– Says 19-year-old entrepreneur

NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Aleeda Desantos says success is a “tricky” thing. She hadn’t the easiest life growing up as after her dad died, her mom had to step in and be the “jack of all trades” to make ends meet for the family.

She took in everything that was happening around her, and as young as she was at the time, she drew valuable lessons that continue to help her to this day. In fact, it is the inspiration that came from these situations that pushed her to start up three businesses that are all doing quite well at the moment.
“After my father passed away in 2014, leaving just me, my brother and my mother, I watched my mom to be a jack of all trades to provide for my brother and I. I watched her day after day in awe as she hustled hard for us,” expressed Aleeda during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.
Despite the circumstances at home, Aleeda was able to gain a place at the prestigious Bishop’s High School after completing her primary education at Greenwich Park, on the East Bank Essequibo (Region Three).

Personal circumstances forced her to leave Bishop’s and complete her secondary education at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara. Even with the challenges, Aleeda did well, emerging with Grades One and Two for the eight subjects that she wrote.
Still planning to further her studies the moment she has enough money to do so, Aleeda is using her time to build the small businesses that she has started up, hoping that they will eventually provide the funds she needs.

“I wanted to be many things while growing up. I was always a very indecisive child. At one point, I wanted to be an air hostess because I loved the thought of travelling to different countries and meeting different people,” she recalled.
When she saw her mother’s struggles, though, she thought felt that working for others is not something she’d want to do. “I knew that I didn’t want to work as an employee forever. I wanted to own a business or even businesses. I wanted to be the employer.”

To this end, Aleeda worked towards it. Today, her three businesses are Cocktail Culture 592, Eye Candy 592, and One Stop Shop GY. “The feeling is overwhelming. Everything that I’ve had my heart set on doing is now coming to pass slowly but surely. Success is a very tricky thing; you can either squander it or have it grow.”
Aleeda is a strong believer that the energy that someone puts out into the world is the same that they will receive. Sharing a few words of advice based on her experience so far, she says: “Don’t give up on something you’re passionate about just because it’s not happening in your favour as fast as you’d like. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Everything takes time; just be persistent and consistent in whatever you have your heart set on doing. Also, a share, repost or referral costs $0. Hand wash hand mek hand come clean.”

A bit of everything

Cocktail Culture 592 was the first business that Aleeda launched last July. It caters to cocktails, Jell-O shots, infused treats and appetizers for all occasions. “Having this COVID-19 pandemic and the curfew, bars and hot spots limited to a few, this was a great idea to have cocktails on delivery. You can’t go to the bar or your favourite chill spot but we’ll bring the same products to you.”

Eye Candy 592 was launched about two weeks ago where Aleeda provides desserts in mason jars. “Cheesecake, pudding, brownies, Jell-O etc. are made to order for all occasions, even on a normal day to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings,” she said.

Since it’s the holiday season and treats and gifts are the going thing, Aleeda said she thought of creating something festive that will catch everyone’s eye.
The third business, One Stop Shop GY, is an online-based shop where someone can find all their needs in one place. “Products for your hair, body, home, office, and a lot more…
We aim to provide everything on one Instagram page to ease the hassle of having to go store to store to find them,” she said.

The idea for this business came about from Aleeda’s personal experience with shopping. “I had always wanted to venture into this because of the fact that I enjoy scrolling my Instagram and shopping from various small business pages, however, I’d usually have to visit several pages to find what I needed. I wanted to start my own page where persons could find everything they needed in one stop,” she explained.

Aleeda is grateful to her family and many friends who all chipped in to make her dreams a reality including Lashawna Moore, Phillip Smith, Sean Moonsammy, Devanand, Ronnella Hill and many others.
Her businesses can all be accessed on Instagram.