sighnov

success is within 

Sigh Magazine 

October 2012 

365 Talks In One Year To Random Strangers 

Si Ekin 

Contribute and stand a chance to win Sibusiso Nkosi’s book: FORGOTTEN FUNDAMENTALS

BOOK REVIEW 

FORGOTTEN 

FUNDAMENTALS 

WHY BROAD BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DOES NOT WORK 

SIBUSISO NKOSI 

Ever since the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment framework 

was established, it has received numerous criticisms from 

various members of society. Independent BBBEE Practitioner, 

Sibusiso Nkosi, carries that criticism forward with his new book. 

Titled ”Forgotten Fundamentals: Why Broad Based Black 

Economic Empowerment Does Not Work”, the book provides 

an analysis based on factors and elements of why BBBEE has not 

made the impact it was intended to make. ”The biggest problem 

is the BEE scorecard and how businesses chase the targets and 

points”, said Sibusiso Nkosi. ”This results in businesses implementing 

BEE compliance strategies that do not empower the previously 

disadvantaged individuals but they still score points on their scorecards.” 

Although the book is not written to delve deeper into the analysis 

of these factors, it provides a clear platform for the stakeholders to 

engage in the issues outlined. ”The fundamentals of BBBEE are 

simple; equality, fairness and sustainability. That is what we should 

be seeking to achieve.” expressed a passionate Mr. Nkosi. 

Although most of the arguments about BBBEE circle around 

2 �� 

Ownership, there are other critical areas such as Employment 

Equity, Skills Development and Enterprise Development that need 

to be focused on. In the book, the author has deliberately excluded 

arguments regarding Ownership citing ”they are already receiving 

enough attention” 

”The beneficiaries of BBBEE are not only rich business people. It 

is communities as well as people that are employees.” he explained. 

”That is what I wanted to focus on, how these people have been left 

out of the benefit basket and the dire results that this may possess.” 

Forgotten Fundamentals: Why Broad Based Black Economic 

Empowerment Does Not Work, is now available online for purchase 

on Sibusiso Nkosi’s newly developed website, www.bbbeeinfo.co.za. 

Also see his blog www.bbbeematters.blogspot.co.za and follow @ 

SibusisoBEE on twitter. 

More Info: http://bbbeeinfo.co.za 

SMS SIGH TO 45813 AND STAND A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THE THREE BOOKS 

TITLED FORGOTTEN FUNDAMENTALS WRITTEN BY SIBUSISO NKOSI 

��

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CONTENTS 

02 Book Review: Forgotten 

Fundamentals 

05 Letter from the editor 

06 Financial Education & 

Training In The Struggle For 

Economic Freedom 

08 Corporate Governance In 

South Africa 

10 Bits and pieces 

12 Profile: Karabo Sepharatla 

14 Thulani Allen Ngwenya 

16 365 Talks in one year to 

random strangers: Si Ekin 

18 Green is the future: Phila 

Nhleko 

23 Tips on how to run a successful 

company 

24 Getting your business to 

grow: Lead generation 

25 Boosting your negotiation 

skills 

26 The 10 commandments of a 

good business name 

28 Effectiveness: The greatest 

word in small business leadership 

30 Your small business has 

growth potential 

32 Sigh Magazine Business Pages 

�� 3

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FROM THE EDITOR 

The month of October certainly cruised by. Perhaps because 

of the goals I have set for the year 2012 and still haven’t met, 

time seems to be racing. I look back at the year and realize 

that I haven’t gotten to where I intended to be yet. Some of 

my goals changed during the course of the year, for the best 

I presume. As December approaches, I am both filled with 

excitement and fear. Excitement for the festivities. Fear for 

the coming year. What will the coming year have in store for 

me or rather what do I have in store for the coming year. 

I have just gone through a hectic week. I had no idea that 

starting a magazine, I would have to go through so many 

meetings and so much travelling. The initial picture I had in 

my head was of me sitting behind a desk, a computer in front 

of me and all I had to do was type. 

There is nothing as difficult as trying to convince a start-up 

entrepreneur to share their idea with everyone. They are 

always so suspicious, possibly are afraid that their idea might 

be stolen and used somewhere else. While this may be true, 

they however fail to realize that the vision they have for their 

business will never be the same as the next person’s vision 

for a similar company. Therefore the implementation will 

certainly be different. 

I believe start-up entrepreneurs should have more faith and 

be more forthcoming about their ideas and get them out 

there. Besides what better way to start than to start (take the 

first step)? As soon as your idea is out there, people notice 

and are aware of you and your business. 

Sigh Magazine seeks to profile as many start-up companies so 

as to give them the necessary exposure to the market. To be 

profiled email: editor@sighmagazine.co.za 

Cheers 

Charmaine Mukasa 

Twitter Facebook www.sighmagazine.co.za 

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ISSN 2219-69867 

Publisher 

SIGH MEDIA 

CROSSING BOUNDARIES 

Editor 

Charmaine Mukasa 

editor@sighmagazine.co.za 

Contributing Writers 

Kaya Couter 

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa 

Nokukhanya Gumede 

Si Ekin 

Thulani Allen Ngwenya 

Kgosiemang Esau Moloko, 

Frank Ricard 

Anne Carter 

Photographer 

Kaya Couter 

kaya_2003@musician.org 

Graphic Design & Layout 

Trust Molai 

trustm@sighmagazine.co.za 

Advertising 

076 388 4421 

advertise@sighmagazine.co.za

Financial 

Education 

& Training In 

The Struggle For 

Economic Freedom 

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa 

A new study has found that local consumers are struggling to make ends meet. It was recently announced by local financial 

experts that South African consumers experienced severe strain on their cash flow during the second quarter of this year 

(Q2 2012). This is evident from the MBD Credit Solutions/Bureau of Market Research (BMR) consumer financial vulnerability 

index (CFVI), which declined sharply from 58.9 points in the first quarter to 48.6 points in the second quarter. 

The CFVI measures consumer financial vulnerability according to a scale where a score of 0 indicates total consumer vulnerability 

while a score of 100 indicates a score of total financial security. And the decline means that consumers slipped 

from a ?mildly exposed? (to risks) cash flow position in Q1 2012 to being very exposed in Q2 2012. Accumulating past 

pressures and adverse international and domestic economic conditions have led to the cash woes of local consumers, the 

report also found. 

According to Prof Bernadene de Clercq, head of the Personal Finance Research Unit at Unisa, the mounting pressure that 

consumers are presently facing in trying to balance their cash flow, can be compared to the stressful conditions of 2009 

when they were confronted with multiple risks. 

These risks included job losses, high inflation and stagnating Gross Domestic product (GDP). As the correlation between 

the CFVI and real, seasonally adjusted and annualized GDP is 0.9, the decline in the index to very exposed implies that the 

economy grew at a slow pace during April, May and June 2012 says De Clercq. 

The prof adds: All four subcomponents of the CFVI lost ground during the second quarter. The savings index declined 

from 58.8 points in the first quarter to 47.5 in the second quarter; the expenditure index went from 60.1 points to 53.8; the 

6 ��

debt servicing index dropped from 

56.6 points to 47.8; and the income 

index from 57.6 points to 44.8. 

