Where Handbags Meet Handshakes: Inside the BuyCheapCentral.com Network

Some people walk into a room looking for the most important person in it. Vivian walks in and somehow leaves knowing everybody worth knowing then starts figuring out who he can put on. And THAT might be the most valuable thing BuyCheapCentral.com is selling that you can’t actually add to your cart.

As a Jamaican entrepreneur in New York, Vivian has spent years building BuyCheapCentral.com, but somewhere between the marketplace, City Hall, the Parkway, Irie Jam Radio, MARLS (Merchant Association of Rosedale Laurelton & Springfield Gardens)  and rubbing shoulders with people like Buju Banton, he built something arguably just as valuable: a network with reach. 

Not a stack of business cards. Not a contact list full of names he can casually drop into conversation. A real network where people are actually benefiting from knowing one another.

Spend enough time around Vivian and you begin to notice it. He remembers what people do, what they are trying to build and, more importantly, what might help them get there. If he knows about a certification that could strengthen your business, he’ll tell you. If there’s someone you should meet, he’ll make the introduction. If there’s an opportunity that makes sense for what you’re building, don’t be surprised if he sends it your way.

And there are receipts.

Trish of Lily’s Delights has experienced it firsthand.

“🔥🔥🔥 @buycheapcentral You not only preach it - you PRACTICE it. You have connected Lily’s Delights with so many opportunities- from Irie Jam radio, our website, to photography, to getting specific certifications, to buying Jamaican products and supporting other businesses- the list goes on.”
— Tricia, Lily’s Delights

Trish credits Vivian with pointing her toward resources and certifications that could give her business an advantage and continuing to put her in positions to grow. It is one example of something that has become increasingly common among the entrepreneurs in Vivian’s orbit.

He has done the same for Iya of Snap Scene, a first-generation American born to West Indian parents building a media company, and Zoom of Zoomatic Visuals, a Jamaican-born photographer developing his photography business in the United States. Their businesses have little to do with e-commerce, which is exactly what makes the relationships worth mentioning. Vivian’s network isn’t limited to people who can directly benefit BuyCheapCentral.com. It stretches across industries, generations and different parts of the Caribbean diaspora.

That network was especially visible during New York’s Labor Day festivities. Vivian joined the celebration on the Parkway, marched alongside Governor Kathy Hochul and Rev. Al Sharpton and eventually finished the day on the Irie Jam Radio truck. For anyone who knows him, that last stop was particularly fitting. Irie Jam is one of his favorite radio stations, but over time it has also become part of the larger community of relationships surrounding him and BuyCheapCentral.com. 

Lately, that circle has included some serious Caribbean star power as well. Vivian has spent time around reggae icon Buju Banton on multiple occasions. The photos are certainly worth posting, but what makes them interesting in the larger story is the range of spaces Vivian now finds himself moving through. In the same orbit are small business owners looking for guidance, photographers and creatives building their names, Caribbean media, community organizations, elected officials and internationally recognized entertainers.

It would be easy to tell this story as a list of impressive people Vivian has met. That would also miss the point. The more interesting story is what he does with the access he has built.

BuyCheapCentral.com Is Becoming More Than a Place to Shop

BuyCheapCentral.com began with a focus on affordability and giving customers access to fashion, accessories and everyday finds at reasonable prices. That is still very much the business, but the platform has evolved.

Vivian has opened BuyCheapCentral to other entrepreneurs who want to sell their own products through the marketplace. For a small business owner, that means access to an established platform and customers outside of their immediate audience. For BuyCheapCentral.com, it means the website can grow without losing the community-centered approach that Vivian has developed offline. In that sense, the website is starting to look a lot like the man behind it.

You can come for a handbag and discover another Caribbean-owned brand. An entrepreneur can come looking for a place to sell a product and end up learning about a certification, event or organization that could help the business grow. A creative might meet another business owner who needs exactly what they offer.

That is where the idea of BuyCheapCentral.com as a Caribbean hub starts to make sense. It isn’t a formal business incubator or networking organization, and there is no need to pretend that it is. It is an e-commerce company whose founder happens to believe that business works better when people share resources, make introductions and create opportunities for one another.

Building Access From the Marketplace to City Hall

Vivian’s impact extends beyond BuyCheapCentral. As a certified Black MBE in New York City and State, he has advocated at City Hall for greater M/WBE opportunities and uses what he’s learned to help other entrepreneurs navigate those same doors.

That matters, especially for immigrant and first-generation entrepreneurs who may have the talent and work ethic, but not the network or roadmap. Vivian helps bridge that gap through information, introductions and access.

His commitment to community goes even further, from Hurricane Melissa relief efforts to building relationships across Caribbean business, media and culture. 

The Value of Being a Connector

There is no shortage of people who know important people. Yes, being around Buju Banton is cool. Marching on the Parkway alongside Governor Kathy Hochul and Rev. Al Sharpton makes for a memorable Labor Day. Ending up on the Irie Jam truck is both a great moment and very on-brand for a Jamaican businessman who genuinely loves the station.

But none of those moments would say very much about Vivian if the people building businesses around him couldn’t also tell stories about how he helped them. They can.

That is why Trish’s experience matters. It is why the relationships with Shandy’s Butters and Zoomatic Visuals matter. It is why opening BuyCheapCentral.com to other sellers matters. Together, those things tell a much fuller story than a photograph with any famous person ever could.

Vivian is building social capital, but he isn’t treating it like something that loses value when it is shared. If anything, his approach suggests the opposite. Every useful introduction strengthens the network. Every entrepreneur who gains access to better information becomes better positioned to share that information with somebody else. Every Caribbean-owned business that grows makes the community’s presence in business a little harder to overlook.

That may ultimately become one of the most interesting parts of the BuyCheapCentral.com's story.

For Vivian, that seems to be the natural evolution of the business. He is Jamaican, based in New York and connected to a diaspora that stretches far beyond either place. His circles now touch business, media, culture, politics and entertainment, yet he continues to make room for the entrepreneur who is still figuring things out. You don’t necessarily need to be the biggest name in the room to get Vivian’s attention. You just might need to be building something worth knowing about.

BuyCheapCentral.com may sell you a handbag. Vivian might just hand you an opportunity.