Month: May 2014

Build your own support network

Posted on by Business Partners Limited

The business support landscape in South Africa for young entrepreneurs is like the business world itself: it is teeming with opportunities, but you will have to seek them out yourself and build your own support network. Nobody is going to hand it to you on a silver platter.

For decades, various spheres of government, corporates and development organisations have been setting up “one-stop shops”, “help desks” and “local business service centres” – places where an entrepreneur can get affordable help with anything ranging from compiling business plans to finding finance and setting up administration systems.

The idea is good, says Byron Jeacocks, regional general manager for Business Partners, but so far none of these projects has managed to sustain and grow a consistently good service. He points, for example, to parts of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund which had been successful in helping a number of young entrepreneurs set up in franchising, but it ended when the fund was collapsed into the National Youth Development Agency.

Support opportunities may well be found in the many similar institutions established at municipalities, provincial governments, and national agencies such as the Small Enterprise Development Agency and the new Small Enterprise Finance Agency.

The advantage is that services are often subsidised and are therefore affordable. Finance may even be available in the form of grants. But the disadvantage is that the quality of service may vary considerably, and young entrepreneurs should scout around widely for good alternatives if the subsidised ones fail to live up to their promises.

In fact, it is entirely possible for young business owners to build an excellent support network for their business without any state-sector support.

It starts, says Jeacocks, with the acknowledgement by the young entrepreneur that business support is much wider than access to business finance. “If you don’t have to borrow money, don’t. You don’t need a million rand to start a business.”

More often than not, young entrepreneurs rather need support in setting up and managing systems in their businesses, including people management, VAT returns, sales, bookkeeping and cashflow forecasting. Because many entrepreneurs are unaware of where to find help in building these systems, they simply focus on production (fixing cars, landscaping or whatever the core service of the business is) and neglect the other aspects of running a successful business.

Once they acknowledge that they need help and that there is no single state institution set up to provide such support, young entrepreneurs must set about building their own support network.

For general business skills training they can reach out to dozens of commercial institutions offering part-time courses in every city and university, and correspondence learning is accessible in even the most far-flung rural town in South Africa. It is hard to pay the kind of rates charged by unsubsidised courses, and it is even harder to commit the time and energy required to finish a course while running a business. But Jeacocks says it is often the single investment with the highest return that business owners make in their career.

A crucial part of any business support network that young entrepreneurs often overlook is other business owners. Jeacocks says he finds that inexperienced entrepreneurs are the only ones that try to keep their operations and plans secret. If they are lucky, they find out sooner rather than later that experienced business owners are remarkably willing to share information, tips, advice and even customers. There is no harm in reaching out to business owners around you.

They are often busy, however, and one of the best ways in which to network with other business owners is through your local business chamber where you can meet them when they are themselves in networking mode. Jeacocks believes that South African business chambers are untapped and unappreciated for their potential to support young entrepreneurs.

Many successful entrepreneurs acknowledge the role of a mentor in their career. This can be a family member, a business teacher or an older or retired business owner. Such mentors are everywhere in South Africa. Sometimes they are formally organised in projects such as Business Partners’ Mentorship programme, but more often they need to be sought out purposefully by young entrepreneurs at business chamber meetings, industry associations and through referrals from other business owners.

Jeacocks draws a distinction between a consultant, who charges by the hour and wants to make a living out of advising businesses, and mentors, who do not need the money and who simply want to give something back to the business community by advising young entrepreneurs.

A key figure in a business owner’s support network is the accountant. In too many businesses, the accountant is seen as a monthly grudge payment made to keep the taxman from the door. Such an attitude is a waste of a potential goldmine of business support.

Good accountants will help you set up your bookkeeping system so that your accounting fees are kept to a minimum. They will help you understand financial statements so that you can use them to manage your business. They will use their insights into other, similar businesses to advise you on whether you are operating according to industry benchmarks. They can help you to prioritise your compliance to laws and regulations. They can use their network to help you set up other members of your support team – a labour expert, lawyer and even service providers such as an IT expert. None of this is free, of course, but a good accountant will make sure that it’s worth the money.

Spend a good bit of time and energy in finding a good accountant, starting with referrals from other business owners. This is one appointment that you should not simply make out of the Yellow Pages.

By its very nature, starting your own business is a do-it-yourself project, and young entrepreneurs must not expect individuals and institutions to fall over themselves to offer support. But an entrepreneur does not have to be lonely, says Jeacock. With the right attitude and willingness to work at it, young business owners can build a substantial network of people around them who really want to see them succeed.

A slogan defines the core of your Unique Selling Proposition

Posted on by Sanlam

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market

A unique selling proposition is defined as the factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition. It positions your value proposition. It also helps your clients remember what you do and what you stand for.

Below are a few examples of slogans:
  • Sanlam: We think ahead
  • First National Bank: How can we help you?
  • Checkers: Better and Better
  • AVIS: We try harder
  • Kaleidoscope: Scientific e-marketing
  • Allan Gray: Independent minded
  • Silverline Group: Building for a better tomorrow
  • Yellow Pages: Let your fingers do the walking
  • KFC: Finger lickin’ good
  • Federal Express: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight
  • Interflora: Say it with flowers
  • Audi: Vorsprung durch Technik
  • MasterCard: There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard

As is evident from the above examples, the slogan sometimes speaks to values and at other times to what the business does.