This means that consumers experienced 

that their cash flow in terms 

of income, savings and debt serving 

was very exposed to risks, explains 

De Clercq. 

In addition: Their expenditure, 

though, was exposed to mild pressures 

only, as they were still able to 

complement their spending with new 

credit in order to honour expenditure 

commitments. 

However, not all consumers are 

equally vulnerable. There are winners 

and there are losers with respect to the 

level at which the economy benefits 

or disadvantages them, remarks Prof 

Carel van Aardt, Research Director 

of Unisa’s Bureau of Market Research. 

To determine who the winners are 

and who are the losers in a macroeconomic 

context, it is necessary to 

identify the economic variables that 

cause consumers to become more or 

less vulnerable. 

Consumers are not able to afford 

their required necessities and 

become expenditure vulnerable 

The Bureau achieved this by subjecting 

historical consumer financial 

vulnerability and macro-economic 

variables conjointly in a Vector 

Autoregression (VAR) model. 

The model revealed the following 

chain of consumer cash flow vulnerability: 

�� Consumers are not able to afford 

their required necessities and 

become expenditure vulnerable; 

�� If they can’t generate more 

income to compensate, they 

become income vulnerable; 

�� They draw on their savings to 

finance the excess expenditure 

and become savings vulnerable; 

�� If they can’t afford the credit they 

used to finance their expenditure 

and have no savings left as contingency, 

they become vulnerable 

in terms of debt-servicing. 

The model also clearly shows that 

the four subcomponents of the CFV 

Index- conjointly and in combination 

with price increases, the prime 

interest rate, the unemployment rate, 

household liabilities and household 

assets explain almost 100% of the 

variance in each subcomponent. 

From this analysis it 

was possible to identify 

the cash flow 

winners and losers in 

a macro-economic 

context, says Van 

Aardt. 

Further: Much can be done by the 

authorities in order to create more 

cash flow winners and thus a more 

sustainable economic growth path. 

Van Aardt believes the following 

interventions can go a long way in 

improving the way consumers handle 

their finances: 

�� Teaching people to manage their 

finances. 

�� Ensuring that people have labour 

market and entrepreneurial skills. 

�� Ensuring efficient and effective 

wealth transfer systems. 

�� Offering incentives for people to 

save while simultaneously discouraging 

unnecessary spending. 

�� Ensuring comprehensive price 

and debt management systems. 

�� Addressing unemployment 

head-on: mass re-education, 

flexible labour market, demandsupply 

linkages and FAS/SDB 

arrangements. 

�� Ensuring life-long asset growth 

through compulsory saving 

schemes. 

�� High-level financial education 

and easily accessible investment 

platforms. 

�� More efficient use of fiscal 

resources plus lower tax burdens. 

�� Effective and efficient governance. 

About the Author 

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

IN SOUTH AFRICA 

WEAK LINKS THAT ALLOW F�UD AND CORRUPTION TO BE �MPANT 

One has now lost count of the number 

of fraud and corruption incidents that 

get reported in the media - almost 

daily. Most would agree that this 

indicates our corporate governance is 

collapsing, has completely collapsed 

or that it needs some serious re-vamp. 

�e fact that fraud and corruption 

incidents do get reported, con�rms 

that corporate governance still works 

– but mainly on the detective side. 

What about the preventative side? 

Until a balance is struck between 

8 �� 

preventative and detective controls, 

combating fraud and corruption will 

remain as elusive as ever or may even 

escalate. I have noted three key weak 

links in our corporate governance 

structure here in South Africa: 

�� We do not have minimum 

governance structure expectation 

from organizations. Until we 

do that, we’ll forever be chasing 

possible fraud and corruption 

perpetrators only a�er the action 

has been done, 

�� Organizations are not legally 

required to have Internal audit 

departments. �ose that have 

internal audit departments 

make such to su�ocate within 

the organizations – adding very 

minimal value if any, to what 

they could potentially do to their 

organizations 

�� e fact that organizations have 

an option to follow King III 

guidelines or not is a waste of 

resources – taking into account 

time and money invested in the 

research. What is the use if only 

say 10% of organizations follow 

the King guidelines? It simply 

means there are no corporate 

governance guidelines in South 

Africa! 

To come out of the quagmire of 

rampant fraud and corruption, 

South Africans need to agree on the 

following recommended minimum 

governance structure: 

Organizations should be expected 

to have the above structure as a 

minimum requirement – where 

internal auditors will be concerned 

with the future, external auditors 

with the past, board of directors very 

much concerned with the present, 

the audit commi�ee with continuous 

risk assessment and monitoring and

the shareholder with the overall 

performance and results of the 

organization. (Governance structures 

are by no means precluded from 

interacting). All these governance 

bodies have direct access to the 

shareholder. How wonderful? 

Where can fraud and corruption get 

a chance with such tight governance? 

Admi�ed, it will never be airtight, 

but fraudsters will have to sweat to 

Until we do that, we’ll forever 

be chasing possible fraud and 

corruption perpetrators only 

after the action has been done 

achieve what they want. 

By allowing fraud and corruption 

cases to be reported at this rate 

without strategic countering, 

governance bodies such as the 

Institute of Internal Auditors and the 

Institute of Directors are partly to 

blame for the high incidents of fraud 

– not as active participants, but as 

passive participants! Most internal 

auditors are not comfortable with 

the position of internal audit in their 

organization organograms, but are 

afraid to say it because it may have 

career limiting consequences. �e 

institute of directors is quite aware 

that until King III guidelines are made 

legally enforceable, governance will 

remain poor - but they do not push 

for King Guidelines to be enforced. 

Why? 

Internal audit is one function that 

could be relegated to the heap of 

history if it does not re-invent itself 

and position itself as a catalyst in the 

�ght against fraud and corruption 

– through proactive systems and 

controls. Whenever fraud and 

corruption incidents are reported, 

one hears very li�le or 

nothing from internal 

auditors. �eir role has 

become that of a lame 

duck or a toothless bull 

dog – bucking loudly, 

but unfortunately not 

able to bite. 

To re-invent itself, 

internal audit has to �ght for legal 

recognition. �e current status is 

that organizations may opt to have 

or not to have internal auditors in 

their structures. We need legalized 

internal audit for these reasons: 

�� Once given a legal standing, 

internal auditors should 

be elevated to report not 

to management but to the 

shareholder. This will give 

internal auditors the necessary 

muscle to do their work without 

fear of reprisal from management. 

�� Preventative controls will be 

entrenched in all organizations. 

�e likelihood of fraud and 

corruption being reported once it 

has occurred will be signi�cantly 

reduced. 

�� 

�� Inefficient, ineffective and 

uneconomical control 

environment will be discovered 

and reported sooner rather than 

later 

�� On-the-job training for 

inexperienced youths could 

be housed in this department. 

With a well run internal audit 

department, managers have 

a pleasure to recruit from the 

internal audit department 

because recruitees would have 

had some exposure to business 

processes and procedures within 

the organization 

�� Like external auditors, internal 

auditors should have their reports 

included in the annual reports 

�� If legalized, so many new quality 

job opportunities will be created 

for youths entering the market – 

this is where the job fund could 

come in handy! 

