Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 11/Sep 07:00

Coaching the island’s entrepreneurs

WITH the Caribbean and Latin American region having the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity recorded in the Global Entrepreneur Monitor 2023/2024 report, Trinidad and Tobago sits in the epicentre of a job market shift. As more people leave the traditional workplace to earn their own income, the demand for a guiding hand in navigating the complexities of the business world alone is increasing. This is where coach and winner of the 2025 Caribbean POSH Icon Women Entrepreneur Excellence Award, Shelly-Ann Solomon, comes in. Along with her award win and the work she has done coaching over 15,000 clients in building businesses in industries like gynaecology, cosmetology and content creation, one of the most notable things about Solomon was her ability to take $46 and transform it into a six-figure income right here in TT. More specifically, her living room, where, after quitting a job that deprived Solomon of the joys of new motherhood, she started vocal coaching classes, which would later evolve into the Pinnacle of Rubies Vocal Ministry, which has trained singers across the region and internationally. Solomon invited Business Day to her Cunupia home, where she reflected on her journey, which began in 1999. "I would say that it took a lot of focus, discipline and resilience. I had no guidance, no mentors, no coaches and no business experience. "I was a new mom, a new bride, and as a working mother, it was difficult for me to look at my daughter spending more time with her grandmother than me. I felt like I was visiting her life versus actually being in her life." But giving up work didn’t appeal to the career woman who had been working since the age of 17. However, when she started teaching her classes, she became very aware of the importance of training. "I had a rude awakening. It's a different thing to be trained to be a singer versus training people to be singers." That realisation took Solomon to Berklee College of Music, Massachusetts, where she specialised in voice coaching and styling. After returning home, Solomon invested $40 into her business, printing handouts and workbooks for her clients. Her clientele steadily grew and she began hosting recitals. Although initially funded by her husband, Solomon was eventually challenged with taking full financial responsibility for putting on her shows. "In 2004, he said to me, 'I'm no longer going to fund this for you; this business has to stand up on its own.' "We often think someone telling us no is rejection. But it actually positioned me to become a more responsible, disciplined and independent entrepreneur. "I was forced to go into the mindset of how am I going to make this business work." Within two years, Solomon says she was able to fully fund the shows without borrowing. "The last show in 2019 was $157,000 paid in cash…that was the road from $40 to seven figures." Journey to business coaching After becoming active on social media in 2014, Solomon said she took her natural knack for helping others grow and became a marketing strategist. [caption id="attachment_1177389" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Business coach Shelly-Ann Solomon, centre, speaks at a conference hosted for entrepreneurial women. -[/caption] "Once I started helping my students and clients and they started winning awards, closing deals and opening up their own academies, I taught them how to use social media and saw how easy it was to help them go from zero to six figures in a short time…it became second nature for me." Retiring from her vocal coaching, Solomon went on to complete programmes that trained her in the art of mentorship, including the Jump Mentorship programme by Steve Harvey. Now Solomon passes on her skills, training and expertise to women entrepreneurs across the region who want to move past the nine-to-five life. "I started helping women because I looked around and I realised that a lot of women are being taken advantage of, abused, stagnated in careers, blocked and sabotaged. "I also noticed that we did not have anybody who had the academic know-how, the experience and the desire to teach other people. "And because of that, a lot of women have tried to start businesses but did not succeed, or success would have taken them ten times longer than it needed to. "Now, I know how to do it quickly. "But I had a challenge. People didn't trust coaches." The Caribbean’s coaching scepticism Solomon said because of her success due to an established network of clients, she was shielded from the ground-level realities. But that didn’t stop her from noticing the cultural scepticism around the idea of business coaching. "I realised that when it came to business and entrepreneurship the culture of the Caribbean was not very trusting of coaches. "Saying you’re a coach didn’t come with much respect and was met with a lot of scepticism because of what came before. "A lot of people just call themselves coaches but were never trained and had no experience coaching. They had a skill and they had some knowledge, and they were trying to pass it on. But knowing how to do it yourself and knowing how to pass it on to others are different things. So I think that was one of my competitive edges." With her formula-oriented and methodical approach, Solomon says she now teaches the strategies for building successful