A: Here are some resources

THE BUSINESS PLACE NETWORK

• http://www.thebusinessplace.co.za

one-stop shop walk-in centres across the country.

• Coordinated business support;
• Incubation;
• Mentorship;
• Market linkages; and
• Financing interventions.

TBPN also assists entrepreneurs with tender application processes, assisting them to unlock opportunities in the public and private sector.

In addition services include:

• Accounting and financial reporting
• Taxation
• Business consultancy
• Secretarial services

Centres throughout South Africa can be found here: http://www.thebusinessplace.co.za/network.html

SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency)

http://www.seda.org.za/

is an agency of the Department of Small Business Development. Seda’s mission is to develop, support and promote small enterprises throughout the country.

Check ‘Contact Us’ on the website for your nearest branch

Ask about any of these at the branches

Seda Business Talk:

• Information on
• Training
• Business Registration

Seda Business Start:

• Business Planning
• Business Counselling
• Facilitation of Access to Finance
• Business Support

Seda Business Build – focusing on sustaining and strengthening businesses.

• Capacity Building Systems
• Mentorship
• Tender Advice / Procurement
• Export Readiness
• Franchising

Seda Business Grow – focusing on growth and expansion.

Assistance Provided:

• Business Systems Development
• Cooperative Support
• Growth Strategy

​Qualification Criteria

• Prospective entrepreneurs
• Small and micro enterprises that are trading and looking to grow
• Medium enterprises that are looking to grow

Benefits for SMMEs

• Proper diagnosis of the business
• Tailored solutions for specific problems in the business

​     •      Other interventions are informed by these offerings/interventions

• Client journey approach applied

Ask about their 5-day training courses:

Entrepreneurs learn to:

• Market their business effectively;
• Understand the importance of building a reputable business profile as a marketing tool; and
• Maintain financial records and develop their business plans.
• The training courses also cover financial management, customer care, report writing and business writing skills, whilst helping entrepreneurs to identify areas of improvement for their businesses.

e-services in case you can’t get to a branch:

http://eservices.seda.org.za/SitePages/FAQ.aspx

By Eric Tyson, Jim Schell
Part of Small Business For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Most sales are won and lost based on one key factor: YOU.

You hold the keys to your sales success. Competitors don’t win because their offerings are more impressive, they gain because they deliver a superior sales experience. You can too.

Focus on improving in the following nine areas, and your business will experience a high level of exponential growth.

1. Implement a value-based selling philosophy

Fact: Buyers find only 42% of their meetings with sellers valuable.

While all sellers talk about providing value, few do it well. To drive value, you need to have a plan to create value.

You need to live and breathe value. The companies and sellers that focus on providing value experience wildly better sales results. Those who don’t, struggle!

2. Your prospects don’t care about what you sell

Stop telling prospects what you do. Your prospects don’t care what you do. They don’t care how it works. They’re mostly thinking of themselves and what’s in it for them.

I repeat, your prospects don’t care what you do. They will only care about you if you can solve their problem. Ease their pain. Make their job easier. Protect them. Make them look good.

They don’t care what you do. They care deeply about what you can do for them.

There is only demand for your product or service if there is more demand for the solution that it provides and represents.

Sell that way!

3. Winners educate buyers

Bring insights into your business. Buyers want your ideas and are looking for your insights. The sellers who do this, win more often than the rest.

4. Improve how you present your products and services to the marketplace

The first principle of effective marketing is clear presentation.

Clear, simple, direct language to communicate the known sales benefits of your company’s products or services in all marketing deliverables – advertising, direct mail, online, sales presentations or any other marketing tool, and using bold presentation and layout techniques to make the sales message as visible as possible to the most significant number of readers and viewers in your market.

The critical first impression you make with your marketing message to the prospect means the difference between your company getting the lead, or losing it to a competitor.

Clear presentation is the first essential element required to win in today’s demand pull marketing environment.

5. Make 2019 the year that you build stronger partnerships 

The best companies in the world have collaborative relationships with many other people and companies. These relationships can be joint ventures, co-marketing, partnering and so on. You have to find new ways to work with other non-competitive companies because they reach the same market as you, but from a different impact point with a level of credibility.

A few of these types of relationship can double or triple your business.

6. Give a superior level of service to your clients 

In an economic downturn or during other times when business is slow, you want to do everything you can to hold onto your existing customers.