�� 

�� In conclusion, the re-vamping 

of both the Institute of Internal 

Auditors as well as the Institute of 

Directors as e�ective Governance 

structures will help achieve three 

goals at once: Prevent fraud and 

corruption before it happens; 

Help with continuous training; 

Help create quality employment 

for the youth especially. 

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Follow us on Twitter: 

@sighonline 

Join our facebook group: 

Sigh Magazine 

Our Website 

www.sighmagazine.co.za 

10 �� 

Brief Pro�le 

Phuti Malabie 

a leading 

South African 

business leader 

Phuti Malabie’s recent awards include: 

The Most Influential Women in Finance Services in South 

Africa; nominated for Outstanding Businesswoman of 

the Year in the African Business Awards. In 2008, she was 

the only African woman named by America’s Wall Street 

Journal as one of the top 50 women to watch in the world. 

She was recently appointed to the board of Vodacom last 

year and is the Managing Director of Shanduka Energy 

(Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary company to Shanduka Group led 

by Cyril Ramaphosa. Her academic qualifications are a BA 

Economics from Rutgers University (State University of 

New Jersey. USA) (1993) and an MBA from De Montfort 

University in Leicester, UK (1996). She completed the 

Kennedy School of Government Executive Education 

Programs” Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 

21st Century”, at Harvard University in 2008.

Bits and pieces 

Business Connexion 

Congratulations to Patrick Nekokoane 

- winner of the busine Connexion and 

UCS car giveaway at the SAP Saphila 

2012 conference. to read more -h�p:// 

blog.bcx.co.za/?p=332 

SA banks to curb irresponsible 

lending 

South Africa’s major retail banks 

have signed an agreement with the 

National Treasury aimed at improving 

responsible lending and preventing 

households from becoming caught in 

a debt spiral. 

FNB named world’s most 

innovative bank 

South Africa’s First National Bank was 

named the world’s most innovative 

bank of the year at the 2012 BAI- 

Finacle Global Banking Innovation 

Awards. FNB was recognised not only 

for its innovations, but also for the 

innovative culture it fosters among its 

employees. 

Govt, Implats partner on fuel 

cell plan 

South Africa’s Department of Science 

and Technology is to partner with 

platinum miner Impala Platinum to use 

and build local skills in the development 

of hydrogen and fuel cell products. 

BEE ‘must involve active 

empowerment’ 

Black economic empowerment 

needs to shi� from supporting passive 

shareholding to promoting a more 

active and productive empowerment 

of black people across South Africa’s 

economy, says Trade and Industry 

Minister Rob Davies 

Kasi Entrepreneurship Conference 16 November 2012 

�� 

ENTREPREURSHIP CONFERENCE: AGE OF PARTICIPATION 16 

NOVEMBER 2012 

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor annually hosts the Global Entrepreneurship 

Week (GEW), in this week the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job 

creators, who launch start-ups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and 

expand human welfare. 

�is year the GEW takes place on 12 to 18 November 2012 and during this week 

on 16 November, Radipolelo Entrepreneurship Consulting invites you a�end the 

Entrepreneurship Conference: Age of Participation. 

�e aim of the conference themed Age of Participation, is to encourage 

entrepreneurship to participate in their destinies, to encourage and inspire 

entrepreneurship through the celebrating success business stories, provide business 

information, create a networking platform and opportunities and educate. 

Date: 16 November 2012 (1 day) 

Venue: Ikageng Hall Mamelodi East 

Time: 08:30 – 17:00 

Entrance Fee: R100 

Contact: priscilla@zakhenirdc.co.za 

Tel: (011) 025 7957 

3rd Annual Enterprise Development Conference 7th November 2012 

�� 

�e 3rd Annual Enterprise Development Conference (EDC) will be taking place 

on the 7th November at the Wanderers Club, Illovo. 

�e EDC is a best practice indaba where enterprise development, procurement and 

other decision makers come to get the latest insights on developing ED and Supply 

chain development programmes that ensure the growth of small enterprises. 

�e EDC is complimented by an ED Expo for BB-BEE service providers and BEE 

suppliers to meet and network with the procurement decision makers that a�end 

the EDC. 

If you are interested in ge�ing the latest best practices in ED and Supplier 

development or you would like to exhibit your products and services to more than 

100 potential clients then the EDC is the place to be. 

To register or book an expo stand please visit www.thehubs.co.za 

Delegates fees: R1450 per delegate 

Expo fees: From R2950 for EMEs 

Contact: Andre Petersen 

Tel: 081 528 4338 

E-mail: andre@destinyventures.co.za 

�� 11

PROFILE 

Karabo 

Sepharatla 

I was very late for my interview with Karabo which was on 

the 50th �oor (Cafe50), Carlton Centre . I regre�ed not 

having his number so I could call and update him on my 

whereabouts. To make ma�ers worse I couldn’t �nd the 

correct elevator to �oor 50 as the rest went up to 49. As a 

last option, I opted for the �remen’s elevator. I had to beg 

the security personnel to let me through. On my way up, 

I thought of excuses I would give Karabo as to why I was 

late. Li�le did I know I had nothing to worry about. 

A cool, calm and collected gentleman dressed in a biker 

a�ire assured me that it was alright. His business a�itude 

immediately reminded me of the reason I was there. 

Karabo was born and bred in Pimville . Born in a family of 

4 kids., he a�endend Greenside high School. 

He is highly passionate about business., life and is an 

SMS SIGH TO 45813 AND STAND A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THE THREE BOOKS TITLED 

FORGOTTEN FUNDAMENTALS WRITTEN BY SIBUSISO NKOSI. 

12 �� 

adrenalin junkie. He is the managing director and owner of 

KIS Holdings. His working career started at SAB, in 2006 

where he started as a sales trainee. in 2007 he became a 

sales representative. He then moved ranks to account 

manager in 2008 till 2009. He then became events 

coordinator till August 2012. He the quit and started 

working on his company KIS holdings. It had always been 

his dream to have his own company. �e idea behind 

starting a holdings company is so that the company can 

have many subsidiaries under it, 

At the moment KIS is focusing on events coordination. 

It creates concepts and does marketing. At the moment 

their mainly focused on Soweto Venues. 

��

Offering you 

� Brown Bag Breakfast 

� Braai in the Sky Lunches 

� Bar Drinks & Snacks 

� Sunnyside Breakfast 

� Sunday Lunches 

� Sunset High Tea 

� Superb Garden Braai 

�� 

� 

�� 

� 

Where ? 

�on Top of Africa 

50th Floor Carlton Centre 

Johannesburg 

�� 011 3316779 

�on Sunninghill 

St Stephen’s Anglican Church 

67 Nanyuki Road 

Sunninghill, Sandton 

�� 084 700 4784 

� 

Also offering Platters, Year end functions, Catering & Venue Hire at both locations. 

�� 

� 

� 

�� 13

Perseverance 

Determination 

& Excellence 

Thulani 

Allen Ngwenya 

Having been greatly inspired by �ulani through his facebook updates, I decided to approach him for an interview. Sure enough 

he had no problem. I believe most people will be highly motivated by his story. 

