By Gabriella Chapman
There is no question that this generation of youths are championing most aspects of their lives from an early age. The progression to a technological era has put them in such a position of advantage to learn and grow, having access to knowledge at their fingertips. We’ve seen so many stories reported in the media, especially in recent times, from the plethora of new businesses emerging during the pandemic owned by teens.
Guyana can say that we are coming up sharply with the rest of the world, as we are home and heritage to many young people doing amazing things.
One such example is Britney Valladares, who at just the age of 18, owns and operates three businesses; BV Creative Designs, BV General Constructions, and Winsome Wordsmiths.
Valladares was an Arts/Science student who never saw entrepreneurship as her cup of tea even though she was always told she’d make a good business woman. But last year, due to the quarantine period, she started helping out a lot of friends with designing flyers, logos and editing pictures and they loved her work so much that they would always push her to share it with the others.
“The opportunity later arose for me to design a logo and business card for an up-and-coming company. The feedback I received after presenting my designs had me thinking about starting a business and wanting to ease the financial burden off my parents led me to starting Creative Designs. I was not ready, but by taking the first steps of just planning my business, selling my passion and marketing, I started on a path that over time gave me the courage I needed to expand my services,” the teen told Village Voice News in an interview.
After BV Creative Designs kicked off and was doing so well, Britney took the opportunity to partner with others and developed two other businesses; BV General Constructions, and Winsome Wordsmiths. “These businesses are what I simply love to do. I view them as a coping mechanism for me and as a way of helping people and not exploiting them in the process,”she said.
BV Creative Designs provides an extensive choice of design services to help turn the clients’ visions into realities, delivering everything from branding and visual design to materials creation. Grow your brand through the art of design whether it is Flyers/Posters, Newspaper/Social Media Ads, Menus, Brochures, Programs Branding & or Logo Design. Creating strong visual appeal is essential, and BV Creative Designs’ services play an integral role in successfully promoting every business, from the initial concept to the final product.
BV General Constructions on the other hand, is a full-service company dedicated to quality construction and client satisfaction. The goal is to provide clients with a high-quality finished product and a positive home-making experience. BVGC is confident that the quality of staff and the comprehensive understanding and experience in construction and its elements can help persons successfully complete their project, or programs. “BVGC has been fortunate to acquire and retain many talented people who are committed to the company and its clients,” Valladares explained.
She further shared that Winsome Wordsmiths is a service supplying Researchers, Ghost-writers and Proof-readers. “Dedicated to taking customer’s ideas, and developing and embellishing them, so that they become intelligent, insightful and impactful. It deals with all pieces of literary compositions and communications: including books, essays, poetry, speeches, advertisements, posters, flyers, notices, agendas, letters (including those to the editor) and many more.”
That sums up all that this young fire power created in a matter of months.
“One thing all should be able to agree on, is that entrepreneurship and business ownership are good things for women. Women make great entrepreneurs. In fact, if recent research is any indication, more women entrepreneurs is a good thing for everyone in the community: men and women. Expanding the opportunity of entrepreneurship and capital access for women is vital to our national success. The risk of starting your own business or owning your own enterprise isn’t for everyone, male or female, but women have proven that when they do take the risks, all benefit. Teaching us to start businesses put us as young girls in control of capital. Earning, owning and making decisions about money is training that continues to be useful every single day,” Valladares posited.
She said she aspires to make a difference, leaving her legacy as a blueprint for the future generations to follow.