The best way to hold onto your clients is to please them. Moreover, the best way to satisfy them is to exceed their expectations. Now is the time to go the extra mile. Give them that little bit extra that can mean the difference between dazzling the client versus merely satisfying them.

Nurture them. Communicate with them. Educate them. Serve them well. Do everything in your power to keep them happy and help them to succeed.

7. Refuse to be a commodity – become PREEMINENT

Strive for greatness in your impact and contribution to the marketplace. You can be profoundly different regarding the way you interact and render value. It all starts with your mindset and attitude. When you care more, do more, serve more and provide a better outcome, you demonstrate yourself to be a better investment than anyone else out there.

From there, it’s only a matter of time before your most coveted prospects will do business with you. Start improving your clients’ lives and they will recognise the different value you offer compared to your generic competitors.

Your goal is to make your prospect understand that you’re the only one who can indeed deliver. Merely adopting a preeminent mindset overrides everything else.

Preeminence is an unbeatable business strategy.

8. You must be 100% committed

Commitment is what transforms promise and potential into reality. They are the powerful words that speak boldly of our intentions, and the massive actions which speak louder than words.

Commitment is the stuff character is made of. There is a distinct difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient.

When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

Go the extra mile, that road is never crowded.

9. Be one of those rare people who doesn’t know how to quit

You will face challenges in 2019, but always remember to show the world your super-power – GRIT.

It’s time to add PhD to your mental toolkit, PIG-HEADED DISCIPLINE.

The 1^st of January is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.

Make 2019 great!

“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Contact John  
www.brandstorm.co.za 

Why should you work on your business instead of in it? Simply put, because you want your business working harder for you than you work for it. It’s amazing what a difference a little preposition can make.

The consequence of working in your business as opposed to working on your business is enormous. Working in the business means you’re just managing to accomplish the bare-minimum tasks that will get your rent paid and keep your company around to hopefully survive another month. Your time appears to be managing you, you’re answering e-mails, constantly searching for clients, and making sure your basic bills are being paid each month. It feels like a never-ending uphill battle for survival.

By comparison, working on your business, means that you’re focusing on the strategies, tactics and activities that not only maintain, but grow your business.

Creating such a strategy requires real smart thinking. Thinking which deserves more of your time, attention, and even respect than all other activities.

When you work on the business, you must break it down into its key success functions; strategy, marketing, innovation, management and communication which you then allocate as the highest and best use of your time, or the time of your staff. Your task is to work on the biggest moneymakers, not on the biggest time, energy and opportunity drainers.

To help you identify the biggest moneymakers, I’ve compiled a list of six strategic pillars that any business can grow from. These are the essential keys to working on your business:

1. Constantly identify and discover hidden assets in your business. Make “growth-thinking” a natural part of your everyday business philosophy.

2. Build your business on a foundation of multiple profit sources instead of depending on a single revenue source.

3. Find ways to be different, unique, and advantageous in the eyes of your clients.

4. Gain the maximum personal leverage from every action, investment and opportunity you create.

5. Network, connect and brainstorm with like-minded, success-driven people.

6. Become your industry’s trusted advisor. Turn yourself into an idea-generator and recognised innovator within your industry or market.

Article by John Lloyd, Brandstorm

What are your products or services really worth? How much will customers pay? Where will your competitors respond?

The first step in effective pricing is to determine your competitive advantage and use it to effectively differentiate your product. Failing to do this, you will be seen as simply selling a commodity. The moment you are selling a commodity then price is always the primary issue on the minds of your prospects.

Pricing is the most powerful profit driver and the convincing element in product positioning. Unfortunately, pricing is very often the most neglected element of the marketing mix.

It is essential that you sell your product or service on the basis of a strong competitive advantage.

You could select quality as your competitive advantage.

Most sales reps will instinctively demand for lower price to be the competitive advantage. Low price is one way for you to compete. But, it’s probably the dumbest strategy to try and compete on for customers.

If you want to effectively position yourself as a professional salesperson then you must urgently learn two things:

1. The first is to compete on something other than low price.
2. The second is that the only aspect of virtually any product or service that is extremely important to every prospect is quality.

How important and sustainable, as a competitive advantage, is the quality of your product or service? It’s vitally important. In many instances, it is the most important reason your prospect buys.

How do you sell quality as a benefit? Selling quality is easy. But only if you truly possess quality and you know what it is.

