Plug into
business success
Business Investment
Competition Case Study
Megaphase Road Marking and Traffic signs, based in Durban, is a
black-owned woman empowered company. Managing Director,
Nokuthula Dladla says ,‘business has been growing so steadily that
we are now venturing into construction’.
Contents
Identify business ideas
1
Evaluate business ideas
3
Protect a business idea/name
5
Register a CC/Pty
6
Register your business for taxes
7
Open a business bank account
8
Write a winning business plan
9
Raise capital/funding
11
Solve cash flow problems
13
Market and sell products/services
17
Network effectively
21
Master customer satisfaction
23
Write a business letter | proposal
26
Tender for government contracts
27
Develop or review contracts
29
Employ the right staff
32
How to dismiss someone
33
Growing the business
36
Find a mentor
38
Useful information
43
Things the Foundation doesn’t fund
47
Identify business ideas
There is a great American saying: ‘Good ideas are a dime a dozen and
bad ones are free’. Nothing could be truer than that. Business ideas are
around us all the time, all we have to do is teach our brains to see what
our eyes often cannot. This expression aptly captures the simple notion
of infinite good ideas, but also implies a lack of skilled execution.
You can come across a great business idea in multiple ways: through a
casual discussion with friends, OR you can stumble upon it by accident
while going about your daily business, OR you can experience an inspired
“epiphany” (have a sudden revelation), OR you can even get awakened
by a brilliant idea, forcing you into a scribbling frenzy like that of a crazy
scientist of sorts.
In truth, ideas and opportunities are around us all the time, encircling our
world in perpetual orbit, just waiting to be cherry picked by the “savvy”
among us. How many times have you said, or heard someone say, that
was my idea? If only I had known, I could’ve been filthy rich by now? Ideas
have been there since the beginning of time and they’ll continue being
there till kingdom comes.
That said, sometimes we have to actively seek out business ideas through
a process of careful imagination and structured elimination – learning to
let go of some of them. We have to challenge ourselves to see the fast
moving world in high definition rather than in warped slow motion; we
have to be able to tell or predict what can be by just looking at what is.
This is the pinnacle or peak of what it means to generate ideas and it is
earned through constant practise, observation and “brainstorming”.
1
A good place to start when looking for good ideas is to listen to what
people mostly complain about. Society complains A LOT. See these
complaints as plentiful gold mines for ideas. People are ready and willing
to reward you handsomely for solutions to their problems. Think of
problems that people have to live with daily; pests (rodents), road
congestion, pollution, crime, and many, many more! The only limit is
your knowledge and experience.
So while everyone notices the problems, very few notice the opportunities!
Self knowledge is also important in the process of coming up with business
ideas. If you know what your passion is, then you don’t need a business
idea. All you need is a method to package and sell (monetise) your
passion. Your ability to take an idea from brainwave to market is directly
proportional to your level of passion for the business idea. Let your
passion be the embodiment of your businesses ideas and you’ll never
have to work another day in your life.
Strengthen your ideas by debating them with trusted advisers, research
international best practice and always look at the next best alternative and
its relative advantages over your idea. The key thing is to keep looking at
different ideas and to keep appraising or valuing them, and soon enough,
ideas will be falling into your lap effortlessly for less than a dime a dozen.
“What we often call failure
is actually an opportunity
for immense growth.”
Vincent Maphai
2
Evaluate business ideas
Never allow your emotions to cloud your most logical judgement when
appraising a business idea. The worst thing that could happen is for you
to be overly enthusiastic about your ‘golden ticket’, to the extent that
you go full steam ahead only to discover that you are sitting with a dud.
Many an aspirant entrepreneur has lost money, confidence and credibility
because of such ‘mad exuberance’.
You can prevent this easily by making use of a common rule of thumb,
which suggests a 7-day cool-off period before sharing your wonderful
idea with the world or critically evaluating it. By allowing yourself a
timeout, you can remove yourself from the excitement and return at
a later stage where your cool head should prevail.
“I just didn’t get the script that as
a woman I couldn’t sit at the top
table, so I never ceased to believe
that I was good enough and I
deserved my spot at the top!”
3
Nonkululeko Nyembezi Heita
Here are some basic questions (non-exhaustive) you can use to
evaluate your business idea:
• Is this something I am truly passionate about? Would I do it if it
were non-profit?
• Is it legal in my country? What laws do I have to worry about?
• Has this ever been done before? When? By whom? To what end?
• How much do I know about this line of business?
• What are the key substitute and complimentary products that I
must be mindful of ?
• What do I have on offer to take this idea forward? Exper tise,
Capital, Contacts?
• Does the technology exist, or will it have to be developed, to
implement the idea?
• What other exper tise will I require in implementing the idea?
At what price?
• What are the three key success factors that must come together
for the idea to work?
• How many units must I sell, at what price, to make the idea viable?
• How long before I achieve a sale? Turn cash positive? Break even?
Make a profit?
• How much would be my non-recoverable capital outlay if the
idea flopped?
• Would I invest my pension money if it were my neighbour’s idea?
Look at the answers qualitatively to determine if the idea is viable
and if you are suited for the idea. This idea evaluation process must
be followed by a feasibility study and a business planning process.
4
Protect a business idea/name
Protecting a business name is a bit straightforward. You can register the
business name with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
(CIPC ). Once registered, no one may apply to the commission to register
or trade using a name similar to yours without infringing on your rights.
If someone does, they do so illegally, in which case you have legal
recourse on your side to enforce your rights.
You can also apply to the commission to register a Trademark. A registered
trademark carries the symbol ® and an unregistered trademark is symbolised
by ™ usually placed at the top right corner of the word, symbol, mark or
name. Registered and unregistered trademarks both give legal rights to the
owners of such trademarks. The major difference between the two is that
an unregistered trademark may present you with challenges in providing
evidence (evidentiary) if and when encroachment or infringement of such
trademark occurs.
Protecting an idea is much more complex. There are two important
variables that must be considered: (1) Is your idea an invention OR is
it just an idea that happens to be a gap in the market, which you would
like to exploit? (2) Is it an artistic-related idea e.g. a book, a play, a piece
of music, etcetera?
If your idea is an invention, you can apply for a patent to protect it from
illegal infringement. You can apply to register a patent with the CIPC.
