BY JONIQUE GAYNOR, Staff Reporter
Businessman Ray Rose in his office
RAY ROSE ALWAYS had his eyes set on a career in business. Therefore, when he opened Raymar Automotive in 2001, it was merely a case of bringing his goal to life. Raymar Automotive is a car dealership located on Braemar Avenue that offers both new and used cars.
Rose had worked in car dealerships before, so this was something with which he was already familiar. After gaining the needed experience, he decided to step out on his own. The best thing about owning a business, he says, is the fact that "at the end of the day, I do everything my way. I use my own common sense and my own initiative."
Though he finds business to be "very good" so far, he admits that owning a business can at times be quite challenging. Among the challenges he faces are "the pressures of solving problems, sorting out vehicles on the wharf and the pressures of financing." He feels also that the market is biased towards new car dealers and expressed his concern that some banks send his customers to new car lots, cheating him out of potential business. He also mentioned, "It's very difficult to run a business in Jamaica, because of the pressures from the Ministry of Finance. I think they pressure car dealers more than anyone else, every day you wake up to a new tax."
Even though it can get challenging, Rose loves it nonetheless and told the STAR, "sometimes I think about just staying home, but I couldn't do it. I'm a workaholic." Rose hopes to see his business grow over the next few years and wants to "specialize mainly in new cars."
He mentioned that anyone wanting to own a business must be "a people person, and can't be too cocky. At the same time though, you have to be shrewd and at times you have to be very firm. There has to be a time when you draw the line." He added also that to be successful in the car business, one has to be very careful and must exercise good money management skills.
He is married with two children and says he spends all the time he has away from work with his family. "When I'm not at work, I'm at home or on the road with my children, " he said.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to 
