‘Serial entrepreneur’ has a passion for business

At the age of 15, Krishendaye Ivey identified that she had a passion for business.

But though she never abandoned her dreams of being her own boss, after graduating from St Catherine High School, Ivey dived into the working world.

"I consider myself a 'serial entrepreneur'. I have more than one business operating. Business is my passion. I've loved it since fourth form at St Catherine High School. That's where I fell in love with it. I decided that once I left, I'm going to brainstorm something and that's what I did," she said. Ivey told THE STAR that it was the freedom and the limitless opportunities to lead that ultimately led her to start her first business in September 2020.

"Business is challenging, but in my eyes, it's a way to freedom and leadership. I like to lead. Freedom to create your own schedule, freedom to create a space that will benefit not only me but others around me," she said. Taking a leap of faith, Ivey launched Rock Solid Tees, an online store that offers custom T-shirt designs. Almost as if she opened the floodgates, Ivey launched four other online businesses consecutively that offer a range of products and services, while maintaining her nine t0 five job, working as a consultant for budding entrepreneurs.

"They are like 'How do you do it?' They keep asking me that one question, and I'm like, only God can answer it," she said. The 28-year-old explained that working from home for the last two years gives her more time, and helps her to navigate her jam-packed schedule.

"Once I finish with work, or on my lunchtime or after work, that's when business starts. So once I'm finished with auditing then I go right into business," she said. "The thing is, my brain is always working in regards to business. I'm always thinking about business, so every minute ideas come to my head. I'm always brainstorming, I'm always writing down stuff, I'm always researching, I'm always watching videos."

While she has no immediate plans of quitting or slowing down, Ivey said that early on, her confidence in turning a profit did waiver briefly.

"Yes I definitely get the urge to get up and quit, but guess what I don't do? I don't give in. I don't quit on what I love. That moment when I got the feeling was when I tried to save from my nine t0 five to get my equipment, and the bills and other expenses got in the way. I said to myself, 'I don't think this is gonna work at all'. But I prayed about it. I took a break instead of quitting and did some thinking. Here I am today, two and a half years later," she said.