as she is fondly called, has been talking about becoming an entrepreneur in the hospitality industry. She is only seven but the passion in her voice, whenever she speaks about owning her business, made me one day stop and take notice.
Fast forward to March, 2023, ‘Fruit City,’ as she coined it, was born, and it has been a short but interesting journey since.
Before I tell you about the journey, I want to say to us parents – listen to your children. They are little human beings with their own thoughts and dreams, and as parents we should breathe life into their aspirations.
Dreams often give children a sense of purpose, and that purpose is fuelled by passion. According to the Learning Lab, when a child’s dreams are anchored to a clear vision and driven by their interest, they will be motivated to work harder to make those dreams come true.
Children often have big dreams, and for Jonique it has been an adventurous journey. Aside from wanting to explore the world, she has dreamt of becoming the President, a Judge, the City Mayor, a Youtuber and an Entrepreneur. Not once have I shut her down or sought to limit her to a single profession because there are no limits to what she can accomplish. I have only emphasized the importance of education in attaining those goals.
Because when children are shut down or dismissed, they are often discouraged from pursuing their dreams, and develop a sense of fear. So, as the Learning Lab suggests, “when failure, discouragement and fear deter your child from moving forward as he or she chases those dreams, it falls to us as parents and educators to be the voice of reason that pushes each young dreamer to embrace the challenges ahead.”
So, champion their passion and in doing so, equip them with the requisite skills and knowledge they need to succeed. And importantly, help them to understand the importance of resilience when confronted by challenges.
The dream
Now, let me take you back to 2021. It was after visiting the US that year that Jonique returned to Guyana and spoke extensively about owning her own restaurant and casino. I know right!!! She wanted to earn her own money, not only to save for the future but also to help save animals.
As we were preparing to head back to the US in December 2022, she would discuss her business ideas with her Godmother Shamisa Anthony and together they would explore things to sell. One night while conversing with her Godmother, she was asked, what would be the name of your business? Without hesitation, Jonique said ‘Fruit City’ and for them both it was a done deal.
She suggested selling fruit icicles in school but we needed permission from the school and PTA and the process was taking longer than anticipated. Added to that we thought it would have been too much for a seven-year-old.
So, I suggested in the interim, Jonique could sell something that is readily available on the weekend. Her grandfather, Wainwright Marshall, makes plantain chips to sell and chicken foot was also readily available, so we decided on those. My Uncle Wilfred upon hearing of her planned business made her the stand, and despite some delays, we made her dream a reality on Saturday, March 18.
That day, her father Jude and I, together with her cousin Naisha, accompanied her to the Kingston Seawall where we set-up shop – selling well-flavored plantain chips and chicken foot with some mouth-watering sour made from mangoes, cucumber and garlic, compliments of my mom, Debra Marshall.
With just a single phone call, our family friend Uvel Clarke showed up. He not only bought from Jonique, but taught her the art of encouraging persons to buy from her.
To be honest, Jonique, who kept us on our toes as we were preparing to launch her business, was excited to get started, but when some persons opted not to buy that first day, she became sad and disappointed.
It was important for us to remind her that not everyone will make a purchase and she ought not to feel discouraged. That day, despite a few setbacks, she sold more than 80% of her chips and chicken foot and by the Sunday, she was sold out. By the following weekend, Jonique was upbeat and optimistic about her sales, so much so, she made a jingle to promote her business. Whenever faced with a “no,” she would tell them in an upbeat tone, “okay but comeback if you change your mind; we will be here next weekend.” Some eventually did. That weekend she doubled her sales and received a number of orders.
To tell her story, I posted an image of her selling on Facebook, and the response was overwhelming. The post received hundreds of likes, shares and comments, with persons offering congratulatory remarks and well wishes. For some, it brought back sweet memories of when their parents started them off in business at a tender age, explaining that the lessons learnt back then have helped to shape their lives in more ways than one. One such person was Vanessa Braithwaite-Moore. As a child, her father started her off selling confectionery, today, she is the proprietor of INFO 10 – a regional news outlet and document centre.
But the post not only received positive reviews. An extremely small group of people sought to mock and condemn the move, with at least one individual contending that children should not be selling, and it was a case of child endangerment. For me, it was important to explain that Jonique was only selling on the Kingston Seawall on Saturdays for about three hours, and at all material times, both of her parents were present.
While Jonique has simply said she wants to “earn money” I see this venture as an opportunity for her to achieve Financial Literacy and Independence at an early age. Importantly, she is also learning to strike a balance. Even as she pursued her business venture, Jonique excelled at her End-of-Term Exams, coming in second with 94.6%.
As her mother, I am excited about her future, and I can’t wait to see what ‘Fruit City’ will look like in years to come. But for now, thanks to all the kind-hearted persons who have poured out their love and support to my baby girl. “
I couldn’t agree with this sister more that we as parents need to breathe life into our children’s dreams and passion. Remember we can either kill them or help to sustain them. Chose the latter, we must always be our children’s biggest supporters.
