The transfer to digital operations is “completely” good for Yasmin Bowman’s public relations and occasions enterprise

Although many companies have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Absolutely Yours Public Relations and Event Coordinators has seen its revenue grow as it has attracted many clients in need of help in an increasingly virtual business landscape.

Absolutely Yours was founded in 2012 to provide event coordination and decoration services.

The company was founded and is run by Yasmin Bowman and her team. Bowman has over 25 years of content creation, sales, marketing and public relations experience while the three members of her team specialize in other areas. They take care of the preparation of advertising campaigns, website design and management, development of mobile apps, management of social media accounts for companies and organizations and the creation of brochures, posters and flyers. In addition to coordination and public relations, Absolutely Yours also adorns events.

His clients include UNICEF, Guyana; Organization of American States (OAS), Guyana; Caribbean Union Conference, WCAM in Trinidad; Davis Memorial Hospital and Flatbush Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States.

When Absolutely Yours began, it coordinated events such as weddings, church functions, corporate dinners, and anniversaries. A large part of the customers came through referrals. Bowman explained that at first it was just about coordinating events, but then customers started asking for decorations.

Bowman said that as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she had numerous opportunities to coordinate events. Their business remained until last year

Part-time while employed by various organizations, most recently as a communications specialist in the Climate Change Office in the Ministry of the Presidency under the previous administration. She also worked for the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company, head of marketing and public relations for the GTM Group of Insurance Companies, and advising UNICEF. These jobs helped her acquire the necessary skills that she now provides in her services.

Although it has many local customers, most of them are Guyanese who live in the diaspora.

In October / November last year, Bowman coordinated an evangelical series for her church called “The Bible Speaks,” which was broadcast on the church’s Facebook page. Many were impressed by the good organization and asked who was responsible. Bowman noted that business exploded from this series, which resulted in Absolutely Yours starting their services full time starting December. Now even full-time hours are no longer enough; Bowman works until the wee hours of the morning trying to meet their deadlines.

Since the other members of your team are employed full-time elsewhere, they can only work part-time at Absolutely Yours. They help coordinate events and decorations, while public relations are handled entirely by Bowman.

Their services also extend to training organizations in the use of the Zoom app, which is now in demand with the transition to online work, school and play. Absolutely Yours coordinated and used Zoom’s funeral services, said Bowman, who pointed out that in the face of the still rampant COVID-19 pandemic, people had managed to have loved ones watch the funeral on Zoom as only close family members were in person were allowed.

Bowman always wanted to own his own business and when she was on her last job last year she was already working on her exit strategy.

“Thank God. He alone is the source because even though I would have lost my regular income, I am still able to support myself and pay my mortgage. I have to be the one bringing the money now, so I am I move at three and four in the morning and draw long hours. I don’t have to sign out from eight to four thirty, “Bowman said.

When it comes to deadlines, she usually tells her clients that she will close the job for a specific day with the intention of finishing a day or two early. Most of the time, she does it the day before or the day of the deadline. “I like to keep my word. When I say I’ll take care of it, I’ll make sure I take care of it. One of my mantras: Promise good and deliver great, ”she said.

According to Bowman, it has never had a dissatisfied customer since its inception.

She shared that one of her challenges was that the market here was very small and other companies were offering similar services, but she decided not to limit herself to the local market. Recognizing this early on, she learned to offer her business to customers living abroad. Bowman said that providing a business service is easier almost anywhere in the world because almost everything is available online as long as there is an internet connection.

Bowman explained that many organizations were stuck with the constraints “between a rock and a hard place” because they didn’t offer their services online or simply didn’t know how to manage their online presence. Absolutely Yours helped them manage their online services and adapt to this virtual era.

One advantage of her online business is the ability to work from home or take vacation whenever she wants, although she noted that it is often “work vacation” as work is always upon her.

One of the most unique services that it offers is video flyers. “Some time ago someone from California contacted me and asked if I knew who was making my church’s flyers, and when I told them I was that person, they said they wanted a video wedding invitation, since some people would join in zooming. I tried to make an invitation that moves so that it gets a bit more attention. Everyone was making ‘still’ flyers and I told myself that I had to find a way to make my flyers stand out from the crowd, so I decided to do the video flyers, ”said Bowman.

“At the stage in my life when I’m 50, I don’t want people to decide whether or not to hire me based on my age. I thought about this for a few months before deciding to do the business full time. I see my business grow. Of course I am qualified if I want to get back into a work environment, but I want to give my business a chance. I say if it doesn’t work, it shouldn’t be because I didn’t try. So I work hard, put in the hours, burn the midnight oil and open up the right sources. “

Absolutely Yours has a website: www.absolutelyyours.gy; Email: itsabsolutel[email protected] and the phone numbers are: 623-9820 / 622-1141.