Lawrence Nicholson | Female influence in the family business arena

Historically, women have had different roles in and influence on family-owned businesses. Women in FOBs, women-led FOBs and women-managed FOBs are among areas of involvement.

However, women have not always been recognised, and even continue to be the invisible hand of power and influence in many successful FOBs.

Thankfully, many women in Jamaica’s business landscape have either not received the memo or tore up the memo that says that they should neither be recognised nor be a visible influence in businesses.

Extracts from interviews with three forthright and no-nonsense Jamaican women in FOBs will be shared in this space for the months of November, December and January. These should serve as timely reminders that many Jamaican women are neither prepared to be ignored nor stay invisible, notwithstanding the struggles they face.

Their influence and impact on the Jamaican landscape capture the mantra of Shaikha Al Nowais: Overcoming resistance takes three things: attitude, approach, perseverance. Their stories must be told, and society must learn from these stories.

In the following extracts, the names of third parties and institutions are omitted, without loss of the significance of the message or the lessons being conveyed:

LN: Remind me … when did you start your business?

Mrs H: Caribbean Health was in 1988 and Manpower Caribbean and then Manpower in 1990. Caribbean Health gave birth to Manpower.

LN: When you started this business, did you start it as a family business, or did you start it as someone who had the skill set that suits a particular situation?

Mrs H: I started a business to create employment for myself. The whole family got involved when the business started to grow and started to move fast. I had no money to take advantage of all the opportunities provided by this big contract that had secured. And that’s when I had to go to my family members and ask them for money. I invited one, my niece, to work with me. She sold her car; she was waiting to migrate. She sold her car, and she lent me the money.

My daughter and niece, who were in America, maxed out their credit cards. My niece in Jamaica got a $2-million line of credit and allowed me to use it. That is family and women power for you. I brought in my son to work in the business. He provided needed sweat equity. And that’s why it was reasonable and fair for me to give them shares in due course. That’s in addition to repaying the loan I got from them. In short, that’s how the business became a family business … I really thank them for jumping in at a time when I needed them most.

LN: It’s typical of many family businesses to have emerged in similar ways as yours. The pecking order theory in finance and economics tells us that in family businesses, the first port of call is your own money. If your money is not adequate, the next stop is usually the family, then friends, followed by the financial institution, if necessary. Why did you choose not to go to the financial institution as a first option?

Mrs H: I went to the financial institutions, but they looked at my type of business and said it was not bankable. Yes, I went to [Bank X] and they said it’s like a cleaning business, and they said no. They ignored me. So that was when I turned to family. And when the business really began to grow, I took my banking away from [Bank X]. It was then that [Bank Manager X] reached out and sent somebody to get a good understanding of what my business was about. It was [Bank Manager X] who went beyond the regular and helped to facilitate the meeting of the payroll each month/week. No loan was given, but he did what he did despite the obvious rule of the head office overseas. I am forever grateful to him.

LN: Did it mean that you had to pay interest on money that was ‘loaned’ to facilitate meeting the payroll?

Mrs H: Of course, of course. The interest rate was very high. So, they prorated the interest for the time. They gave you like a couple of days free. The arrangement was to cover the payroll for Friday, with the understanding that the money would come in by next week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. If the money didn’t come in Wednesday, then the interest would start. But I was able, on every occasion, to pay them back.

LN: Interesting. Has your experience with the bank affected your approach in seeking loans from financial institutions?

Mrs H: Yes. I am not inclined to do business with certain banks in this country. They might have treated me differently if I were not a woman. Although I think things are changing and have changed.

LN: Being successful in business involves taking risks. What informed your risk-taking attitude? Was it gut feeling?

Mrs H: No, not really. I had confidence. I was getting the contracts, government contracts. So, there was some amount of security in that. You get a three-year contract, or a two-year contract, and what have you. But contracts, of course, that you can lose. I had the confidence that I would make the revenue because I was good at what I did.

You should also understand that I had some background in finance. My master’s degree covers areas of health finance, and I also have a diploma in health economics. I am nobody’s fool. I could do the analysis, and I could take the argument to the bankers when they came to me with the objections and things like that. I was quite astute in negotiating with them. You must be at the top of what is important to your business.

LN: Based on your experience, do you believe that women have got a raw deal in doing business in Jamaica?

Mrs H: Somewhat. However, it’s more than women in business or doing business. It’s about knowing what you are about and being prepared to take on the challenges. I have helped to break through part of the glass ceilings, but there are other hurdles to overcome. We will cross all the hurdles in due course. There is also the need to have a balance ... there should neither be an all-men’s club nor an all-women’s club in business. Hopefully, we [women] will not remain silent. Those days are long gone. The journey continues, as captured by the words of Kamala Harris, the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States: There will be people who say to you, ‘You are out of your lane’. They are burdened by only having the capacity to see what has always been, instead of what can be. But don’t you let that burden you.

Mrs H has not allowed the challenges of stepping out and navigating the risks of entering the world of business and to have had a positive impact on the Jamaican business landscape. FOBs are among the beneficiaries from her contribution to the Jamaican business landscape. However, in her words, the journey continues.

More anon!

Lawrence Nicholson, PhD, is a senior lecturer at the Mona School of Business & Management, University of the West Indies, author of Understanding the Caribbean Enterprise: Insights from MSMEs and Family-Owned Businesses and a former director of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group.

lawrence.n.08@gmail.com