Tag: Siphiwe Ngcobo

Entrepreneurial pearls of wisdom

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The 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® winners share their advice for turning 2018 into a success

When it comes to being an entrepreneur, there is no sure template to follow or instruction manual to refer to, and no two journeys will ever be exactly the same. There are, however, parallels that can be drawn and lessons that can be learnt from those who may be a little further on in their entrepreneurial journey.

In the hopes of finding some of these valued nuggets of entrepreneurial wisdom, we sat down with a couple of winners of the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition and asked them about the biggest lessons they’re taking with them from the past year, as well as any advice they have for up-and-coming entrepreneurs who hope to make 2018 their year. 

Siphiwe Ngcobo, the founder of iLawu Hospitality Group and the 2017 Job Creator of the Year® says that the biggest lesson he learnt in 2017 was that no one has monopoly over ideas. “As an entrepreneur, you should always strive to keep abreast with what is happening around you through reading relevant literature and networking with people who will contribute in making you a better entrepreneur and human being.”

For Zenzele Fitness Group founder and Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year® winner, Tumi Phake, an important piece of wisdom came from a book he was reading. “While reading Good to Great by Jim Collins, what really stood out for me was the idea that in life, or business, you need to get the right people on the bus, put them on the right seat, and get the wrong people off the bus.

“It’s about surrounding yourself with people who bring out the best in you, people who want to make it happen and are self-motivated. If you have the right people sitting on the right seats, there’s no need to micromanage,” he says.

Tumi continues by explaining that while having a great business idea is important, it’s not critical. “The most important thing is having the ability to execute your idea – this is what investors look for. To do this you need to find people with the skills you may not necessarily have yourself.”

Siphiwe finishes off by offering the two entrepreneurial principles that he lives by. “The principles I live by are simple and usually come quite naturally to anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. Firstly, be obsessed with understanding how things work and, secondly, take ownership. This means interrogating and understanding ideas before making a decision; and then taking full ownership of whichever path you choose.”

Balancing work-life responsibilities as an entrepreneur

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By Gugu Mjadu

Spokesperson for the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS

Growing a business has often been equated to raising a child – a 24/7 role involving countless sleepless nights and never-ending concerns about the business’ future success. While a work-life balance is always strived for by entrepreneurs, the increasing consumer, economic and societal pressures means finding this desired balance is becoming even more difficult to achieve.

Increasingly people are working harder and longer, especially small business owners, to keep up with demands and to make ends meet – both at home and in the workplace. But while entrepreneurs may believe that more work hours, equals greater success, this isn’t always the case, and rather than this having a positive outcome and generating increased input from the extra work hours, this could have the opposite intended effect.

It is therefore not surprising that with these increased pressures and a skewed focus towards work that stress levels are on the rise. While high-stress levels are not uncommon and often unavoidable component of an entrepreneur’s day, week and month, elevated levels of stress due to increased pressures and a skewed focus towards work can lead to long-lasting negative effects, on both the entrepreneur, their family, business and broader network.

During Mental Illness Awareness Month last month, it was widely reported that increased and unmanaged levels of stress is a leading contributor to a number of mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety. Furthermore – highlighting the consequences of an unbalanced work-life relationship – recent figures by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) reported that 74% of South African workers reported reduced concentration and a loss of productivity due to depression.

Business owners, therefore, need to be cognisant of the role that a healthy work-life balance can play in promoting good personal and business health.

How do our 2017 finalists and winners manage the daily struggle of balance?

Willem van der Merwe, owner of Africa Biomass Company (ABC) and 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year®:

“One of greatest challenges in running your own business is balancing the various aspects of your life, but I found that by involving my family in my business from early on helped them understand the demands and pressures placed upon me as my own boss. My family is my number one priority and having their full understanding and support is vital. No family support equals no business in my mind.

“Deciding whether family or business success is any more important than the other, and making a firm decision in this regard will you help you manage your environment accordingly and enable you to achieve your desired outcome and ultimately, your desired balance.”

Joe Hamman, owner and founder of Novus Group (Pty) Ltd and 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® finalist.

