Pavlo Phitidis, CEO of the Aurik Business Incubator, defines social capital: “You can use various types of capital to build your business, despite the fact that most people think it’s always about money. Social capital is the goodwill that people have towards you and – when used appropriately and effectively – can be used to create an invitation opportunity. It can also take you to the next level.”

It’s important for anyone who wants to benefit from their social capital to nurture their relationships with influencers and decision-makers and also guard against controversy. Of course, we are all fallible, but when we do more rights than wrongs, we get the benefit of a doubt.

Phitidis says, in the process of building your social capital, you really need to know what you say you do and who your customers are. “If you say you’ll do everything for anyone, you become nothing to everyone. No social capital could ever be built from that.”

Sadly, he says he has watched people obliviously destroying their social capital in every possible way. Here are some of the habits you need to watch out for if you don’t want to ruin your social capital, according to Phitidis:

Don’t waste other people’s time: “When you are looking to work with decision-makers and entrepreneurs, the scarcest commodity is time. Your pitch should be well thought-out.”

Don’t send long emails: “When you email people, be concise. It’s inappropriate and a waste of time to send people a thesis.”

Don’t bad-mouth anyone: “When a senior executive or influencer has a moment of vulnerability and shares sensitive information with you, you should never use that against them. We all have a soft underbelly.”

Don’t abuse your social capital: “It’s unethical to ask a friend in a high position in a corporate organisation to influence a deal for a product or service you want to sell to them.”

This article is a shortened version of a longer one that appeared in the November 2015 issue of DESTINY MAN.

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For any business to be successful it is vital to provide the type of service or product that will satisfy the customer’s needs and expectations.

“Customers are the life blood of any business and it is important to dedicate your time to understanding your customer’s service needs as this will assist you in attracting new customers, keeping loyal customers, and developing referrals for future customers,” says Refilwe Khumalo, executive coach and social entrepreneur.

To maintain success you should keep abreast of all the latest customer needs and trends in the market and change your customer service model accordingly. This will help you establish the kinds of customer service strategies you need to improve your model so you can attract new clients.

As part of this process, hiring the right kind of people is paramount. Khumalo says: “A strong customer service team can be an effective way to establish a solid rapport with existing and prospective consumers and will help you find ways to improve products and services.”

To maintain and attract new customers Khumalo provides the following customer service strategies:

Service level research
Survey your customers regularly to measure service performance. Send customers service follow-up mailers, call them on the phone, or set up focus groups. Ask them what they think of your current service and where you can improve. Let them compare your service to competitors and then fix the trouble areas based on your research.

Stay relevant
Regularly evaluate your product design – its emotional and functional benefits. Research market pricing and packaging trends and change your model accordingly.

Customer service policy
Develop a customer service policy that outlines how customers should be serviced. Let your customers, employees and partners know what the policy entails and train them accordingly. It should also be communicated to customers so that their expectations are well managed. When you change your customer service policy, make sure it’s communicated to all stakeholders.

Reward
Reward customers for their loyalty and those in your service team for upholding your service standards. In this way customers will spread the word about your business and employees will remain committed to your service standards.

Competitive advantage
Customer service is a marketing tactic that can help you to differentiate your business from major competitors. By focusing on this aspect of your business you can become known for customer service consistency and gain a track record seen favourably by the public.

Be innovative
We live in an era in which it’s possible to have fast and effective ways to interact with customers, before, during and after sales. Try implementing live chats or other instant messaging programmes on your website or mobisite tailored to your customers’ needs. Rather than being put on hold on the phone, give your customers the option to be able to have an online instant chat with a live representative who can quickly address their concerns without costing them a huge phone bill.

Also try having automated email responses that acknowledge receipt of your customer’s email stating that someone will call them shortly to assist.

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SA spends more money on small enterprise development than any other country in the world, relative to the size of its economy, with some estimates putting the annual amount at a staggering R20 billion.

But so far the investment hasn’t delivered — more than 80% of small enterprises fail during the first five years, and the country has an astonishingly low level of entrepreneurial activity, roughly one quarter the level seen elsewhere in Africa.

According to a study from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) conducted by a consortium of universities, entrepreneurial activity in SA dropped to 7% last year from 10,6% in 2013, as businesses went bust for a combination of reasons, including rigid labour laws, red tape and the flagging economy.

The GEM report points out that only 37% of adults in the country see good opportunities to start a venture – around half the average ratio in sub-Saharan Africa.

Confidence in their ability to run a business is at the same low level and more than one-quarter of adults don’t take the leap because of fear of failure.

SA’s Incubator landscape

This is where business incubators step in. Their purpose is to ensure that a new business survives its formative years and maximises its growth potential. Incubation – which is rapidly expanding globally – provides support through training, mentoring, advice, access to networks and finance, and often to office space and equipment.

SA has dozens of private and state-funded incubators that focus on businesses in every sector of the economy, including the manufacturing, mining, construction, technology, clothing and automative industries.

The big ones generally offer a standardised approach, taking entrepreneurs through a series of modules – which some complain lack flexibility. According to the Department of Trade & Industry, there are more than 100 incubators in the country, with 75% based in Gauteng and 75% at least partly funded by the state. Its recently published business incubator handbook (see www.thedti.gov.za) provides a list of what’s on offer.

Choosing an incubator

So how do aspiring entrepreneurs choose the right incubator to nurture their business? The DTI’s handbook offers these suggestions:
• Look for clear evidence of success, through data, showing how the businesses they incubate are performing.
• Look for private-sector endorsement, especially if the endorsing firms are using the services of the incubated SMEs.

