Chandler Sold Boat And Vehicles To Keep Businesses Alive

Trinidad and Tobago businessman and events producer Adrian Chandler has revealed that he sold his boat, vehicles and other assets as he fought to keep his businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking during a wide-ranging interview on the Corie Sheppard Podcast, Chandler opened up about the financial pressure he faced when the events and entertainment sector came to a virtual standstill. “We were at a complete standstill,” Chandler recalled. With his regular events business severely disrupted, Chandler said he began liquidating assets in an effort to survive. “I had a boat. I sold my boat. That’s the first thing. Scissors lift, I sold the scissors lift. I sold a number of vehicles, vans. I sold two of the vans,” he said. Chandler said the objective was simply to stay afloat while facing uncertainty over how long the disruption would last. He also recalled telling staff to take their vacation days, which were paid, as he attempted to continue supporting the operation. According to Chandler, he was able to continue until around June or July before reaching the point where something had to change. Reflecting on the unprecedented length of the crisis, Chandler joked that the traditional advice given to business owners about preparing for difficult periods could hardly have prepared him for COVID. “They never teach you to save for a rainy two years,” he said. But while the pandemic brought his events operations to a standstill, it also forced Chandler to rethink another business venture. Before COVID, Chandler said he had been in discussions over the property that previously operated as Sportsman Members Club. He revealed that the location was originally intended to become 47 Sports Bar, a concept involving Trinidad and Tobago cricket star Dwayne Bravo. Chandler said a business plan had been prepared and he had sat down with Bravo and his team before the pandemic caused those plans to be shelved. However, Chandler had already paid a deposit towards taking over the lease. Faced with the possibility of walking away from that commitment, he began looking for another use for the property. Chandler said he started thinking about what businesses were considered essential during the pandemic. His answer was a grocery. Despite admitting that he knew nothing about operating a grocery, Chandler began making calls, sourcing equipment and using relationships he had developed through his corporate work. The operation began selling food including doubles, roti and grab-and-go meals. Chandler recalled that demand became so strong at one point that customers lined up outside for food. The business continued evolving, eventually developing into the Fit Street operation known today. Chandler said he never initially expected the space to become what it eventually did. His story represents a dramatic period of adaptation for an entrepreneur whose core industry had effectively been shut down. At one end, Chandler was selling his boat, vehicles and equipment simply to remain afloat. At the other, he was attempting something he had never done before, opening a grocery during one of the most uncertain periods for businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. What began as an attempt to survive eventually developed into another established part of his business portfolio.