Bad Entrepreneur

We have recently become involved in a project for a financial services incubator. The idea is to offer young entrepreneurs (specifically young black entrepreneurs) a foot in the financial services door.

We are seeking:

- A young black entrepreneur with financial services exposure / experience to head up this incubator project in Gauteng

- Must be research and equity oriented

- Must be prepared to own and run the business as part of the project

This is an incubator so should enjoy some good remuneration and equity stake. If you’re interested please drop me a brief CV and intro letter to marc@rival.co.za .

Thanks!

Short notice but I have an opportunity for 2 young people looking to get involved in some skills development.

1 of our clients has booked and paid for 2 places on our Labour Law / HR workshop for tomorrow and are now unable to send delegates. We have 2 places available for 2 young people looking to gather some skills in Human Resources or Labour Law - attendance certificate provided.

If you are interested please call me on 082-561-1585 or e-mail marc@rival.co.za.

The workshop is in Greenside, Gauteng.

It is a good opportunity to learn some invaluable skills and we would ideally like it to go to 2 people who otherwise would not have had this opportunity.

Case studies remain a seriously underrated way of marketing your small business when you’re working with a budget of bugger all…

Check out this article here on the benefits of using case studies for marketing purposes,

Like every 2nd Joe Soap out there I collect a couple of bucks from Google each month for running their advertising campaigns on my sites. It’s not a huge chunk of change but it does enough to cover the maid or pay for one of the cars each month.

Until this morning that was…

As usual Microsoft decided to “think” for itself and began the automatic update procedure (which invariably leads to another bout of problems with me rebooting my PC) and in the process did an upgrade to Interet Explorer 7. It probably did this for a whole lot of Microsoft clients in the last 48 hours or so…

Of course I eventually get restarted and land one of my blogs to respond to a comment… hhhmmm no Google Ads showing. Refreshed the page - no luck. Switched to FireFox - yup they’re there.

Problem… Suddenly a chunk of income from one of my revenue streams is under threat… I can fix the problem for myself because I spent a couple of hours surfing the net finding other users who had the same problem… What worries me MORE though is the average internet browser now using IE7 and not able to pick up the ads.

That hurts my income this next month…

This is obviously not an IT blog but it does show how entrepreneurs have to keep their eye on the ball and develop SUSTAINABLE income streams. If I had lost that income stream it would impact on my overall finances - it left me pondering this afternoon what I would do if I didn’t receive that monthly cheque from them. Hadn’t really given it much thought until this afternoon and obviously I need to adapt and find ways to protect that particular income stream as well.

I know a lot of young entrepreneurs out there who are making a basic living off these Google cheques. With little more than a change of technology, your income stream could be under threat - it is something you need to bear in mind. Keep looking forward to develop sound strategies and a SOLID BASE for your business - if you can get this right you will be well positioned.

Upfront I am putting out a mega disclaimer on this post. In no way does this post reflect on the companies or individuals involved as I have never met or interacted with them and it might be a tad harsh to make judgement calls based on hearsay.

As most of you have read in the media this week, Paarl Web (a printing company) took some serious reputational damage for the printing of about R2 million worth of propoganda flyers for Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF. Eventually the MD ‘fessed up and donated the profits to a Zimbabwe charity but I suspect the damage has been done.

Now getting off any kind of moral high horse and down into the reality of running a business, I would love to know what YOU as an entrepreneur would have done in the situation. My wife is also big on the Social Responsibility aspect and she as an educationalist and therapist for instance would never want to accept advertising money from Coke or McDonalds on principal.

But lets be honest and consider this:

- Business is slowing down fast in SA

- You have bills to pay every month

- SOMEBODY is going to do that business if you don’t

What would you have done? The harsh realities of business add up in your figures at the end of the month. If you don’t have money in the bank, you can’t pay your staff. If you were bordering on the absolute edge of financial ruin and you get a deal like this come along. Your staff might grumble about the “ethics” of doing business with an ‘unsuitable’ business partner, but they’re probably going to grumble a hell of  a lot more if you don’t pay them their salaries or terminate their jobs.

It’s a tough one but it bears asking - WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!

Let’s face it. Entrepreneurs can be a pretty arrogant bunch at the best of times. In a lot of cases, this arrogance is what makes them successful – this constant self belief that they can be and are the best is what ultimately elevates themselves to the top of their fields.

But I’ve noticed that a lot of entrepreneurs (myself included) are quite quick to turn up their noses at “real” jobs where they work in a structured environment and enjoy some job security. Of course we as entrepreneurs don’t need any real security – after all we know better than other people how to run businesses and we hate to have structure in our working days AND we can move much faster and more efficiently than big businesses… and so our answers go.

Yesterday I got a bit of an eye opener attending the opening of an incubator type offering for 2 entrepreneur financial services companies. Get this all you aspirant entrepreneurs – at 26 a guy with a good (but not original) business got sponsored office and IT infrastructure in the heart of Sandton plus start up capital for 2 years. Wow! Do the maths and you will work out just how much moola that equals.

We can all sit back and bemoan the fact that opportunities like this come through once in a blue moon and only a handful of entrepreneurs would be lucky enough to get them. But I started chatting to the guy and it turns out that he’s been studying his arse off to get the financial services equivalent of a rocket science degree AND he’s been grafting in a couple of the Big 4 banks for the last few years. A big part of the reason he got picked for this particular incubator programme was because he had built a reputation for himself as an entrepreneur in a formalized work environment – when he went solo the opportunity landed up in his lap.

