By Naomi Marshall
Writer, Suzy Kassem once said, “Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” If allowed to, fear can suppress all drive to meeting goals and accomplishing success. Meanwhile, if fear is overcome one is forced to be in control, confident and take risks.
Amoniki John is a youth of Agricola, East Bank Demerara, whose fear of being a failure pushed him into starting up his first business venture, John’s Installation and TV Mounting Services.
In an interview with Village Voice News, John related that growing up in Agricola, a village considered to be a rough area, was challenging and called for isolation to stay out of trouble. “Growing up in Agricola was a bit challenging. You had to stay in your corner, you could not mix and match too much because sometime you hang with the wrong company and then anything could happen to you. So I was a bit isolated my whole childhood and had to just stay in my corner,” he said.
The 26-year-old noted that his vision has always been to make a difference in the village of Agricola, and learning from the mistakes of others has definitely allowed him to progress in life.
“I have no regrets about my childhood and could proudly say I would not have wanted it any other way. I have learnt from the mistakes of others and used it to my advantage. As humans, we cannot live to experience every lesson but we can surely take heed and minimize making similar mistakes like others” said John.
The young man grew up with his mother, father and younger sibling and had dreams of becoming a network administrator because of his love for the technological world.
He attended the Charlestown Secondary School and later transferred to the Kuru Kuru College where he completed his secondary education in June 2011.
“Figuring out what I wanted to become had a lot of mixed thoughts. I always wanted to become a network administrator. I was always fascinated about technology but as you grow older you realize that it is basically which ever field you have been put into and you just focus more into that field to make the best of it,” he explained.
Between 2011 and 2017, John would work as an inventory clerk, and a bond clerk at well-known companies. From 2018 to date, he has been working as an Inventory Control Analyst at MACORP.
Even though, John has a full time job, becoming an entrepreneur so that he can live the life he so desires have always been at the back of his mind. As such, while working he would also attend the School of the Nation to further his studies. In 2019 and 2020 John graduated with a Diploma in Business Management and a Diploma in Marketing Management, respectively.
After obtaining his diplomas, John knew it was time for him to start up a business, so he began brainstorming business ideas.
“The 8th of October, 2020 is a day that replays in my head over and over like it was yesterday. On that day there I was on my bed feeling frustrated. While in that mind set, I said to myself what do I have to lose? And that’s when the answer dawned on me, nothing.”
John decided to put the skills to use that he learnt from his uncle on vacation in the United States back in 2016, mounting televisions. “I started to share my business idea with my parents and close friends. After sharing my business plan, I was actually amazed on the positive feedbacks I received. There was when I confidently decided to take the risk and ventured into my business.
That said month, John’s Installation and Tv Mounting Services became a reality and was launched. John’s Installation and TV Mounting Services offers wallpaper designs, cable management, installation and removing of televisions, and installation of floating and metal shelves.
Services are currently offered in Georgetown and satisfaction is guaranteed.
John told this newspaper that launching his business was a big risk but he has no regrets because it is a success. “It was taking a risk and it turned out very well, I did not expect it to be so successful but it has been a success. I never expected it to be big I just decided to give it a shot and it has been great since,” John noted.
John disclosed that he always feared being unsuccessful, so by launching his own business, that fear was turned into confidence and hope. “Everyone has been talking about how the pandemic has impacted their lives. But I have endured nightmares way before this pandemic. In life a lot of theories teaches us how to be successful but few teaches us how to handle failure. For me, it was the fear of not being successful that pushed me into this new venture in my life,” John related.
In the future, the young man who describes himself as easy going, very educated, self-motivated, is looking to open multiple branches of John’s Installation and TV Mounting Services around Guyana. He is also working towards offer more services at John’s Instillation and TV Mounting Services.
John believes that many times, ideas do not evolve into reality because of the fear of failure. His advice to people with a vision is to belief in themselves. “I believe that too many ideas are being buried 6ft under and not turned into reality. A lot of people are afraid of failure but in reality failure prepares you to be successful. As young entrepreneurs we have to believe in ourselves or nobody else will,” John posited.
