Methods to create leads for your business

By Jannie Rossouw Head: Sanlam Business Market The pipeline of any business needs to be continuously filled with new client prospects. Options are a dime a dozen – the real challenge is to find the ones which lead to the best business outcomes for your type of business. It is of paramount importance to track […]

Ten tips for increasing diversity in your workplace

When businesses start up, they are often small, tightly-knit groups of pioneers that come from the same background, even from the same family. This works very well in the early survival stages of a venture, but as soon as the business reaches a more stable post-survival growth phase, the founders have the opportunity to look […]

Finalists announced for premier entrepreneurial competition’s 30th edition

Celebrating three full decades of discovering and cultivating the best entrepreneurial talent that South Africa has to offer, we have announced the shortlist of 15 standout entrants who have made it through to the final round of this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS. The 189 entries that were received […]

Getting the most out of a mid-year review

Research compiled by the University of Applied Sciences in Germany in 2016 has shown that only 20% – 30% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa survive longer than five years. In addition, the research found that the common trait distinguishing a successful business from a failing business is its owner’s ability to […]

How to improve your profit margin

By Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market It is said that there is nothing new under the sun … and this is also true for business. The reality is that most of us need to be reminded about the options available to us, which may well improve the bottom line of our business. Have you […]

Finding the start-up sweet spot

Entrepreneurial lessons from generations of entrepreneurs Picturing a typical entrepreneur – the chances are you visualize a young, mission-driven techie with a mind-blowing idea that will make him or her the African version of Mark Zuckerberg.  While the fast, digitized millennial entrepreneur’s approach to business is highly beneficial for future success; there’s a lot to […]

Ten tips for managing the lifeblood of your business

By Byron Jeacocks Regional General Manager, BUSINESS/PARTNERS Nothing is as important to the financial health of a growing small business as the constant, predictable flow of cash, because if the cash dries up, the business will die. Cash is to a business what oxygen is to a body – it simply cannot survive without it, […]

What people really buy

By Jannie Rossouw Head: Sanlam Business Market It is said that the perfect timing for a sale is when a client has a need and our business is aware of this need and ready with our product/service to offer a solution. This is all good in theory, but how do we make this happen in […]

Closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs

By Gugu Mjadu Spokesperson for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS. Globally, women experience many barriers to equal economic participation. The Establishing a baseline for lending to women-owned SMEs 2013 report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) points to low levels of access to finance for women entrepreneurs with […]

Tips for small business owners to keep their employees motivated

By Ben Bierman Managing Director at Business Partners Limited Zig Ziglar, renowned American author and motivational speaker said: You don’t build a business. You build people and people build the business. As a small business owner, the up-keep of staff morale is vital to keep employees motivated so that they can contribute towards building and […]