Female entrepreneur making waves in event support and logistics

ALICIA Hunte-Benjamin is the owner of Square One Solutions. It is a different type of business women hardly venture into—but not for her. It is a career path she chose. It did not come easy. She endured and overcame hurdles and challenges to establish a woman-owned small business from the ground up in a male-dominated field.

Hunte-Benjamin told Pepperpot Magazine that she was the manager of a family-owned business for some time before she branched off to open her own small business about one and a half years ago.

She reported that, with about 17 years of experience in solid waste management, she was ready to take on the challenge of owning her own small business named Square One Solutions, which provides portable toilet rentals, event party bus services, small equipment rentals, and trucking services.

The office is located at Farm, East Bank Demerara, and she has six full-time staff members, along with some temporary workers.

Hunte-Benjamin explained that, as a woman in this kind of business, she has to work twice as hard. As a woman who likes to dress up, she would often have to set that aside, put on her long boots, and get on the ground to see things through.

“Although I know what I am doing, it would seem to some that I can’t do it. If I go somewhere for work, the men would ask, ‘Where is your boss?’ They are looking for a man, and I am often questioned as to whether it is my husband’s business,” she said.

The mother of two added that she knows how to manage her business and what it takes to get things done, but she is often looked down on because she is a woman in a man’s world of work.

Having been married for 15 years, Hunte-Benjamin stated that her business caters to all events, such as parties and construction, and it has portable washrooms for differently-abled persons with wheelchair access.

She related that, in her business, she wanted to do it right and provide the kind of service that caters for everyone—even those who are physically challenged.

Hunte-Benjamin told Pepperpot Magazine that her husband has his own career but is very supportive of her and her small business.

She said she grew up working with her father, a businessman, and he always instilled in her that whatever she wanted to achieve was possible—she just had to make it happen, and she did, with time.

Hunte-Benjamin noted that her father was in the solid waste management business providing commercial restroom rental services, and she could never picture herself working for others. She had to convince herself she could do it.

“I have a business that caters for all, and it is a service with a difference. It is the experience, and I believe this is what keeps my small business operational,” she said.

Hunte-Benjamin added that she saw the need for this kind of service in Guyana, and she went for it. It is a job that has no days off, but she is all up for the challenge—being a mother and managing her own business.

She stated that she is not the kind of person to sit back idly. She is always thinking of new ventures and ideas to improve her business. As an overthinker, it keeps her motivated and focused.

The owner of Square One Solutions explained that she benefitted from training geared towards empowering women in business via the Accelerate Her project through the Centre for Local Business Development. That training provided the boost of confidence she needed to be successful.

Hunte-Benjamin pointed out that it was a good experience being in a room with other women who own businesses, and it transformed her into a role model—from wanting to have a business to building it from the ground up.

She said she has a motto: “I am bigger than the person I think I am,” and that kept her going regardless of the challenges. It was often repeated to her by her father, her motivator.

Hunte-Benjamin added that from an early age, her father made her believe she could do anything she wanted to. And with the training she received, that was it.

She revealed that being a woman in the type of business she is in is not for the weak. There are challenges, but she goes back to the drawing board to make it work—to make it better than before.

As a self-starter and the kind of woman who doesn’t give up easily, Hunte-Benjamin is of the opinion that a little encouragement and support goes a long way for a woman-owned business.