Youth Business trust launches new initiatives
A big hurdle in creating a business is putting together the start up funds. Karon Crawford was able to win the confidence of the Youth Business Trust to obtain the capital for a new enterprise. After doing his due diligence, he found a niche in the food industry. Crawford believes that fresh quality pasta is attractive for both the tourism and local markets. News Five’s Andrea Polanco reports.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Karon Crawford, one of the Belize Youth Business Trust’s entrepreneurs officially opened his business K’s Pasta. A new idea that he hopes to capitalize on:
Karon Crawford, Owner, K’s Pasta
Karon Crawford
“Well I went to Cozumel, I went to lot of place and I look at the cooking shows and all these chefs are doing fresh pasta. When you go to Cozumel, Mexico in the tourist section they do fresh pasta for the tourism sector. So I say why Belize can’t adapt the same concept. We can do fresh pasta for the tourism sector too and our local Belizean people.”
Coupled with assistance from the Belize Youth Business Trust, Deanna Peyrefitte says Crawford’s business plan is an economically sound one:
Deanna Peyrefitte
Deanna Peyrefitte, General Manager, Belize Youth Business Trust
“Well pasta making and fresh pasta was something totally new and we thought very innovative. And so when Karon walked into our Youth Business Trust office asking for assistance and wanted to be a part of the program, when we heard what it is he wanted to do, we were excited. So Karon went through our business planning training and developed his business plan and along the way honed his ideas to come to a final idea of a plan of what it is he wanted to do. Along the way we actually saw Karon actually emerged from being this quiet kinda to himself individual to somebody very outspoken and confident. For us he exemplifies what we are looking for and what we hope to see in our entrepreneurs.”
Equipped with this pasta making machine, Crawford says production will be optimal. He exhibited variety and quality today.
Karon Crawford
“Well this machine will do kneading for me, cutting, and sheeting. Why I use this machine because it can put out more pasta if I want and so I can handle more orders and deal with bigger consumers. Maybe restaurants want quicker ordering, maybe they call me this morning and they want three pound of pasta and I could prepare it and get it done for them in one day and don’t have to do it by my hand, cause I can knead it by my hand but it’s slower.”
Andrea Polanco
“So Karon I see you have here different displays of pasta that you’re producing. Talk to us on what we’re seeing here?”
Karon Crawford
“Well we have the plain fettuccini, we have the spaghetti, and we have fettuccini in green, the green is also made out of fresh organic Belizean spinach. We use beets, we use tomato, and the beets are to make the red. The orange type color one is used by tomato. Also we have the ravioli. Actually today we had a lot of work to do so we didn’t bring the lasagna sheets. Our lasagna sheets will be wider and quicker to boil, not like these one on the box you see some thin, thin sheets. We are giving you like four inch by six inch sheets in length so that you can make your lasagna faster and quicker to lay and spend less money.”
The young entrepreneur says he plans to expand his business to a production level of one hundred and fifty different pastas by next year. Reporting for News Five, I am Andrea Polanco.
If you’d like to check out K’s Pasta they are located on the second floor of the Commercial Center or you can call Crawford at 631-5093. Since 2007 Belize Youth Business Trust has trained and assisted for forty two young entrepreneurs.
