Managing two companies; Project Grapevine and The Vinelist

Sometimes in life we make bold steps in order to decide what is it that we want to do. Some individuals work better by themselves whilst others are more comfortable working in groups. Whatever the case, it all depends on your dreams, your goals and your aspirations, knowing where you stand today and where you want to be tomorrow. In the case of these young entrepreneurs who have taken major steps in starting their own online businesses.

Whilst sitting and talking to three of the young people from the Project Grapevine / The Vinelist team, I realize the importance of friendship when working as a team. The owners of this young online company are Mannin Marsh, Dean Morris, Alesha Aris, Tahj Laidley, Kavaughn Lawerence, Horace Grant and Laiken Williams. I only had the pleasure of speaking with three of the members of the team; Mannin, Alesha and Dean.  

Despite  Project Grapevine being only a few months older than The Vinelist, the idea of The Vinelist started before Project Grapevine. Project Grapevine was first pitched at Start Up Jamaica in Nov 2014. The aim of the company is to build brands for other companies by forming websites, social media platforms and using different interactive media in order to promote these companies. The team was influenced to form this online based company mainly for personal reasons; they could combine their developing and designing skills.

In January 2015 the opportunity presented itself for the team to start their initial company The Vinelist and they pitched their idea at the Start Up Jamaica event. The Vinelist is a virtual mall where instead of customers spending hours driving around to stores in order to find a product. The Vinelist website would search and find the product for you; upon locating the product they would then relay this information to the consumer. 

The difference between Project Grapevine and The Vinelist is that one is more consumer oriented where it’s a business to business organisation and is more focused on making a profit whilst the other is a business to consumer organisation and is more individual  or customer driven.

Aris, Morris and Marsh all agreed that it was 99% coincidental meeting and 1% genius that led to the development of this demand driven company.  Currently only three of seven members are dedicated full time to the development of both their companies. Even though it is not at a stage to support them financially, they are currently being supported by funds from Project Grapevine, which also helps to support The Vinelist which is not yet in its profit stages. They are looking forward to seeing both companies expanding within their current niche market, Kingston Jamaica, to the wider Jamaica and the Caribbean.

This ‘E’ over that ‘e’

There are many benefits in working for one’s self as well as there are challenges. Some people however feel safer being an employee than an Entrepreneur.  For this group of young people it is definitely something they are looking forward to, leaving their jobs and joining the other members to work full time for their companies. For the three that are currently working full time for their business, when asked why they choose to be an entrepreneur instead of getting a ‘safe’ job they quickly elaborated on the reasons:

  “For us choosing to be an entrepreneur was never difficult, we already had the mind set and the drive to establish something for our self, because you do not want the structured mindset of a 9-5. You also gain freedom and you don’t feel as restricted and confined.  You learn to make better decisions as you do not want to do anything that would jeopardize your company; hence you build a strong work ethic.  For us working together as a team is a stronger entity, so we would suggest people to find others that compliments them if they are going to be working as a team.

 In any thing you do, one will find that there are challenges as it can be difficult when starting a new company and trying to cope with others. Every company has their down times as not everyone will agree on everything. For the Project Grapevine and The Vinelist team, their main challenges include lack of communication as messages are often wrongly interpreted by members of the group which may result in conflicts therefore hindering work process. Decision making is also a major challenge the company faces as it takes a much longer time to arrive at conclusion as every member wants to give their input on what is taking place.

Message to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

The world of entrepreneurship is growing at a faster pace as more and more people are shifting to become entrepreneurs starting their own business. When asked what advice they would give to someone looking to become an entrepreneur, all three individuals agreed on the following:

Ø  Starting early is very important as in ‘start today.

Ø   “Get use to failing; get advice from experts, do a test run or survey to see how great of a need your company is and make sure you learn as much as possible.”

 They were then asked if they thought that starting an online business is easier than starting a brick mortar company since they own two online companies. Their reply was and I quote “For us it was easier to start an online business, however we think it is all base on the type of company that you are starting whether it is a product or service company. For us it was a service and we were adept, therefore the decision was to build a website in order to showcase our service.”

Every successful individual has a motto, mantra or inspiration quote that they live by. For Alesha Aris her philosophy is just two words “stay hungry,” which to her this means that you will never be finish as you will always be working hard to ensure that you eat. “One thing that makes a dream impossible is fear of failure,” is the quote that Mannin Marsh lives by.  For Dean Morris he had a lot to share but eventually decided to use this one as his favourite; “Excellence is commitment to details, by Vola Ashfar.”