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It’s been a pretty happy Connect office this month. The word ‘business’ gives you extraordinary latitude to look at subjects which are to the left and right of the conventional path of working life in Jersey, and so in this edition our route to the back cover winds confidently through the arts, eGaming and the Police.
If you take the time to look properly, the individual brushstrokes which create the picture of business in Jersey are easy to find. Take CCA Galleries. Get beyond the prominent frontage on Hill Street, and you find that it sits as part of a carefully constructed group of businesses which perform differently throughout the economic cycle, giving insights as to when, and how, the market might be changing. Group Chairman, Lance Trevellyan, paints the full picture on page 56.
In his view, business is about pushing back boundaries to continually stay relevant to the customer; it’s a lesson for Jersey which until recently has hovered like a nervous teenager at the door of the eGaming casino, unsure about whether stepping inside was really the right thing to do: it might be fun, but what if we get into trouble?
That vacillation created an opportunity cost, as business sailed by and docked elsewhere instead, often just a few miles to the north in Alderney. But now Jersey has plucked up the courage, proved it has come of age, and rolled the dice - on page 20 we take a look at how they might fall.
Of course deciding to ‘push the boundaries’ is about timing as well as being bold; there is as much danger of irrelevance in always being one step beyond as there is in never innovating. To illustrate that point, I’d like to welcome the Jersey Opera House to the Connect stage. When planning their program each year, they need to find the right blend of commercial hits and special interest productions - the comedians and tribute acts are there to make sure the budget can also stretch to the margins of their artistic remit, where audiences are appreciative, but small. Their story is on page 46.
It’s a model we hope Connect mimics this month, as we provide a home to familiar friends combined with a warm welcome for new aquaintances - enjoy meeting them.
