Plug into - Eskom We do/Business... · 2016. 8. 18. · Business Investment Competition Case Study Megaphase Road Marking and Traf½c signs, based in Durban, is a black-owned woman

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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’.

ContentsIdentify business ideasEvaluate business ideasProtect a business idea/nameRegister a CC/PtyRegister your business for taxesOpen a business bank accountWrite a winning business planRaise capital/fundingSolve cash flow problemsMarket and sell products/services Network effectivelyMaster customer satisfactionWrite a business letter | proposalTender for government contractsDevelop or review contractsEmploy the right staffHow to dismiss someoneGrowing the businessFind a mentorUseful informationThings the Foundation doesn’t fund

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Identify business ideasThere 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”.

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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.

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“What we often call failure

is actually an opportunity

for immense growth.”

Vincent Maphai

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“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!”

Nonkululeko Nyembezi Heita

Evaluate business ideasNever 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.

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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-prof it?• 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? Expertise, Capital, Contacts?• Does the technology exist, or will it have to be developed, to implement the idea?• What other expertise 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 f lopped?• 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.

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Protect a business idea/nameProtecting 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.

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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/PtyYou can register a Close Corporation or a Private Company, again by contacting the CIPC. You may need an accounting off icer 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.

Register your business for taxesYou will need to register your business with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for the following different types of taxations:

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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.

Open a business bank accountYou 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 fi nd out more.

You can contact any one of the following banks to fi nd out more:

Absa Bank

First National Bank

Investec Bank

Nedbank

Standard Bank

Capitec

African Bank

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“I will team up with people according to

what they can do. We need more than

just entrepreneurs, we need capitalists”

Herman Mashaba

Write a winning business planI 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.

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Failing to plan is

planning to fail

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!

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Raise capital/fundingBroadly 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’.

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“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

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.

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Solve cash flow problemsThere 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.

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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.

Importantly, delay paying your large creditors for as long as you can without damaging your credit prof ile. 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 f ixed running cost. If your expenses must be f ixed, keep them short-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.

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Reduce debts by paying them off as soon as possible. Try to shorten the term of fi nance 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 fi nancing your assets or drawing from your reserves, opt to fi nance 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.


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.

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Market and sell products/servicesEver 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 unscientif ic under taking, as there is not a direct link between these individual activities and levels of sales.

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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.

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“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.”

Ciko Thomas

Once you’ve successfully told them, offer them an incentive to make a buying decision. Lower the risk of dissatisf ied 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.

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Network effectivelyNetworking 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

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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 prof it 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.

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Master customer satisfactionSam 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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“Most companies are obsessed

with internal processes. I am

obsessed with the consumer.”

Romeo Kumalo

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.

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.

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Eish Hade: A love for sneakers has turned into a prof itable 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.

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Write a business letter | proposalThe 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 short 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 shortcut. 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.

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Tender for government contractsGovernment - 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.

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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 f ill 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.

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“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.”

Isaac Shongwe

Develop or review contractsMost 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.

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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 fi lled 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.

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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.

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Employ the right staffEmploying 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

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 someoneDismissing 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.

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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.

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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.

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Growing the businessIn today’s world, growing your business is absolutely critical to its sustainability. We live in a world of increasing input costs (Inf lation), 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 suff icient revenue to build good cash f low 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 proportion to the new capacity requirements. Don’t run ahead of yourself and cause excess capacity (e.g. by hiring extra people), this is a def inite no-no. If you are receiving intermittent and unpredictable orders, rather outsource a portion of the excess work you are receiving instead of capacitating prematurely.

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 f inancing terms to the contract terms. If you have running orders or a contract for f ive years, then f inance your assets over f ive 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 f ixed, 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.

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“Leadership is about recognising

what you do know and leveraging

your colleagues for the things

you don’t know.”

William Mzimba

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Find a mentorMentorship 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 vir tue 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, f ind 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.

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“If you can’t make them, you can’t lead.”

John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell: A Guide for Making Tough Decisions

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?

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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:

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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:

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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 benef its 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 uncomfortable changes often lead to break-throughs. In every challenge lies the opportunity 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.

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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 1000www.seda.org.za

SEFA- Small Enterprise Finance Agency

Tel 012 441 0480www.sefa.org.za

IDC- Industrial Development Corporation

Tel 011 269 3000/0860 693 888www.idc.co.za

NEF- National Empowerment Fund

Tel 011 305 8000/0861 843 633www.nefcorp.co.za

NYDA- National Youth Development Agency

Tel 011 651 7000www.nyda.gov.za

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Land Bank

Tel 012 686 0801www.landbank.co.za

MAFISA- Micro Agricultural Financial Institute of South Africa

Tel 012 319 7295

CIPC - Companies and Intellectual Property Comissioner

Tel 086 100 2472www.cipc.co.za

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Provincial agenciesECDC- Eastern Cape Development Corporation

Tel 043 704 5600www.ecdc.co.za

FDC- Free State Development Corporation

Tel 051 4000 800/810www.fdc.co.za

GEP- Gauteng Enterprise Propeller

Tel 011 085 2001www.gep.co.za

Gauteng Economic Development Agency

Tel 011 085 2400www.ecodev.gpg.gov.za

Ithala Development Finance Corporation

Tel 031 907 8911www.ithala.co.za

Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal

Tel 031 368 9600www.tikzn.co.za

Limpopo Business Support Agency

Tel 015 287 3000www.libsa.co.za

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Trade and Investment Limpopo

Tel 015 295 5171www.tikzn.co.za

Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise

Tel 015 633 4700www.lieda.co.za

Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency

Tel 013 752 6413www.mega.gov.za

Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism

Tel 021 483 5065www.westerncape.gov.za

Invest North West

Tel 014 594 2570www.inw.org.za

Northern Cape Economic Development Agency

Tel 053 833 1503www.nceda.co.za

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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 benef its 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.

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• Government depar tments (Inaugurations, launches, functions or award ceremonies). The only exception being suppor t to public benef it organisations, such as police stations, ambulance services and f ire 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.

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Directory Service

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 extremely valuable directory service.

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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 benef it 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.

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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 category 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 category structure or use tex t-based searching to look for products within that category structure.

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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

MTN Website in a BoxThe “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’ tr ial 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 f ixed 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

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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

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• 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 traff ic.

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

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Notes

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Notes

Eskom Development Foundation NPC PO Box 1091 Johannesburg 2000

Tel +27 11 800 8111 [email protected] www.eskom.co.za/csi

Eskom Development Foundation NPC Reg No 1998/025196/08Issued by Eskom Development Foundation July 2014

Documents

Plug into - Eskom We do/Business... · 2016. 8. 18. · Business Investment Competition Case Study Megaphase Road Marking and Traf½c signs, based in Durban, is a black-owned woman