Hunter or cage animal ? The choice is yours

Cage animals ( those people working somewhere for a salary) as a rule are very careful to get involved in their own businesses and thus becoming Hunters.  Without derogating the profession of professional workers there comes a time that the cage animals retire and then what ?  They take their pensions and go and hide in a corner of the world and live on their interest until the money runs out and they become cage animals again , now being fed by their offspring.

What other options are there ?  Of course you can start your own business - why haven't I thought of that ?
Ok now there is the legal requirements (The new companies act requires of anyone who start a business to register a company with all the requirements linked to this) There is the registration with SARS as an employer, for VAT , for UIF , for Skills development levies, register for workman's compensation, documents from Dept of Stats, legal requirements relating to Staff, work hours to be adhered to etc etc et all. Then of course there are all the acts and laws relating to running a business:  The Employment equity act, the consumer affairs act, Paya act, BEE requirements , Trade Unions and a few other nasties.  

But at least you can get a decent return on your investment :  around 8% nett if you are lucky.  But hang on - You can get that by just investing your money with Nedbank at 7.6% p.a over 60 months - so why all the hastle ?   You will now be getting at least R13 933.33 per month to live on utilizing your investment of R 2.2mil

How about getting R45 000 guaranteed as a 50% shareholder in your own business with all the hastles being taken care of ? And that in a growing industry ( the retail petrol/diesel trade )

Can't be done ?   Wanna Bet ?   Phone me for the information - No funny stuff - Just plain simple arithmetics

082 222 5002
john@brandow.co.za

Opportunity awaits

Article by Regional manager Business Partners (ltd). Business Partners is a major player in the financing of SMEs


Supporting SMEs means supporting the economy

Xolani Meva, Regional Manager, Business Partners Ltd



I was watching the news on TV recently when I saw that the economic down turn, which was recently experienced in SA and globally, had cost the country 171 000 jobs in the first quarter of this year.



We think entrepreneurs - especially those who often have to overcome insurmountable obstacles to establish and attain successes in their business are the true heroes of our economy. The fruits of their business activities are used to feed themselves and their families as well as their employees and their families. In his/her own way, every entrepreneur makes a huge contribution to the economic well-being of the community in which they operate. The joint efforts, energy and drive of all SA entrepreneurs constitute the backbone of our country's economy.



The importance of SMEs are captured by numbers. SME Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial businesses and family-owned businesses are indeed the fulcrum and the life blood of any country's economy:

•Contributing 30 - 50% to SA's GDP

•Employing more than 60% of the country's labour force

•Accounting for more than 65% of new jobs created

With many economists and various experts believing things are getting better, especially if you compare the first four calendar months of year 2010 to same months in year 2009, there is reason to be hopeful. Government is also doing its part in trying to further boost the already noticeable economic upswing in various industries. The minister of trade and industry has recently announced government's intention of getting more foreign direct investment into the country running in excess of a hundred billion rand over the next three years.



These investments could be made in many forms, including manufacturing companies. Manufacturing conglomerates often need various components to be supplied locally - presenting substantial opportunities for SMEs; not forgetting the many established local manufacturers who also need such components.



The SMEs therefore should continue to do their part in contributing to the economic growth and employment creation. There is an even bigger need for new enterprises (start-ups) opening up, as without these we cannot grow the number of SMEs operating in our economy. To start these businesses the entrepreneurs will often need funding from various financing institutions.



Amongst various requirements of the financing institutions, they need to be satisfied that the people starting a new venture have the right skills for the business they want to start. Often two sets of skills are looked at: business skills and technical skills (doing skills).



The business skills are skills that relate to the ability of an entrepreneur(s) to apply correctly sound business principles in their day to day decision making about the business they are running. Business skills range from formulating and applying strategy, setting goals, financial acumen, ability to sell the product/service, ability to manage people etc.



On the other hand technical skills relate to competencies of the entrepreneur(s) specifically in relation to the business in question. The experience of the entrepreneur will often determine whether or not these skills are in place come the day of starting the business. Some finance providers like Business Partners use mentors to assist entrepreneurs in developing the necessary skills. The need for specific skills will vary, depending on the nature of the business.

Business owners and start up Entrepreneurs

Do you as a business owner find that the recession has hit your business ?  Or do you use that as a handy excuse for the state of your business ? Someone once said that if you can learn to fly in a storm just think how easy it is going to be when the sun shines !
All the basics of running a business is exactly the same in a recession than in normal times.  The only difference is that it requires more of  the skills of the Captain to keep the business on course in present times than when it was plain sailing.  You cannot afford not to understand some of the basics.
As part of our history where we were involved in the finance of SME's and our training background Optima has developed a course for Entrepreneurs starting out in business as well as established business people to sharpen their senses and give them the knowledge they need to make a success of the business.
The course is a 3 day intensive training experience where we will focus on the following:
Understand the basics of entrepreneurship by defining it , placing it in context and show you how to develop and improve entrepreneurial abilities.   We will show you how to establish the processes , assess tge profitibilities of your product or service , perform market analysis and consider the purchasing , costing an pricing models.  Lastly you will get to know how to instill serious management principles , determine record keeping requirements, how to calculate break-even point , compiling an income statement , balance sheet and cash flow analysis, perform stock and credit control , determine financial needs and learn how to source finance. We sill discuss in detail how to sell, market and build customer relations , manage and grow your business and finally the importance of compiling a business plan. 
If you ever felt uncertain about aspects of your business or have come to an important decision making stage in the business this short course is going to change your life.   If you have recently started out in business this is a must for you.  Should you consider retirement and possibly a small business as a hobby or a need you will be best advised to talk to us immediately !

The Small business man's dilima

In South Africa there are all sorts of Business clubs , Entrepreneur Clubs and small training institutions that try to give directions and to offer help to Small and Medium Business owners and start up entrepreneurs.
Should you wish to start a business and grow this into something of value to you and your family and prospective employees you need to run this business professionally.  Medium to large corporations have normally access to all sorts of training providers either in-house or external.  When utilizing external  providers the businesses normally has an HR division that have the time and expertise to establish the credentials and expertise of these providers.

Small business does not have this luxury but still need this training and expertise to either start their business with some experts behind them or they may need to develop the business and obtain some skills they might not have.

Start ups especially need a business plan - This is very seldom a proper document and if it was needed for obtaining finance it was most probably drafted by an outsider for that purpose and the business owner has not made it his own.

As business knowledge developers we have brought together experts in the field of small business to bring  a unique business course to the market - Details can be found on this blog.

The partners in this venture is Optima (full details here : www.optima.nu) and The Academy for growth acceleration (Pty) ltd (South African Services Seta accreditation pending).

This course will enable both prospective Business owners and existing ones to sharpen their axes for the challenges of the business world.   The contents of the course focuses the following three aspects of Small business and we see this as the most challenging :

1.     Develop an Understanding of Business ownership
2.     Develop the business processes
3.     Instill sound business management Principles

Details of these courses will soon be available and posted on this blog