Entrepreneurs might also want to consider applying to a multi-sector incubator, which some believe provides a more fertile ground for exchanging ideas, or one which focuses on a specific industry.

Here is a list of incubators on offer

GAUTENG
• Aurik (multi-sector): www.aurik.co.za
• Awethu (muti-sector):
www.awethuproject.co.za
• Impact Hub (multi-sector):
www.johannesburg.impacthub.net
• JoziHub (ICT): www.jozihub.org

WESTERN CAPE
• Reconstructed Living Lab (multi-sector):
www.rlabs.org
• The Shuttleworth Foundation (multi-sector):
www.shuttleworthfoundation.org

KWAZULU-NATAL
• Downstream Aluminium Centre
for Technology (manufacturing):
www.dact.co.za
• Seda – DUT Technology Incubator (ICT):
www.dact.co.za

MPUMALANGA
• Mpumalanga Agri-skills Development &
Training (agriculture): www.masdt.co.za
• Mpumalanga Stainless Steel Initiative
(manufacturing): www.mpstainless.co.za

FREE STATE
• Seda – Agricultural & Mining Tooling
Incubator (manufacturing): www.samti.co.za

LIMPOPO
• Seda – Limpopo Jewellery Incubator
(manufacturing): www.slji.org.za
• Mapfura Makhura Incubator
(biotechnology): 013 268 9324 or
charless@biodieselmmi.org.za

EASTERN CAPE
• Seda – Nelson Mandela Bay Information &
Communication Technology Incubator
• (ICT): www.snmbicti.co.za
• Seda – Platinum Incubator (mining):
www.spi.org.za

NATIONAL
• Seda – Construction Incubator
(construction): www.seci.co.za
• Fetola (multi-sector): www.fetola.co.za
• Furntech (manufacturing):
www.furntech.co.za
• Raizcorp (multi-sector): www.raizcorp.com
• Shanduka Black Umbrellas (multi-sector):
www.shandukablackumbrellas.org

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When it comes to entrepreneurship, Executive Coach Penny Holburn says there are a lot of misconceptions. Most people think a successful business requires a “gee whiz” idea, but most successful businesses are born from simple and straightforward ideas.

“As long as there is a market for your products and services you have a business idea that can work,” says Hoburn. “It’s also a myth that entrepreneurship is a way to get rich quickly. It may be a way to ultimately get rich, but you won’t do it quickly unless you win the lotto or get spectacularly lucky. It takes time to build success. And it takes more time than most think it will.”

Holburn says it’s essential that first-time business owners should avoid these common mistakes:

The mistake: Starting with too many products and services

Start out with one product or service line. Get that one working and then consider expanding. As you achieve small goals you will build the confidence and belief to set and achieve bigger goals.

RELATED: How to hire the right staff for your start-up

The mistake: Not having enough capital

It will take longer than you think to start getting an income. You need money, quite a lot of it, to see you through the first year of your business. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you have the capital to keep yourself going without an income from your new business – at least for the first year. The capital could come from your savings, retrenchment money, a loan, or you could carry on working full-time while working part-time in your new business.

Too many people abandon their business idea because it is taking too long for money to come in. Every time you start a business and end up abandoning the idea you increase your fear of starting a business again and you lose money in the process.

The mistake: Not managing your cash flow

Cash flow is usually the most common problem for a new business. Keep your expenses low. Don’t spend money unless you need it to grow your business. Many people who are used to being salaried employees find it challenging to invoice and ask customers for payment.

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While many business owners seem to think that sales scripts will limit their sales staff, the opposite is actually true. A well-thought-out sales script can actually assist in boosting your salespeople’s confidence and helping them to get a consistent message across to potential clients.

Selling is essentially about matching a customer’s needs with the products and services you offer, and ensuring that the value perceived by the customer outweighs the cost. A good sales script empowers the salesperson to tackle this process effectively, while also preventing him or her from overselling and making promises that can’t be kept.

READ MORE: Maximise your profits with a closed-door sale

Using a sales script is also valuable in helping business owners to test and measure every step of their sales process. Think about it: if you have 10 people all using the same script and an issue consistently crops up, it is easier to identify and solve the problem than if everyone is taking a different approach. It narrows down the number of variables.

Now, I get told by many people that their sales staff will hate using a script. And, if the script is bad, that’s understandable. But a good script is just one step in a sales process, and should provide more of a guideline than something that needs to be memorised word for word. Sales scripts are especially helpful to people who are new to the business, and can help ensure continuity if you ever lose any of your sales staff.

So what makes a good sales script? The number one rule is that the script needs to be about the client, not the product. It needs to help salespeople to ascertain what the client needs and wants. You need to spend time listening to a client to understand his or her “pain points” before you can develop a solution that suits them.

In fact, your objective is to help the client make a decision, not actually to sell to them. Start with questions such as “Who is your current service provider? Are you happy with them? Why or why not? What has frustrated you most about dealing with them over the last few months? What would make you consider switching to an alternative provider?”

READ MORE: Considering a franchise? Start here . . .

The second thing that is important is to understand that sales scripts should not be static. You don’t write one and then stick with it forever. First, role-play the script a few times. Tweak it where necessary. Then, actually record the use of the script. Was it successful? Why or why not? Make changes and test it again. A good script is like a flow chart – there need to be alternative responses that have been thought of, depending on what the prospect says.

Remember also that your script will likely take some getting used to. It may not flow perfectly the first time, or even the first few times. Use it for a period, and if it’s not working, try something new. Ensure though, that your staff are competent with the script before putting it to use, even if this means practising with yourself or each other. Most people tend to read in a monotone, and that’s very off-putting for the customer. Ensure that salespeople buy into the script, or customers will pick up on it.