Note that the patent registration process is very onerous and costly, so
you may want to enquire from the CIPC about the costs involved and
the processes that need to be followed, before you go this route.
5
If your idea is an artistic work, then copyright laws will protect you
automatically. Authors have an automatic Common Law copyright over
their work. You do not need to apply for a copyright, and if yours is
infringed, then you can apply for a court interdict to prohibit someone
from continuing with such infringement.
A simple way to protect your business idea, if you are planning to discuss
it with someone else, is to ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement
(NDA) before your discussions. In this way, if they steal your idea, you
can enforce your legal rights through the court system using the NDA
as evidence of your discussion with them.
Register a CC/Pty
You can register a Close Corporation or a Private Company, again by
contacting the CIPC. You may need an accounting officer or an auditor
to assist you with this process, and the registration process may cost
you as little as R300 or as much as R5 000, depending on where you go.
To register your business, you will have to choose and register a name
first, after which a founding statement or memorandum may be registered
with the CIPC.
6
Register your business for taxes
You will need to register your business with the South African Revenue
Service (SARS) for the following different types of taxations:
Type of tax
Options
Income tax
Compulsory
Provisional tax
Compulsory
Value-added tax (VAT)
If your turnover will exceed
R1 million
Employee tax (PAYE),
Unemployment tax (UIF)
If you employ anyone
or draw a salary
Skills development
levy (SDL)
If annual PAYE exceeds R500 000
Compensation for
occupational injuries
and diseases (COID)
If you are in an injury prone work
environment
These are just some of the common types of taxes that must be registered
for, although this list is not exhaustive.
7
Open a business bank account
You can go to any local bank and ask to open a business cheque account.
If you meet the credit criteria, you may be eligible for a business loan,
overdraft facility, credit card facility and other useful business banking
products. Most of the banks have many similar products, so you have
to look through their brochures and website, or speak to a commercial
banker to find out more.
You can contact any one of the following banks to find out more:
Absa Bank
First National Bank
Investec Bank
Nedbank
Standard Bank
Capitec
African Bank
8
Write a winning business plan
I have heard people say that failing to plan is planning to fail. This is
par ticularly true in business, where any number of circumstances can
throw the most meticulously crafted business plan off course. Even so,
any decent effor t in planning beats the run of the mill attitude that fails
to plan, 10 to one.
A business plan should not be a last resort measure, thought of only
when the bank or other financiers require it. In fact, most of what goes
into your business plan is important for the operation of your business
anyway. This includes your marketing plan, your budget, sales forecast,
operations manual, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats) analysis and strategic plan.
I have also heard many business persons claim to have succeeded without
a business plan. This is not unlike a student who professes to have passed
without studying, or a cleaner who fixes appliances without ever having
set foot in an exam room, or a musician who recites poetic lyrics without
ever having written them down. A business plan is a useful tool to jog
your memory, there to constantly remind you of what you need to be
doing, helping you prioritise, helping you identify departures and red
flags, clarifying your thinking and underpinning critical decisions.
“I will team up with people according to
what they can do. We need more than
just entrepreneurs, we need capitalists”
9
Herman Mashaba
Your business plan is the ultimate guide to help fast track your business
success. With a sound business plan, very few things will keep you for too
long from succeeding and achieving your goals. Keep your business plan
simple, straightforward, relevant and then USE IT!
Failing to plan is
planning to fail
10
Raise capital/funding
Broadly speaking, funding can be divided into three distinct sections:
Grants, Capital and Debt. Depending on your type of business, you may
need to raise funding, and if you do, the type of funding you raise is likely
be in one or other form mentioned above, or a combination of them.
Many people struggle to raise capital for their businesses precisely
because they don’t appreciate this very simple distinction. For example,
it may seem obvious to you and me that a ‘just graduated’ student, who
has no business experience, no capital and no collateral, is probably not
the ideal customer for a bank loan. But you would be horrified at the
number of funding applications that are turned down by banks for this
very reason, from people who do not realise themselves that they are
not good candidates for a loan.
Start-up enterprises that are small scale community-based operations
should look more towards grant contributions for their initial funding.
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) provides a variety of small
business grants, which are geared to fund business plans, marketing
materials, ISO accreditations, and the like. Development funding agencies,
such as the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), can then plug
in to finance initial equipment and working capital if the business plan is
proven to be viable.
Family, friends and ‘fools’ - pardon me, ‘briefcase investors’ - are also a
quick and easy source of start-up finance. This is what you should be
thinking as a start-up business. Forget big bank loans and ‘angel investors’.
11
You are more likely to succeed if you focus your efforts on bootstrapping
your business. By this I mean financing your company and its growth with
your own personal finances or with assistance from others, which means
that less money has to be borrowed, and interest costs are reduced.
Raising money for a business, at any stage of development, is an incredibly
complex undertaking. Do you require working capital or asset finance?
Do you need a short-term unsecured facility or will you require long-term
collateralised funding? Will it be equity or debt? These are just some of the
questions you have to be mindful of. Not only must you know exactly
how much you need and for what purpose, you also need to understand
the type of funding most suitable for your specific requirements.
“Do your homework.
Market research is crucial.
If you don’t have customers who
are willing to pay for your services,
then you don’t have a business.”
Alon Raiz
12
Solve cash flow problems
There are three systemic causes of cash flow problems in small businesses,
namely: poor debtor collection, poor sales or poor capitalisation. If you
are experiencing cash flow-related problems in your business, chances
are you have missed the mark in one or more of these three areas of
cash management.
Throughout the lifecycle of a business, cash flows in and out of the
business like water in a dam. The primary source of cash inflow in most
businesses is its customers. Suppliers and employees are a source of cash
outflow. For a small business to function properly, it must collect cash
from customers faster and more frequently than it has to pay creditors
and employees.
Typically, a business with at least 90 days’ working capital reserves,
stable sales and no bad debts, will be without any cash flow problems.
The reason why small businesses experience often disastrous cash flow
problems is that often these two factors do not come together often
enough, and within the same timeframe, for the business to make it.
Small businesses are usually set up on a shoestring budget with no real
reserves; they struggle to build proper sales momentum and lack credit
policies and collection infrastructure to contain bad debts.
