WHEN THE POLLS CLOSE TODAY in the annual Youth Business International (YBI) Entrepreneur Of The Year People’s Choice Award, a Barbadian businesswoman will be in mix.
Tiffanie Nurse, owner of the Golden Touch Spa, is the lone female among four finalists and is facing competition from entrepreneurs in China, India and Argentina.
She was among a group of local entrepreneurs nominated by the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT), a YBI member.
BYBT executive director Marcia Brandon told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY at least 38 countries took part in the competition and they went through a process of elimination that led to the final four.
She said BYBT and its partners were encouraging Barbadians to vote for Nurse, who has been managing the spa at Golden Sands Hotel for two years, having opened her first spa at the age of 18.
She employs eight young women and the income from her business allows her to support her two-year-old daughter and maintain her independence.
“It feels good to know that of all the small businesses we have [in Barbados], I’ve been nominated as one of the finalists – because it’s hard running a small business,” she said, noting that it is difficult to deal with the day-to-day business, employees and customers, then find “yourself as an individual”.
“To be nominated for an award such as that is fantastic, to know that somebody looks on and recognizes what you do on a daily basis and appreciates it,” she said. (NB)
