Month: July 2016

From school-ground salesman to engineering company owner – entrepreneurial ambition pays off

Posted on by Webmaster

Entrepreneurship has run through Mojalefa Mpele’s veins from a young age, with his journey starting when he began selling sweets and chocolates to fellow class mates at high school. His entrepreneurial drive has since grown substantially, and today Mojalefa is the founder and co-owner of BT Projects – a rapidly growing engineering company which specialises in electrical engineering and hazardous location certification.

Mojalefa began his entrepreneurial journey at the tender age of 14 after noticing that the school tuck shop was struggling to accommodate his peers due to the large amount of students present at the school and the short length of their break times. He saw this as an opportunity to provide a service and started his own small private enterprise which he ran for two years until the headmaster put an end to his successful business. Inspired by this venture, Mojalefa then knew that he wanted to pursue entrepreneurship as a career.

Having learnt that most businesses fail due to poor financial management, Mojalefa chose to strengthen his financial skills after high school and in 2011 he completed a BCom degree. BT Projects was founded in 2012 with business partner Vuyisile Rani in Sasolburg – home to international integrated chemicals and energy company, Sasol, and the area where both entrepreneurs grew up.

Armed with strong financial management, business acumen and marketing skills, BT Projects was born on the premise that clients such as Sasol, and other large energy players, such as Omnia and Consol, focus on their core business while outsourcing electrical maintenance to smaller businesses in the area – such as BT Projects – thereby transferring any associated risks away from their core business focus. In a period of just three years, BT Projects has grown their annual turnover to R12 million whilst establishing networks and building sustainable and economical relationships in the industry.

Mojalefa says that his most valued entrepreneurial skill is the ability to communicate his business vision to potential clients, effectively portraying how his company could be beneficial to them. “I learnt early on that business is about people. I regularly need to ascertain how much my clients’ needs are changing, which requires heavy investment into research so that I can propose technological and future-orientated solutions to them.”

Having benefited from being part of the Murray and Roberts enterprise development programme, Mojalefa strongly believes in mentorship and helping other young entrepreneurs. It is therefore no surprise that he developed an initiative called “BT cares” which focuses on skills development, bursaries and food parcel donations. “My own life has been blessed in many ways, not only because I worked hard or went after specific goals, but because so many people believed in me,” comments Mojalefa.

“Because we are two young, successful men from a township, we are automatically more obliged to assist those who aspire to grow in their respective careers, particularly those from the townships – because we understand how challenging the circumstances are,” he says.

Currently overseeing a team of 25, Mojalefa says that they are looking to quadruple BT Projects’ turnover within the next five years by expanding their clientele to a national scale as well as opening additional offices in Limpopo and Rustenburg.

“We are young men with a dream and hope to inspire other black entrepreneurs to reinvest their profits into their businesses so that they can grow to employ more people and positively impact their communities,” concludes Mojalefa.

It’s time to prepare for the second half

Posted on by Business Partners Limited

For a spectator of a game of football, the half-time break is merely a chance to stock up on some beer, but for the captains, the coaches and the players, it is a crucial few minutes of reviewing and tweaking their game plan.

In a similar way, businesses that do not use some time in the middle of the year to reflect and plan are running the risk of losing the game, says David Morobe, regional general manager of Business Partners Limited. The questions asked in the locker room at half time are strikingly similar to those that a business has to ask from time to time. “Have things been going as planned? Are we ahead or behind with where we wanted to be? What worked well? What didn’t work well? What impact has the competition had on us? What opportunities did we miss? What competitor weaknesses did we not capitalise on? What do we need to do in the second half? What changes need to take place and in what area do we need to up our game?”

The benefits of such an exercise are hard to overstate. It helps the entrepreneur and his key team to crystallise their strategy for the rest of the year, clarify the challenges that lie ahead, celebrate and strengthen the successes of the past six months, and prompt them to make the necessary changes. The process also tends to unlock ideas, strategies and solutions not previously thought of.

For Morobe, this kind of formal planning session is by no means the preserve of big corporations. In fact, it is a way in which small businesses can “optimise their agility”. It is much quicker for a small business to adapt its strategies in reaction to a market challenge or an opportunity. A half-year planning session is a way of ensuring that it makes use of that advantage.

The time that a business sets aside for a half-year review will differ according to the complexity and size of the company, but it need not be long. “It also depends on how good the systems are. If all the information that you need for such an exercise is up to date, reliable and available, then you’ll save time,” says Morobe, who reckons a half a day to a maximum of a full day is enough for most businesses.

