AMIDST the COVID-19 pandemic that has plagued the world, a 20-year-old real estate agent has weathered the storm to survive her first year in the real estate business.

During an interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Steadfast Logistics, Amrita Sookram, described the hurdles and challenges she overcame to celebrate the milestone.

It was always Sookram’s dream to become an entrepreneur; she became fascinated with the commercial environment through being a ‘business stream’ student while at the North Georgetown Secondary School.

“Being an entrepreneur allows me to meet new people, manage my own time and projects, build a team, create job opportunities for young people, have the power to give back, learning to embrace failure, amongst other things,” Sookram said.

On February 22, 2020, less than a month before COVID-19 made its way to Guyana, without anticipating the disease or the cruelties that it brought with it, Sookram launched her business.

She described her experience during the initial stage after the launch as “devastating” as she faced many challenges, however, with her head held high, she maneuvered through the stormy seas to survive her first anniversary.

“I had to close my business for months, reduced the number of employees, I became bankrupt due to lack of sales causing no profits and losing a lot of money on rent at my first location because although we were closed, we still had to pay the rent,” she said.

After a couple weeks in the business, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Sookram was forced to close shop and retire home in lockdown. However, this did not stop her as she was determined to make her mark in the real estate world. Sookram operated online for a while, utilising means and mechanisms such as social media to promote her brand and establish herself in the market. In June, 2020 she acquired a new office location and was determined to grow her business.

“After moving to our new location, we started to use the COVID-19 guidelines and created a communication plan where most of our business was done through online/social media,” she said. Sookram noted that since then, business has been “fairly successful”.

Sookram now feels “accomplished” and proud of herself and grateful to her staff. As a young entrepreneur, she described her experience thus far as inspiring. The process of taking risks, challenging herself despite her fears, sleepless nights and building a team, took a mental toll, but Sookram refused to give up.

What her customers described as the “Jane of all trades”, Sookram provides services in real estate and property management, architecture, construction, shipping and travel services.

“I do enjoy what I do, I love meeting new people and exploring what the business world has to offer, brainstorming new ideas and challenging myself to make things happen,” she said.

Her plans for the future involve expanding her business in terms of opening more branches and getting investors on board to provide more services to satisfy her customers and create job opportunities.

Sookram credited the support she received from family and friends who pushed her to overcome the hurdles she faced. She noted her favorite quote, “Rome wasn’t built overnight” which she kept at the back of her mind as she pushed through.

“I kept going also because I know how hard I’ve worked to build Steadfast [Logistics] and I didn’t intend on giving up because of situations I’m unable to control,” she said.

Steadfast Logistics is located at 76 ‘B’ North Railway Line, Kitty, Georgetown; they can be contacted 621-8445.