Finally, change your scripts as the market moves. The easiest way to pick up on when it’s time to do this is by tracking your conversion rates. When they drop, it’s time to re-examine the sales script.

Pieter Scholtz is the Co-Master Franchisor in Southern Africa for ActionCOACH, the fastest-growing and largest business coaching company globally. Pieter and his partner Harry Welby-Cooke developed ActionCOACH across Southern Africa, which now boasts over 30 franchisees. He is also a certified, leading business and executive coach. He has successfully assisted countless business owners to significantly grow their profits and develop their entrepreneurial skills.

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While research shows that small business failure rates in South Africa have dropped from 4,9% to 3,89%, we still have one of the highest failure rates for SMEs in the first few years. Executive coach Simone Le Hane says businesses fail because they make common mistakes in the early years.

“Many entrepreneurs are unable to overcome the challenges they face,” she says. “It’s crucial to analyse industry and economic trends and to act on them. It’s also important to keep learning and improving your management, leadership and financial skills.”

Le Hane offers the following tips to achieve entrepreneurial success and keep your business growing

Research your competition

It’s important to research your competitors on a regular basis. You need to know who they are and what their offering is in order to have a competitive edge and offer something no one else does. Whether it’s a better price, service, product quality or experience, differentiating yourself from others in the same sector will enable you to increase your sales, and cement your place in the market.

READ MORE: Why food trucks are a very tasty business prospect

Hone in on your target market 

Once you understand your competition, focus on understanding exactly what type of customer you’re seeking to attract. Use market research to determine who they are, where they live, hang out, what they read and their social media habits. When you have a clear image of your target market, you will know how best to reach them.

Market and network 

It isn’t necessary to have a huge marketing budget in the early days of your business, but you do need to self-promote. Utilise tools such as social media groups and forums to reach like-minded people and contribute to industry topics. Network at trade-shows and conferences to get to know key players in the industry, meet potential clients or collaborate with like-minded business owners.

READ MORE: Common small business start-up mistakes

Use Facebook and Twitter to profile your company. Start a company page and build a community by posting industry-related articles and links, offer specials and giveaways and ask for feedback, and then follow-up on your clients’ needs.

Ask for help 

A new business owner is often responsible for all aspects of the business in the early stages. It’s important to find a mentor who has accomplished what you are looking to do. If you’re struggling with a specific aspect of running your business, it’s crucial to ask for help. If finance or marketing is a weak point, read business books or attend a short course. Up-skilling can only help your business.

Collaborate 

Most businesses lack resources and funding in the early stages. If it makes business sense, it’s a good idea to partner with businesses that offer complementary services, where you could share resources, potential leads and clients.

Be resilient 

Resilience is a key factor to business success. It’s inevitable that you will make mistakes, so learn from them and move on. All businesses will experience peaks and valleys, so it’s important to be passionate about what you’re selling. Believe in yourself and your product.

The post Keep your business afloat appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Raised in Italy with a passion for wholesome food, Khojane’s restaurant feels like home. The furnishings are bright and modern, with a New York loft appeal.

The food, while modern and playful, still has solid, classically definitive flavour pairings that are light at heart in concept yet poignant and sincere in its delivery. The restaurant is modest in its approach, but aims to deliver high on food expectation – and it does.

Gemelli, which means “twins” in Italian, is all about family. Khojane says growing up as a diplomat’s son in Italy meant his family always had lots of people at their home. A consummate host, he’s familiar with most of the patrons who visit his establishment.

READ MORE: Meet the future of advertising

It took him four years to raise the capital he needed to start the restaurant. “I’ve been trying to fund this business since 2009, so funding isn’t easy,” he says

Khojane doesn’t have any illusions about what it takes to be successful, saying running a restaurant is tough. In this industry, passion is a prerequisite.

“If you really want to do it, you have to love it,” he says. “It’s an industry where you’re going to spent 18 hours of your day at work. You have to love food; you have to love people. It has to be genuine.”

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Many of us harbour dreams of breaking away and starting our own successful business, but the harsh reality is that small business failure rates are as high as 63% in the first two years of trading, according to a study by Absa.

While it may be hard to admit defeat, it’s important to know when the dream just isn’t working out. Executive coach Refilwe Khumalo offers the following examples of when it’s worth cutting your losses:

• You aren’t meeting annual revenue projections

Review your company’s financial status in two to three years. If you’re still not turning a profit, it may be time to move on.

• Becoming someone you don’t know

If you’re constantly working to salvage your business, abusing substances to cope or unleashing your frustrations (verbally or emotionally) on family, friends or employees, it might be time to put your well-being first and close the venture.

• You just don’t have the passion any more

For many entrepreneurs, taking sole responsibility for every aspect of the business can be more detrimental than beneficial. Assess whether your business is in a position to meet all its demands. If not, see if you can afford to hire or outsource. If not, you need to consider whether your profit’s worth all the time you’re investing in the venture.

Closing up shop made easy

For many entrepreneurs, reluctantly admitting that it’s time to close up shop comes with its own set of problems. The process can be as tricky as it was setting the business up in the first place.

“If you run a sole proprietorship, you can wind it down yourself,” says Khumalo. “If you have partners or investors, it will need to be a group process.”

READ MORE: Keep your business afloat

If you’re unsure of how to go about it, she advises seeking professional guidance from lawyers, accountants, brokers and other business specialists in tying up all aspects of your business.

