Caribbean Airlines deputy speaks on personal success

What’s wrong with getting inspiration from Trinidadians when its positive? OCEAN STYLE writes that Mr. Jaikaran is credited with bringing Caribbean culture to the forefront in New York City. He has introduced successive generations of North American and Caribbean audiences to emerging talents from the islands of the Caribbean, many of whom are today among the most powerful brands in the region. He was also the director of the extremely successful International Soca Monarch franchise, the biggest competitive showcase for Soca music which was the driving force behind the world-famous Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

At 68, Mohan Jaikaran is interviewed by Bruce Boretsky of Executive Lounge. Hi accomplishments include:
Owner WINTV and WIN Radio 101 Trinidad
Deputy Chairman Caribbean Airlines
Owner Maracas Nightclubs: Queens, New York and Trinidad
Founder WIN Events Trinidad and Tobago

MOHAN JAIKARAN is a Trinidad-born, New York-based entrepreneur who is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as a pioneer in the development, export and promotion of Caribbean culture, entertainment and leisure activities. Mohan immigrated to the United States in his late teens and struck out on his own in New York City – with no family or business connections to help him get started. A hard worker, Mohan labored for mere dollars a day while learning the fur garment trade before venturing out on his own. Suffering several major setbacks, he continued to work his way to the top in several very competitive businesses adding new ventures to his portfolio as opportunities were spotted and circumstances allowed.

Mr. Jaikaran is credited with bringing Caribbean culture to the forefront in New York City. He has introduced successive generations of North American and Caribbean audiences to emerging talents from the islands of the Caribbean, many of whom are today among the most powerful brands in the region. He was also the director of the extremely successful International Soca Monarch franchise, the biggest competitive showcase for Soca music which was the driving force behind the world-famous Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

Today his business interests include Maracas nightclub in the New York City area, a Maracas nightclub scheduled to open in December of 2011 in Trinidad, WINTV located in Trinidad which broadcasts in Trinidad and Tobago and affiliated radio station WIN RADIO 101. In addition, Mr. Jaikaran is deputy chairman of Caribbean Airlines. He is also actively expanding his broadcast reach with WINTV to Canada and Great Britain with plans to enter the United States in the near future.

Executive Lounge: You’ve lived in New York for quite some time now after emigrating from Trinidad. Can you tell us when you first came to the United States and how you got started in business here?

Mohan: I came to the United States as a teenager by myself. I grew up very poor in Trinidad and wanted a new start. I came to New York and I got my first job working for $2.29 per hour.

Executive Lounge: Did you have relatives in the United States?

Mohan: No, just friends that I stayed with. Just before Christmas they laid me off from my job. Some days we just had coffee and a roll and that’s it. I was thinking of going back to Trinidad, and then I realized that I have to stay here; I have no choice. Then I found a job working for a $1.35 an hour. I looked for jobs and I found a job in the fur market. I started to learn that business, and I saw how to make furs and how to put them together. I had my first child around then. There were some guys that I was working with and they went and started their own business and asked me to join them, but I didn’t. Then I had a second kid so I went into business on my own. It was a tropical fish business. I was about 21 or 22 and we had moved to Portland, Oregon.

I started importing tropical fish from Africa and Thailand and started selling them to pet stores. I made a nice living; a couple thousand dollars a month and in those days that was a lot of money.

I was in business with my wife but I decided to come back to New York. I came back to New York by myself in 1974 and got a job with these guys in the garment center while my wife stayed in Portland with our two kids.

In 1976 the guys I worked for did very well and they bought me a car as a gift. But, in 1978 I left. You have to know when you are working for people and they are paying you all they are going to. If you want to do well you have to move on. I saved some money and I bought a house and had my third kid. I went into business totally broke. I spent every penny on my house and my business and for a few years it went well. I made over $50,000 a year. Then when Jimmy Carter came into office the interest rate went to 35% and we had to close down; we couldn’t survive it.

It was good before that. In 1978 I had gone to Korea. I didn’t know where I was going. I just went to Korea to find the garments cheaper to compete in the garment center. So I didn’t know where I was going. I went to LA, I went to Hawaii, I went to Seoul, to Taiwan and I went to Hong Kong. After I went to Hong Kong I just traveled and tried to make things happen. I started making some good money. I started selling a lot and doing well.

Around that time I started with a big company from South Korea. They are a big container company and manufacture containers. They did fur garments too. So, I started with them and became friends with them. They had a wholesale fur outlet but they wanted a retail outlet so they asked me to join them. They bought my company out. I joined them and I became their chief operating officer of the wholesale company. We built it to about 16 million dollars in annual revenue.

Then six months later they asked me to go into the retail business. I took that over and after about three years we did about 102 million in annual sales. We bought out The Fur Vault in Manhattan from bankruptcy and I put up about 80 stores across the country. We had two different brands. One was Fur Vault and the other was Jindo. So, I did that and they had promised me that they would go public and they were stalling me and stalling me. I told them I was going to leave.

I left and went on my own and bought a company called Direct Action. I was bringing in sheep leathers and I sold hundreds of thousands of those. Then the business started changing. Wal-Mart and Costco started buying. They would buy small amounts and then copy them in China. So, I had to get out. Meanwhile I started doing entertainment shows. I had four daughters now. I started bringing in artists from Trinidad and producing some music and stuff like that. Then it became a big thing in New York. There were immigrants here and they couldn’t get this type of entertainment here.

So, I opened up a club which is going on 20 years this year.

FULL INTERVIEW HERE at THIS LINK!

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