�ulani Allen Ngwenya born in Boksburg on the 15th of June 1986 and raised in three di�erent provinces, namely: Gauteng, 

Mpumalanga and Limpopo. He is the 4th born out of a family of 6, the only one to get a Matric Exemption and a degree. “I have 

done well academically thus only did schooling for 11 years instead of 12 as I was promoted. I passed my BCom Accounting 

with 6 distinctions at the University of Limpopo”, he says. 

“I changed schools very so o�en due to relocations, that resulted in me being wiser and multilingual, as I had to learn and study 

a new language at each school. I am a proud product of the public school system, which has taught me to be independent 

and improvise, it taught me that I am competing with well-resourced pupils and I must be at par with them regardless of 

circumstances. Being from a poor household, I always believed that education was going to be the ticket out of the miserable 

poverty thus I ensured that I passed with �ying colors at all times. 

As I grow up I have let go of the useless interests of watching movies and playing soccer and concentrated on interests meant to 

change the lives of my fellow human beings. I do lot of community work and online youth empowerment and I consider that 

to be my interest”. 

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About Allen T Trading 

ALLEN T T�DING was started in 

2009 as an Internship Project whilst I 

was still an Intern at the IDC(Industrial 

Development Corporation) but I saw 

potential in it hence I opted to formalize 

and legalize it. It was �nance through 

stipend deductions thus I invested my 

whole in it. 

In 2009 the world was facing recession 

and chances of ge�ing employment 

were ge�ing slimmer by day thus 

being self-employed was more of a 

be�er option than having to compete 

with be�er experienced people in the 

employment market. Also importantly 

was that I saw myself as a potential job 

creator for other fellow youth who are 

unfortunately denied opportunities just 

because they lack work experience. 

�e reason I chose to start this business 

was because I saw a huge need for 

branding in the untapped black market. 

What I �gured was that micro & small 

biz and the informal sector are being 

charged huge prices when they wanted 

few items branded than the traditional 

minimum order requirement, this led 

to them not a�ording the services and 

our existence seeks to �ll that void. 

We provide everyone with a�ordable 

branding based on the quantity one 

want and there are no minimum order 

requirements. 

Allen T Trading specializes in the 

following: 

BR ANDING- Embroider y, 

silkscreening, Heat Transfer, Signage, etc 

DESIGNING- Logos, Letterheads, 

Brochures, Calendars, etc 

SUPPLYING- Uniforms, Protective 

Wear, Work wear, etc 

Our target market is the black market 

which includes micro & small business, 

crèches and individuals. 

10 Questions for Allen 

1. What motivates you 

Everyday that comes motivates me, it reminds me that there are tasks that one must 

accomplish hence the opportunity to see it. 

2. What do you think is the secret to success 

Wake up and doing something is far be�er than si�ing and mourning. A majority of us are 

nothing but people who mourn yet we are not doing anything to change the unfortunate 

circumstances that we �nd ourselves in. 

�e successful are people who do what others don’t want to do, not because they don’t 

know. 

3. To what do you owe your present success 

I am self-disciplined and grateful that I opted to be, I don’t just do things because my 

peers are doing them but I need to see the need and yield for doing anything. All the 

Glory belongs to God and Him alone. 

4. What has been your greatest challenge 

�e greatest challenge that I face as a businessperson is the issue of capital which is very 

troubling to us and many other people. Without reliable capital lots of potential business 

are lost as one can’t a�ord marketing or �nancing bigger orders which come on a Cash 

on Delivery (COD). Albeit capital is an issue, I am glad to have persevered thus far and 

built the company from nothing to what it is today. 

5. What is your most signi�cant accomplishment to date? 

Next year we are turning 4 years and we are extremely delighted to have survived whilst 

a large number of SMMEs collapse on the �rst 2 years of existence. 

In 2009 the company won 2 Awards at IDC. 

We have also recently got a biggest client. 

6. What are you currently working on/involved in? 

Teaching Printing Skills at LSEN Schools which assists in developing the disabled with 

accredited skills so that they can be skilled and be able to fend for themselves 

7. What types of situations put you under pressure, and how do you deal with pressure? 

From a business point of view, what puts me under pressure is when we have clients 

who want bigger orders and want to pay us on COD only to �nd that it is beyond our 

capacity. �e recent client who wanted close to R100K order and the challenge was that 

we didn’t have enough �nance to fund the order as they operate on a COD basis.. I went 

to their MD and explained our situation and he agreed that we split the order into smaller 

portions and that has worked very well. 

8. What de�nes a successful entrepreneur 

An entrepreneur who shares what he/she yield with his/her community. 

9. What advice would you give to a start-up entrepreneur? 

Whatever you do, never ever give-up, no ma�er the circumstances. 

10. Any other business interests 

I have recently registered Twolani Media (Pty)Ltd which will specialize in marketing 

SMMEs, webhosting, etc 

I am also very involved in providing training at LSEN Schools(schools for pupil with 

special needs) where we teach printing skills, woodwork and basic sewing skills. 

�� 15

Si Ekin takes on his fears and conducts impromptu 

public talks in and around Cape Town to complete 

strangers. 

365 Talks In One Year To Random Strangers 

Si Ekin 

16 ��

THE STORY: 

Since 1999 Si Ekin has done 

something few people could ever 

even imagine doing. Uninvited, 

he speaks to random groups of 

strangers with the sole purpose 

of overcoming his fears of failure, 

judgement and rejection and 

helping his audiences overcome the 

fears they have in their own lives. 

People have called Si everything 

from a ‘one man flash mob’, to ‘crazy’, 

‘brave’, ‘inappropriate’, ’ballsy’ and 

‘the right man-in the right place-at 

the right time’. Si’s grand vision is a 

world without fear. 

USA Today reported that death was 

a human being’s second biggest fear 

after public speaking. “Most people 

would probably prefer root canal 

treatment without anaesthetic, 

rather than do this once”, says Si, 

“but by overcoming my fears each 

and every time I have managed to 

talk to more than 3,500 people. I still 

can’t quite believe it. It’s also helped 

me deal with other fears in my life 

and the experience has enriched 

me hugely. When we tackle fear 

it is transformational. We cannot 

continue to let our fears hold us to 

ransom”. 

In 2011, knees shaking, Si did 90 

random talks in 90 days reaching 

800 people. In his two-minute 

talks Si talks about life, fear and 

how to handle them both. Then, 

in 2012 and shaking a little less, he 

set himself a target of 365 random 

talks. By August he had completed 

192, reaching just over 2000 people. 

His fears have reduced markedly 

and his adventure has left him more 

trusting, peaceful and brave. “The 

biggest thing I have discovered”, 

says Si. “is that I don’t fear death 

anymore – it’s extraordinary”. 

HOW IT ALL STARTED: 

Si’s story is a remarkable one. It 

began 12 years ago on a bus in 

Brixton, South London. On the 

spur of the moment Si decided 

to express what his heart told him 

and overcame his fear of what 

people might think. Inspired by the 

possibility of returning to South 

Africa and the spirit of its heroes, he 

stood up and made a speech about 

just that to the silent, packed bus. 