She also offers the following tips:

• File dissolution documents

If you fail to legally dissolve your business, you’ll continue to be liable for taxes and filings. If your business is operating as a general partnership or sole proprietorship, you may not be required to formally dissolve your business, but it’s still a good idea to notify the SA Revenue Service and creditors of the change. If you’re uncertain whether you need to file dissolution papers, consult a small business attorney.

• Tax

File an annual return for the year you go out of business. If you have employees, you must file final employment tax returns for them too.

• Business debts

Notify all lenders and creditors of your plans to dissolve the business and settle remaining debts. Contact the business associates to whom you’re indebted or who owe money to you. If you’re unable to pay your debts, you may need to consider filing for bankruptcy.

• Close accounts

Don’t forget to close your business bank account and cancel your business credit cards.

It’s not the end of your entrepreneurial journey

Remember, a failed business doesn’t mean you are a failure. “Review where you went wrong, reflect on where you could have done better and – in the true spirit of an entrepreneur – keep your head up and start again,” says Khumalo. “You can take what you’ve learnt into a new entrepreneurial venture, join an existing start-up or get a job where you can add value with your experience.”

READ MORE: The phrases you’ll never hear successful businessmen say

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If a salesperson doesn’t have the right set of tools at their disposal, they may actually be talking customers out of a sale. Pieter Scholtz shares seven signs that you could be getting in the way of a sale:

1. You’re getting objections. Objections mean you didn’t let them bring up an important point during the conversation, or you didn’t listen when they tried to get more details about a certain matter.
2. You’re talking people out of buying. Stop talking and start listening, it can’t be any simpler than that.
3. You’re following your own agenda, rather than theirs. Take their lead. If answers to your questions go in another direction, follow it.
4. You’re being asked for a resumé or testimonial. This means you’re selling yourself, rather than solving their problems.
5. You have a closing rate of less than 50%. If customers agree to see you after completing a questionnaire, half an hour on the phone and more, then it’s clear they’re interested – but you’re losing them once you actually encounter them.
6. You’re losing clients within the first three to six months of gaining them. There can be many reasons for this, but ultimately, it’s because they’re not getting the results they thought they would.
7. You think your head trash is real. “I have to know more! I don’t have enough experience. I have to be more!” you tell yourself. Actually, you don’t win a marathon – or a customer – by being more. You win by training more, running more and doing more hard work.

Building a reputable sales force who can be relied upon to approach a potential sale with tact and the customer’s needs in mind is crucial in this day and age. Customers know what they want and won’t settle for less, so you need to approach the sale with that in mind. Everything else will fall into place.

The post Are your sales people sabotaging your business? appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

This week, DJ Sbu has been on the streets of Joburg, selling his energy drink Mofaya for a cause much bigger than himself.

Leope is selling Mofaya on the streets to raise awareness for the SLEF Benefit Concert, which he will be hosting this Sunday, 7 February, to raise funds for kids who need financial assistance to get into varsity.

“Every year, the Sbusiso Leope Education Foundation runs a campaign to raise bursaries from willing and able individuals, entrepreneurs, government departments or the private sector. Over the years, some people would say: ‘Sbu, we would love to help, but we don’t have R60k or a R100k to assist.’ So I kind of felt that I needed to come up with an initiative that includes everybody,” Leope told DESTINY MAN.

READ MORE: What does the public lynching of DJ Sbu say about us?

Several of SA’s most-loved artists have come on board and will be performing at the concert without payment. The Ekhuruleni municipality has sponsored the venue and Shisa Nyama has offered food. Even the security has been donated.

“Half of every cent raised from the annual event will be given to the Wits #AccessMustRise initiative and the other half will be used to pay for as many kids as possible to register at universities,” he says.

Selling on the streets is nothing new to Leope – he used to be a street vendor before he got into the entertainment industry.

READ MORE: Leadership 2020: Another hit for DJ Sbu

“This is nothing new to me, and it’s also creating such a nice atmosphere, because people recognise me from TV or whatever and they don’t expect to see me selling on the street. It creates such a beautiful excitement that I’ve been enjoying!” Leope says. “I also love the fact that it just says to people that if you’re hungry enough, you can achieve anything.”

Here are some Twitter responses to Leope’s efforts: 

DJ Sbu is a true inspiration, allow yourself to grow.A lot of people limited themselves to what they started of as! #Mofaya

— Refiloe#MMA15 (@Mis_Snowy) February 5, 2016

Black people please stop hatting on a black man when his busy hustling @dj Sbu keep on hustling bro

— Sibusiso (@msgenguSJ) February 5, 2016

I admire dj Sbu, and no he is not looking for attention or ‘publicity’ as y’all always put it. That man knows what he wants. Respect!

— Zikhona Jack (@iZickey) February 5, 2016

DJ Sbu is a true inspiration, allow yourself to grow.A lot of people limited themselves to what they started of as! #Mofaya

— Refiloe#MMA15 (@Mis_Snowy) February 5, 2016

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Most of us have days when we feel stressed out and overwhelmed by all the tasks we have to do. For entrepreneurs, this feeling can be constant and severely affect their business and livelihood. Mercia le Roux, Deputy Programme Director of His Biz, an entrepreneur support programme, says analysing the causes of stress and implementing changes in attitudes and actions can help entrepreneurs to cope. She suggests the following strategies:

Cultivate your support structure

The road is so much easier to travel if you have companions. Look for people who you admire and who have the skills and experience to mentor and support you.

Find your direction and your focus

Some entrepreneurs try to run three or more different businesses at the same time, but because of their lack of focus, their ventures tend to struggle. You need to find the one thing that you’re passionate about, solves a customer problem and that has the best chance of success. Then focus on that and give it all you’ve got.

