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And one young entrepreneur who may one day grace the front of that magazine is Crystal Samos. The 22 year old is the owner of a line of home-made beauty products called "Carpe Diem" – Latin for "seize the day." She seized her opportunity when she realized that the coffee-based skin and hair treatment products that she had developed for her own use – were gaining popularity amongst her friends. By word of mouth, her product had gained popularity – and so she branded it, and started producing enough to sell in local supermarkets. But now the Carpe Diem line has gained regional recognition after she attended an entrepreneurship conference in Granada. She won two major prizes – and told us how shocked she was:…

Crytal Samos - 22 yr. Old Entrepreneur "Carpe Diem"

"And then the emcee says well the 2015 product service of the years to; and everybody is kind of like sitting there waiting wanting to hear. And she says Carpe Diem. Now I'm sitting in front of her and I'm looking at her and I'm still there sitting like. And then she said Ms. Samos come up and I'm still looking at her in awe, can't believe what she is saying. So I just kind of zombie like walk up and take my award and I'm trying to comprehend what's happening. Then she says hold one and I'm like you guys are going to kill me here with a heart attack or something. So I stay there and she's like you've also won the 2015 Female Entrepreneur of the Caribbean. Now at this point I was crazy emotional. Belize had not only won the two awards of the night but the 2 top awards of the night. I was the only one in the entire panel and group that had won 2 awards for that night; a part from being appointed an ambassador. So it was a big deal you know; it's kind of like put Belize on the map."

"Well now it's like I said; because it's just a homemade thing that's in my kitchen now I have all of these countries looking at me and like what's your next move. And I'm sitting there, I don't know, I'm still lost, I'm still trying to understand what's happening because I'm still not comprehending what I did there in Grenada. So basically what I'm doing now is just rebranding the product, rebranding the product to be able to export and be able to represent Belize; not only in Belize but in Jamaica, the entire world if possible. So it would go from being a home product from my kitchen to really being something really established in Belize where I'm able to export the product and where we could put Belize on the map."

"Going to Grenada not only made me a wiser and more alert entrepreneur but I've definitely opened many doors and gateways for me there. So I encourage all young entrepreneurs out there if you're listening to this; I plead you guys to really and truly if you have a dream, whether it's a product or a service or a dream to do something. You have to be your reason to do it. You have to be the one who pushes yourself, definitely nobody out there would believe in you at first. Nobody will take you seriously because of your age or what you are doing. But you really have to be the one to put yourself out there. Get the help and even if you don't get the help, don't give up definitely. Still push, keep doing what you're doing and don't stop believing in yourself and if you have a dream definitely go for it."

Crystal says other up and coming entrepreneurs can reach her through Facebook. As we said at the top, her products are available at local supermarkets.