businesses from scratch in zero to 12 months. This, Solomon said, has evolved into a network of Caribbean women, expanding their Caribbean-built brands into over 29 countries. Going global from home The idea of locally built, home-grown coaching that expands TT businesses into international brands is one Solomon said she holds dear. "Because we all know those who leave the island, go out and establish themselves and come back to our local people. But from what I've seen and experienced is that some of these coaches that went out and established themselves, when they come back, they don’t necessarily relate to the culture. [caption id="attachment_1177390" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shelly-Ann Solomon delivers the feature address at a human resources event in St Kitts. -[/caption] "They’re still Trini and Caribbean, but with regards to our needs as Caribbean entrepreneurs, it’s totally different." Solomon said local culture is a major factor that needs to be considered when it comes to building businesses. "I can tell you from my experience because I went out there and got trained and what they teach us out there doesn’t always apply here. "The foundation, techniques and fundamentals will always work. The basics of business stands, but how we market is totally different. "They are very showy, but in Trinidad and the Caribbean, that’s not a flex for us. We have cultural coding, and whether we like it or not, our culture is totally different to the US. "They are good at flashy life, big lights and brands. But in the Caribbean and TT in particular, we are not impressed." Taking all this into consideration, Solomon’s advocacy for home-grown entrepreneurship stands strong as she leads by example. "Nothing is wrong with going out and establishing yourself. But I want women to know; if that's not an option, you can stay right on your island and become a six or seven-figure earner. "Because I came from a ten-by-ten room, I started my business in a tiny apartment. "I want to show women that we can stay in the Caribbean, build successful businesses in our islands and make our islands proud. "We don't have to go anywhere to do it all right here and then, we can penetrate out." Building the community of business Reflecting on her progress, Solomon was almost brought to tears as she reflected on her award nomination and win granted by selection from judges and support from her community. The ICON Woman Awards was created to celebrate the achievements of Caribbean women across industries. Nominees are submitted and voted for by the community, with the award’s advisory committee selecting honorees based on their contributions. "I already knew. I was a good entrepreneur. I already knew that I was helping a lot of people. I help a lot of people go from homeless to six and seven figures in 12 to 24 months during covid19, so the nomination and having passed that screening process, that's not a normal thing. But winning the award, that was about the community rallying around me." Solomon says her work is about more than just helping women achieve financial freedom; it’s about them overcoming self-doubt and using their unique talents to change their lives and the lives of those around them. In a testimonial posted to LinkedIn, licensed midwife Quista Harry-Richards said, "Before working with coach Shelly, I had completed two short courses in small and micro enterprise entrepreneurship. While they sparked my curiosity, I was still stuck in that frustrating phase of piecing together random bits of information and trying to make it all work on my own. "What I truly needed was real business mentorship from a trusted coach who could walk me through building a successful and sustainable business, with structure, clarity and strategy." Harry-Richards said from the first session, Solomon committed to fully understanding her business. "Down to my social media content and image. Her feedback was honest, personalised and incredibly eye-opening. "One of the most powerful shifts came when she pointed out that I was severely undervaluing my expertise. "I had been so focused on selling products that I overlooked my biggest asset, my over 15 years of skills and professional knowledge." Beauty stylist Sulan Alexander shared similar sentiments in her testimonial. "I joined because I am really creative and get a lot of good ideas, but I had no real business structure and honestly was winging a lot of it. "I either start projects/work on ideas and don't finish, don't give one thing enough time to develop fully, or sit on my ideas because I don't know what to do. "But from the first consultation from coach Shelly, I was at ease, I truly felt like this was God ordained. She not only spoke life into me but gave me the guidance I needed to jumpstart my process and progress. I love how detailed the online course is, the wealth of information provided and the ability to complete the course based on my own schedule. "Within one month of working with Coach Shelly, I have already implemented some of her recommendations for my brand and my business, which is now contributing to a better brand look, cohesiveness and structure to help me get better as a female entrepreneur. "I am more focused and disciplined in my business and completing my goals. I feel more confident and it shows."   The post Coaching the island’s entrepreneurs appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.