How to meet the expectations of your target market

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market “Exceed your customer’s expectations. If you do, they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want – and a little more.” – Sam Walton. (Sam Walton was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam’s Club.) I am […]

21 years of entrepreneurial growth in SA

Christo Botes, spokesperson of the 2015 Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, provides insight into how entrepreneurial activity has evolved over the last two decades in South Africa. South Africa celebrates 21 years of democracy on 27 May 2015 – Freedom Day – which represents the liberty for individuals to follow the […]

Six ways to delegate effectively

“The surest way for an executive to kill himself is to refuse to learn how, and when, and to whom to delegate work.” When you grow, you have to know when to let go. You have to know when to delegate down so you can rise up. I’ve learned that people will seldom let you […]

The value of reflection to improve business results

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market “Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” (Margaret J. Wheatley – American writer and management consultant who studies organisational behaviour) These are very sobering words and make us realise that we might be chasing the […]

Four tips to improve your business

1. Drop some unprofitable products or services Drop some unprofitable sales channels. Entrepreneurs too often want to do more. But, time is limited. No matter how good you are, you can’t do it all! Especially for smaller companies, consider if your business engages in areas not justified by the financial or personal reward. 2. Add […]

Do you know where to allocate business resources?

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market It is said that something well planned is 50% done. If this holds true, then I wonder why so many of us do not make an effort to plan our business activities in advance. To my mind there are numerous reasons why continuous business planning is […]

2015 Budget encouraging for SMEs

Unemployment remains the country’s greatest economic and social challenge Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, 2015 Budget Speech The 2015 State of the Nation address, presented by President Jacob Zuma on 12 February 2015, referenced unlocking the potential of small enterprises, and identified small business as one of Government’s nine strategic priorities to be pursued this year. […]

2015 competition now open for entries

Now in its 27th year, the Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® competition – the premier entrepreneurial platform in South Africa – continues to pay tribute to the fearless entrepreneurs who remain dedicated to not only fostering a culture of entrepreneurship in the country, but also to their business and staff. South African […]

Efficiency can lead to success

Organisations that approach things with order, common sense, consistency and persistence will ultimately succeed. If you are going to deliver on your promise you have to learn to listen to what and how you may deliver on your promise. Businesses are often consumed in their actions and forget to take time to evaluate their service […]

How your product/service guarantee can differentiate your business

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market A guarantee is a formal assurance (typically written) that certain conditions will be met; specifically that a product will be reinstated or replaced if it does not live up to the specified quality, or that a service will be reviewed if it does not deliver the […]