A slogan may be utilised as follows:
  • Together with the logo of your business
  • On all marketing material and literature, at the bottom of all correspondence, in advertisements and on the website of your business

Sometimes the name of one’s business is not descriptive enough to inform prospective clients about what the business stands for, or does. A slogan speaks in your absence.

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Raising the bar

Posted on by Webmaster

grant-greeff-web

Grant Greeff is giving the hospitality industry a well-needed shake-up, with a cocktail of one-part innovation, one-part sound business practice, and two-parts genuine and attentive service, writes Jane Steinacker-Keys

At a party on New Year’s Eve in 2010, Grant Greeff was dancing with close friend Annalize Buchanan, a caterer in Cape Town, who had just arrived from a function and was complaining about the poor service of the waiters serving her fine cuisine.

“Grant,” she said, “I think you should start a staffing business!” On January 1, 2011, STAFFicient Services was born.

Greeff’s philosophy, in every aspect of his life, is to gain knowledge, then experience, and then to use this combination to achieve his goals.

“I don’t just want to climb the corporate ladder,” he says. “I want to own it.”

Currently, Greeff is in the first year of his articles to become a chartered accountant. He has completed a BCom in Accounts, and a post-graduate diploma in Accounting at the University of Cape Town.

He believes his studies give him an in-depth knowledge of business dynamics. He is able to use his knowledge of accounting, tax law, corporate governance and finance, and apply that to his business venture.

As for the hard yards, Greeff started as a runner in a pub in Constantia, began waitering at the age of 18 when it was legal for him to serve alcohol, and then refined his experience in fine dining at the award-winning restaurant Constantia Uitsig. He started STAFFicient Services with eight of his friends, whom he trained up for their first function at the Italian Embassy in Cape Town.

His business focuses on clientele in the middle to upper end of the Cape Town community, which provides potential opportunities to gain access into the corporate world. “A case in point: after we served at a function for Mandy and Gareth Ackerman, we now serve at functions held at the Pick n Pay head office,” he says.

It would be unwise to place Greeff’s company in the same category as the myriad traditional suppliers in the hospitality industry. For his business, Greeff has chosen to take a new approach to providing service staff at functions.

“Our company’s mission is to make every occasion an experience worth remembering,” he says. “Our aim is to enhance the client’s image,” and this would include that of the caterer and the hosts of the event.

To achieve these goals, Greeff pays particular attention to detail. All of his staff are trained, assessed and given specific instruction on dress code. “Our staff arrive wearing a black shirt, black pants, black socks and polished shoes, as well as a long white or black French apron.” If a client wishes an alternative uniform, this can be provided.

Most important is the philosophy of genuine and attentive service that is instilled in the waiters, barmen and stewards he provides. “Our staff are trained to be proactive, but not intrusive,” he says. “It’s all about our waiters thinking about what they can do, before the guest thinks of it – such as offering to bring another glass of wine, before the first one is empty.”

Greeff also provides interactive training opportunities for those who wish to increase their skills set and move up in their rankings from waiter to steward.

But, these are not the only dynamics of his business that set his business apart from traditional providers.

“Transparency is key,” says Greeff. A client can gain access to the rates of the three levels of staff – waiters, barmen and stewards – on his website. “There is no lag between requesting a quote and then receiving the quote. All of the information is provided at the beginning. We don’t want to waste the client’s time.”

In addition, Greeff has pioneered an online platform that, to the best of his knowledge, is the first of its kind in the world of hospitality staffing.

“Potential staff can apply online; existing clients have their own online profile too, and can request staff for a function; and existing staff can apply to work at that function,” says Greeff. Once a function is finalised, the client can then access their profile and see who will be serving them, which includes both the names and pictures of the staff allocated to the function. Staff can also view their working schedules online.

From eight in 2011, STAFFicient Services currently has 130 service staff on its books. The staff pool is made up roughly of 50% waiters, 30% barmen and 20% stewards. Stewards are the highest-ranking, with the technical skills that a fine-dining dinner for 20 to 30 guests requires.

Since 2011, Greeff’s business has grown by 500%, with a positive growth projection of 10 times his first year’s results for the year ahead. He believes sound and considered business practices are essential for success.

His payment policy requires a 50% deposit on confirmation of the booking, with the balance to be paid three days prior to the function. Payment for any additional hours worked above the quoted hours is due three days after the function.

“In business, every rand is as valuable as the next. Whether you are owed R5 or R50 000, a business owner must never overlook the value of every rand earned,” he says. “This is particularly important when you are a start-up business.”

Greeff has two distinct short-term goals: to expand his business into Johannesburg in 2015, and to create an application through which his staff and clients can access information about the event on their smartphones.

Long-term, he has plans to take STAFFicient Services into the international market.