Flipping Grand Bahama

Hello on this fine breezy morning. A lot has happened in the past year and a half of Flippinggrandbahama.blogspot.com and only just recently I came across the demolition of four building of the old Freeport Inn I have confirmed that East Sushi Restaurant is moving back to Port Lucaya, but on a ground level, and more changes are in store for Grand Bahama. As I uncover and try to promote the good, I too am making moves ... moving to the world of .com so catch me as of this Friday at FlippingGrandBahama.com . I'm still working on it so bear with me at this point. The work will be more intense and if you hear of any great person or great work that I don't mention, I encourage you to let me know at flippinggrandbahama@gmail.com. I look forward to many years of sharing the positive vibes. Also if you want to advertise your business here for a nominal fee, contact me at the above email as well. To date we have had over 10,000 views from all over the world includin

And on the positive side.... What is there to say about the future of Freeport? It's all positive. Created from a dream by one man, it is returning with the will and creative imagination of many who remembers the good ole' days. Freeport was planned strategically by investors in the 1950s and 60s, but today as technology and entrepreneurs look at the possibilities in pockets we see great things beginning to come together. Rumours persists of a sale of the Xanadu Resort and Marina but little is yet know if it is true and what will be come of the property that was once owned by Howard Hughes, U.S. tycoon, investor, inventor, aviator, aerospace engineer, film maker and philanthropist. Memories Resort is looking forward to full occupancy throughout the season and other persons are beginning to take a second look at Freeport seeing all its wonderful potential. If you have any disbelief then you need to check out the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence

So the magic city is watching as the country attempts to implement the Value Added Tax to its books. Good or bad, depends on the person you are talking to. But for Freeport, as was said before, we may escape the VAT altogether. Why? The Hawksbill Creek Agreement that began this magical city. Here is what it says to VAT: (Thanks Wayne Russell) 14.  VAT and the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA) Under  Clause 2 of  the  HCA,  the  Port  Authority  and its licensees  are exempt from customs duties and taxes on imported goods that are used for developmental  or manufacturing  purposes within the  Port Area, or which support the administrative purposes of the Port Authority. Goods of a consumable nature are excluded from this treatment. In the VAT draft Bill, it is stated that the VAT law  would apply in the Hawksbill Creek Port  Area where:   a taxable supply within the Hawksbill Creek Port  Area is made by: (i)  a  taxable  person  who  is  a  Port  licensee  to  

For many years in Grand Bahama the hotels have been operating together and their guests roamed from hotel to hotel, restaurants and other places on their own. It is all part of the experience, is it not? Just recently we got the "all inclusive vacation feel" with Memories coming on board with is quite a new experience. Speaking with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce last week the General Manager of Memories Gabriel Varela told local business owners about the successes they are having. Of particular note was the fact that locals are not excluded as there is a set rate for day and night passes to visit and enjoy many of the finer aspects of staying at the all-inclusive, with the exception of the room rental. This of course brings a variety to the island in its offerings for guests. The all-inclusive includes the air travel and for many of them it means a way to get here from Canada and from parts of the United States. Since the opening of the resort and casino th

Can you make a difference in Grand Bahama? It's amazing what you think you can do and what you can actually do! Twice recently I heard, what would you do if you were told you only had a year to live. With a focus on leaving a legacy would you finally do what you refused to do before because you were playing it safe? Not lecturing on business I found out about several new things coming on stream for Grand Bahama. An old hotel is about to see new life and those persons only looking of a job to get back on their feet will have a place to expend some good energy. Sushi is coming back to Port Lucaya for those who don't want to drive from Lucaya to Pier One. And investors are beginning to take a second look at Grand Bahama. In the wake of these good news, what have we learned from the past that could enhance any opportunities we get? I'd say one thing, consistently we go from boom to bust and back. So as we begin to boom, remember .. make the most of each day and fi

This past week the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce announced plans for this year's Business Excellence Awards. It was noted that this event skipped a year but people in the community are being asked to let the Chamber know who they feel are the great business achievers this year. Here is the announcement from Sarah Kirkby, Director; Mercynth Ferguson, Director; and H. Rudy Sawyer who is a member of this committee.

Its the middle of the years and really we are slowly sweeping into the end of 2014. What has happened so far in Grand Bahama? Well the truth is, if you want to be negative it's really easy and you can say nothing. To be realistic and positive there has been some small but steady changes. In the world of real estate, there has been some small pockets of great fortune as things change. This is one of the indicators of an economy - real estate. Another indicator is construction and although we have not seen a lot of construction going on at present some has picked up. We are still waiting for such projects as the sale of a major hotel or the building of the one projected for out East, but what about the smaller enterprises that you can work on just for you that can work itself into hiring others? What about the incubators? Grand Bahama will do well with an incubator for small businesses. This is a dream of mine and my daughters' ... to start an incubator. It's