READ MORE: How to prevent burnout

Plan and manage your time

If you are feeling overwhelmed by all you have to do, sit down and make a list of everything you need to accomplish. Then indicate which tasks are important and which ones are urgent. Prioritise and plan to do at least one important thing per day, then focus on some of the urgent things and, lastly, one of the other not-so-important-not-so-urgent things. Make a to-do list every day if it works for you.

Understand your customer

Identify the type of customer who will be willing to pay you the right price for your product or service. Have a picture of your customer in your mind (you can even give them a name…) and test all your decisions and actions against whether it will work for your customer. Remember that your typical customer can change, so be ready to adapt your picture as you learn more.

Make money

Not making money is, of course, a great source of concern for any entrepreneur. If your business is struggling, try to go back to basics of whether you’re solving the customer’s problem. Perhaps you need to have fewer products or services. Perhaps you can save on costs by downsizing your office space. Perhaps you can try a different marketing or sales tactic. Whatever it is, focus on keeping track of money in and money out and find a way to make it work!

READ MORE: How to have an insanely productive week

Don’t neglect your health

Having your own business can be all-consuming, but you need to make sure that you stay healthy. Exercise, eat healthily, spend quality time with your family and rest properly. You’ll be amazed how much energy you can gain from these things.

Be still and reflect

In the craziness and busyness of running your own business, it’s often difficult to find the time to be still and reflect. But it’s in those times that you find your purpose and the ideas to make your business a success. Don’t neglect the quiet times.

READ MORE: 5 time management hacks

Have courage

It’s normal to be anxious or fearful as an entrepreneur. After all, you don’t have the luxury of an assured salary every month. Don’t lose heart, brave adventurer! Surround yourself with people who can encourage you. Take time out to pray. Look back at all the amazing things you have achieved and have faith that you will do similar and even greater things.

The post Feeling overwhelmed by the hustle? appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

According to Wealth Factory founder Garret Gunderson, as a small business-owner, ridding yourself of debt isn’t really about paying off those high interest-bearing loans or adjusting your lifestyle and expenditure.

Instead, he argues in a Forbes article that becoming debt-free is actually about “strategically managing risk and cash flow as you consistently pay down debt without guilt or sacrifice”.

“The wise and sustainable way to become debt-free is to reduce your risk and create more safety, while minimising payments and maximising cash flow,” he says. Here area four steps you can take to help you do just that.

1. Restructure and consolidate your debt

To become debt-free, you ultimately need to minimise your payments while maximising your cash flow.

The best way to do this is to consolidate your short term and often high interest-bearing loans into a single long-term loan.

Provided you have enough equity on your home loan, one way you can do this is by refinancing your bond – which is a tax deductible loan – and add as many of your non-deductible loans like your vehicle financing loan and credit cards onto it. “This will typically lower your minimum monthly debt payment and the tax deduction will also increase your cash flow,” says Gunderson.

With this increased cash flow, you can then work at getting rid of other loans one at a time.

READ MORE: How to manage debt

2. Build your savings

Before you start focusing on clearing your debt, Gunderson says you should first create a financial safety net with at least three months’ income, but if you can manage six months’, that would be preferable.

“If you have no cash reserves, what happens when you pay down your loans, but then experience an unexpected cash flow crunch? You simply increase your loan balances again or even worse, miss payments and hurt your credit score, therefore getting charged more for future loans,” he says.

3. Get to the root of your debt

 Treating the symptoms and not the cause won’t get you very far, so the key to successfully getting rid of your debt is consciously shifting the way you think about debt.

Ask yourself why you incurred that debt and how you justified it.

“A simple guide moving forward: Do not borrow to consume. Use cash for luxuries and only borrow for productive assets and resources or necessities,” he says.

READ MORE: Get out of debt by changing your mindset

4. Avoid tying your money into an asset

 Instead of ploughing extra money into your bond and tying your money in an asset, Gunderson suggests that you rather save the money that you would otherwise have put into your bond into a separate account and let it accrue interest until it accumulates enough to settle your loan in full.

“A good rule here is to only put extra money into loans where your minimum payment goes down as your balance goes down, otherwise you’re worsening your cash flow index with every payment. It doesn’t give you immediate benefit and it increases your risk by reducing your liquidity,” he advises.

Source: Forbes

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Nomahlubi Simamane, founder of Zanusi Brand Solutions

Zanusi Brand Solutions was established in 2001 and has made a total turnover of over R22 million.

The lesson: Be innovative when it comes to financing

When banks refused to provide financial assistance for Simamane to start her own business, she made a plan.

“I just couldn’t get financing no matter where I applied, so I took a chance using my access bond to raise the start-up capital. I ensured that I drew up a solid business plan, clear deadlines and a fall-back plan should the concept not work. Then the cold-calling began!

“If you are willing to put in the work, do the research and follow through, don’t let a lack of financing stop you from fulfilling your dreams,” she says.

Khethi Mkonza, founder of Xuma Infrastructure Group (XIG)

Xuma Technologies was established in 2004 and specialises in VoIP design and maintenance.

The lesson: Gain the trust of your clients

“Initially, it was hard securing business as there is a perception in the private sector that young, black companies have a culture of non-delivery,” says Mkonza.

To tackle this hurdle, he took a risk by offering to take on business and only receive payment once the job was completed, thus gaining the trust of clients. “It all boils down to relationship building. People only do business with people they trust to deliver on their promises. You need to take risks, and then ensure that they pay off.”

Kgomotso Aphane, co-founder of Letsema Sedibeng People Management

Letsema Sedibeng People Management was founded by Aphane and her partner Jemina Matabola in 2006.

