BIZZBZ.COM
BELIZEANA, INC.
WEB COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE
THIS IS OUR BIZZ-TORY
January, 2019
4 min. read
It all started 42 years ago when.....
Naw, I'm just kidding. I'm Angele, but everyone calls me "Angie". I have never been the type of person that dreamt about having a good job, with good benefits where I could see myself growing with the company. No. I have always wanted to be the one that provided the good jobs with good benefits so that others may live comfortable lives. And so, when I was barely 20 years old, I made my first attempt at starting a business. But, I needed to have collateral in order to get a loan from the government lending institution where I had applied.
MY FIRST BLOCK.
Seeing my potential, both my Mom and my Aunt helped me to acquire that collateral in order to move forward. I got 5 acres of land in my name but as a leased property. Back then it was said that you could get a small loan on a leased land. Lies! 
Years later I decided to try to develop a tourist attraction on that plot of land. Of course, I needed a loan to do this as well. I took all the training I needed to be in the tourism industry, got a "flawless business plan" together (according to my tourism instructor), and set out to Belize's then prominent lending institution, located in Belmopan. Little did I know that they were in the midst of going belly-up. So my "flawless" plan was left on the desk of the Director who was now preoccupied with one of the biggest financial scandals of Belize.
MY SECOND BLOCK.
After that, I'm not gonna lie, I stayed down for some years. I became complacent, until my life took a turn that demanded that I tried once more. While taking up a job in television, and seeing how the world of technology was moving, I revisited my undeniable passion for all things computer. Things were looking up in my personal life too. I was going to be a Mom for the first time.
Being raised up in a home where my Mom was always there with us, but also wanting to have a successful business is what helped swayed my decision to try my hand at an online business. Best of both worlds, right? Again, everything was in order. I hired one of the top Digital Marketing Firms of Belize to develop my website, paid $4,000 down to get it started, and was to pay $4,000-$8,000 more when it was completed. I requested a contract which stated that it would take only 3-4 months to get it up and running. Aaahhh... I could smell the success, and my baby would enjoy having his Mom at home teaching and caring for him. While the website was being built, I was getting my banking/financial plan in order. It was going well. I invested even more to get the security features in place so my website would be able to accept credit card payments online, as per the bank's request. I even got a $10,000 loan because one of the bank's requirements was that I needed to have it as security for the account since it was a new business.
Now this one was the kicker. This one almost did me in. If it wasn't for my son I probably would've stayed curled up in the corner on the floor and never had gotten back up. All this was happening while I was pregnant and I somehow managed to stay optimistic through it all. But then three months turned into six months, and the Digital Marketing Firm was just turning me around and around. All I needed them to do was to design the website because I didn't have the knowledge to do it myself (or so I thought). I did however, secured my domain, hosting, web security and the other features needed to get my website online. On the bank's end, things were moving smoothly along. I got check books with my company's name on them (a big deal for someone who had never written a check before), and was just waiting for them to complete the online payment process. Then one day I got a call from my banker, basically saying, oops, "We have made a mistake and cannot be associated with an online business". Wait... What?! It took them over six months to realize that my business is considered an "online business", when that is exactly how I pitched it, and what my business plan stated as its description. And if that wasn't bad enough, couple months later, the Digital Marketing Firm finally admitted that they "don't know how" to complete the task I needed for my site.
And all this as my baby was entering the world. But how could I even stress about any of that while this beautiful, perfect little human being was looking up at me. Three months after he was born I went to the Digital Marketing Lab to take whatever they had completed; which was nothing usable. $20,000+, 1 year of my life and a dream was all it cost me.
THIRD AND BIGGEST BLOCK OF MY LIFE!
Having been through all this plus many more challenges as a single Mom led me to create a non-profit organization to help women and single Mothers that are in my same shoes. Because there are many of us, believe me. The name of the NPO is the Belizean Kindness Foundation. We're still in the start-up phase but great things are on the horizon for the women, families, and entrepreneurs of Belize. 
But I digress. Of course it doesn't end there. 
I stayed down on my baby's bedroom floor for what felt like a year. I couldn't pay my loan, bills nor even buy groceries. And I'm an over-protective Mother like you cannot imagine, so the thought of leaving my baby with anyone who wasn't close family was a definite no. It didn't help either that my "close family" was not so close by. We survived thankfully, due to the financial help we got from my Mom and sisters. Nothing like family, right? I finally decided to go in a different direction; looking around, trying to find some sort of service that I could provide while having control of my schedule. Alas! 
I created a business that would provide educational entertainment to adults and it required almost no finance to get it started. Plus, since I still had about a year paid up on the hosting from my previous business attempt, I decided to use it to create an easy way for clients to sign up for the activities of their choice. It was then that I realized exactly just how much resources I had all along. Everything I needed to build my website was right there. I had bought and paid for things without knowing the extent of their importance. These resources along with my IT training and sheer determination to provide a good life for my son is what made me create a website I never thought was possible. It was all right there...everything I needed. But also, everything the Digital Marketing Firm could've used to build my website the previous year. So why didn't they? That is a question I still can't answer. So I created the website for my new business and started to push it through the only medium I could afford, Facebook. But with no money to market it the way it needed, in addition to a few sabotages along the way, it was a struggle. I still haven't let go of it because I feel that it is something from which Belizeans could really benefit.
OUTCOME PENDING.
All this made me realize that Belize, or "the system", or the business world, or whatever you want to call it, is set up in a way to keep those that don't have a lot from climbing the ladder of success. The only way to change this is if those that make it through, look back and help those still fighting to make a better life for their families. I, on the other hand, am not the "double-back" kind of person. So in the midst of my struggles, I've opened up my website and offer all my knowledge and unlimited resources to those that need just a little break to show the world how much more they can accomplish when support is given, and we work together to succeed together. There is so much that I've learned over the past years, but the lesson that resonates is that nobody chooses to fail; nobody chooses to stay at the bottom. But those that don't have support of some kind along the way may tend to give up. When this happens know that it's our families, communities and country that failed. 
So I push on; every day. I decided to take all these unlimited resources that I've acquired over time and share it with those that don't have the strength, tolerance or knowledge to go through all the BS it takes to start or grow a business. What I have created isn't just an affordable way to have a website. It is a web community of support and resources that is available to those who are determined and unstoppable. A vital secret to success and preservation: SHARED RESOURCES.
My Journey Continues, But I Am No Longer Walking Alone.
Seriously, I am never alone anymore. So if you see me at a meeting with my handsome little almost four year old sitting next to me, quietly drinking his milkshake while mommy works, just know that I created all this with him right by my side and he has never affected or hampered the creation of this innovative product; proof that having a child or even being a single mother does not hold you back in life. Don't blame your circumstances; rise above them.
Note: He is an extremely well behaved little assistant.
"You would be amazed at what you can create when you have everything, and nothing to lose."
∼ Lee Adi