“I was terrified to do it. My heart was 

pounding, my head throbbing and 

my throat was as dry as a bone. The 

only way I could get out of my seat 

was to imagine that I was jumping 

out of an aeroplane,” he says. In 

doing so, Si conquered his deepest 

fear of rejection and says that his 

life has never been the same since. 

What happened was miraculous 

and makes for an extraordinary 

story. On that cold and rainy night 

in Brixton, Si proved to himself just 

what is possible when you step up 

and take courageous action. From 

that day on, he knew that the only 

limitations to his own possibilities 

were totally self-imposed. He 

resolved to teach others to do the 

same. 

Si has taken his talks to gyms, 

saunas, changing rooms, restaurants, 

street corners, public gardens, pubs 

and many other places. Each time 

he talks about what it means to 

overcome fear and act courageously. 

He challenges his audience to 

follow their dreams and to not let 

fear stand in their way. 

“Once I explain to people that 

I’m not on day release from an 

institution, I’m not going to speak 

about religion or ask for petrol 

money, they often relax and really 

engage,” he says. “I truly believe that 

all people are fundamentally open in 

their hearts and if you are authentic 

people will get the message. No-one 

has slapped me, sworn at me or 

called the cops yet. Just one guy in 

the sauna told me he really didn’t 

appreciate the approach. He’d had a 

tough day”. 

Ultimately Si hopes to leave people 

inspired to take courageous action 

in their own lives, and to share 

the message with others. ”Every 

moment of courage dissolves 

fear”, he says. Is he getting better at 

being courageous? “I am no longer 

terrified, but I still get prety nervous 

just before each talk. The irony is 

you can only be courageous in the 

face of fear”. 

ABOUT SI EKIN: 

Si Ekin is a Teacher of Courage, life 

and business coach, inspirational 

speaker and facilitator. He is the 

founder of Ekin Coaching, which 

helps individuals and teams to set 

and achieve their goals through 

taking courageous action. Si has 

been a trans-African cyclist, photo 

journalist and British Army Officer. 

TO INTERVIEW SI OR FIND 

OUT MORE 

Cell: 082 565 0765 

Web: www.siekin.com 

Email: si@siekin.com 

To think is easy. To act is di�cult. To act as one thinks is the most di�cult. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth 

I have known not a few men who, a�er reaching the summits of business success, found themselves miserable on a�aining retirement age. 

�ey were so exclusively engrossed in their day to day a�airs that they had no time for friend making. – B.C. Forbes 

�� 17

Green is the 

Future 

Phila Nhleko 

In life you come across interesting individuals, with creative thoughts that speak a lot in their artworks, like 

politics, environmental issues and more, to get the message out to the public. I came a cross Phila Nhleko, 

while studying at DUT. His a lover of the arts from Fashion, Arts Music and dance. Got a chance to steal 

a few minutes of his time. 

I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big. – Donald Trump 

18 ��

Who is Phila Nhleko? 

Phila Nhleko is a young upcoming artist, 

graduated in fine Art from Durban 

University of Technology, who wants 

to own a ceramic studio one day. 

When and how did the love of 

art start? 

I had love for art at an age of 11 I guess. 

I use to draw cartoon characters’ like 

Mickey Mouse, Pokémon’s and Dragon 

Ballz. I went to high school and studied 

art until I got my diploma. 

Your 3rd year concept a little 

about it please? 

My work speaks about environment 

more about the thing that threatens 

life some the government is making a 

profit out of for an example the mining 

industry. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

What techniques you used for 

print making and why? 

In print making I was using mixed 

media on worked paper because it was 

the only way I could express my concept 

of my work I needed to show the 

viewers the Idea of a threatened environment 

in my work as whole both in 

printmaking and ceramics. 

Your ceramic work is fabz* the 

rhino one why did use bones and 

mosaics? 

Thank you Khanyi, About my ceramics 

work which was my favorite subject 

I wanted to do something different, 

something that was never seen before 

on the ceramic department even 

though I was working under pressure 

but I knew what I wanted to achieve 

in work I made bones of a dead rhino 

using white clay (porcelain), I smoke 

fired the bones to make them look old 

and decomposed and stuck then on a 

mosaic dry cracking land. This work 

speaks about the issue of the killing of 

the rhinos in Africa that we facing and 

about the endangered species. 

Which artist would you like 2 

works with? And why? 

I would like to work with Hennie 

Stroebel who was also my ceramic lecture. 

Jane Durand who has taken mosaics 

to the next level and I have been 

working for. John Dahlsen who is a contemporary 

Australian Environmental 

Artist all these artist has been inspirational 

through out my artwork. All the 

mentioned artists they have inspired 

me, especially working with Durand 

and Stroebel as my lecture helped me 

technically. However Dahlsens has 

inspired me conceptually. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 19

MORE OF NHLEKO’S WORK 

20 ��

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22 �� 

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Tips on how to run a 

successful Company 

WRITTEN BY: THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA 

Do you want to run a successful company? If yes, then use the tips in 

this report and you should do well. �e tips are from an expert who 

leads a highly intelligent and successful group. 

According to Sandra Swanepoel, a director at So�line VIP, part of the Sage 

Group, companies o�en forget what the value of peace of mind is; and how 

important payroll and HR so�ware is. 

Swanepoel explains: Take for example a company with over 1 000 employees 

and which decided to replace its payroll and HR system with a new product 

that would give them growth opportunities; gear their business for the next 

�ve to ten years and an integrated system that would provide a seamless �nancial 

solution.? 

�� Two years later they are still battling to get pay-slips with accurate data to 

their employees, adds Swanepoel. 

�� A basic requirement that has cost them dearly, both in �nancial terms and 

employees being utterly frustrated by their employer not being able to 

deliver something that most take for granted.? 

So what does peace of mind really mean and what should companies be looking 

for when they are considering HR and Payroll so�ware vendors? 

Swanepoel advises the following; 

�� Make sure you understand the value proposition the company is o�ering. 

If price is the deciding factor, you will most likely not get the service you 

require. Make a decision based on a long-term perspective. 

�� 

�� Do site visits and speak to payroll, HR and �nance to get an understanding 

of what worked and what did not. 

�� Can the vendor maintain so�ware from both a legislative and technology 

perspective? 

�� Do they have the infrastructure to support you should you expand across 

Southern Africa or even into Africa? 

�� Can they add value to your business in terms of supplying you with payroll 

experts should you have a crisis in your payroll/HR o�ce? 

�� At So�line VIP we have grown our payroll and so�ware business over the 

past 26 years to be world class. 

�� Our employees are absolute payroll and HR specialists. �e training we 

provide them kicks o� with four months of product training followed by 

practical sessions in a controlled environment, allowing us to compete 

with any international player, reveals Swanepoel. 

Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. – Richard Branson 

�� 23

GETTING YOUR 

BUSINESS TO GROW 

LEAD GENERATION 

Written By: Frank Ricard 

W hen your business depends 

upon getting new leads regularly, 

there are some options that are 

open to you which can help 

you to achieve it. In today’s 

technologically advanced 

climate, there are many 

businesses that tend to focus on 

electronic means of contacting 

potential customers, such as 

through social media or e-mail 

marketing. Although these can 

be effective, you should never 

overlook the possibility of 

direct mail and using those lists 

in order to increase the success 

of your business substantially. 