The lesson: Ask for help

It can be hard to efficiently tackle the technicalities of establishing a business. For Aphane, acquiring an IRP30 and Vat number from Sars was no easy feat, so she and her partner enlisted the help of a competent accountant, which hastened the process.

“Remain focused in the face of all challenges. Running a successful business is not always easy, so it’s important to ask for help from professionals or mentors when you need it,” she says.

Neil Markovitz, founder of Newmark Hotels

At the age of 25, Markowitz took on the mammoth task of turning a derelict waterfront warehouse into a hotel. He now boasts a business portfolio comprising six hotels, a villa collection and a travel company, Marvel Tours.

The lesson: Employ the right people

“The first thing I did as a business owner was to appoint people around me that had a lot more experience in the various specialised departments than I had,” says Markovitz.

He adds that in the first few years he experienced a steep learning curve. “I learnt that if you remain focused and calm; and you lead from the front, you can achieve anything. I also believed in myself and I learnt there is no quick fix when people are involved. Always treat your staff right because they’re the ones making the money!”

Shaun Liedtke, founder of the Wisdom Keys Group

The Wisdom Keys Group was formed in 2001 as a consulting firm to assist in devising marketing and communications strategies.

The lesson: Don’t become over-confident

Liedkte launched a design agency TBH with R400 when he was 24. The company made a turnover of R1 million some two years later.

“Unfortunately, making money also came with a change in attitude and I became much too over-confident. I made two marginal investments that didn’t achieve the return I had anticipated and due to the leveraged portfolio, I lost my entire capital base,” says Liedtke.

“That was single-handedly the biggest business lesson of my life. I learned that in business you can’t do everything yourself, all the time. There are people who are able to do great work that support your business goals and you just need to give them the opportunity to prove themselves.”

The post How to overcome start-up challenges appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Marketing is something that many entrepreneurs cite as a weakness when it comes to running their businesses.

Some find they just don’t have time to get to it between running the business, while others have tried a few marketing tactics that don’t seem to have worked.

Marketing can seem nebulous compared to accounting or operations, but it can actually be simplified if you understand a few key terms and concepts.

Allowable acquisition cost

Do you know how much it costs you in advertising and marketing to bring in a new customer? Or what your customer lifetime value is? Understanding these two figures will help you to work out the allowable acquisition cost – how much you can spend on advertising and marketing to acquire new customers.

To work out the lifetime value of your customers, you can use this simple equation:

(Average value of a sale) x (Number of repeat transactions) x (Average retention time in months or years for a typical customer)

Let’s use an easy example to illustrate this. Say you own a gym and your average member spends R250 per month on membership fees (on a 12-month contract) over a period of three years. The lifetime value of your customer would be:

R250 x 12 months x 3 years = R9 000 in total revenue (or R3 000 per year)

As long as you spend less than R3 000 to acquire a new member, the customer will prove profitable in a short amount of time, which is why many gyms offer a month’s free membership to new customers. Your allowable acquisition cost, then, needs to be lower than the profit you will make on your first sale.

Once you understand this figure, you know how much you can afford to spend on marketing.

Testing and measuring

It’s important that once you know your acceptable acquisition cost and begin to spend on marketing, you don’t just assume that it’s working. You need to constantly evaluate campaigns and the return they bring you to work out which avenues are the most effective for your business.

For example, if you run a LinkedIn ad and you get 100 leads per month, and you also run a banner ad on a local sports website and only get 10 leads per month, it may look like the LinkedIn marketing wins hands down. But if only 10 of those 100 leads converts to an actual sale, and they spend R100 with you each (ie a total of R1 000 per month), whereas five out of the 10 leads from the sports website convert and they each spend an average of R500 with you (ie a total of R2 500 per month), the latter is actually the more effective campaign.

The numbers need to dictate your strategy. And you need to actually have a strategy. Most SME owners impulsively commit to a marketing opportunity instead of thinking it through first.

Who is your client and where will you find them?

You need to pick which opportunities you take up based on the answers to this question. An advert in your community newspaper might not be seen by as many people as an ad in a national newspaper, but if your target market is people living in your specific suburb, it might be a better fit.

Also bear in mind that activity does not equal profit. Are your leads actually converting? In the LinkedIn example we used earlier, fielding 100 new leads when only 10 convert may not be worth the time it takes your staff to follow up on all the leads.

It is probably more effective to divert the money you’re spending there into more effective channels, like the sports website ads, where the lead conversion ratio is higher.

The post Assessing the value of a marketing opportunity appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Inga Gubeka (28), founder and CEO of Cape Town-based design studio Indalo Decor, was recently honoured as the Glenfiddich Maverick. Indalo Decor specialises in contemporary lifestyle decor products and accessories.

The Glenfiddich Indalo by Inga whisky is worth R80 000.

On Thursday, whisky brand Glenfiddich held a private ceremony in Maboneng, Johannesburg, where they unveiled the bottle that Gubeka had designed – and had named after him – a bottle worth R80 000.

“Basically, we’ve been having conversations with Glenfiddich about how we could collaborate, and we came up with a packaging concept where our production complemented what Glenfiddich as a brand stands for,” Gubeka tells DESTINY MAN.

Gubeka is the first African to have a premium single malt whisky named after him. He describes this as a great honour in his design career.

“It feels really good and it’s unbelievable. But most importantly, it’s been a humbling moment and experience for me.”

READ MORE: Meet Inga Gubeka: The brainchild behind SA’s game-changing wooden accessories

Indalo Decor was established in 2012, and while the company and brand have grown exponentially since then, the collaboration with Glenfiddich is sure to take the wooden accessories brand to new heights.