Small businesses are also hamstrung by their need for growth. To reach
economies of scale, fulfil larger orders and attract top shelf customers,
small businesses have to keep growing. This situation often puts
enormous pressure on the funds of small businesses, forcing them to
use any reserves and cash flow to fund the purchase of equipment and
expansion infrastructure. With all their money tied up in infrastructure
and a growing fixed expenses base, small businesses often fail to cope
with any cash flow hampering incidents.
13
How, then, can small businesses solve their cash flow problems? By
being absolutely ruthless when it comes to their cash! The first step is
to capitalise the business adequately. You need at least 60 days’ worth of
reserves to function optimally. Whether you start off with or you build
this level of reserves, you need to protect them. If you have sufficient
reserves, your business is immediately placed on a sound footing to
withstand temporary cash flow hampering incidents.
Impor tantly, delay paying your large creditors for as long as you can
without damaging your credit profile. Stretch creditors to 60 and even
90 days if you have to, but be sure to avoid paying outstanding operational
bills from your reserves. At the same time, collect your debtors quickly by
invoicing the correct amount, with the correct details at the correct time
of the month. Invoice payments are often delayed due to the tardiness of
small business owners not taking enough care to ensure the correctness
and completeness of the invoices. Once you’ve invoiced accurately and in
a timely manner, you have to follow up on the payment and see to it that
you speak to the right people to get your invoice paid.
Remember to keep your expenses as low as possible. Your business must
be all bones and muscles with no fat. Anything you do not absolutely
need, don’t buy. Keep pressure on your expenses and avoid any fixed
running cost. If your expenses must be fixed, keep them shor t-term.
Ideally, the majority of your expenses must be variable and linked to the
performance of your business, i.e. if revenue is down, so too must be
your expenses.
14
Reduce debts by paying them off as soon as possible. Try to shorten the
term of finance for your debts, even if it means paying more on a monthly
basis. Prioritise the settlement of all short-term high interest bearing
debt. Choose to extend the life of the debt obligation if you must, but
the rule of thumb should be to settle debt promptly. If you are faced with
a choice of financing your assets or drawing from your reserves, opt to
finance the assets. This will almost always be a better option from a cash
preservation point of view. Keep your cash!
Once your business is in a healthy state, sell equity to investors. Don’t
marry your business as you will hinder its progress; sell a share in it in
order to grow it. It is much better to own half of a growing business,
which has ample reserves and a better future outlook, than it is to own
100% of an ailing business that looks rundown.
15
Business Investment
Competition Case Study
Khariye Poultry Farming supplies the Makhado community,
stokvels, small retailers and small restaurants with chickens and
eggs. Winner in the 2013 BIC’s agriculture category, Livhuwani
Tshifhango, used her prize money to expand her business and
created two permanent jobs.
16
Market and sell products/services
Ever heard the expression; “selling like hotcakes”? Well, this is the sort of
stuff that marketing dreams are made of. The question is, how can you
get your products to sell that well?
It is important to note that marketing and selling are two related yet
quite separate business functions. The ultimate purpose of marketing is
to make your target market aware of your products or services, persuade
them to choose you over your competitors and then keep them coming
back for more, with tons of referrals. In a nutshell, we could restate it as
follows: marketing is the process that enables the selling function.
For example, many marketing activities cannot be linked in a practical
sense to sales activities. To illustrate this point, consider this: advertising,
which is a marketing function, may generate huge awareness and interest
for a product, but it will not necessarily translate into sales. Branding,
another marketing function, can convert a mere three syllable word into
a household name, but it will not necessarily translate into sales.
Notwithstanding the above, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are a
different breed altogether. In this market, brand names, advertising and
promotional campaigns weigh heavily on sales. The retail environment is
not sales-oriented and consequently companies place enormous value in
marketing. Even so, the exact combination of branding, advertising and
promotions or the allocation of money to these functions is still an
unscientific under taking, as there is not a direct link between these
individual activities and levels of sales.
17
This issue is not merely academic! It affects how you perceive your
business, how you select strategies, how you allocate resources and
importantly, whether or not your business thrives.
Selling is the process that converts prospects into customers. Most small
businesses simply don’t have the “war chest” or resources necessary to
run elaborate marketing campaigns in the faint hope of generating sales.
Instead, small businesses focus on less sophisticated, below the line
strategies like quick response marketing (QRM) to generate sales.
A common QRM activity could be the offering of a freebie for an
immediate purchase decision OR rewards for referrals.
Yet the question remains; how to sell well?
Your marketing or selling job is already half done if you have a great
product suited to the needs of your customers. Take a good look at what
you are offering, see how it differs from your competitor’s product and
compare the value proposition critically.
Tell people about your product. Tell your story. People are interested
in both what and why you sell what you are selling. Tell them. Tell them
on social networks, tell them through promotions, tell them through
business cards, tell them through a website, tell them through friends,
tell them through any media and medium you can afford. Live your
business and promote it like your life depends on it. Tell them, tell them
and tell them some more.
18
Once you’ve successfully told them, offer them an incentive to make a
buying decision. Lower the risk of dissatisfied customers by offering
guarantees, free trials, payment terms, exit options, etcetera. Incentivise
the customer for buying from you and help them feel rewarded and
proud of their buying decision.
Most importantly, deliver! It is your responsibility to ensure that your
product lives up to or exceeds your customer’s expectations. It is of no
use to oversell and overstate the benefits of a product, only to have the
customer feel let down in the end. There is good merit in the common
notion that a happy customer will tell one or two people about you and
an unhappy customer will tell ten or more people.
Lastly, actively seek feedback, listen attentively, accept feedback and use
feedback. This will show customers that you care about them and will
help you secure repeat business and a steady stream of referrals.
Do this, and your product might just sell like hotcakes after all.
“It is always tough to distil
what kills super brands but maybe
there’s something in the notion
of ‘reckless’ brand management
that conceals the truth.”
19
Ciko Thomas
20
Network effectively
Networking is the ar t of building new relationships with strangers.
Much like any other skill, networking skills take time to build and must
be practiced often enough to become natural. Most people find
networking unnatural and downright terrifying. This is classic human
nature, particularly when you have not planned or prepared well for
something. But, networking needn’t be so daunting; in fact, networking
should be like running a Sunday school class, easy.
