IN response to the demand for more collaborative efforts to promote small businesses across Guyana, a trio of friends, Loyette Williams, Saskia Tull and Tiffini Lyken, have birthed the idea of ‘Her Paradise,’ a collaborative space and community for women entrepreneurs.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Loyette Williams, one of the founders of ‘Her Paradise,’ stated that the initiative came to life when the trio, who are all owners of small businesses themselves, wanted to collaborate to expand their businesses from digital platforms and open physical stores.

“After interacting with them [small businesses] and having my own business, I realised that many of them don’t have a psychical location and more so to own or purchase or even find a location itself is time-consuming and also very costly,” Williams said.

Together, the trio began discussions of creating a space not only for themselves, but also for the many other women entrepreneurs who may be just starting their businesses or looking to expand same.

‘Her Paradise,’ Williams said, aims to provide women with the necessary tools to promote, host, and help small-business owners to reach their customers. The initiative, she said, also promotes a sisterhood for women in business.

“With growth and a little perseverance, it is best for all of us to eventually own our own space, but for now and with the demand from a lot of small businesses emerging in Guyana in this moment, I think our collab space plays a vital role because we are not just hosting women in business, but we are hoping to create a community for women to lift each other up.” Williams said.
However, the journey to bringing their idea to life was no easy one, as the women also had to manage their own businesses and other commitments.

EXCITED
After long hours and perspiration, the trio over the weekend opened the doors to their first location on Hadfield Street, Georgetown, and are excited for their venture in the world of entrepreneurship.

“It has been a lot that in a sense that it took a lot of dedication and work from the three of us, seeing that we are all gainfully employed elsewhere. We wanted to launch this collab space in a very short time, because we started planning to have this space in January and we knew we wanted to launch it somewhere around Valentine’s Day or sometime leading up to Valentine’s Day,” Williams said, adding: “It took a lot of afterhours and of course to make money you have to spend money. The most important thing for us is putting the work in and having that dedication.”

Additionally, Williams stated that the outpouring of support they received from other females along the way made the entire process much easier and, in the end, a great success.

The overall aim, she reiterated, is to lend support to the many women in business who have just started or who need assistance.

“I think with the advent or the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of us realised the importance of having something of your own; we would have [sic] come to realise or appreciate the importance of entrepreneurship and during that period to know we have seen such a growth in that field and most of the persons who have started that business during that period are mostly women.”

In the future, the trio hopes to expand their services outside of the capital city and provide their services to various regions of the country and eventually the entire Caribbean.
Persons who are interested in the services being offered at ‘Her Paradise’ can visit their website at herparadisehp.wixsite.com/website or their social media platforms at herparadise.hp, or call 649/7708.