“This collaboration is going to give us mileage in terms of our brand recognition merely by association with a brand as distinguished as Glenfiddich,” Gubeka explains. “It will open many doors, especially internationally, for us. Hopefully, we’ll also be able to do a lot more commissions with other luxury brands.”

Thami Banda, brand specialist at William Grant & Sons Distillers, says Gubeka was the perfect person to embody the true essence of the whisky brand and all it stands for.

From left: Ayanda Kasa-Ntsobi, Simone Burns and Inga Gubeka showing off their Indalo Decor merchandise.

“The Glenfiddich Maverick campaign is a tribute to ordinary citizens who through passion and a pioneering spirit became successful mavericks in their industry, similar to that of Glenfiddich’s founder, William Grant,” he said in a statement. “Inga embodies true aspects of a pioneer and we’re proud to have honoured him with this precious liquid.”

Indalo Decor is set to open its second concept store in Braamfontein in the next few weeks. In a previous interview with DESTINY MAN, Gubeka explained how he never forgets to think big. And while he might have been fearful along the way, never once did he doubt the fulfilment of his dream.

“I have a ‘go big or go home’ type of mindset, and when I started this, I wanted it to be big. I had that vision. I was just surprised at how quickly it all happened. But never once did I doubt the future success of my brand. I think every entrepreneur should carry with them this confidence in their product or service.”

The post Inga Gubeka first African to have single malt whisky named after him appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

“I developed a strong interest in the visual arts when I first travelled outside of the country in 2004 as part of a group of students who were invited to travel to London on a high school exchange programme,” says Modisakeng. “While in London I visited a number of galleries and museums, including the Tate Modern and the Saatchi Gallery, where I’ve since shown work as an established artist.”

Inspired to explore his artistic talents, Modisakeng moved to Cape Town to study at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2005.

READ MORE: WATCH: Homegrown hustler, Brian Mokachane 

Having now exhibited around the world, Modisakeng’s built a significant following. “I think the subject matter I work with, though steeped in South African history, speaks to issues of race, culture and politics in ways that resonate with other contexts,” he says. “I tend to take a multi-disciplinary approach to my work, but my favourite medium has always been sculpture. However, over the past few years, I’ve been moving towards two-dimensional media, such as film and photography.”

Modisakeng uses his art to reflect on politics and his personal experiences. “The real work for me is in relating the visual signs and symbols of the abstract – be it in music or in my dreams – into a narrative that resonates with the collective social experience.”

Modisakeng’s also currently studying towards a Master’s degree in fine arts at Columbia University in New York. With several solo exhibitions coming up in Europe, a touring exhibition with Standard Bank, collaborations with top SA artists, including Nelson Makamo, and the launch of two book projects archiving some of his recent work, 2016’s sure to see his influence grow.

The post Mohau Modisakeng: Abstract made real appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Started in 2012, Under35Mavericks is an advisory/consultancy firm that works exclusively with young entrepreneurs. The company provides assistance to young people who have entrepreneurial ideas but have never run a business before and are looking to capitalise on a particular market opportunity they’ve identified.

Part of what Under35Mavericks does is develop strategies for private and public institutions around the development and support of young entrepreneurs.

Bokang Seritsane

Founder and CEO Bokang Seritsane’s journey to business began at the tender age of 18, when he had to study and work at the same time.

“At 18 I joined a start-up company that was founded by other young entrepreneurs,” Seritsane says. “The reason I wanted to work for a start-up was because I always knew I wanted to start my own business, but I knew that heading into the corporate [world] wouldn’t give me the insider view of how a business operates, a view that I needed.”

He wanted to be in an environment where he saw his CEO every day, where he was able to understand how a business runs, get to grips with what the challenges are and what the opportunities were as well as to have a hands-on role.

“The knowledge of starting my own business was always there but I just didn’t know what type of business I should start,” he explains. “So I did what I advise a lot of other young people to do today – look for a big market opportunity. And how do you do that? Look for the biggest problems in society.”

And that’s exactly what Seritsane did. He looked at the issue of youth economic empowerment, or disempowerment rather, a global problem not unique only to South Africa. This appealed to him because he could understand how big the problem was and he had eight years at his previous job of seeing an idea that had been formulated by a young person grow into a R30m business.

READ MORE: Meet the future of advertising

“So I thought to myself ‘great!’ I’m going to start a business that’s going to help young people start and grow their businesses – and that was the birth of Under35Mavericks.”

Challenges 

Seritsane cites the lack of credibility, or rather market traction, as one of his major start-up challenges. Despite all his work experience and the social capital he’d been able to build for himself over the years, he had to find a way to get people to know about what he does – and to believe it.

“I then hosted what we called the Under35Maverick Awards for South African youth entrepreneurship excellence, which at the time was the country’s first national award ceremony that recognised young entrepreneurs. I did this to get traction in the business, to start building a reputation for myself and to get people to notice my line of thinking, especially with regard to the way I think we should be developing entrepreneurs in the country,” Seritsane explains.

Almost four years into his business, Seritsane says there are four things he’s learnt and now knows about entrepreneurship and business:

1. Find a problem in the market that’s big enough to address. I find all too often that great ideas are designed for small markets where your growth is capped at a certain level. But when you look at big markets, your opportunities for growth and scale are tremendous.
2. Many aspiring entrepreneurs fall into the trap of being infatuated with their own ideas, and what they forget to do is get feedback from the market place. It’s important to constantly be in touch with your market.
3. In order to gain market traction, to offer something unique and to stay ahead of the pack you have to constantly innovate – whether you’re starting, growing or are well established.
4. As cheesy as it sounds, teamwork makes the dream work. Surround yourself with the right sort of team to grow and develop the business into something that’s able to exist and thrive in the market.