Here are some of the benefits 

that will be seen when you 

use this type of marketing 

and mail your list physically 

instead of automatically. 

Perhaps one of the most 

important things that need to 

be considered when choosing 

24 �� 

direct mail over e-mail marketing 

is that the majority of people 

look at their mail that they get 

in their mailboxes every day. Of 

course, some people are going 

to toss some of the information 

without looking at it but a vast 

majority of those individuals are 

going to sort through it without 

delay. This gets your message 

in front of those individuals 

easily and, compared to e-mail 

marketing , the response 

can be substantially higher. 

Another benefit to using direct 

mail is that you can specifically 

target groups of people that 

have an interest in what you 

are offering. It is important 

for you to consider this, not 

only when using direct mail 

but when purchasing the list 

of individuals that you will be 

mailing. The more focused the 

list is, the more likely 

it is going to be that 

you are going to see 

results from that list. 

Have you thought 

about the 

customization that 

is possible when 

mailing people 

instead of using 

electronic means of 

contacting them? 

W hen most people 

gather e-mail lists, they are only 

�� 

going to gather the most basic 

information from the potential 

customer. W hen you have a 

mailing list, you not only have the 

physical address but you often 

have their name and perhaps 

some other information as well. 

You can use this information in 

order to customize the mailing 

which will, in turn, increase the 

response. This is also something 

that should be considered 

when you are gathering a 

list or purchasing it from the 

company that generates leads. 

Finally, you can measure 

the results of mailing those 

individuals in order to see if 

any changes need to be made 

to the mailing. Of course, 

you would always want to 

consider changing the copy 

and testing in order to increase 

the response. Some of the ways 

that you can track the response 

of a direct-mail campaign 

include sending out coupons 

with specific information that 

either needs to be filled out on 

your website or to be mailed 

back to your company. This 

can assist you in doing a split 

test as well, allowing you to 

easily see which is going to be 

more effective so that you can 

make those changes and send 

the future mailings to a larger 

list to increase the response. 

About The Author 

Frank Ricard is the author of this article about direct mailing lists. Frank has extensive experience as a 

writer and entrepreneur and knows how powerful a good marketing list can be.

Boosting your 

Negotiation 

Skills 

Success in the business world hinges 

on a lot of di�erent factors, from 

successful marketing to proper 

business strategies. One area that 

a�ects a business’ bottom line more 

than most is in negotiation. Striking 

business deals is the cornerstone 

of the business world, and one that 

can make or break any company 

regardless of size. One bad deal can 

bring a company to its knees, and 

a stalled deal can be just as bad. 

Conversely, an excellent one can 

boost a tiny business towards huge 

success. Taking negotiation courses 

can help you improve your skills in 

this area and increase your successes 

in the process. 

Learning to negotiate involves a 

number of di�erent things, and good 

negotiation courses will focus on all 

of these areas. Good communication 

skills are the fundamentals of 

negotiation, 

for sure, but 

what about 

r e a d i n g 

other people? 

Being able to 

recognize the 

b e h a v i o u r, 

negotiation, 

a n d 

communication styles of others will 

work wonders on your abilities to 

understand the best 

ways to communicate 

with them, working 

towards your goal in 

the negotiation by 

understanding them 

as well. Knowing 

how others work is a 

great way to improve 

communication with 

them. 

Business negotiation 

is, at its heart, about 

conflict resolution. 

Negotiation courses will teach you 

how to e�ectively handle the process 

with a level head. Knowing when to 

make certain concessions and which 

ones to make is vital, as is knowing 

when you need to stand �rm and 

not give in. Coming to an agreement 

can take time, but the skills you can 

learn through classes on negotiation 

will help you expedite the negotiation 

process and e�ectively reach an 

agreement that all parties involved 

can be satis�ed with. From hiring 

new employees to making a highlevel 

business merger, negotiation 

skills will come into play time and 

again. 

�ere are a number of negotiation 

courses available, from college based 

programs to more professional 

seminar type classes. �e investment 

you make in gaining excellent 

negotiation skills will pay o� not 

only for your company but for you 

personally as well. Your career will 

advance as employers see your 

potential for successful negotiations, 

and you will become a valued part 

of any business instead of one more 

cog in the machine. Most negotiation 

classes take little time to complete 

and will give you all the skills and 

theories you need to be the best you 

can be when the time comes to strike 

a deal. 

�� 25

THE 10 

COMMANDMENTS 

OF A 

GOOD 

BUSINESS 

NAME 

by: Anne Carter 

Like an individual’s given name, a business name is an identity. Naming your business is one of the 

toughest parts of starting a business mainly because you’ll be known under this name from the start 

until you, hopefully not, end your business. Your business will have to live, figuratively speaking, under 

this given name. A business is like a new born child. You have to give it a name. When you give it a 

name that doesn’t exactly fit your business, it would be just like naming a kid with a wrong name too. 

A business name doesn’t exactly make up for serious deficiency in your business operations or help you 

avoid selling. But a business name is everything and nothing. Getting the right business name will help 

distinguish you from a sea of bland competitors, provide your customers with a reason to hire you, and 

aid in the branding of your company. Apply these 10 commandments when choosing a name for your 

business. 

�e golden rule for every business man is this: “Put yourself in your customer’s place. – Orison Swe� Marden 

26 ��

1. Take Naming Seriously 

Naming your business or products is a serious matter. The 

name you choose can play an integral part in the marketing 

of your company. Your name projects your image, brand and 

position in the marketplace. 

2. Avoid Word Play Dangers 

Taking the word play strategy will add to the difficulty in 

having customers remember and find you. Being cute can 

backfire. Funnynames.com lists the following actual “businesses 

to avoid:” 

Ear-Resistible Designs Plus 

Dirty Ernies Paragon Hotel 

Fireball Oven Co 

Mess Graphics Inc 

Ralph Rotten’s Nut Pound 

X-Ray Sweaters 

3. Don’t be an IBM 

While it might be tempting to abbreviate your business name 

to make communications and correspondence easier, as a 

small business owner, you don’t have the resources and marketing 

muscle to educate your market on what you acronym 

means. 

4. Be Focused 

Forget tagging your business name with the moniker such 

as global or enterprise. Any start-up founder has big visions 

for their company. You might one day envision marketing 

to diverse markets and having a wide range of products. 

Successful start-ups have limited time and money; it’s more 

likely your success in the world of commerce will come from 

being highly focused in one narrow area. A small company is 

a specialist; it’s why your customer wants you. 

5. Stay Out of Court 

Never ever use, borrow, or modify an existing famous brand 

name. In Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Victor Moselet used the 

name Victor’s Secret when he opened his adult gift and linge- 

rie shop. Victor’s Secret did not remain secret when the legal 

department of Victoria’s Secret sent a letter to Moselet claiming 

trademark infringement. In haste, the name was changed 

to Victor’s Little Secret, but the change was not enough for 

Victoria’s Secret who then filed a lawsuit. 

