Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

I Have Goals, Vending Will Help Me Achieve Them

I Have Goals, Vending Will Help Me Achieve Them

Street vending provides an economic lifeline for many persons, but for some, it is deemed to be illegal and an unsightly image for the Territory. With the COVID-19 pandemic, more persons are turning to street vending. These are their stories.

In spite of the mid-day humidity last Saturday, 25-year-old Shakeeda Castello seemed oblivious to the heat as she sat beneath a tree on the Sea Cows Bay highway, adjacent to the Ebenezer Thomas Primary.

On this day she was off from her regular job at the BVI Electricity 'to hustle' for the bright future she has envisaged for herself and family.

She offers a wide array of fruits and ground provisions, including plantains, avocadoes, pineapples, golden apple, star fruit, tania, passion fruit, figs, green bananas, plantain and pumpkin, as well as cocoa bars and cinnamon sticks to the public.

“This is an additional income for me,” said the Customer Service Representative and the part-owner of Green Thrive.

She added, “because I have goals I have set, so financially, it would be very helpful for me. I would like to major in Finance and Accounts; I have set goals to achieve my career. I would like to purchase my own land so I could build my own house. I would love to have a store; that is one of my goals. That you come in, select what you want, I would be able to employ BVIslanders.”

Castello said it was her desire to achieve her dreams that has pushed her to team up with another individual, whom she did not name, to import fresh fruits and vegetables from Dominica and St. Vincent to resell.

“I love being independent. It [setting up the business] was a little ticklish at first, but with the help of my customers and the encouragement from them, I’ll keep coming.”

The young entrepreneur who has only been in business for a month said she had another reason for venturing into that particular business.

“I would love for everyone to have a healthier lifestyle instead of eating junk. So we are bringing in stuff to aid in a healthier BVI.”

She added: “I will be selling across from Ebenezer Thomas Primary every other Saturday for right now. Once I get the supplier up and running in the countries that we ordered from, it would be every Saturday.”

Along with Castello were her family members who provide support in helping her achieve her targets.

Advice


In the meantime, the young entrepreneur offered some words of advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

“My advice to anyone who would love to start a business is you would have a lot of people discouraging you and a lot of obstacles in your way but don’t give up. Once you put your mind to it, everything is possible; no matter what anyone try, you will achieve your goals,” she said as she returned to her customers who were eager to exchange pocket change for freshly grown food.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×