Future 

Seritsane says that if one zones in on youth enterprise development, there isn’t a single institution that stands out as a clear market leader within that particular space. He’s looking to capitalise on that gap.

“We see ourselves as the best, but not necessarily the biggest, enterprise development company within the next couple of years. Whenever people are discussing youth enterprise development, we want the first thing that comes to mind to be Under35Mavericks,” he says.

The post Bokang Seritsane – a maverick on the move appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Applying for finance as a business owner is often a slow, frustrating and disappointing process. Executive coach Refilwe Khumalo says the most common mistake is not evaluating and approaching suitable investors.

“Research and knowing what kind of investor to approach for your specific financial needs will help you eliminate a lot of embarrassment and heartache, and will save you time and money on repayments,” she says.

The following are important questions to ask yourself before rushing to seek funding as they will help you to ascertain the type of loan or investor that is suitable for your needs.

• What is your credit rating/history?
• Break down the overall amount needed. Consider how long it will take you to repay it and what interest rate can you afford.
• How much of the money can you raise without borrowing?
• How much collateral do you have to put up for the loan?
• How long have you been in business and what’s the current financial status of your business?
• How soon do you need the money?

Keep your options open

It helps to give yourself a few options rather than putting all your hope in one potential investor. Do the research and make a list of at least three potential lenders.

Understand the products and options
The more you know or understand the types of loan products, the application criteria or requirements, and which investors offer better value and rates in the market to better suit your loan needs, the better your chances of securing a “yes” to your application.

Provide detailed information

It’s important to be fully transparent, 100% honest and factually show exactly how you intend to use the requested funds. For example, if you’re looking to purchase machinery, provide quotes on the exact costs, indicate how much capital you need for this purchase and be specific about how this new machinery will help grow your business operationally and financially.

Provide detailed and current financial information 
Prepare and provide detailed information on the financial background of your company, future growth plans, and your personal financial information. Presenting thorough information will help reduce the time the investor needs to finalise your loan application.

Prepare to answer questions
Before you approach an investor, there are several key documents you should develop, and questions you should be prepared to answer. This information should demonstrate why an investor should give you the loan by demonstrating your vision and passion for what you do.

Key questions to think about are:

• Why are you approaching their specific institution?
• Why should that institution invest in you?
• Why should the investor/institution invest in your business over others in your industry?

Get feedback
If one investor declines your application, don’t just walk away in distress and hopelessness. Be sure to ask for feedback so that you can understand where you fell short and can learn from your mistakes and better prepare for your next application.

The post The best way to apply for business funding appeared first on DESTINY MAN.

Neftaly Malatjie is among the many young South Africans who use social entrepreneurship as a means to helping others better their own lives.

At fourteen he established the Diepsloot Youth Project in 2005 out of his own pocket and grew it to what it is today. At first, it was aimed at taking care of the youth in the afternoon. Later, it became a platform to discuss business opportunities.

Now the CEO of the Southern African Youth Project, Malatjie’s passion for entrepreneurship has inspired him to run a hugely successful operation that offers training in life skills and entrepreneurship to better equip the youth for their future.

Malatjie’s main focus has been on youth development, reaching out to various communities in the township to host workshops and programmes that empower the youth to become entrepreneurs.

“I wanted to change the way young people think about themselves,” he says. The training takes place in communities in Gauteng and provides young people with enough skills to help them to get jobs.

Malatjie recognises that tuition is often unaffordable to disadvantaged groups and this forms the motivation behind his initiative. “People can visit one of our centres to get information on the opportunities offered,” he says. The centres host sessions on awareness with regards to issues such as substance abuse, human rights and the effects of HIV/Aids. They also offer skills development ranging from CV writing to personal leadership.

READ MORE: Bokang Seritsane – a maverick on the move

“SA has a problem with unemployment and I thought strategically of ways that I could instill hope in people,” he says. Malatjie wanted to offer people the chance to be employed and to earn a living. He’s also put systems in place where, after the training is complete, there’s additional assistance to help young people apply for jobs and liase with companies who consider them.

“We have managed to place 1 280 people into various jobs since the organisation’s establishment in 2005,” he says.

Young adults have been placed in permanent and temporary jobs, learnerships, internships and even established their own small enterprises.

He uses the success story of Gcina Zwane as an example. Zwane was one of the young people who enrolled in one of the programme’s short courses, which include the entrepreneurship programme. This led him to establish his own PC refurbishment business. His business creates new usable systems from old computer parts. Over time, Zwane expanded his business and included the manufacturing of furniture for township dwellers. His business is currently operating successfully in the community of Diepsloot, although he is open to the idea of franchising the business in other areas.

READ MORE: Inga Gubeka first African to have single malt whisky named after him

Like many start-ups, Malatjie found funding to be a big problem and the lack of IT equipment became an even bigger hurdle as the centre’s groups grew bigger. To overcome the financial challenges, Malatjie has added a marketing team to help generate solutions. Another roadblock is the programme’s  inability to reach more people in the communities due to the limited space in the centres. “We have limited resources,” he says, “which prevent us from reaching everyone.”

Despite these issues which hinder his goals, what keeps Malatjie motivated is his passion for community development. “It’s encouraging to see people finding employment and creating sustainable solutions for themselves and for their families through the organisation,” he says.

Malatjie would like people to remember that without planning, nothing can be built. “The key to an entrepreneur’s success are to always be humble and patient. Anything is possible as long you put your mind to it.”

The post Neftaly Malatjie is helping others to help themselves appeared first on DESTINY MAN.