What motivates a social entrepreneur? According to a study released by GIBS, “Social Enterprises in South Africa: Discovering a vibrant sector”, social entrepreneurs fall into 1 of 3 categories. They either motivated by purpose, or profit or both. Key characteristics The key characteristic of a social enterprise is innovation. They think of innovative ways of delivering their product or service. …
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost, 1916 We all like the glamour that comes with the word Entrepreneur – striking it out on your own, being your own boss, forging your own path, making it happen…on your own. Yet Entrepreneurship is often …
WHAT VALUE DO YOUR ENTERPRISE AND SUPPLIER CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE? Most entities leave Enterprise and Supplier Development contributions until the last minute. The finance manager provides the transformation officer with the NPAT targets and they have to run with it. As a result, they likely haven’t put much thought into the benefits of these contributions. Hence, the question arises, what benefit …
What constitutes ESD Contributions? According to the Codes of Good Practice, Enterprise and Supplier Development contributions are monetary or non-monetary contributions carried out to beneficiaries, with the objective of contributing to the development, sustainability and financial and operational independence of those beneficiaries. So why is this so important? SME’s have the potential to make a real difference to the economy. According …
Learn to listen Empathy is the ability to relate to the emotions of others. I am constantly reminded that empathy is a skill, when looking at the way in which my wife listens, understands and responds to our children. Empathy requires a level of sacrifice, it requires you to set aside your own stuff (the need to close the deal …
Have you ever run into a convenience store to buy a drink? Whenever I stand in front of the drinks’ refrigerator I am amazed at the variety of water on the shelf. Some of the labels claim that the water within comes from a rare spring high up in an unpolluted mountain or melted from an ancient iceberg. Despite the common …
What is the smallest thing that you can create that you will be able to sell? This is the often first question I pose to entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs are trapped in the mindset of thinking big. They have already envisioned themselves driving the luxury car, owning the luxury home and cruising the luxury yacht. Before getting there however there is …
A draft amendment of Code Series 400, which is the section that looks at Enterprise and Supplier Development, was released on the 15thof June 2018. The amendment effectively increased the targeted preferential procurement that Government requires of companies, with relation to larger companies, but the impact of that will be a decrease of spend with smaller companies. The spend that …
“Can you invite yourself for a cup of coffee, or better yet can you buy them a cup of coffee?” It was a warm February afternoon and I had just started in the consulting industry. I was an intern although I was responsible for my own salary. It was probably one of the hardest and best lessons as an intern. …
Why are you building your company? For now, let’s set aside the obvious reason – Money. The money will come if you truly believe that what you are creating will be to the benefit of society. So, here is the question again, why are you building your company? The rationale for why we do things is caught up in stories. …
It feels good to say you’ve started your own business, doesn’t it? It’s both empowering and humbling. Being an Entrepreneur is great- when things work. Yet many Entrepreneurs never make it out of Start-Up. Why? There are many reasons for this limbo in Start-Up, but in many cases the largest reason for this is that the Entrepreneur has forgotten to …
Ok, so you have chosen a name, and you have been spinning it repeatedly in your head. You might even have fallen in love with it already. Great! But, just to be safe, why don’t you consider one or two other names as well, just to be sure. “What do I mean, just to be sure?” I hear you ask, …
We’re expecting It’s happening. You’ve taken the leap and decided to launch your own business. But where do you start? How do you take your budding idea from conception to the birth of a business? To set the scene, I will make the assumption that you are running on a bootstrap – in other words, you are starting your business …
Ask any procurement manager what the first thing is that she looks for when making a purchasing decision and you will hear the words ‘ differentiation ’. Procurement is looking for a supplier that is good at one specific thing. This is in line with decades of procurement practices. The nature of procurement is such that procurement managers like categorising …
Many companies think that getting a large deal with a corporate is what being a supplier is all about. The more successful companies understand that building relationships over a period of time is what really leads to value creation. Relationships are strengthened once suppliers can show their commitment to problem solving over a period of time. Problem solving is not …