6. Think Beyond Local 

The bulk of small businesses operate in local markets. This 

doesn’t mean your name should be geographically based. If 

you are marketing to customers in a local market, they’ll know 

you operate locally. Adding your town name to your business 

name just ensures you will be stick in a long directory list of 

other local companies with similar names. If you want a local 

name, add it to your marketing such as “Exclusively Serving 

the (town) Area.” 

7. Avoid ME Inc 

It’s a common tendency for a business to be named after the 

original founder. If you are planning to one day sell your company, 

a company owner named business is less attractive to a 

perspective buyer’s than a brand built on a company. 

8. Ask Others to Spell it 

A unique business name may be an advantage since people 

will easily recognize it. But a too unique business name 

may drive some people crazy when trying to spell it. The 

world could be spelled with site or sight. Put your business 

name through the spelling test and ask others to spell 

it. Yourdictionary.com lists experience, intelligence, jewelry, 

millennium, and personnel as a few of the top 100 most misspelled 

words. 

9. Be Web Friendly 

Consumers are bombarded with business names and advertising 

on a daily basis. Your job as a successful small business is 

to make customers remember you. Your website web address 

should be the same as your business name. Avoid the 

hyphenated web address names. It’s hard enough to 

remember a web site address without the hyphens. 

10. Check Availability 

When you have developed a great business name, spend 

the time to determine if another business isn’t using it. 

You can use a similar name for your business if another 

company uses it in an unrelated market or industry. 

Once you have your name, protect it by registering the 

business name with your country or State office. 

Your business name should be easy to remember and memorable. 

Apply these 10 commandments when naming your 

business and in the end you’ll avoid a marketing disaster. 

Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. 

– Norman Schwarzkopf 

�� 27

EFFECTIVENESS 

THE GREATEST WORD 

IN SMALL BUSINESS 

LEADERSHIP 

by: Will Pena, MBA 

What is effectiveness? Effectiveness is being solely focused 

on the tasks that drive an organization to fulfill 

its mission, and achieve its vision. 

It was once said that 95% of the decisions that are 

made by the majority of CEOs in fortune 500 companies 

in America can be made by the average high 

school senior, but it is the remaining 5% of decisions 

that justifies their extraordinary salaries. 

W hat is so valuable about this 5% of decisions that 

it is rewarded so greatly? It is the ability to make the 

best decisions at the right time that more greatly leads 

the organization to achieve its mission and fulfill the 

purpose of increasing shareholder value. 

28 �� 

W hat does this have to do with small business? Well, 

similarly, a small business leader’s effectiveness is 

what drives the organization for ward, and gets the 

business closer to achieving its vision. 

The key to effective decision making lies in diligently 

making every and all business decisions in terms of 

the organization’s mission. In other words being more 

loyal to the mission than anything else. 

It is human nature to make decisions based on emotion, 

desperation, or a host of other reasons. Yet 

business greatness is only achieved when the organization’s 

mission is the driving force for every decision 

that the business leader makes. 

Being able to touch so many people through my businesses and make money while doing it, is a huge blessing. – Magic Johnson

The Captain of the Ship 

The business leader is the captain 

steering the ship to get the entire 

organization to its destination. This 

takes strength of character and an 

iron will that will not compromise 

when faced with less than desir- 

able decisions. The captain is not 

swayed emotionally when having to 

let go of an employee, confronting 

the leadership team, or other of the 

less desirable yet necessary deci- 

sions that need to be made. 

The business leader does not have 

the option to make decisions that 

will not ultimately support the 

mission. W hen the business leader 

allows him or herself to be dis- 

tracted, it erodes the organization’s 

foundation and any opportunity to 

help the enterprise achieve busi- 

ness greatness. 

A Common Leadership Pitfall 

The most common example that 

I have seen that distracts small 

business owners - is the decision to 

transform the organization into the 

business owner’s personal pock- 

etbook . This is when decisions 

are made to provide the business 

owner and the family members 

with perks that create deficits in the 

financial foundation of the busi- 

ness. 

Providing family members with 

cars, health benefits, cash bonuses, 

excessive salaries, down payments 

on homes, etc., which have abso- 

lutely no business purpose - are the 

usual things that weigh the organi- 

zation down and creates obstacles 

to fulfilling the organization’s 

purpose. 

Also, this preferential treatment 

comes on the backs of the sweat 

and toil of the employees, which 

leads to resentment toward their 

leaders as well as loss of respect for 

their leadership. 

Eventually, because of changes 

in the economy, or other circum- 

stance, there is a meltdown, and the 



business owner and the family learn 

a hard lesson. 

Conclusion 

It is the business leader’s ability to 

stay on course that separates them 

from every other person, and makes 

it possible for the organization to 

achieve greatness. They refuse to be 

distracted from the organization’s 

mission even though it results in 

short term sacrifices, conflicts, and 

inconveniences. 

Yet, their 

determination 

to uphold their 

mission and vi- 

sion, in spite of 

personal need, 

will propel the 

organization 

to greater and 

greater heights 

of effectiveness 

and higher levels of greatness. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 29 

��

Your small business has growth 

p o t e n t i al 

Gone are the days where a good 

services or products sells itself. 

Yes, one could argue that its 

not completely gone, but relying on 

this method will keep your business 

small, infact you might be kicked out of 

business from �erce competitor. �at is 

why marketing has become an essential 

part of sustaining and developing 

businesses in today’s world. Lots of 

people dislike selling, infact; I personally 

do not enjoy selling. But if you enjoy 

what you do and know can see its impact 

in the lives of others, you will get o� your 

backside with joy and go out there telling 

everyone about your business. 

So if marketing is very important and 

each and every business owner is doing 

it, how can one increase their chances 

of gathering e�ective leads through 

marketing? 

Talk to more people daily about 

the solutions you offer 

Don’t talk about what you do, but exactly 

how your product/service resolves a 

problem. Starting is always a daunting 

30 �� 

process, but remember as your do it 

daily, it gets easier and becomes more 

productive. So you can start with a 

small but targeted number of potential 

customers/Clients. For example, your 

end target may be to talk to atleast 100 

people everyday; you can start with 15 

people, then increase or exceed your 

target number, as you get be�er. �e 

more customers you talk to about the 

help your business can provide, the 

greater your chances of ge�ing more 

customers. 

Attend as many business and 

networking occasions as possible 

You should a�end good and targeted 

networking events; or you can organise 

your own-targeted networking 

events. Business is about constructing 

relationships, networks and trust. 

People will most likely do business with 

someone they know and trust, and will 

also recommend their friends to your 

business due to the relationship they 

have built with you. Nonetheless, you 

need to use your time wisely, so plan 

your week e�ective and make sure that 

participating in networking activities 

do not a�ect providing an e�cient and 

timely product/service to your current 

client, simply because good service 

means repeat business. �erefore, plan 

to a�end events during your idle/less 

hectic hours and work at your busy 

hours. Keep it balanced! 

Don’t spam people with selling 

I used to be part of several small 

company groups on Facebook, but have 

recently removed myself from all of these 

groups because of the constant selling. 