The real truth is that virtually everybody does have some sort of quality. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what quality means, and consequently they have a tough time selling it. They assume that all clients and prospects know what quality is. They don’t!

Quality, like all benefits, must effectively be positioned in the eyes of your prospect and client. Do you clearly and constantly articulate and demonstrate the quality of your products or services in the eyes and minds of the potential buyer?

Quality means fully meeting the expectations of your prospects.

Smart salespeople who sell at premium prices know that they can use a high price to make a credibility statement about their product or service being better; that is, if it costs more, it probably is worth more.

Allow price to be your competitive advantage, a higher price can make a statement about quality and credibility.

Always remember that the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

Article by John Lloyd, Brandstorm

How full is your glass?

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

In life, you are always filled with choices. You may opt to have a pessimist’s view and live a self-defeated life or you may decide to take the optimist’s view and live an empowering and fulfilling life.

Optimists always expect the best. Pessimists, by contrast, tend to believe that bad events will always befall them, and these bad events will last a long time and undermine everything they do.

Optimists are confronted with the same hard knocks in life, but what differs is the way they explain their misfortune. They tend to believe that defeat is just a temporary event. If they are knocked down, they will stand up. They will more often see opportunities instead of obstacles and learn from their setbacks.

People respond positively to optimists. Optimists are proactive and less dependent on others for their happiness. They usually draw people towards them. Their optimistic view of the world is contagious and they positively influence others.

When the going gets tough, optimists get tougher. Optimists maintain higher levels of well-being during times of stress than those who are less optimistic. In contrast, pessimists are likely to react to stressful events by denying that they exist or by avoiding dealing with these challenges. Pessimists are more likely to quit when difficulties arise.

Optimists are healthier and live longer. Medical research has proven that a positive outlook can cause a measurable increase in the body’s ability to fight disease. Optimists tend to age better.

So why not choose to be an optimist today? And think positively towards a more fulfilled life

“Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees the stars.” – Frederick Langbridge

Article by John Lloyd, Brandstorm
An extract from my book Smart Thinking for Crazy Times

As a consultant, business growth strategist and results multiplier, I constantly encounter clients and prospects making one, some or all of the following common marketing mistakes:

Mistake 1: Not testing all of your marketing ideas.
Corrective action: Test and measure all of your marketing.

Mistake 2: Small or medium-sized businesses who waste vast amounts of money on image and brand advertising.
Corrective action: Run only Direct Response Advertising. Invest in advertising that highlights powerful benefits, a strong offer, providing powerful reasons why people must buy your products or services, plus supported by a clear-call-to-action. Your advertising must sell your products or services or you are wasting your money.  

Mistake 3: Not articulating or demonstrating the differences that your business offers.
Corrective action: Develop a powerful Unique Selling Proposition and use it in all your marketing.

Mistake 4: Not understanding your customer and their needs and desires.
Corrective action: Clearly determine and address the real needs of your clients and prospects.

Mistake 5: Not making doing business with your company easy, appealing and even fun.
Corrective action: Make doing business with your business easy, appealing and fun.

 Mistake 6: Stopping marketing campaigns that are still working. Corrective action: Don’t stop marketing campaigns that are still working just because you are tired of them. I assure you that you clients or prospects have not seen them as much as you.

 Mistake 7: Not capturing prospects’ addresses, email addresses as well as pertinent and valuable contact information.

Corrective action: Capture everything on a prospect or client that you can in an organised and retrievable system.

 Mistake 8: Being stuck doing “what works.”

Corrective action: Always be open to new ideas, innovations and be willing to change.

 Mistake 9: Not knowing and leveraging the lifetime value of a client.

Corrective action: Always understand the lifetime value of your clients. This way you will understand and serve them better.

 Mistake 10: Not being strategic. 

Corrective action: You MUST have a detailed, strategic marketing plan with specific performance growth expectations.

 In your marketing you have the greatest upside leverage environment imaginable. Improve your marketing and you will improve your profits. 

Being responsible with credit means your credit record stays in good shape. We show you why and how to use credit responsibly.

 Why is a good credit record important?

