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Quickly succeeding at anything almost sounds like an oxymoron. How can you succeed quickly much less as a young entrepreneur.

Doesn’t entrepreneurship takes time?

Yes and no.

One can become a young entrepreneur even without realizing it. As a matter of fact, some are already entrepreneur, but don’t realize it or have labeled what they are doing as such.

In an earlier episode I shared how for years I didn’t realize or label what my dad did as entrepreneurship. I saw him as a small business person and even that wasn’t the term I gave what he did.

This is true of many of the people living in the Caribbean. Many of them have a business in one way or another, many times too small to be labeled as a business, yet it is.

They wouldn’t call themselves an entrepreneur. As a matter of fact some do not know what an entrepreneur is.

It is a term that is fairly new especially within the caribbean.

In this episode, our guest Georgie-Ann Getton McCoy who is representing Jamaica, shares her journey as a young entrepreneur.

She is the youngest guest we’ve had on the show so far.

As you listen, if you weren’t told her age, you would not believe you were listening to someone who is in her very early twenties. You’ll hear her mention how old she is in this interview.

Here are the 3 keys that Georgie-Ann shared as necessary to succeed as a young entrepreneur.

1. Knowledge (Education)
2. Experiences
3. Connections

Here are some other important things to know about Georgie-Ann and her thoughts about Jamaica, migration, responsibility, hard work, taking action and a phrase that she remembers from the homeland – Jamaica.

Why visit Jamaica:

– natural springs, mineral waters

Whats a must do in Jamaica?

– Explore the countryside for it’s agriculture, diversity, beauty of the island

Favorite dish:

– Ackee & Saltfish

Phrase from homeland and translation:

– If sick nuh care, doctor nuh care

Translation:

(if the person who is sick doesn’t want the care, how will they get the help; how does the person who can provide the assistance offer them the help they need. You have to want the help.

– people will help you if you make your need known and request the help yourself

Definition of Success:

– working towards living the life you envision for yourself while being grateful for where you are right now and the goals you have achieved so far

– you are successful in this moment because of accomplishments

– embrace your accomplishments and remind yourself of such

Obstacles experienced:

– pushing through even when many people do not respect your hard work

– feeling like a failure when not achieving goals set for myself

– having a baby during the 12th Grade of High School; became a teen mom

Migration story:

– moved with family members to the United States

– landed in Brooklyn where there were a good number of other Caribbean migrants

– learned to fend for myself from an early age which gave me the drive to pursue my goals in a relentless manner

– started school and began to pursue accounting but realized it wasn’t for me.

– my passion was to be a teacher and creator

– took a leap of faith and quit my job

– transferred to another school

– started my own clothing line to see what could happen

– joined meetup groups and participating in events for about a year but realized a need to create a venue for people of color, from the caribbean and women.

– started as a hobby; an idea and now do 2 – 3 events per month (workshops, hackathons mainly around career and tech)

Experience versus expectations in coming to USA

– not as described 

– has more opportunities; more options

– have to hustle more / work hard

Lessons Learned:

1. When you have an idea find the easiest and fastest way to test it out. Don’t wait.
2. Make the effort first before you seek others to help you
3. You can’t always be great at everything; be okay with that

Tweet: not everyone is going to respect your hard work ~ GeorgieAnn Getton

GeorgieAnn’s Bio:

Georgie-Ann Getton-Mckoy immigrated from the Island of Jamaica at 7 years old.

At the age of 21, this young woman wears many hats.

In her personal life she is a mother, a wife and a student at CUNY Baruch College.

In her professional life she is a serial entrepreneur, community builder, speaker, author and a Diversity in Tech Enthusiast.

She enjoys learning as well as teaching new and creative ways to find solutions to problems.

Connect with Georgie-Ann:

Website:  www.georgieann.com

Website:  www.illicitmind.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/GeorgieAnn

Book(s) Recommended:

The Promise Of A Pencil: How an ordinary person can create an extraordinary life ~ Adam Braun

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