Networking is not the preserve of formal evening conferences and
gala dinners. You should be looking to network with people at every
given opportunity. Whilst standing in a queue at your supermarket, at
the carwash and even at the gym. Start a random conversation about
a neutral, topical, current affairs subject. Talk about changes in weather
patterns over the past 10 years, talk about the poor quality in all
national spor ting codes, talk about the decline in the Rand, etc.
Be extremely diplomatic and avoid being argumentative.
When it comes to networking, anything goes, so introduce a variety of
topics in a casual way until you find one that resonates. You can start
with an impersonal question; is it me or is the world in a whirlwind of
chaos and instability? You can make a statement: “I am starting to believe
that King Shaka Zulu was right when he said...!” Break the ice first and
then engage in a conversation about any and every thing. Avoid talking
about politics, religion and sex. Stay away from heavy subjects. The
worst thing you could do is offend someone.
Do not try to sell something in the first interaction. Networking is not
sales, even though it might be intended to land you some. Introduce
yourself and allow the other person to tell you more about who they are
and what they do. Probe but don’t invade. Instead of asking what do you
21
do, ask, in what industry or line of business are you in? Be subtle. Once
someone tells you what they do, probe some more and then offer to
introduce them to a potential customer without asking for anything in
return. In other words, give them a reason to contact you.
To unlock value from networking you must follow up and provide
an oppor tunity for fur ther interaction and relationship building. Give
people more value than they bargained for. This requires patience in
the knowledge that your oppor tunity to profit from the relationship
may be belated but is inevitable. Once you have created relationships,
manage and maintain them meticulously. Regular email, telephone and
personal contact is impor tant; you must try to connect with no more
than two or three people at a time.
You must approach networking in a systematic and deliberate yet
unassuming manner.
22
Master customer satisfaction
Sam Walton, the founder and prolific leader of Wal-Mart, once said: “There
is only one boss, the customer, and he can fire everyone in the company by
simply spending his money elsewhere.” Ultimately, customers vote with their
cash and if you want them to vote for you, you’d better keep them happy.
Wal-Mart is one of the largest companies in the world, four times the size
of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employing more people
than any other business in the world. By this statement, I mean to persuade
you to take Sam’s sage advice very seriously.
Interestingly, people have become so relaxed about bad service that they
would happily pay you a premium for the good service they are already
entitled to. Society has become indifferent to the bad service simply because
of its frequency and extent. Good service has become so unfamiliar that
many have forgotten its importance. What is even more bizarre is that
providers of bad service often expect reward for doing absolutely nothing.
Think of the bad mannered waitress who wants a tip after bringing you a
cold meal and a single malt whiskey in a juice glass? Better still, the petrol
attendant who did not bother to greet you at the pump? Or the car guard
who appears from nowhere and whose self-importance deceives him into
thinking his presence is a deterrent to armed car thieves?
The pervasiveness of this situation suggests that there is an opportunity to
use what the Japanese call “Yoi shigoto”, which is to differentiate yourself
from the Joe Soap around the corner. Good quality service should be the
foundation of your business. Only when the customer is happy will everyone
else (employees, shareholders, etc) have a remote chance of happiness.
Your ultimate objective in customer service is to have your customers
pay you the highest compliment, which is to refer their friends to you.
To achieve this height of customer satisfaction, you must innately believe
that customers are to be served, spoiled and crowned. The adage that a
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customer is king, or that he or she is always right, is no longer good enough.
Nowadays, customers expect you to serve them as though they were your
first and last. Serve them as such and you will exceed their expectations.
“Most companies are obsessed
with internal processes. I am
obsessed with the consumer.”
Romeo Kumalo
Be mindful that customers today have a wider reach; they know what you
are charging and what your competitors are charging. They have access to
countless alternatives to what you are offering and technology has placed
the power at their fingertips. Worse, these days, a customer can, by a click
of the mouse, tell limitless numbers of people not to do business with you
(think Facebook/Twitter). This can summarily kill your burgeoning business
(checkout www.hellopeter.com).
Thoroughfare to customer satisfaction:
• Tell them that even more than their money, you want them to be
extremely satisfied.
• Ask them what it will take to achieve this goal.
• Bend over backwards, if you must, to ensure that the customer gets
what they want.
• Ask for their feedback. If not satisfied, repeat the previous point.
• Ask them for referrals.
It is really that simple.
24
Business Investment
Competition Case Study
Eish Hade: A love for sneakers has turned into a profitable
business. The growing company, star ted in a home in Soweto,
has now secured premises in the Johannesburg CBD. The demand
for custom made shoes continues to increase, resulting in growth
in the business.
25
Write a business letter | proposal
The rules in the business world are slowly changing. Soon, we will no
longer have to write our business letters or proposals using archaic and
formal language. The day will come when we just use Facebook to reach
our prospects or send Tweets of really profi table ideas. However, the
future is yet to arrive. For now, we still have to use the boring, old
fashioned formal business writing that has won many people some
lucrative business deals in the past.
Today, the top executive has got very little time to go through volumes
of business proposals, particularly if they are unsolicited bids. You have
to be mindful of this when writing your letter or proposal. Concise,
articulate and persuasive (CAP) is what you should be aiming towards.
Write in shor t sentences and remember that each sentence could be
the last one read, think executive summary.
A good idea is to write your business proposal and take it to a business
manager who you know for proof reading. This could be invaluable.
Writing is a skill that takes hours of writing practice to nurture, and so
bouncing what you have written off another business person is a precious
shor tcut. It will save you time, money and potential embarrassment.
If you are going to write a letter or proposal for business, be sure to
put the full force of your might behind it.
26
Tender for government contracts
Government - national, provincial and local - buys more than 30% of all
finished goods and services in South Africa. Put differently, the public
sector is the biggest buyer of goods and services in the market. With
hundreds of billions of Rand in infrastructure backlog, if you do not have
your sights set on the government’s procurement pie, you are sure to
miss out on one of the biggest expenditure programmes in our lifetime.
The Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) regulates government’s
procurement processes and, together with the Preferential Procurement
Policy Framework Act (PPPFA), forms the nexus that underpins government
expenditure. The PFMA imposes a general threshold of R500, 000 above
which all procurement should be undertaken using a competitive public
bidding process (tendering).
Ideally, government wants to be fair in using the public’s money over
which it has full command. This is why the tendering process was created:
to ensure that bidders offer services at prices that are competitive,
through a process that is equitable, fair and transparent. Tendering for
government work is a legitimate sales and marketing process and it has
worked for many businesses, so there is absolutely no reason why it
shouldn’t work for yours.
The challenge, of course, is that there is no shortage of suitors for the
public sector spend. This means you have to keep your pencil sharpened
as you go into tender processes. That said, always keep in mind that the
lowest bidder will not necessarily be the preferred bidder. Additional
criteria, such as, operating capacity, resources, experience and BEE
credentials play a pivotal, if not decisive, role in the bidding process.
27
In a legitimate, corruption free and competitive tendering process,
there are three factors that will inf luence your chances of winning
that lucrative tender:
Completeness of tender documents: be sure to fill in all the required
information accurately, legibly and in full. Be sure to attach all required
statutory and commercial annexures, such as, Tax clearance certificates,
BEE certificates, Identity documents, etcetera.
Demonstration of expertise: attach your business profile and be sure
to highlight all your successes, experience and expertise. Keep in mind
that tender adjudicators (Bid Evaluation Committees) will seldom risk
their reputations on an unknown contractor or supplier with no history,
demonstrable experience or references.
Price the work properly: advance a price that is realistic for the products
or services required. Do not guess your price as this might lead to
overpricing and thus an uncompetitive bid, or worse, you could land into
the ultimate nightmarish situation where you have underpriced the work
and consequently fail to complete it (disaster!!!).
Most importantly, always remember that in government, as in business,
there are racketeers and “shysters”, meaning dishonest people. Do
not offer to bribe anyone under any circumstances! A good reputation
is hard earned but can be lost in a single breath. Guard yours with
all your might and resist the temptation to take shor tcuts in both
how you secure and execute your tenders. A prison sentence is not
worth the money.
28
Develop or review contracts
Most people do not read the small print! Sounds familiar? Well, I hope
not. If you are going to get into a legally binding agreement, you best
be sure to go through it with a fine tooth comb. In South African law, a
contract does not have to be reduced to writing; a verbal agreement is
equally as valid as a written one. The problem, of course, is the burden
of proving the existence of such an agreement, let alone its contents,
when a deal goes horribly wrong.
There are exceptions, of course. Alienation of immovable property
has to be reduced in writing and duly registered with the Deeds office.
So, too, do ante-nuptial contracts and, most recently, credit agreements.
Otherwise, agreements can be verbal and tacit.
It is always best practice to write down the terms of agreement,
which give rise to rights and obligations, and to have them duly signed by
all parties to the agreement. If you can, certify the contracts/agreements
and give each person a copy. You do not need a lawyer for this, you can
simply put down a simple agreement, which specifies what each party
agrees to, the validity period, termination and post contractual matters
that may follow after the contract has been terminated.
“Business is about people. Most companies
see people as resources, hence the term
‘human resources’, as opposed to looking
at a person as a human being with
aspirations, needs and wants.”
29
Isaac Shongwe
Keep one thing in mind: business relationships, like any others, can sour
very quickly. When they do, you don’t want to be the victim. Many
people enter into agreements overwhelmed with emotions; these could
range from excitement, enthusiasm, optimism, joy to an assortment of
feelings. However, when it all goes pear-shaped, feelings of “oneness”
can give way to animosity, anger, conniving and blood-thirsty thoughts.
Always have your exit in mind, you might just need it.
This is not to suggest that you have to be menacing or careless in your
dealings. It is just a simple warning to be less overjoyed and more level
headed about your undertakings.
Do not sign or accept terms you do not understand, even if you are told
that it is just a standard contract. Do not sign blank pages to be filled out
later. Do not allow yourself to be rushed or coaxed into any agreements.
Always initial each page that doesn’t have your signature and have at least
two witnesses to any agreement.
We are no longer cavemen and our word is not our bond so as to be
bound by it. Society has evolved and so too must you. A basic written
and duly signed agreement, where all parties are clear about their rights
and obligations, is an important basic requirement in business.
30
Business Investment
Competition Case Study
Pimp my Book began by providing second-hand textbooks to
students at UCT, but due to demand the company has expanded
to now offer its products at five separate premises around Cape
Town and Stellenbosch. The clientele base has also increased and
includes students from Unisa and other institutions.
31
Employ the right staff
Employing the right people, in the right positions for the right reasons,
is probably one of the most critical success factors for any business.
There is great weight in the overused cliché that your staff is the number
one asset in your business. If you think about it, staff bring knowledge,
expertise, resources, contacts as well as their personalities into your
business. If you get the mix wrong, you could have an explosive cocktail
of dysfunction and frustration awaiting you everyday.
It is difficult to define concisely what is meant by ‘the right staff ’, let
alone trying to find them. One train of thought could propose that people
with a good work ethic, experience and education are a personification
of the ‘right staff ’. Whereas another could prefer the geeky, introverted,
overfed, goggle type. I have even come across people likening personalities
to a ‘hunter’ or a ‘farmer’, a ‘fox’ or ‘hound’, etcetera. What may be
healthy for one business may be poisonous in another.
Perhaps what you may find more effective is to look for value types.
Throw away those “touchy-feely” interview questionnaires, unless you
are interviewing for a potential spouse. If you are looking for someone to
perform defined functions and solve business problems, then you want
to ask scenario types of questions. Don’t rely on or trust a candidate’s
sincerity during the interviews; instead, approach the interview more
scientifically by asking a complicated web of questions, to dig out the real
persona from the facade. Challenge the candidate with real life scenarios
and see if they fit the bill according to your specifications.
It is considerably easier to teach
someone technical skills than it is
to change their character
32
If you hire right, you may never have to fire anyone. The trick is to invest
the time and energy in finding the right people. Your existing network of
friends and family can help you look for someone who is suitably qualified
for the job. Use these resources and interview as many people as you
can, until you find the most suitable candidate for the job. If you skimp
here, you are bound to run into trouble later. The golden rule is simple:
it is considerably easier to teach someone technical skills than it is to
change their character.
