may 3
2010 Brendalee Harbajan On The Road to Entrepreneurship Dr. Sandra Palmer-Peart: Memoirs of a Country Girl
Quote of The Week “I not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near” - Margaret Thatcher
Brain Damaging Habits
Editor’s Note Hi readers, This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if you haven’t yet decided on your gift, you are running out of time. In this week’s issue, we feature the extraordinary Dr. Sandra Palmer-Peart, entrepreneur, lecturer and writer, who has overcome many obstacles on her journey to the top. Also, to assist you with Mother’s day preparation we introduce you to Brendalee, who has some amazing gift ideas plus more. Your Style Ezine is wishing all the mothers a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Live. Love. Laugh a Lot.
Photography by Warren Buckle
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Brendalee Harbajan
On The Road to Entrepreneurship
B
rendalee Harbajan is an aspiring entrepreneur who discovered her interest ever since she began selling cookies for her school at age five. Never mind that she holds a First Class Honours degree in Psychology and a Minor in criminology from the University of the West Indies, her goal in the near future is to operate a boutique of exclusive delectable gift baskets for any occasion. “Currently I sell all types of gift baskets, containing anything your heart desires once it fits with your budget. Typically, baskets contain edible or gourmet items, body and spa items, or a mixture of both,” says the 22 year old. “I also cater to the health conscious and all baskets are made to fit individual taste and budget.” A basket over $3000 contains a free personalized frame with anything you want written on it. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are Brendalee’s busiest seasons of the year, so if you have not started your gift shopping for Mother’s Day she can definitely put together a gift basket that will suit your budget. LAUNCHING HER SECOND ACT DO A BUSINESS PLAN “I am in the process of making one [business plan] as I am very aware of the importance for one and am currently working on it.” DO A REALITY CHECK Currently involved in research mainly relating to mental health as Psychology was her Major, but wouldn’t mind leaving her job right now. The only dilemma is the money from her job is her only source of working capital. MARKETING, MARKETING Facebook, networking, brochures, business cards, flyers, family and friends and a lot of happy returning customers. “I have international customers with relatives living in Jamaica. They usually send the money to my account and I deliver their bas-
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kets to their desired individual living in Jamaica, this enables them to never having to miss out on sharing in special occasions.” PASSION WITH PURPOSE Brendalee prides herself on providing beautiful and unique gift baskets at unbelievable prices, and a service that you can trust to be on time. Her service is also very convenient for those who are just too busy to walk the malls or make it to stores. Delivery is done within Kingston. Persons interested in purchasing products or need information you may contact Brendalee Harbajan at 876.875.8427, email brendalee100@hotmail.com, or by joining the facebook group called CHECK ME OUT!
Mother’s Day Playlist Thank You Mama – Sizzla A Song for Mama – Boys 2 Men Dear Mama – 2pac Mama – Garnet Silk The Perfect Fan – Backstreet Boys My Girl – The Temptations I Turn to You - Christina Aguilera
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cover story
Dr.Sandra Palmer-Peart Memoirs of a Country Girl
I
t has almost become monotonous today to hear the adage “hard work is the key to success”. There is no secret formula for success, as it is as unique to each as a fingerprint or genetic makeup. It was much the same for Dr. Sandra Palmer-Peart, entrepreneur, lecturer and most recently, acclaimed writer. After facing numerous disappointments in her life that never left her fazed, the founder and CEO of the conglomerate SSP APTEC, is still standing today. Disappointments Her first encounter with disappointment came at an early age when she failed the Common Entrance Examination. She overcame that particular hurdle the following year, after sitting the exam for a second time, gaining a place at the Bishop Gibson High School in Mandeville. Graduating from fifth form and nine “O” Levels later, she decided to apply to the University of the West Indies, as that was the acceptable standard at the time. Dr. Palmer-Peart recalls how she made the trip to Kingston for the interview. “The lady just took my documents and told me to go do my “A” Levels and said ‘Next’,” said the CEO. “I remember crying all the way back home to Manchester.”
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Not wanting to put any more pressure on her parents, sixth form was not an option, so she decided to get a job and make another attempt at university as a part-time student. At last, she was finally accepted. First year of university was devastating for the accomplished entrepreneur. “I failed everything except for “Use of English” which had little or no use to me, and I was asked by the university to sit out a year,” she said. It wasn’t until she had requested a transfer to the Faculty of Arts and General Studies, which was eventually granted, that things started to look up. On Entrepreneurship, Writing
Lecturing
and
SSP APTEC, an Information Technology (IT) company was started in 1997, with Dr. Palmer-Peart not wasting any time with the implementation. “Once I make a decision, I don’t linger, I get going with it,” she said about her conglomerate, which has its main source of business originating from its “business to business” services. “I do believe that if you are doing something and you can feel that it’s not what you should be doing, then you should not waste any more time, but take time to figure out what it is that you want to do,” she said. your style eZine
cover story
Dr.Sandra Palmer-Peart Memoirs of a Country Girl
She related that after completing her Master of Business Administration (MBA), she had all these expectations of obtaining a loan, a nice office in New Kingston and the fancy things that are usually presumed to accompany entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, reality set in and she had to return to her own meager resources, as financing was a problem. “I started in an office that was less than 100 sq ft with one person, whom at the time had never worked before,” stated Dr. PalmerPeart, about the company that now employs approximately 20 employees. For her, all aspects of her life tie together intricately. “I’m an entrepreneur and also a lecturer, but that’s what I lecture,” she said. “I lecture entrepreneurship at the Mona School of Business; I teach people that there is another way to the good life and that you can print your own ticket.” She continued: “I have written a book and I consider it to be an entrepreneurship project, but at the same time I want to share my experience with other people. We all have a dream and we cannot allow our dream to die, we have to follow those dreams and pursue them.” This she explained is the idea behind writing her book, “On Seraph Wings: Memoirs of a County Girl” in which she shares her life experiences, struggles and most importantly the lessons she learnt along the way. This is also the reason that, though she owns her own business, she still pursued her Doctorate degree. “People often say why would I go back to school, it’s not like I’ll be paid any more or less seeing that I own my business,” laughed the former teacher at Jamaica College. She explained that for her, that was an avenue to creating more opportunities for herself, as she has also taught at Northern Caribbean University for their MBA Programme, as well as the University of Technology, Jamaica.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Sandra Palmer-Peart
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Sandra’s brothers; Gairey (left) and Steve (right) your style eZine
BrainDamaging
health
Habits
We all know that our brain cells are the most precious of all the living cells in our body. It is because unlike the other cells in our body, once a brain cell dies, it does not have the capacity to regenerate. That is why we have to take care of our body especially the brain where most of the processing activities happen. Here are ten habits that would surely damage our brain (cells) and at all cost, should be avoided:
6 7 8 9 10
Sleep Deprivation Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
1
Smoking may cause brain shrinkage
No Breakfast People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2 3
Overeating It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power. Smoking It causes brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
Head covered while sleeping Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. Working your brain during illness and working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain. Lacking in stimulating thoughts Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. Talking Rarely Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain. Courtesy: Healthmad.com
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Overeating may lead to decrease in m,ental power
4 5
High Sugar consumption Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malfunction and may interfere with brain development. Air Pollution The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
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