I know the owners/administrators 

of these group must have set up the 

groups for like-minded business owners 

to network, post questions and share 

advice of everyday business issues, 

however, other members have screwed it 

up with constant spamming. �ey don’t 

contribute, but simply advertise and 

sell their products/services. �e simple 

truth is, no one wants to be sold to all the 

time. So please create genuine business 

relationships, be a listener. When you 

a�end business activities, talk less about 

yourself business, rather ask questions. 

�e advantage of asking questions is that 

To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted. – George Kneller

�e great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas of enthusiasm. – �omas J. Watson 

it helps you understand the need of the 

individual and if you provide products/ 

services that might help reduce or 

eliminate the problem, you stand a be�er 

chance of providing them with that 

information and thus increasing your 

chances of a business relationship which 

then result in the individual ge�ing your 

products or services. You also get wordof-mouth 

referrals via this medium. 

Use cost-free listing websites and 

discounted paid advertising 

�ere are no cost listing websites or 

a�ordable paid websites when you can 

market your business. i.e. Craigslist, 

Yell etc. Just type ‘free business listing 

websites’ into www.google.com and 

you will get the information required. 

Remember to only o�er solutions; don’t 

wa�e all about your business, because 

your potential client is not looking to 

be impressed, but is seeking a product 

or service that will solve a problem or 

enhance productivity. 

Use social media method to advertise 

your business 

Technologies have transformed the 

technique we do business today. �e 

arrival of websites like Myspace, Twi�er, 

LinkedIn, YouTube etc. has created 

business a lot easier and marketing less 

costly. By using these mediums to market 

your business is a cheap way of ge�ing 

leads, but don’t get carried away with the 

time spent on each platform. You must 

analyse your potential market and what 

platform they’re mostly likely to be on 

and spend time there to market your 

business. Remember, no spamming, 

Build relationships, which then leads to 

business. If your potential customers are 

more on Facebook than twi�er, then use 

more of Facebook and set the number of 

hours each day you will spend on each 

platform and try to measure the returns 

from each platform. I know this can 

sometimes be challenging, but ge�ing 

these stats can help you strategically plan 

for your social internet marketing and 

improve productivity. Remember, you 

can always outsource, if you lack time to 

do social media marketing yourself. 

Join o�-line business communities and 

on-line business forums - 

Off-line business organizations like 

Chamber of Commerce, Marketing 

Consultant London groups, small 

business groups, BNI 

etc. can help your 

business increase 

through referrals and 

networking. Joining 

online business forums 

give you a platform to 

network, participate 

in discussion, give 

advice and be known. 

As you continuously 

participate and provide 

advice, people in the 

group might �nd you as the expert and 

come to you when they need advice and 

most times, they will click on your pro�le 

to �nd out more about you. Because 

they do this, there is a greater chance of 

them clicking to your website and as you 

know the more visit to your website the 

more clients/customers you are likely 

to get. So when providing suggestions, 

know your issue perfectly and be concise 

and clear. 

Contact Organisations about 

speaking at activities 

Speaking at occasions give you more 

publicity. So search through your local 

community website and check for future 

occasions; call and ask to speak for free 

in some of the events. As you do free 

speaking at activities and get known in 

your business, with time, you will be 

approached for compensated speaking. 

Remember when you speak at occasions; 

don’t promote your products/services 

on stage, else you lose your audience. 

You need to research your topic, be 

prepared to present the speech like you 

life depended on it and once you can 

capture the listeners; they will come 

asking for your business details and how 

you can help them backstage at the close 

of event. 

�ese are my few marketing suggestions 

for small business owners; big �rm will 

use radio, TV & billboard advertising. 

But nevermind, as your business grows, 

you will have su�cient funds to do largescale 

advertising, but in the meantime 

don’t throw away cash on marketing, 

only do cost-e�ective marketing. But 

don’t quit marketing because that is the 

channel for organization growth. All the 

best!!! 



�� 

�� 31

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Sigh 

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Get results by advertising your company in the Sigh Magazine Business Pages for as little as R260.00. 

Please note if you advertise in the Sigh Magazine Business Pages, your advert will also be placed in the 2 

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Sigh Magazine Gauteng 

SIGH MEDIA 


Description: Sigh Magazine is an entrepreneurial magazine 

Owners: 

Address: 

Cell/tel: 

Email: 

Website: 

Description: Film and video productions. 

Owners: 

Address: 

Cell/tel: 

Email: 

Website: 

Description: 

Owners: 

Address: 

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Trust Molai, Charmaine Mukasa 

P O Box 1730, Halfway House, Midrand 

0763884421 



Sigh Magazine (ISSN 2219-6986) is an entrepreneurship and business magazine. It is published in English. 

Its main focus is on identifying and presenting business opportunities and information. �is information is 

presented in the form of interviews and/or pro�les of people running businesses. �e magazine also contains 

practical success tips and strategies to help people grow and become prosperous. �e Sigh website 

(www.sighmagazine.co.za) features selected articles from the magazine, past and present 

Kaya Couter Productions Gauteng 

k a y a - c o u t e r 

Kaya Couter 

295 Vine Street, Randburg, Ferndale 

011 047 0595 


Kaya Couter Productions specializes in music videos, feature �lms, TV productions, documentaries, commercials, 

corporate videos and events recordings. We have state of the art editing suites and gear shooting in full HD for 

superb pictures. 

We also do sound set designs and mixing and production of original music both for commercial purposes and 

recording artists in our music studios. 

Company Name Gauteng 

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this space for R500

Sigh Magazine Gauteng 

Description: 

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Fax: 

Email: 

Website 

Allen T. Trading Gauteng 

Description: Branding, Design and Supply 

Address: 

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Overdrive Auto Gauteng 

Description: Buying & Selling of Cars 

Address: 

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Website 

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Address: 

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Email: 

Website 

Sigh Magazine is an entrepreneurial magazine 

P O Box 1730, Halfway House, Midrand 

Trust Molai, 

0763884421 



Allen T Ngwenya 

011 039 6167 

sales@allen�rading.com 

www.allen�rading.co.za 

407 Bond Str. Corner Oxford Str. Randburg 

Cheryl-Lee Tonkin 

087 943 7784 

clee@overdriveauto.co.za 

VideoVision Entertainment Durban 

Film Production & Distribution 

134 Essenwood Rd, Berea, Durban 4001 

Nilesh Singh 

031 204 6050 

031 202 5000 

nilesh@videovision.co.za 

www.videovision.co.za 

Kaya Couter Productions Gauteng 

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Tel: 

Fax: 

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Website 

Urban Genesis Management Gauteng 

Description: Security Services 

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Website 

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Email: 

Website 

Description: 

Address: 

Contact: 

Tel: 

Fax: 

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Website 

Film and video productions. 

295 Vine Street, Randburg, Ferndale 

Kaya Couter 

011 047 0595 

086 5030 705 


8A Jellicoe Ave. Rosebank, P O Box 1314 

Piet Ndou 

+27 11 447 8841 

+27 11 447 1375 

piet.ndou@urbangenesis.co.za 

www.urbangenesis.co.za 

Prezence southafrica Cape Town 

Nautica, Beach Rd, Granger Bay. Cape Town 

Julian vanplato 

021 419 9152 

julian@prezence.co.za 

www..prezence.co.za 

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