1. A good credit record means you could qualify for higher loan amounts and lower interest rates. You’re also more likely to be considered for future credit if you use yours responsibly
2. You’ll have less stress and sleep better. Lack of sleep can lead to higher levels of anxiety, depression, higher risk of stroke and heart disease as well as impaired memory
3. It’s hard to get out of debt if you’ve taken on too much. If you have, it makes it difficult to maintain a clear credit record
4. A court may issue a garnishee order against your salary if you can’t repay the loan
5. Creditors can repossess your good if you miss any payments

Things to consider and questions to ask

• Do you need the money and what you’ll buy with it, or do you just want it?
• Is it for things that add and grow in value, such as a house or education? Don’t use credit for consumption spending or luxuries (e.g. food, clothing, petrol, holidays)
• Understand the offer and ensure that there are no hidden costs – credit life insurance is the most common hidden cost. Capitec Bank offers retrenchment and death cover for credit 6 months and longer
• Use registered credit providers only. Mashonisas and loan sharks are expensive, illegal and dangerous
• Know your rights in terms of the National Credit Act (NCA)

Keep your credit profile clean

All credit-active South Africans have a credit profile. Keep yours clean with these tips:

• Have a money plan: Work out how much you can repay per month. This should ideally not be more than 10% of your monthly income. Taking credit is a medium- to long-term commitment. Make sure you can afford to pay it off over months or even years
• Shop around: Go to different credit providers and stores and ask about their repayment plans, interest rates and costs
• Save for a deposit: Your monthly repayments will be smaller when you pay a big deposit. Planning and saving for a purchase is better than buying on impulse
• Pay off credit quickly: The longer you take to repay credit, the more interest you pay. If you’re struggling with your repayments ask the credit provider whether you can pay off smaller amounts over a longer period of time. You’ll pay more interest, but you‘ll avoid ruining your credit record
• Consolidate your debt: If you can borrow money at a low interest rate from a bank or registered credit provider, you can pay off all your high-interest accounts. You’ll then have only one monthly amount to pay back
• Stick to your repayment plan: Pay the amount you owe every month to avoid a bad credit record. You will have more creditworthiness when you manage your accounts properly

There are many benefits to managing your credit wisely. If you must borrow money, go to a registered credit provider you can trust. Find out which one has the lowest credit interest rates and the lowest banking fees.

It takes discipline to stick to your budget and repayment plan. If you do, you will pay off your debt over time and protect your credit record. Remember, a good credit record could even help give you access to credit when you need money in an emergency situation.

Source: Capitec Bank

No matter what kind of company you run, control of your finances will help you avoid losses and grow your business faster.

This brief guide will teach you a few of the most essential skills needed by entrepreneurs who wish to manage their money effectively. Use it to reduce unnecessary spending, invest money more efficiently, and borrow effectively when the time is right.

Check Your Credit Rating

Starting a business normally requires more startup capital than most people have in savings. In most cases, you will need to secure the money necessary to start your business from other parties—usually either lenders or investors. In either case, you may be asked to undergo a credit check so that the other party can have confidence in your financial responsibilities. For a complete guide on the benefits and consequences of credit click here

Budgeting 101

Every successful business makes a plan for how to spend their money. That plan is your budget and, the more closely you can follow it, the fewer financial challenges you will face. When putting together your budget, make sure you keep receipts for all your costs as this will help you estimate future expenses more accurately.

You will also need to set aside money in the budget for taxes.

When setting up your budget, it is also highly recommended that you keep your personal and business finances separate. Doing so will help you understand which expenses are yours alone and which belong to the business.

Make Smart Investments

Making money is only one part of running a successful business. You also have to know how to grow the money you make.

A portion of your annual budget should be set aside for investing, and you should choose your investments carefully. Many people recommend lower-risk investments such as gold and real estate. Or, open a fixed-term, flexible or tax-free savings account.

Borrow Wisely

Once you decide to keep your personal and business finances separate, you might find that you don’t have a lot of money to work with. If that’s the case, you have a couple of options.

You can try to sell shares in your company for working capital, but only if you feel strongly that you need a partner this early in the game.

If you’re like most entrepreneurs and want control over your vision, you probably don’t want to go down that road.

The other option is to apply for credit. This can help you purchase inventory, create strong marketing campaigns, or simply keep your company running until it begins to turn a substantial profit. Few companies are profitable right away; in fact it can take years for a business to start generating more money than it costs to run.

Of course, it is critically important to make sure you choose the right credit provider for your purposes.

Learning how to budget, choosing sensible investments, and getting credit responsibly are three of the most valuable money management skills any entrepreneur can have.

Source: www.skillsyouneed.com   

Edited from original article.