Research, research, research. I was wondering about business and doing business in The Bahamas. There is still a lot of thought on getting investors in but for Bahamians I came across this list from "tripod" of businesses that are reserved for Bahamians only. These are: Wholesale and Retail Operations. Commission agencies engaged in the import/export/trade. Real estate and domestic property management agencies. Domestic advertising and public relations firms. Nightclubs and restaurants, except specialty, gourmet and ethnic restaurants, restaurants operating in a hotel, resort complex or tourist attraction. Security services. Domestic distribution of building supplies. Construction companies, except for special structures for which international expertise is required. Personal cosmetic/beauty establishment. Shallow water scale-fish, crustacea, mollusks and sponge-fishing operations. Auto and appliance service operations and Public transportation. International Investo

Last week we looked at the being able to start up a business in 10 days in Grand Bahama/The Bahamas, but we were talking about Bahamians. So, what does it take for a foreigner to set up a business? Here is what I found from the World Bank - International Finance Corporation: 1 Search for a Company name and reserve the proposed name online  The online name search system has been in place since 2004 and it is estimated that less than 50% of all applicants use it while the rest still request the search in person. Since the majority of people cannot search it, it is mainly done by lawyers and service providers who include the name fees in their fees. The name reservation expires after 90 days.   Less than one day (online procedure) no charge (included in procedure 2) 2 A lawyer prepares and notarizes the company documents (memorandum and articles of association).  Legally, only the memorandum has to be filed at the moment of the incorporation. Standard Articles of Asso

Again I attended a Flint Stone Inc's event last evening ... a mixer ... where the guest speaker was Wenrick Clarke, Bank of The Bahamas Branch Manager. Noting the present state of Freeport he said he feels that we would take another two years to get out of the doldrums. Interesting analysis. But what he said that was even more interesting was that fact that people do become rich during depressions. This is so true. Googling this here is a list of ten: 1. Baseball star Babe Ruth, who made $80,000 a year in Depression era dollars 2. Robber John Dillinger, who raked in more than $3 million in todays dollars 3. Supermarket pioneer Michael J. Cullen, who left Kroger in 1930 to start King Cullen Grocery 4. Film star James Cagney, one of the top money makers in Hollywood in the mid 1930s 5. Charles Darrow, creator of the Monopoly game who became the world's first millionaire game-designer. 6. Oil man J. Paul Getty, who snatched up depressed oil stocks with his inheri

Last week's post on starting a business in 10 days brought a lot of discussion and I particularly loved what Erik Russell had to say about starting a business: " Too many people want to start a business in 10 days but have no plan for 10 years. It's like people who spend so much time and money on their wedding without thinking about their marriage. Yes, there are steps you have to go through because that's what  responsible entrepreneurs do. Just because you have an idea doesn't mean that you have a viable business. If you are 'open today and closed tomorrow' then you probably shouldn't be in business. And those that think that a GBPA business license has no value (or is equal to a gov't license), don't know what they are talking about! There are lots of business opportunities in Freeport, just not enough people that are effective business owners with sufficient capital to start and sustain a business during the startup period (typically 2-3

I came across this article recently and smiled gently to myself and thought... is this possible in Freeport? So I had a look at what it had to say: Day 1: Write a business plan: The article said this is a critical step to your success and that you might want to eschew the napkin for something a little easier to copy and distribute to potential investors and colleagues - Well I think this one we can do! Day 2: Study the market. Hmmm in Freeport this is ok but not that easy. But you are advised to figure out where your products and services are and what rules and regulations are unique to your industry. But remember, there is such a think as overdoing it. Day 3: Create a brand. I think thats easy. To build your identity you need a name, logo, a website and a social-media presence to get going. Day 4: Get your legal affairs in order. This is also do able and now we are talking about expenses. But, hire an attorney to incorporate and draw up documents for legal agreements and ide

As I sit to write every Tuesday and Friday mornings, at the back of my head I hear the negative things that some may say - someone reading this will be saying... "how could she be this positive when things look so bleak in Freeport?" I really believe that we get what we want and we get what we say we want - both the same, both different. If you believe it can and will change, you will be doing something to aide in bringing about the change. If you have decided that it's over and there is nothing you can do, you will do nothing and your prophecy will come true. Did you want it to come true or were you hoping for change? If you were saying one thing but hoping for another you will get lots of the prediction, but somewhere in there you will see where others were able to benefit from some positives. Freeport needs a lot! According to the Flemming Strategy we need at least $26 billion to get us started. But that is only to put one group in charge - Hutchison Whampo

With painstaking detail the Minister for Grand Bahama, Hon Dr. Michael Darville spoke to a packed room on Thursday evening in Eight Mile Rock on the already implemented business concessions that has been put in place as of July 1, 2014. So all the businesses in Grand Bahama will be able to apply for duty free concessions ... provided they have a business license and the concessions they are asking for pertain to their business. Also of great interest, the owners with these concessions can now build duty free homes. Here I have put it rather succinctly but there are some complications but this is the gist of what will be taking place. A story was ran recently in the local daily about the first person to take advantage of this new business perk. Also of great interest was the representative of the Bahamas Entrepreneur Venture Fund who spoke of the funds that will be available to those persons who are in need of help to further their business ideas. Of course there are some thin