Student entrepreneur

University students are no longer waiting to finish their tertiary-level education to seek employment. Mahalia Gordon is one such student and has created her own employment through entrepreneurship.

The 20-year-old is the proprietor of MahGord, the brand under which her food-seasoning product is marketed.

Gordon told The STAR that the inconvenience of having to cut natural seasonings is what spurred her business idea of selling blended seasonings.

"I was not in the mood to cut up, so I blended the seasonings, and because of how convenient it was, I decided to bottle it to see how well it did," said the University of Technology student.

The product, which is formulated from locally grown herbs and spices such as ginger, pimento, scallion, onion, peppers and thyme, can be used to season a variety of meats.

The young entrepreneur pinpoints her family's support for her brand as being critical to the success of MahGord since creating it two years ago.

"They are the backbone of my business, in fact, the business is basically a family business because of all the input they offer to MahGord," she revealed.

The second-year food service management student said balancing school and operating her own business has been difficult, but she has managed to excel at both ventures.

"I have to prioritise, so my focus is always on school and MahGord because my drive to do well exceeds the difficulty that I am faced with in doing both," she explained.

Although MahGord is not yet on the shelves of supermarkets, Gordon told The STAR that she is consistently receiving orders for her products because of past customers referring them to

others.

She added that her blend of natural seasonings receives rave reviews from her customers because of its versatility.

Gordon envisions her business expanding to create more products and to begin being featured on the shelves of Jamaica's supermarkets.

"I will use my experience in the culinary industry to experiment and add more seasonings to the existing one," said the Clarendon native.

A heightened knowledge of the corporate world is one of the many positives that Gordon has got since she became an entrepreneur.

"I have become more responsible because of the need to balance, and it's been great to experience the demands of the work world," she added.

If you would like to order a bottle of MahGord's

natural seasoning, she can be contacted at

1-876-321-3996.