Morobe says there is no prescribed way in which such a half-year review should take place, apart from the principle that the cash-flow forecast, which he calls “the holy grail” of a business, must be central to the process. But it helps to take an “all-encompassing” approach, he says, in which you reflect not only on your sales targets, but also on your staff who may need to be re-motivated and your operations – what is working, what is not, and how can you improve efficiency – are some of the questions you may want to answer.

It helps to work according to some kind of structure such as SWOT analyses where the team considers, in turn, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the business.

Morobe is also not prescriptive over the exact output of such a session. If a whole new strategy or plan is decided upon, it is best to crystallise it in a formal plan, especially if there are a number of team members who have to pull together.

If the half-year review leads to a new finance application or the purchase of a new piece of equipment for example, a formal plan to present to the financier is of course a must. But sometimes all that is needed are a few tweaks to the cash flow forecast and a couple of email circulars. Generally, it does no harm to write down the main points discussed or decisions taken, says Morobe. Rather err on the side of outlining the plan on paper.

A half-year planning exercise is of no use if the business owner is not realistic about what is happening not only in the business but also out in the market. In fact, over-optimistic planning can do harm. Morobe says the over-optimistic estimation of sales is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make in their planning. It can have disastrous consequences for the cash-flow of the business.

“As the saying goes: there is only one thing worse that singing out of tune, and that is singing out of tune enthusiastically. With a half-year review you want to make sure you’re still in tune with your targets team, and the market,” he concludes.

Sales versus marketing

Posted on by Sanlam
By Harry Welby-Cooke

From Action Coach for Sanlam Business Market

Sales and Marketing is a term loosely thrown together and is used as if it’s the same thing. It’s NOT!

Albeit related, it really is two very different things. In your company, like may others, it’s further confused in that it’s often the same staff or the same department, that handle both: Sales and Marketing.

So if we break it down into its components we should actually call it Marketing and Sales. Marketing comes first. Sales comes second. And then we repeat the process over and over as much as possible. More about that in a future article.

So Marketing is the process of generating a lead. Finding a suspect out there in the market that you can entice to become a prospect. Someone who fits your target market and that is possibly ready to buy from you in the short to medium term.

Your first role is to market to that group so that they express some form of interest and become aLead. Start by recording every single lead you get into your business and then by tracking where that lead came from. In doing so you quickly get to see what marketing is actually working. Don’t fall for the saying: “50% of marketing works we just don’t know which 50%”. As a business owner youmustknow and therefore youmusttest and measure it. Elaborate systems are not necessary in the beginning and a simple sheet of paper where you can mark off a walk in client, telephone enquiry, website expression of interest etc. will suffice.

The more you know and analyse these numbers, the easier it is to make real time adjustments in your marketing to influence the outcome in your favour. With technology today its become even easier so don’t ‘waste’ money on marketing ever again. See it as an investment that needs to generate a profitable return by giving you the right leads.

Sales is then the process of converting that lead into a client. A client is someone who likes you, likes what you can do for them and believes they will get value by parting with their money in exchange for your offering. This conversion process is also critical to test and measure as it allows you to track yourConversion Ratefrom lead to client. Further testing and measuring can even highlight what type of marketing generates what type of client. Huge insights can be gained from this simple testing and measuring but start just with the basics for now.

The conversion process should become a clearly defined sales process that you can document and use consistently across your company.It becomes the “this is how we sell here” manual that can always be refined over time. Most importantly it allows for predictable conversion to take place and thus ensure your sales process can be duplicated over and over by various staff and still deliver the same desired results.
Remember you can’t simply get clients. Focus on generating the right quality and quantity of leads (Marketing) and then through your conversion process (Sales) turn them into profitable happy clients.

15 finalists named for the 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition

Posted on by Webmaster

Following a fiercely competitive preliminary round of the 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business/ Partners, a shortlist of 15 standout entrants has made it through to the final round of the competition, with the ultimate winners to be announced in September.

We are thrilled to announce that we received 213 entries this year – one of the highest number of entries recorded to date and a steep increase of 40% when comparing the number of entries received for the 2015 competition. We also saw a jump in the number of female entries and we are delighted at the consistent growth in the number of entries from female entrepreneurs which reached a new high growing to more than 38% of the total participant pool, up from 29% of entries in 2015.

This increase in entries is testament to the thriving level of entrepreneurial talent and success present in the country. We would like to congratulate and commend all entrants, as these are the individuals who bring about positive change and fuel job growth – helping the South African economy and communities to grow.

The finalists, in no specific order, are:

Carl and Peter Pretorius – Just Trees

Carl and Peter Pretorius, based in Noorder Paarl, are the entrepreneurs behind Just Trees – a wholesale tree nursery that supplies specimen container grown trees to the trade throughout South Africa.

