'Translate your passion into a profit' - Young business owner gives advice to wannabe entrepreneurs

• Young business owner gives

advice to wannabe entrepreneurs

An impeccable eye for fashion and a desire to always look stylish are the reasons Shauna-Kaye Whitter began selling jewellery from her school bag during her time at the University of the West Indies.

Whitter started her business, Kaye-Anne's Kollection, after getting requests from her friends to order jewellery similar to the ones she wore. After realising that people continued requesting different type of accessories, she decided to start her own business in 2010 with jewellery as the focus.

"I love to dress up, and in order to wear the same thing over and over, I would use jewellery and other accessories to change up the same look, that's where I come in for my customers," explained Whitter.

At the time she started her business, Whitter was a young 21-year-old juggling a heavy university workload and a new business. The young entrepreneur managed a growing business that moved from just providing jewellery to including clothing items.

Fast-forward five years later, and she is still doing a balancing act between her job at Scotia Wealth and her business, but Whitter says her fear of failure has helped her to accomplish her goals in her careers.

"Scheduling and time management also help significantly in me excelling at both jobs," she added.

After being in two physical locations over the years, Whitter made the decision last month to make Kaye-Anne's Kollection a mobile company where customers order items via the Internet or cell phone and they are delivered directly to them.

"Persons like convenience, the idea of items being delivered to their door is preferred, and sales have gone up since I went mobile again," Whitter explained.

The memory of the humble beginnings of her business is what motivates the entrepreneur, who says in five years she wants Kaye-Anne's Kollection to be a well-known brand for accessories.

When asked by THE STAR to give advice to young entrepreneurs, Whitter said that new business owners should be encouraged to start small and gradually expand with time.

She also explained that entrepreneurship is a constant learning process so beginners should be prepared for the lessons.

"Translate your passion into a profit," was the last piece of advice she wanted to leave with persons looking to start their own business.