Entrepreneur of the Year®

Trading up

Entrepreneur finds business success in promoting others

Gerald Ndlovu saw an opportunity to create employment for 250 artisans, and he took it, writes Jane Steinacker-Keys.

Gerald Ndlovu by his own admission did not thrive in the corporate environment. His education, which includes a BComm in financial accounting as well as a post graduate in business management, made him the perfect candidate for a series of corporate posts including the Head of Operations for Liberty Properties and a Member Services Manager at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Despite his success in the corporate world he found the rigid structures frustrating, which fuelled his yearning to venture out on his own. “In the corporate world there are rules for everything,” he says, “I found it stifling.”

“I am an entrepreneur, uncontrollable by nature,” says Ndlovu… more

Articles

One of the major reasons why entrepreneurs decide to start their own business is the freedom that this lifestyle offers. They want to take their own decisions and are prepared to take the consequences.

Entrepreneurs are by nature risk takers and they realise that it may culminate in serious or negative results, but they always see the positive and remain forever optimistic. If the decision was the right one, the benefits and results offer a great deal of personal satisfaction and a wonderful sense of achievement.

If entrepreneurs only realised the extent of the risks that they take on a daily basis, they would probably not take these decisions, or be much more cautious or research the matter to a larger extent before making the call… more