“I don’t believe that I have perfected the balance yet myself, but I do commit to a routine of leaving the office at 6pm daily and not doing any work once I get home so that I can be 100% present with my family in the evenings. I do however wake up at 2am to catch up on any work while my family is sleeping.”

Siphiwe Ngcobo, founder of iLawu Hospitality Group and 2017 Job Creator of the Year®.

“To minimise work pressures, entrepreneurs – especially those in the start-up phase – should look to create trackable systems to monitor and track the business’ operations. When I started my business, managing a work-life balance was incredibly difficult, and it had a negative effect on my personal relationships. I’ve since learnt the benefit of implementing effective systems throughout my business which has meant that I don’t have to be physically present for each process. As a result, I now also have a team of qualified and capable staff who are able to take tasks off my hands.”

SA’s best entrepreneurs announced in premier entrepreneurial competition

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Following a gruelling judging process and assessment of 15 successful finalists, South Africa’s premier annual entrepreneurial competition, Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, announced this six year’s winners at an awards ceremony held on 6 September 2017 in Johannesburg. The event saw Willem van der Merwe, owner of Africa Biomass Company, receiving the coveted title of this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year®.

Speaking at the event, spokesperson for the competition, Christo Botes, says that while selecting one entrepreneur to be the overall winner was no easy task – especially given the exceptionally high standard of this year’s finalists – van der Merwe was a notch above the rest in terms of the raw entrepreneurial nature of his business.

“Through the establishment of Africa Biomass Company (ABC) – which specialises in land clearing, wood chipping, and wood recycling – Willem [van der Merwe] has not only created a successful business by clearing landowners unwanted trees, he has also shaped a new industry in South Africa by introducing the novel concept of wood recycling,” he says.

www.chipper.co.za

The five 2017 category winners are:

  • 2017 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year®: Sizwe Nzima and Siraaj Adams, owners of Iyeza Health. Having started as a bicycle delivery company that delivered chronic medication from health clinics in Khayelitisha to patients’ homes in the township, Iyeza Group has evolved into a health logistics company with a wide array of capabilities. www.iyezahealth.co.za  
  • 2017 Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year®: Itumeleng Phake, founder and owner of Zenzele Fitness Group. Zenzele Fitness Group is a dynamic fitness and wellness company that is making health and fitness more accessible to South Africans in middle and lower LSM groups. www.zenzelefitness.co.za
  • 2017 Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year®: Nomfundo Mcoyi, founder and owner of Icebolethu Group. Established as Icebolethu Funerals in 2009 as a funeral parlour, with a complement of just five staff members, the business has evolved into a prominent funeral services conglomerate with international presence and around 300 employees. www.icebolethugroup.co.za
  • 2017 Job Creator of the Year®: Siphiwe Ngcobo, owner and founder of iLawu Hospitality Group. Founded in 2009 as a humble five-bedroomed B&B in Pietermaritzburg, iLawu Hospitality Group has since expanded to become one of the well-recognised hospitality and catering brands in KwaZulu-Natal, providing countless jobs to the community. www.ilawugroup.co.za/
  • 2017 Innovator of the Year®: Mpodumo Doubada, founder and owner of Pimp My Book. Pimp my Book, an ever-growing chain of campus stores across the country, was founded in 2006 on the simple premise of buying and selling used textbooks and making them significantly more affordable to students. www.pimpmybook.co.za

Now in its 29th year, the Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners provides prizes worth R2 million.  Each of the five category winners received R60 000, and the overall winner received R160 000, towards further growing their businesses.

Beyond these monetary prizes, Botes adds that each winner will also receive valuable mentorship support, networking opportunities and associated marketing and national media exposure to further drive their business’ success. “Past winners have also gone on to win other prominent national and international awards and form valuable partnerships as a result of their success in the competition.”

Determined hospitality entrepreneur named Job Creator of the Year®

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Having found a way to provide numerous employment opportunities to previously unemployed members from his immediate community in Pietermaritzburg, Siphiwe Ngcobo, founder of iLawu Hospitality Group, has been named Job Creator of the Year® at the Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS awards ceremony held in Johannesburg on 6 September 2017.