Once you’ve found a suitable candidate, follow the employment legislation
in its exact mould. Make sure that you have an employment contract
which covers all aspects of their job description, job title, responsibilities,
compensation and discipline. Think of this as a prenuptial, as if it is not
done right, your employee may walk away with more than just your
pound of flesh.
How to dismiss someone
Dismissing an employee is a very unpleasant and emotionally charged
experience. Unless, of course, you are the autocratic, tyrant type. Still,
there are enough legal checks and balances to make it an extensive,
anguished and protracted process. Unless someone has grossly violated
the terms of their employment, it is difficult to legally dismiss him or her.
This is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it makes it difficult
to get rid of unproductive, loafing and troublesome employees. Yet from
an employee perspective, it enables one to stand up for one’s rights
without fear of being quarantined and quietly disposed off.
33
That said, it is possible to dismiss those within your employ who
produce work late, or of bad quality, and show a general disregard for
the livelihood of either the business or their colleagues. The requirements
are specific and articulated clearly in the Labour Relations Act.
You have to give your employee a warning and take reasonable measures
to help the employee to take remedial steps to improve their work
performance. Only if the behaviour or misconduct continues, and within
at least 180 days from the last warning, can you escalate the matter to a
written warning.
Each warning must be accompanied by a disciplinary hearing at which
your employee must have been given the option of seeking representation
during these hearings. If all else fails, you are then able to dismiss the
employee with due compensation. This doesn’t apply equally to gross
misconduct, where an employee can be summarily dismissed following
a disciplinary hearing, provided that this can be deemed a reasonable
sanction for such misconduct.
In a country like South Africa, where there is chronic unemployment,
a shortage of skilled labour and a gulf of social, class, racial, gender and
cultural differences, it is important that employers and employees exhaust
all conciliatory avenues before severing ties altogether. Research has
proven that loyal and productive employees emerge out of effor ts,
by both employer and employee, to understand one another from an
objective perspective.
34
Business Investment
Competition Case Study
Mamokoele Construction and General Supply based in
Polokwane, Limpopo, produces vegetable and mango atchar.
David Mokoele started producing atchar in his kitchen, and
has recently signed deals with two retail stores. He is in the
process of moving his business from his house to a factory.
35
Growing the business
In today’s world, growing your business is absolutely critical to its
sustainability. We live in a world of increasing input costs ( Inflation),
reducing margins and specialised labour. You need real-time access
to information so that you can respond to threats and oppor tunities
timeously. You need enough economies-of-scale to force your cost
down and manage your margins more effectively. And you need
sufficient revenue to build good cash flow and reserves to weather
any external and sudden disruptions in the market.
It follows, then, that a growing business should be preferred to one that
is not growing. Growth, however, is not without its failings, in fact, your
very pursuit of growth could be the undoing of your business. Growth
often puts enormous pressure on the lifeblood of the business, its cash
flow, and can often lead to excess capacity, inefficiencies and deterioration
in customer satisfaction. Accordingly, while growth is necessary and good,
it has to be prudent.
Firstly, grow your business at a market lagging pace. As you secure
more orders and become stretched for resources, star t increasing your
productive capacity in response and in propor tion to the new capacity
requirements. Don’t run ahead of yourself and cause excess capacity
(e.g. by hiring extra people), this is a definite no-no. If you are receiving
intermittent and unpredictable orders, rather outsource a por tion of
the excess work you are receiving instead of capacitating prematurely.
36
Only if you receive annuity/contractual type of orders or business can
you build additional capacity to service this windfall business. If you have
to finance the acquisition of equipment or additional infrastructure, try
to link the financing terms to the contract terms. If you have running
orders or a contract for five years, then finance your assets over five
years or less. This will reduce your exposure should the contract not be
renewed. Whatever you do, keep your gearing low (35% or less) while
growing your business.
Preferably, lease assets and contract employees instead of creating long-term
commitments. If your expenses are fixed, you will be forced to exit
them in the most punitive way your creditors will allow. Similarly, if your
expenses are variable, you have the flexibility of responding appropriately
and without penalty to the changing circumstances of the market.
Tread carefully when growing your business by keeping a healthy balance
of your gearing.
“Leadership is about recognising
what you do know and leveraging
your colleagues for the things
you don’t know.”
37
William Mzimba
Find a mentor
Mentorship can be the determinant of success or failure of a small business.
A mentor can provide invaluable guidance, context and objectivity to an
entrepreneur when they need it the most. A mentor can provide business
guidance, contacts and social balance to a mentee building a business.
We are not just business people, we are also social creatures with lives
outside our businesses, and a good mentor should demonstrate and live
by the virtue of balance.
When looking for a mentor, there are three key attributes that you
should look for. Firstly, find a mentor who has similar values to your own.
If honesty, integrity and family are important to you, then your mentor
should subscribe to those as well. There is no point in having a mentor
who believes in regular casino visits, under-handedness, and that the
means justify the end, no matter what they are, if those views are in
conflict with your beliefs and values.
Secondly, find a mentor who is older and more experienced in business
and in life. Experience is more important than education by a long shot.
So even if you are more educated than your mentor, their hard won
experience should be what you crave. There is a great proverb which
says “the young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the
exceptions” - believe it, it is true.
Finally, find a mentor who is willing and able to provide you with time.
There is no point in looking for someone who is rich and famous, and
then only interacting with them once a year. Find someone who is
retired, if possible; find someone with time, business and life experience,
someone with a value system similar to yours.
38
John C. Maxwell: A Guide for
Making Tough Decisions
“If you can’t make them, you can’t lead.”
John C. Maxwell
Good leadership is not a popularity contest. One of the most important
days in my career was the day I realized that leading well was more
important than being well-liked.
Anyone who has had this epiphany know it’s a tough moment: We’ve
all wanted to be the “cool kid” since our grade school days. Now we
sometimes find ourselves sounding like the principal.
But our careers are filled with difficult, sometimes unpopular choices,
and our success rests on how we handle them. I once heard Colin Powell
say, “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You’ll avoid
the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting people who need to be
confronted, and you’ll avoid offering different rewards based on different
performance because some people might get upset.”