Dillon Jearey – Kilowatt Audio Visual Pty Ltd

So much more than your ordinary tech supply company, Kilowatt AV is a high-end audio visual equipment specialist company in Cape Town, founded by finalist Dillon Jearey.

Michael Roberts – Robhur Management T/A Future Talent

The Future Talent training course is an innovative platform created by Michael Roberts from Gauteng, on which critical financial and life-skills are taught and practiced.

Barry Nigel Gould – CAPCO

Established in 1989 by finalist Barry Gould, CAPCO is a stockist and manufacturer of ceiling and partition systems and components.

Cara Nortman – SSQ Exhibitions

Gauteng-based Cara Nortman began SSQ Exhibitions, a design and project management agency that specialises in targeted brand experiences such as exhibition stands, mall displays, sets, roadshows, activations and permanent interiors.

Nerina Smith – Smithland Guest Apartments

Nerina Smith, owner of Smithland, saw a need in Cape Town for self-catering accommodation and took the initiative in 1992. Over the years Smithland Guest Apartments has grown into a successful business with 24 units of which she owns 14, managing the others on behalf of property investors.

Johan Eksteen – Pelleting Machinery T/A Agricon

Based in Bloemfontein, Johan Eksteen’s company, Agricon, specialises in the design and manufacture of pelleting solutions for the agricultural industry. Johan is also a reigning competition title holder having clinched the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year® title in 2014.

Mishje Cooper – ZooZoo Land Daycare

Mother of two, Mishje Cooper is the founder of educare business, ZooZoo Land Daycare – providing a nurtured environment where children can build a foundation for continued learning.

Gali Gaon Segall – Yemaya Group

Gali Gaon Segall is the entrepreneur behind the successful beauty and wellness services company, Yemaya Group, based in Cape Town.

Meisie Nkosi – Scarper Traders T/A Bella Bonni Guest House

Bella Bonni Guest House – situated in Witbank, Mpumalanga and founded by finalist Meisie Nkosi – is a 100% black woman owned establishment that offers luxury, business-like accommodation in a modern, contemporary design.

Lucas Frederick Van Wyk – Advance Fenestration

Based in Gauteng, Lucas Frederick’s business, Advance Fenestration, specialises in the design and manufacture of architectural aluminium systems for the local and export market.

Stacey Brewer – Spark Schools T/A eAdvance

Stacey Brewer’s company is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of education innovation – from pioneering blended learning to reimagining high expectations, eAdvance is empowering teachers and inspiring families.

Corrie Van Der Wath and Nelisiwe Magubane – Matleng Energy Solutions

Matleng Energy Solutions is a South African black woman owned company led by Nelisiwe Magubane, in association with Corrie van der Wath, that strives to solve clients’ energy related challenges through the effective implementation of new and/or existing technologies.

Chanette Goosen – Rush Extreme Sports

Chanette Gooden is the founder of Rush Extreme Sports, an indoor extreme Trampoline Park situated in Cape Town with 1500-2500 square meters of adventure, excitement, fun and challenges.

Vanessa Jacobs – Sow Delicious

Western Cape-based Vanessa Jacobs is the woman behind the innovative edible gardening store, Sow Delicious, which specialises in heirloom seed and garden gadgets.

The 15 finalists operate in various sectors throughout South Africa, with the majority originating from the Western Cape (47%) and Gauteng (33%), and include a strong representation from the manufacturing and services sectors. Given the manufacturing sector is vital to job-creation, it is always encouraging to see driven entrepreneurs occupying this space, as unemployment in South Africa continues to be a major challenge.

The services sector with entrants operating in the health, beauty, education and training industries was also well represented this year, following by entrants in the hospitality industry.

The next step in the judging process is the selection of the overall 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year® winner, as well as winners for each of the five categories, namely emerging, small business, medium business, job creator and innovator. The judging process is completely independent, and the evaluation process runs through three different filtering stages, which ensures that everything is checked multiple times to remove any human error or preference which may have otherwise crept in.

The 2016 finalists stand the chance to win prizes worth R2 million, which include cash prizes to the value of R425 000. Beyond monetary prices, previous finalists have benefitted greatly from the various networking opportunities and associated media exposure that the competition offers. Past winners have also gone on to win international awards and form valuable partnerships as a result of their success in the competition.

Winners will be announced on 1 September 2016 at the official awards breakfast in Johannesburg.

We eagerly await the final stages of this year’s competition and wish all the finalists the best of luck!