I think sometimes young entrepreneurs are so besotted with chasing the $$$ that they forget to see what else a particular job or contract offers them. I see it with a lot of young guys who are so keen to hop jobs simply for a few hundred Rand more, that they don’t necessarily see what opportunities (networking or business) are staring them in the face. Relationships can build a business – it is one of the things that small business owners often don’t acquire before they plunge off into the abyss – and make some very COSTLY mistakes.

If I picked up a lesson from this, it is that a good entrepreneur does not see a “job” simply as a “job”. Instead I think they should see it as an opportunity to capitalize on learning a new skill that will better position them to take on the world!

The revised code of practice dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace classifies sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexually related act committed in the work context. However, an employer could commit sexual harassment without even realising it by allowing candid posters, internet visuals, dirty jokes, playfulness, crude language or even physically related compliments in the workplace.

Read the complete article here.

Changes and Dangers in Labour Law

Target audience:      Small Business owners, labour lawyers and HR management teams
Presenter:               Ivan Israelstam
When:                    4 July 2008
Where:                   Greenside, Gauteng
Time:                     09:00 – 16:00
Cost:                     R975 excl. VAT and includes lunch, tea and coffee

Topics to be covered include:
·          Discipline and dismissal – the hidden dangers
·          Changes in retrenchment law
·          Contract workers
·          Lie detector testing
·          Dealing with alcohol abuse at the workplace
·          When can employers deduct money owing to them from employee salaries?
·          Vicarious liability – when you are liable for your employee’s actions
·          Pre-recruitment checks
·          Default judgements
·          Unfair discrimination
·          Dismissal of strikers
·          Moving the takeover law goalposts
·          How to maximize your right to representation at the CCMA
·          Dealing comprehensively with the changes and dangers in labour law

About the presenter:
Ivan Israelstam is widely recognised as one of South Africa’s leading HR and Industrial relations consultants. His experience and insight in dealing with a variety of labour related issues have put him in demand as a leading presenter of seminars and as a consultant for HR teams for businesses. He has been widely published in both trade and mainstream media where he has written insightful industry comment.
For further information please contact Marc Ashton on 082-561-1585 or e-mail sales@rival.co.za

Regards,
Marc Ashton

www.rival.co.za – Corporate Wellness, Industrial Research, Publishing and Design
www.remspeced.co.za – Remedial & Special Education
www.manufacturinghub.co.za – News for the SA Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Cosmetic Manufacturing industries

PR can be one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of the small business owner. Unfortunately many owners don’t have the time or budget to invest in outside PR professionals to get them exposure.

On 30 June 2008 Marc Ashton will present a 3 hour seminar that will provide small business owners with some “Smash and Grab” skills for getting their business noticed in the commercial and industrial media in South Africa.

Topics to be covered include:

·          PR strategies specifically for small business

·          Why anyone can do PR

·          Building media relations

·          Getting yourself noticed

When:             30 June 2008

Where:            Pirates Sports Club, Sir Lionel Phillips Park, Greenside, Gauteng

Time:               09:00 – 12:00

Cost:                R475 excl. VAT (includes tea and coffee)

Certificate:      Attendance certificate issued on completion

Enquiries:        082-561-1585 or marc@rival.co.za 

90% of small business is not done from behind a desk (so sayeth The Bad Entrepreneur) – so why the heck are you sitting behind your desk reading this blog?!

I’m without a doubt one of the world’s worst cynics. I hate sitting in group meetings, strategy sessions and conference breakfasts listening to pitches – I am not really much of a “people’s person” and I believe myself to be far more productive when I am “strategizing” or “doing marketing stuff” while sitting behind the relative safety of my PC. The idea of going to a presentation or conference where  I might actually learn something or meet somebody interesting.

But the reality is that small business success often comes from people working together and finding ways to cooperate that eventually help them build sustainable SME’s. I met with a guy today – he probably earns more in a single day than I will make in a month – I wouldn’t have met him and picked up about a dozen useful ideas for businesses and leads if I had turned down the meeting with him (which I nearly did – simply because I was quite comfortable behind my desk). 

I saw a similar thing with a breakfast function 2 months back. I didn’t really want to attend but felt like it was the right thing to do. The presentation itself bored my socks off but I walked away with business cards for two other small businesses where we were able to reciprocate a bit of marketing… I would never have known they existed if I had sat on my butt convincing myself that I was “marketing” or “providing strategic direction” from the safety of my desk. I’m not providing anything by hiding – I am providing an excuse not to succeed. It doesn’t matter how shy you are, or how little you enjoy dealing with people, unfortunately if you are planning to succeed, you are going to need them.

Sometimes running an SME means that you become a little isolated. You never get out and meet people or simply get a fresh perspective. This can be dangerous for your entrepreneurial health – your clients are outside your office remember?! I know one of the worst things I did as an entrepreneur was that as things became steadily worse, I would hide in my office convincing myself that I was working and productive. But the reality was that I had all my admin up to date and bugger all in the way of sales leads or marketing happening – the local entrepreneurial twit!

Stop convincing yourself that you need to be behind your desk all day every day waiting in the hope that an e-mail will come in with a big order. You’re probably kidding yourself – get out to the trade shows and the conferences. Liaise with the professionals in your industry and use these leads to springboard into more meaningful business relationships rather than being a laptop jockey.

Make an effort to get out and interact with your industry. Sometimes just this fresh air and fresh view can reinvigorate you more than some minor business successes. Good luck for tomorrow!