By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

An entrepreneur says small businesses must “grab the steering wheel a little tighter” during a recession to ensure they have a better grip on their operations.

Travis Mack, founder and fund manager of The Greenwood Self Storage Fund, speaking at a panel discussion hosted by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), said it was easy for new entrepreneurs to give up when confronted by an economic downturn as he urged them to instead focus on “risk management".

“I don't know if I've had the fortune, or misfortune, to navigate through five different economic downturns. I started my first business in 1998-1999 during the dot.com implosion that went into the 9/11 economic downturn," he said. "Go to 2008, the financial crisis, the 2013 government sequestration and economic downturn. The 2014-2015 stock market crash and, last but not least, the pandemic.

“So I have a whole bunch of experience in risk management and how do you navigate through bad times. I've developed a playbook over all these years, and it's not real pretty sometimes. But here's the way that I manage risk and you really need to think about this: Economic downturns are like driving a car through a thunderstorm, and you grab the steering wheel a little tighter and you don’t let go.”

This means entrepreneurs need to pay more attention to expenses, cash flow and how they are using money, but they also need to “do a little more homework, and due diligence” on the market they are serving and how best they can deliver for consumers. “Be ultra conservative on how you spend money,” Mr Mack said.

Rocco Scarfone Jr, attorney and certified contract advisor for the National Football League’s Players Association, added that success in business is being able to ride out the valleys and enjoying the peaks of successes. He said: “You never want to get too high and you never want to get too low; you kind of want to stay in the middle. Another big success is any time I'm able to take care of a client.”