Using Your Location to Gain the Advantage

Can we agree that we don’t get to choose where we start out in life, but we do get to choose where we end up?

Good.

There is no rags to riches story here. I simply want to show you why understanding where you are is critical to getting to where you need to be. Sounds like common sense thinking right? It is. Yet, in life and in business we often rely on random luck to win. To borrow from Jack Canfield, “I believe that people make their own luck by great preparation and good strategy.” I grew up in the small rural farming community of Dias in Hanover, one of Jamaica’s smaller parishes on the north-western tip of the island. I attended the Riverside All Age School where I endured the constant ragging of peers for coming first in class year after year. Needing to be the best and following older siblings who set a standard that every teacher expected you to maintain, made it impossible for me to do anything else. It was not an option. Never one to back down, I faced off bullies with the love and support of my family and soon it was off to Rusea’s High School, one of the oldest education institutions in Jamaica.

My early years at Riverside All Age School and Rusea's High School were my most formative and balanced years. I was the girl who would succeed at anything I put my mind to, who had an interest and aptitude, equally for the sciences and the arts, excelling in drama and speech and mastering all the science subjects. My high school teachers were split between whether I should pursue further studies and career pathways into medicine or law. All through my undergraduate years at the University of the West Indies (Mona campus) I was a debater and represented the university at The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) which is the world's largest debating tournament.

I was also an athlete, playing football (soccer) for both the UWI and Preston Hall, and at one time contemplated trying out for a place on Jamaica’s National Women’s Football team. I recall how my older sister thought I was too involved at university, but my involvement was part of what kept me sane. I didn’t like being boxed in.

Back then I didn’t think there was anything abnormal about my life. It was life unboxed, unfolding as it should and with the wisdom, love and selflessness of my mother, Monica Grant to guide me and my five siblings. She was the consummate homemaker, who also ran a small dressmaking business.  I credit her for my one super-power, persistence. I’ve never been able to quit and when I decide to accomplish something, I usually do. That fierce determination to succeed comes naturally.

Now as my work as a geospatial and location intelligence strategist takes me around the globe annually, I have come to recognise that growing up in a tiny village with the space and permission to have big dreams and pursue anything I set my mind to was the preparation for the life I have created for me and my company GeoTechVision.

Today I’m on a mission to see the Caribbean grasp and embrace the knowledge that our digital future is now. Living outside the concept of boxes and prescribed societal and cultural directives has helped me to take my passion for science and entrepreneurship, anchored in ethical business practices and good old family values, and grow GeoTechVision organically over the last 11 years to three offices in the Caribbean and North America. I want to use this medium to share the joys and challenges of growing a tech business as a woman entrepreneur from the Caribbean. I will show you why starting out in a small island village was not a barrier to building a global business which allows me to advise international corporations and governments on matters related to using data driven solutions to achieve corporate goals and aid national and economic development .

It is time to be candid and tell it to you straight. I want to share with you what it will take for you to follow your dreams against all odds. How to navigate perceptions based on where you are from or the colour of your skin. How to build and grow a team. How to prepare for negotiations. Holding firm as the only woman at the table. How to compete differently. Why you need to rely on more than a gut feeling. How to access and assess funding and leveraging your strengths.

We’ll talk about it all through the lens of my entrepreneurial journey in the constantly evolving and exciting technology space.

In this ever-competitive world of business I have personally found that location information has emerged as a critical component in providing the edge. Most business owners understand if there is one single priority of all businesses regardless of their size or industry, it is ensuring profitability. Together we will map the way to profitability using location as the framework of our journey together. After all, a fundamental question of any business is ‘where’? Where to locate? Where are our customers? Where are the competitors? Where are the gaps in the market? All these important pieces of information needed in making your business a success can be analyzed, managed and visualized using location as a basis.  

So, in this age of the data revolution depending on the traditional way of doing business offers little advantage. There are however many advantages of spatially enabling existing enterprise systems across various business sectors including Insurance, Manufacturing, Banking, Journalism, Retail, Real Estate, Engineering and Utilities. Location intelligence has aided the development of well-crafted, well-executed strategies to allow businesses to standout to customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. My goal is to help you discover the power of location and to assess how location intelligence can enhance your business operations allowing you to gain an edge in your marketplace. We will explore how this new knowledge coupled with a shift in mindset can increase profitability and position you ahead of the competition. I will show you how you can implement business ideas utilizing location intelligence as a part of your strategy. Business knowledge is power and this power increases when business data is analysed in terms of location and time. The concepts will allow you to help your organization make sense of large quantities of information available in today’s business environment thus gaining new insights that can lead to improved business strategies and operational tactics.

Location is everything. I want to show you how to use it to create the life you want.

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About Valrie

Valrie Grant is an internationally respected geospatial scientist with a passion for science and entrepreneurship. Since 2008, she has built GeoTechVision into a major player in the growing Caribbean Geomatics and Geospatial services industry, earning along the way a litany of special recognitions and awards.  She sits on the board of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), serves as Co-Chair of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM): Americas Private Sector Network, a Technical Advisor of the UN-GGIM Americas, Caribbean Project. She serves on several other national, regional and international Boards and Committees. This award-winning entrepreneur believes in simply living a great story and endeavours to live her best life every day.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/valriegrant/

@Valrie_Grant