Annual Small Business Week ceremonies on St. Thomas and St. Croix celebrated local businesses and also gave business owners a chance to participate in specialized trainings focusing on business growth and securing their assets.
The week wrapped up Friday on St. Thomas with a business showcase, award ceremonies and a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Mitch Meyerson, who spoke about strategies for online marketing.
Small Business Development Center marketing coordinator Mary Jo Williams explained that in selecting business owners for awards, the SBDC looks for clients willing to use innovative strategies to help grow their business, and that Meyerson would further help expose them to new tricks of the trade.
Award presentations this week spotlighted several business owners, including Yoki Henley of Itiba LLC.; Jill Farley of Cool Signs; Cyril and Gemene Thomas of Just Threads; Marston Adams of Kiki’s Automotive; and Jennifer Jackson and Lionel Jacobs of Arawak Bay: The Inn at Salt River. The Small Business Advocate of the Year award went to the Virgin Islands Daily News.
Small Business Administration Entrepreneurs of the Year also include Angel Diaz of La Reine Chicken Shack on St. Croix; Curtis Penn of Caribbean Seashell Vacation Villas on St. John; and Dr. Michael S. Barrow, owner of the Happy Teeth Dental Office on St. Thomas.
Banco Popular was also named SBDC’s Bank of the Year.
“Leading up to Small Business Week, we also take the time to go through our files, look at who has grown and managed to maintain their business, who has continued to use us at the SBDC for assistance, and who has taken that information and run with it,” Williams said later. “We look at the whole business and we’re fortunate to have several great businesses here at our showcase that show the best of what we have to offer.”
One of the spotlighted businesses this year was Lucies Loosies, a local dress-making business started by Janice Winston and husband Bernard Winston.
“One year, I went on a cruise wearing these dresses and, after I told people I made them, they asked if I could make some more for them. I said yes, and I have been making them ever since,” Janice Winston said.
“One size fits all from a child to an adult, and I’ve been very happy doing this. We are in three hotels on St. Thomas now, I’m on the Traveling Roadshow, and it’s great to see that the ladies love my dresses and can feel beautiful in them.”
Speaking about the SBDC awards, Winston said that she thinks what the organization does is “inspirational” to those in the community that want to venture out on their own.
“It makes you feel that your trials are not in vain and that maybe you can be on that stage getting an award,” she said.
Farley, owner of Cool Signs, said that supporting local businesses means investing in the community.
“We feel strongly that we should keep our business local,” she explained. “People have jobs because we continue to make our signs on-island, and working with our community manufacturers and other suppliers also helps keep our money here. It helps pay taxes and a variety of other things.”
“Of course, everyone has the perogative to purchase things online for less, but if you leave your money here, it makes such a difference,” Farley said. “It is so much more important to make that investment because it means investing in your community.”
Speaking to the crowd Friday, Lt. Gov. Gregory R. Francis also applauded this year’s award winners and shared Farley’s sentiments, saying that the government has to be more involved in helping local businesses grow.
“I know that there are a lot of difficult expenses small businesses have to cover – energy, insurance, contributions – and that is why it is so important for us in the Virgin Islands to try and help them as much as possible,” Francis said.
“We as a central government have to get more involved in giving small businesses owners opportunities similar to the large firms with Economic Development Commission benefits. We have everyone from local contractors to farmers working out there, so when we speak about developing small businesses, we have to realize that we are also talking about helping to carry our community.”