We’re tempted to postpone and avoid tough decisions and hard
conversations. The great American financier T. Boone Pickens once
cautioned: “Don’t fall victim to what I call the ‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim
syndrome.’ You must be willing to fire.” Decide. Act. That’s your job
as a leader.
How do you find the motivation to do what you wish you could avoid?
How do you learn to do what others don’t want to do and say what
others don’t want to say?
39
In a nod back to that grade school analogy, I’m giving you some homework.
This worksheet will help you identify the decisions you have to make and
the steps you must take in order to make them. Ready?
Step 1: Take Responsibility.
The bottom line is this: Nothing changes if nothing changes. Procrastination
kills leadership effectiveness today and leadership potential tomorrow.
Whatever is your biggest problem now will be your biggest problem next
week and your biggest problem next month unless you do something about it.
List three decisions you’ve been putting off:
1.
2.
3.
Step 2: Prepare Yourself.
Are you feeling anxious about those looming choices? Let’s do some
research to boost your decision-making confidence.
Pick one of the above problems. List the information you need to move
forward and the experts and colleagues who can offer insight.
Info needed:
People needed:
40
Step 3: Reflect.
Once you’ve completed the first two steps, consider where that knowledge
takes you. What insights did you gain? Did you discover things below the surface?
List your realizations:
1.
2.
3.
Step 4: Determine your action plan.
What do you need to do before you take action? Should you meet with
key influencers? Write a step-by-step strategy? Consult with an expert?
List your next moves and give yourself a deadline to make them.
Action:
Deadline:
Action:
Deadline:
Action:
Deadline:
41
Go through that four-step process, and I promise that decision-making
will go from overwhelming to attainable. (Notice, though, I’m still not
calling it easy!) Repeat that process for the additional situations you
listed and the countless others you’ll face in your personal and
professional lives.
Let me offer a few other strategies to make the process easier.
Act immediately. Although it is your responsibility to deliberate
options and make educated decisions, you’ll also encounter situations
in which you must think on your feet. Great leaders act with limited
information. Don’t hedge! Take action using your knowledge and instincts
to guide you.
Be confident. Don’t waste time and energy second-guessing yourself.
Someone once told me that I have no rearview mirror. I believe that’s
true: I have little desire to look backward. I make decisions and move on.
You should, too.
Think payoff. Your motivation to act comes from the benefits you
envision. Is your team morale likely to improve? Will productivity
increase? Will you see an impact on the bottom line? Focus on those
positives. It’s like going to the dentist - you may not look forward to
the process, but the outcome is highly beneficial.
Change can be hard, but uncomfor table changes often lead to breakthroughs. In every challenge lies the oppor tunity for growth. One of
the most difficult decisions that I ever made was leaving the organization
my father led - the place I had committed 10 years of my life to. That
decision was painful and a little frightening, but it was also the move
that changed my career.
42
Useful information
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has established several
institutions mandated to deliver a wide range of key services, including
both financial and non-financial support services, to small enterprises.
Government institutions that offer support to SMMEs include the following:
SEDA- Small Enterprise Development Agency
Tel 0860 103 703/012 441 1000
www.seda.org.za
SEFA- Small Enterprise Finance Agency
Tel 012 441 0480
www.sefa.org.za
IDC- Industrial Development Corporation
Tel 011 269 3000/0860 693 888
www.idc.co.za
NEF- National Empowerment Fund
Tel 011 305 8000/0861 843 633
www.nefcorp.co.za
NYDA- National Youth Development Agency
Tel 011 651 7000
www.nyda.gov.za
43
Land Bank
Tel 012 686 0801
www.landbank.co.za
MAFISA- Micro Agricultural Financial Institute of South Africa
Tel 012 319 7295
CIPC - Companies and Intellectual Property Comissioner
Tel 086 100 2472
www.cipc.co.za
44
Provincial agencies
ECDC- Eastern Cape Development Corporation
Tel 043 704 5600
www.ecdc.co.za
FDC- Free State Development Corporation
Tel 051 4000 800/810
www.fdc.co.za
GEP- Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
Tel 011 085 2001
www.gep.co.za
Gauteng Economic Development Agency
Tel 011 085 2400
www.ecodev.gpg.gov.za
Ithala Development Finance Corporation
Tel 031 907 8911
www.ithala.co.za
Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal
Tel 031 368 9600
www.tikzn.co.za
Limpopo Business Support Agency
Tel 015 287 3000
www.libsa.co.za
45
Trade and Investment Limpopo
Tel 015 295 5171
www.tikzn.co.za
Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise
Tel 015 633 4700
www.lieda.co.za
Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency
Tel 013 752 6413
www.mega.gov.za
Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism
Tel 021 483 5065
www.westerncape.gov.za
Invest North West
Tel 014 594 2570
www.inw.org.za
Northern Cape Economic Development Agency
Tel 053 833 1503
www.nceda.co.za
46
The following do not qualify to
apply for grants and donations:
• Political par ty activities (directly and indirectly).
• Trade union activities (directly and indirectly).
• Church/religious organisations, unless the
organsiation has a formally constituted outreach
programme that directly benefits the community.
•Individuals.
• Eskom employees or their families.
• Organisations where Eskom employees hold shares
• Visits/trips to other countries, whatever the cause
or reason.
• Attendance of or sponsorship of national and
international conferences.
• Awards ceremonies unless Eskom initiated project.
• Table sponsorships, launch and fund-raising events,
except where initiated by Eskom.
• Spor ts events.
• Celebrations, events and excursions.
• Traditional leadership events and inaugurations.
47
• Government depar tments ( Inaugurations, launches,
functions or award ceremonies). The only exception
being suppor t to public benefit organisations,
such as police stations, ambulance services and fire
brigades, subject to them complying with the
relevant documentation requirements.
• Star t-up projects, unless the project is an
Eskom-initiated pilot project.
• Organisations that are not formally constituted/registered.
• Individual or star t-up businesses.
• The acquisition/takeover of businesses.
• The purchase of share options.
• Projects that do not comply with Eskom’s policy on
broad-based black economic empowerment ( B-BBEE ).
• Any activity/project/organisation or cause that
has objectives infringing on the Bill of Rights and
the Constitution and legislation of the Republic
of South Africa.
