Category Archives: Business is…

South Africa’s entrepreneur can have a successful new business.

Low Carbohydrate Business Success

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Lower carbohydrates can mean higher productivity

This article is about a self-experienced low carbohydrate business success. Lowered carbohydrates in the evenings impacted positively on personal and business life and affirmed the correlation between a healthy diet, sound sleeping habits, weight management and a clear mind.

I have always had enormous difficulty sleeping and know many others in the business world who also struggle to disengage gears and switch off at night. In fact, you are truly blessed if you have the ability to sleep well at night. Although I say “ability” as if the whole issue is one purely of genes and you either “have it or you don’t”, it is often a matter of teaching yourself better sleep habits. Many of these habits involve becoming aware of your lifestyle and they will not guarantee sound sleep in and of themselves; but at the very least, you can give yourself a good shot at it. Here, I’ll discuss just one, small, but critical adjustment you can make to your lifestyle which I hope makes a huge difference. Continue reading →

Cash or Credit: Cash In Hand is Worth Two in the Books.

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“Money is the key to financial success” David Kleinbard

Cash or Credit? Cash Every Time!

Everybody has heard the expression about a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush. The earliest known English version of this proverb is from an English translation of the Bible during 1382. The English are definitely not the only language and culture to have a proverb reinforcing the concept that a definite immediate gain is better than the mere possibility of more gain later. Simply put, rather be paid slightly less cash now than marginally more later. The decision will be “cash or credit” and until you feel you can start losing money on clients, the answer is cash! Continue reading →

New Business Legal Expenses

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“If law school is so hard to get through, how come there are so many lawyers?” Calvin Trillin

Spend less money earlier

Most people I know have heard one or other joke about lawyers, but dealing with lawyers is no joke. In any new business, legal expenses for the drafting of proper contracts and purchasing an accounting system  for accurate cash flow management, are cheaper than cleaning up a mess later.

It is an unpalatable truth that your business will inevitably seek legal assistance of one description or another. That may be in the form of litigating in court, having contracts drafted, legislative compliance or a myriad of other proactive or reactive matters. Let me assure you of the only guarantee I know of in law – it is expensive! Continue reading →

Your Staff are People Too, you know! Embrace That Reality.

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“I was picked for my motivational skills. Everyone always says they have to work twice as hard when I’m around.” Homer Simpson

Do you think your staff are people, too?

Businesses always comprise numerous components, one of which is often referred to as staff, or even more clinically, as human capital. This generically termed component, as with others such as machinery, products, finances, information technology and the like, does not give due regard to its complexity. Understanding that your staff are people goes beyond merely having sound HR practices in place.

Your staff are people: individuals with beliefs, cultures, languages, aspirations and personalities, as just a few examples; but there also exist certain group aspects, emotions, pressures and behaviour. The massive field of human resources and shifting management trends, approbating and reprobating on the recognition of the value attributed to human capital, should be indicative of the attention that must be paid to understanding the “staff” aspect of your business. Continue reading →

What Is Your Core Business? What do you do?

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“You know me as a wine expert, but in another life I would have been a bishop or a dry cleaner, or a dry-cleaning bishop.” Oz Clarke

Your Core Business

Now to take you through some concrete examples from the four business attempts mentioned in my earlier post, “Do what you do”.

Importantly, all the businesses were started by guys who had at least five years’ experience in the waste management industry. These entrepreneurs all had great experience in the sales and operational aspects of their employers and decided to go out on their own, within the same industry.  Three of the employers were huge waste management companies that had existed for many years and still do. They held contracts for the waste management and removal of a variety of sites including office and business parks, restaurants and hotels, shopping centres, sports facilities and other venues.

The point of my short case studies is that your business should focus on what it does. Focus on core business. Sound simple and rather obvious? Read on… Continue reading →

Focus on Your Core Business – Do What You Do.

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“I understand small business growth. I was one.” George W. Bush

Focus on Your Core Business – not extraneous bling

Over the past seven or so years, I have had occasion to be exposed to at least 4 attempts to start inherently the same business. Two attempts failed dismally, the third survives, but only just, while the fourth is a monumental success.

One of the primary reasons for the failed businesses when compared to the successful business is that the successful business has a singular focus to “do what we do”. All four business attempts, which I’ll write about in some more detail in my next post, were almost identical in intention, method, start-up capital, staff requirements, services offered and target customers; and yet they had vastly different destinies. For the purpose of this article, I will isolate only the principle that I would like to highlight at the moment, to the exclusion of others. This is not to say that other factors did not play a role, or even a significant role, but they simply won’t come into play here. Continue reading →

Start Learning Successful Business

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Welcome to our business success site!

Join in my business experiences and share your business success with readers. This site is to encourage readers to start learning – successful business will follow.

We hope to encourage sharing and learning – the author is fortunate to have been educated at secondary and tertiary levels, but the most important lessons were those learned in everyday life and the reality of running a business. Our belief is that the learning is out there and available for distribution if enough of us are willing to give time to those who need to learn from our skills; or use our time wisely to absorb knowledge from our business elders. Continue reading →