The BCCEC is pleased to introduce its Monthly Member Spotlight, highlighting members from our various classes of membership so that you can get to know them better. For the month of February:
Fun Foods Wholesale Ltd
Graphite Engineering Ltd
Fun Foods Wholesale Ltd
Company name: Fun Foods Wholesale Ltd
Person in charge: Llewellyn Burrows, V/P: Managing Director
Year Company was founded: 1996
Describe what your business provides for its customers: Fun Foods provides the widest selection of wholesale ice cream products in the Bahamas, representing a few of the world's top brand names to residents throughout the archipelago.
Give us a brief history of your business and what makes it unique: Our business is unique in that it is the only company in the Bahamas that "specializes" in the ice cream business and facilitates its clients by providing products and services specific to that industry.
What’s the most exciting recent highlight for your business? With Covid having such a wide effect on business I guess our most exciting highlight would be the fact that we have performed well during the pandemic, never missing a beat with top service to our customers throughout the period.
Where do you hope to see your business in 12 months? We hope to continue our growth even further over the next 12 months and expand our team to at least 3 more employees to facilitate the same.
What advice would you offer to someone starting their own small business? For entrepreneurs looking to get started my advice would be to make sure all the "homework" is completed before you start, and understand that you will need to exercise a lot of patience in the first few years. Always deal with staff, customers and clients in an honest, respectful and fair manner. Once you do that, along with a lot of good efforts and hard work, you will
never need to look back!
Stop into Fun Foods Wholesale, all Lickety Split Locations & your favourite food store and get your ice cream treat today.
Check out their Facebook page>>> https://www.facebook.com/funfoodswholesale
Graphite Engineering Ltd
Company name: Graphite Engineering Ltd
Person in charge: Sonia Brown, PE
Year Company was founded: 2005
Describe what your business provides for its customers: We are mechanical and electrical consulting engineers in the building services space and we offer consulting services via preparation of air-conditioning, ventilation, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, vertical transport, liquified petroleum gas, diesel and fire protection services. We also provide construction administration oversight to ensure that the installation of the various services complies with the design drawings and with government regulations. We further assess existing buildings for clients and advise on how the performance of the building may be improved. In a nutshell, we provide technical advice to our clients to assist them in making their construction projects a success.
Give us a brief history of your business and what makes it unique: We have been in business for 17 years and got a big break early on by landing the mechanical engineer of record contract for the redevelopment of the Lynden Pindling International Airport. Our expert service, reliability and how easy we are to work with, opened doors for other projects such as Baha Mar, The Pointe, Sandals, Disney, Lyford Cay Club and many others.
We have a very diverse team of persons who are proficient in skills from the various aspects of building services designs. We harness the lifetime of experience of electrical, plumbing, LPG and fire protection contractors who consult with us during the design process and assist with inspection services. We find they offer a starkly unique perspective than the design team and this approach to interdisciplinary design has served us well.
We also invest in the community and offer support year in and year out to a number of not for profit agencies and schools. We also offer month-long internship opportunities to university students studying mechanical or electrical engineering and also to high school students for shorter stints.
As a small but impactful firm headed by a black, female in a field dominated by men, we have to offer a different perspective. We lead with a more inclusive and collaborative approach and focus on finding common ground and focusing on the problem at hand.
What’s the most exciting recent highlight for your business? It is exciting to see the many projects of national significance around the country that we have played a significant role in their successful execution.
Where do you hope to see your business in 12 months? We anticipate further growth in the area of building service consulting as well as expanding our portfolio in the area of sustainability consulting.
What advice would you offer to someone starting their own small business? I would suggest doing as much planning and saving as possible so you have reserves in times when business is inevitably slow. You may want to try out your business as a side gig before quitting your day job. Additionally, ensure that you have a differentiated product that cannot be easily duplicated. Remember that what sets you apart may be as simple as the way you treat people.
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals or persons far more successful than you and don’t spend time sharing your dreams with people with limited thinking. Look for role models and study successful people you admire by reading biographies, interviews and TED Talks as examples.
Be persistent, but also self-aware so that you constantly make honest assessments of your current situation and know when to shift gears. Trusted advisors that can provide critical feedback are also very important.
Furthermore, there is a quote that says, "It takes 10years to become an overnight success", so put position yourself so you can hang in there for the long haul.
Head over to their website and contact them today for your engineering needs: http://graphitebahamas.com/