They say failure is the best learning opportunity, and this is especially true for this year’s Job Creator of the Year®. With the shadow of a couple failed business attempts in his past – including that of a tech business, which saw him blacklisted as a result – Ngcobo persevered in his entrepreneurial pursuit for success, and today runs a thriving hospitality business.

Having originally founded a humble five bedroomed bed and breakfast in August 2009, the business has since expanded to become one of the most well-recognised hospitality and catering brands in KwaZulu-Natal, encompassing a guesthouse, an inn, a boutique hotel and studio apartments. The group has also recently launched a 4-star lodge in Newcastle and a food service division which is servicing corporate, government and leisure events across the region.

Ngcobo’s hospitality entrepreneurial journey started in 2005 when he initially took the decision to start investing in property within the Imbali township after seeing an opportunity to make favourable returns given the low property prices at the time. However, after identifying the demand for quality, yet affordable accommodation in the area due to the vast number of major annual sporting and cultural events being hosted, he shifted his focus from rental property to holiday accommodation and hospitality after he found a property he felt would work well as a bed and breakfast.

With no hospitality training or experience, Ngcobo was determined to lead his business into success. Learning everything he now knows through practical, hands-on experience, Ngcobo gave his everything to the business and ran every aspect on his own from housekeeping and reception to general management and sales and marketing.

This never-give-up attitude finally paid off, and today, iLawu Hospitality Group employs close to 100 people across a diverse portfolio of accommodation offerings that cater to many different markets, from corporate and government, to leisure groups looking for quality facilities with exceptional services, to locals looking to host elite events.

The competition judges believe Ngcobo’s passionate and enthusiastic leadership has resulted in the business’ exponential growth since its inception in 2009. “Ngcobo’s business has tapped into the rural market and has enabled him to offer employment to individuals who may otherwise have remained unemployed and unskilled due to the lack of opportunities available in these areas. Because of this contribution to driving job creation in the country, Ngcobo is a worthy recipient of the Job Creator of the Year® title.”

Please visit www.ilawugroup.co.za for more information on iLawu Hospitality Group.

Failure is a stepping stone to success

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Located in Pietermaritzburg, iLawu Hospitality Group was founded in August 2009 by Siphiwe Ngcobo. What began as a humble five bedroomed B&B has expanded to become one of the most well-recognised hospitality and catering brands in KwaZulu-Natal, encompassing a guesthouse, an inn, a boutique hotel and studio apartments, a recently launched 4-star lodge in Newcastle and a food service division which is servicing corporate, government and leisure events across the region.

This, however, was not Ngcobo’s first entrepreneurial venture. From operating a tuckshop out of a container in a township, to embarking on a tech business that failed dismally and ultimately saw him blacklisted as a result, Ngcobo says that entering the hospitality industry was never something he’d planned.

“The iLawu journey began when I started investing in property within the Imbali township. I was fortunate in that I began investing in 2005, at a time when property prices were low, which allowed me to make favourable returns. When I wanted to expand my portfolio, I came across a property that I felt would do well as a B&B, which is what initially shifted my focus from rental property to holiday accommodation and hospitality.”

This decision was based largely around the position of the property, and the demand in the area. “Pietermaritzburg, which is the capital city and sport capital of KwaZulu-Natal, is synonymous with the Midmar Mile, the Comrades and the Dusi Canoe Marathons. I knew that these sporting events, along with other events that took place throughout the year, would create a demand for quality, yet affordable accommodation in the area.”

Ngcobo points out that back then, he had no formal training in the hospitality industry. “I had no experience or training when I decided to embark on this business, and everything I now know in the industry, I learnt on my feet through personal experience along the way. In the beginning, I was running the show on my own, which meant I was a housekeeper, a receptionist, a night manager, as well as being in charge of sales and marketing – it was not an easy time.”

It wasn’t long, however, before the business gained traction and Ngcobo found himself having to expand to keep up with the growing demand. Today, Ngcobo employs close to 100 people across a diverse portfolio of accommodation offerings that cater to many different markets, from corporate and government, to leisure groups looking for quality facilities with exceptional services, to locals looking to host elite events.”

Siphiwe Ngcobo is a finalist in the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS. For more information on his business, please visit the iLawu Hospitality Group website: www.ilawugroup.co.za.