Clifton Edwards: Keeping a positive approach in business
Published:Saturday | July 30, 2011 | 12:00 AM
BROWN'S TOWN, St Ann:
"I'VE BEEN through worse times than this, so I have to keep hoping. If I don't hope, I would literally give up. I would probably think about giving up, but you have to hope. You have to have a positive mindset. If you don't think positive, there won't be any reason to continue."
It is this kind of positive thinking which has guided Clifton Edwards' business acumen over the years, and led to a diversification of his operations. Having done business from the same spot on Main Street, where he sells a range of decorative and building blocks as well as balusters, he has also expanded into the rental of heavy-duty equipment and sale of construction aggregate.
When he started some 13 years ago, there was only one other person in the business. Now competition has mushroomed, with players within and on the outskirts of the town. Edwards attributes this to the growing number of people made redundant and who are looking to find alternative means of survival.
Manufacturing base
Still, there are some loyal customers. "The traditional people who might respect my product line or the quality, they still come".
With his manufacturing base located in Dumbarton, some two miles outside of Discovery Bay, Edwards manufactures the blocks and transports them to Brown's Town, restocking as needs dictate. From six employees he has to downsize, keeping one person on hand to help with loading or any job that might become necessary.
"You have to use creative means (to survive), and that is why I go into sand now, to sell sand and aggregate instead of using the equipment for rental, because there is not much work in that now. After the hotel industry contracted, most people didn't have work for their equipment," he explained.
In addition, he is also looking to outsource the products he now manufactures, buying directly from other producers and cutting back on doing so much of the actual work himself. Still, he finds reason to be thankful.
"Crime in this area is fairly controlled at this time, you have little petty crime. A person might steal a phone or steal a handbag or so, but the real extortionist, we don't have that in this area at this time," he noted. Then, there is the town itself.
"The town, the main road is narrow, I think it's the fault of the developers, the planners. This town needed a bypass many years ago and I think the authorities have been delinquent in that area. Every parcel of land is being utilised in this town right now.
"They should have purchased lands to have this bypass. In peak hours or in the summer, or Christmas or anything, it's chaos. The little detours them very narrow, so you can't entertain trailers or bigger trucks. The town is cramped and we have a huge demand for houses, which are not being built. People badly need housing. I don't know what's in the pipeline for this area, but we just can just hope."