48
Directory Service
49
Location, location, location!
Whether you’re a real estate agent, small business, or even a bank,
location is an impor tant factor when it comes to the ultimate success
of your growing business. While we all understand the impor tance
of location, few of us ever stop to consider the impor tance of
location information.
A business must provide information about its location, and what it
offers, to consumers who are willing to make use of their services.
MTN Directory Service from MTN Business ensures that potential
customers know where you are and what you offer.
How is MTN Directory Service different?
MTN Directory Service is a state-of-the-ar t take on a familiar service.
This modern equivalent sets itself apar t from its predecessors by
being able to intelligently recommend the most appropriate business
to potential customers.
By leveraging its world-class mobile network, MTN is able to
use location-based positioning to provide an ex tremely valuable
director y ser vice.
50
MTN Directory Service provides value by offering:
•Valuable business information that functions as a single point from
which users can locate resources, businesses and services within
their vicinity.
•This means no more trawling through irrelevant search results that
are not applicable to the user’s current location.
•The functionality to enable businesses to list themselves on the
directory and be found by potential new customers, all without
having to adhere to outdated application procedures.
What are the benefits Directory Service?
•Join the biggest location-aware business directory available in the
country.
•Businesses are easily and quickly found on the MTN business
directory, a huge benefit when potential customers are driving
around looking for you.
•Over 30 million mobile subscribers are potentially able to access
the service.
•The service can function seamlessly with existing or future social
marketing effor ts, making it a wise investment for the future.
51
Let us take a look at key
features of cutting edge
directory technology:
Search.
•Location is a key aspect of the search functionality and, indeed,
one of the most impor tant.
•Location-aware listings are added to a categor y hierarchy,
which results in the category hierarchy becoming aware of the
user’s location.
•The mobile phone location, together with the search radius, is
used to determine what por tion of the location-aware directory
structure ( LADS ) is displayed on the mobile phone.
•The user is then able to browse the categor y structure or
use tex t-based searching to look for products within that
category structure.
52
Location aware.
•This refers to the ability of the device to deliver information
about its physical location, regardless of whether it is a mobile
smar tphone, 3G-enabled tablet or 3G-enabled laptop.
•The device’s location is usually determined by GPS satellite
tracking, cellular base station triangulation, or by using the access
control for GPS in media control.
•Every listing is given a longitude and latitude position based on the
physical location of the business. The intersection of the above two
data sets provides for location-aware listings that are displayed on
the mobile phone.
Listing detail pages.
•Listings are displayed on a detailed and easy-to-read map.
•Tapping a listing pinned on the map allows the mobile phone user to
view details regarding the listing.
•Depending on the package selected by the customer (Silver, Gold or
Platinum), their listings page will contain the corresponding feature set.
For more information or support queries, please speak to your Service
Provider or go to www.mtnbusiness.co.za
53
MTN Website in a Box
The “Website in a Box” solution will allow customers to create/develop
and publish their own website on a hosted environment. The hosted
‘website-in-a-box’ solution will consist of various versions star ting
from a ‘free’ trial version to the top of the range version. Each
consecutive level consists of additional features and functionality.
The service will also allow customers to register their domain and also
be provided with access to the following services which they may/may
not pay for depending on their package:
•Free Google Workshop
•Complete Website Content Management System with free suppor t
and changes for a low fixed monthly fee.
•Unlimited changes to the website excluding graphic redesign
•500 word ar ticle creation monthly focused on keyword research
•Free R500 Google ad words voucher for new clients
•Search Engine Optimisation Tool Kit
•Pre-formatted Search Engine Optimisation website
•Complete e-commerce with checkout
•Built in Bulk SMS and MMS utility
•Built in Bulk e-mail service
54
Features of the ‘Website-in-a-box’ solution:
•Protection of contents - All websites hosted are kept in a vir tual
container, which prevents one website from accessing another
websites code. All databases are kept secure with usernames and
passwords, with only one user being able to access that specific database.
•Website design and development process – An outlined website
design process in order to make sure that customer’s websites are
produced in a timely and professional manner. This will include:
• Design
• Access
• Build
• Approve
• Launch
•Browser compatibility with websites developed on Microsoft
Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/ Unix browsers
•Hosting which comprises off:
• 100 Mbit Redundant Network
• 99,9% Uptime
• UPS & Diesel Generator
• 24x7 Network Monitoring
55
• 24x7 Network Monitoring
• 24x7 Security Surveillance
• Biometric Access
• Security Guards
• CCTV Cameras
•Search engine optimisation
•Search engine submissions
•Repor ting and stats on website usage, hits and traffic.
Benefits associated with “Website in a Box”
•Professionally looking websites that are Ecommerce ready
•Search Engine Optimised websites, which means company and
service visibility via the internet
•Bundled offering that also includes wed design, hosting, design
consulting and search engine optimisation.
•Service offering is available on a month to month basis
For more information or suppor t queries, please speak to your
Service Provider or go to www.mtnbusiness.co.za
56
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13141516171819
22232425262728
20212223242526
2930
2728293031
60
2016 Calendar
January
February
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
12 123456
3456789
78910111213
10111213141516
14151617181920
17181920212223
21222324252627
24252627282930
2829
31
March
April
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
12345
1
2
6789101112 3456789
13141516171819
10111213141516
20212223242526
17181920212223
2728293031
24252627282930
May
June
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1234567
1234
8 9 1011121314
567891011
15161718192021
12131415161718
22232425262728
19202122232425
293031
2627282930
61
July
August
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
12 123456
3456789
78910111213
10111213141516
14151617181920
17181920212223
21222324252627
24252627282930
28293031
31
September
October
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
123 1
45678910 2345678
11121314151617
9 101112131415
18192021222324
16171819202122
252627282930
23242526272829
3031
November
December
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
12345
1
23
6789101112 45678910
13141516171819
11121314151617
20212223242526
18192021222324
27282930
25262728293031
62
Notes
63
Notes
64
Eskom Development Foundation NPC PO Box 1091 Johannesburg 2000
Tel +27 11 800 8111 csi@eskom.co.za www.eskom.co.za/csi
Eskom Development Foundation NPC Reg No 1998/025196/08
Issued by Eskom Development Foundation July 2014