Tag: Carl Pretorius

Looking at business success amid a drought

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The Western Cape has over the recent past been hard hit by the severe drought in the region which has had direct, severe consequences on local businesses. Strict level 4B water restrictions have been implemented area-wide, and residents and businesses alike have been forced to curb water usage to 87 litres per person, per day. For many local businesses, this has demanded an immediate adaptation to regular operations.

Kobus Engelbrecht, spokesperson for the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, says that although the situation in the Cape is concerning for both consumers and businesses, entrepreneurs are renowned to use their resilient nature and adapt in order to survive setbacks such as these. 

To illustrate this, some of 2016’s competition finalists and winners shared their advice for fellow entrepreneurs on how to survive and grow a business during drought-stricken times:

“Although the drought certainly had a big effect on our local sales in the Western Cape, we were able to counter this through our export and Gauteng markets,” says Carl Pretorius, managing director of Just Trees, a wholesale tree nursery, and 2016 Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®. “Due to this leaner period however, we were forced to adapt our regular staff working hours to shorter work-weeks (four days instead of five) to allow all staff members to remain employed and ensure no retrenchments were necessary,” he adds.

Gali Gaon Segall, Director of Yemaya Group and 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® finalist, says that her business has been fortunate to not be too badly affected by increased water restrictions. She does however recognise the importance of communicating the business’ efforts to save and conserve water: “Even though we have reduced our water consumption by replacing water-reliant treatments with others that are more water-sensitive, it is important that our clients and customers are visibly made aware of this – and we have found that in so-doing, our clients have remained loyal and happy to support our business,” says Segall. “In our spa’s and hair salons, we have trained staff to be conscious of their consumption – and because of all these efforts, our financial bottom line has not suffered.”

Also recognising the importance of positively contributing to the conservation of the previous resource, Nerina Smith, owner of Smithland Guest Apartments and 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® finalist, says that her business took the decision to implement as many recycling initiatives as possible in order to mitigate their impact on the City’s water supply. “We installed a few water tanks to catch rain water, as well as grey water from our washing machines. We have used this recycling system to water our gardens, as well as for washing and cleaning wherever possible” says Smith.

She explains that from their successful rain-water harvesting and recycling process, the business was also able to assist a car wash business in the neighbourhood, who had been issued with notice to close the business if they could not find the means to use recycled water. Smithland Guest Apartments now donates its excess recycled water to this business – and has therefore prevented four community members from losing their stable income.

Engelbrecht says that as the drought in the Western Cape is still without an end in sight, it is imperative for all businesses, no matter the size, to band together in order to innovate ways to minimise the impact that these harsh conditions can have on a business.

“It is more than possible for small and medium sized businesses to survive and thrive, even under such strained trading and operating conditions – all it takes is a little perseverance and creative thinking,” concludes Engelbrecht.

What entrepreneurs wish they’d known when they were starting out

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The 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® winners discuss the advice they would share with their younger selves

In the absence of concrete guidance and mentorship, the path to becoming a successful entrepreneur can be a very lonely one. As such, this path is too often forged solely by way of trial and error – frequently involving costly mistakes and countless sacrifices along the way.

In order to make this path less formidable for ‘up-and-coming’ entrepreneurs, we sat down with the winners of the 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition to discuss the advice that they would share with their younger selves.

Vanessa Jacobs of Sow Delicious® and Emerging Business Entrepreneur of the Year® says that, above all, she would remind her younger self to never trade passion for money. “If you follow the money, it will seem to elude you and leave your life empty, but if you work for the love of it, then the money will follow you instead.

“It is also important to always remain teachable and view every set-back as a gift, because at its very core lies a solution of how to use it to excel to greater heights,” she adds.

This sentiment of remaining teachable is echoed in the advice offered by the owner and founder of Khonology, Michael Roberts, Job Creator of the Year ®. “Understand economics and how the world works, but be open to views, ideas and take advice. Look for inspiration in other people’s success stories and surround yourself with positive and focused people.”

Overall Entrepreneur of the Year®, Johan Eksteen of Agricon, urges young entrepreneurs to realise that they are loose cannons – something that he says is both a good and a bad thing. “Young entrepreneurs have untapped potential as they have not yet been corrupted by the harsh realities of the economy. They dream without limits and are therefore very creative and original. In this lies the caveat that it is both a good and a bad thing to be a loose cannon.

“Many ideas are potentially great ideas, but the key is to implement these ideas in real life. If they listen too much or too often to people with experience, they may be discouraged to even try, and therefore their great innovation may go undeveloped. However, if they do not take up some mentorship and advice, they may have no clue as to how they should turn the idea into a business.”

In this sense, Eksteen points out that strong mentorship encourages and guides a young entrepreneur is important, but also highlights the risk of getting the wrong mentor. “Choosing the right mentor is crucial, as the last thing you need as a young, driven entrepreneur is a passion killer.”

Carl Pretorius, managing director of Just Trees and Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®, says that he found having an older mentor whom he could bounce ideas off and get advice from to be very helpful. “When I was younger, I often thought that I knew more about certain matters than I really did. I would encourage young entrepreneurs to be honest with themselves about what they know and do not know, and then get help with or learn about the latter.”

Furthermore, Eksteen says that young entrepreneurs should realise that it can take up to five years to put a solid business concept together and to start making serious money. “In this time, the entrepreneur must remember that they are not managing a ready-made concept, so it requires constant change and sharp entrepreneurial tenacity to succeed.”

Eksteen finishes off with a final piece of advice that can and should be applied at any stage along the entrepreneurial journey: “Most entrepreneurs look down at the road they are on, and forget to check the direction in which they go. So keep your one eye on the potholes and the other on the road.”