Publications
Partners
EVERY now and then you hear an entrepreneurial story which just resonates with your own experiences. One of the stories I heard this week I thought worth taking a listen to, especially if your small business is taking some strain.
On Tuesday I organised an entrepeneurs' networking session in Sandton. After the event, I chatted with one of the attendees and we spoke about small businesses which are battling to survive.
He relayed a story about how he had become indirectly involved in a rescue bid for a struggling wine farm.
The owner was at the end of the line in terms of how to turn this business around. Completely by chance, he bumped into an old school friend and convinced him to bring a fresh pair of eyes to the business. We will call him "the Fixer".
The Fixer agreed to get involved, and not just by putting some cash into the business and hoping that it would come right. He pulled in experts from all fields - chemical and systems engineers, web developers, branding and marketing experts; you name it, they had them all around the table.
They brainstormed every possible angle of this business and came up with a variety of new initiatives. A simple example is that the wine farm was trying to export to places like Russia and China, but the website was still in English. Another was that many of the wine's byproducts could be utilised in other products.
You won't make it on a whim
Gradually a rescue plan was put in place. The rest, I guess, is up to the gods to see whether it works out.
I think we can all agree that brainstorming and a fresh pair of eyes bring a lot of benefits to a small business. My question is: how much is that advice worth?
It is something I am seeing quite a lot of, and I hear it from small business mentors as well. Small business owners are looking for advice and support - but they're not prepared to pay for it.
Alternatively, they wait until they are so far in the hole that they can't afford the advice when they actually need it.
The word "sustainability" gets thrown around a lot when it comes to small business and many entrepreneurs will use it in their mission and vision statements, but it doesn't really translate into their actions.
Ask yourself honestly: how much would you be prepared to pay to sit down with somebody smarter than you, simply to throw ideas around?
How often do you eye December and start setting aside money for the Christmas bash - but will balk at the idea of throwing together a round table like they did for the wine farm?
Is it a surprise that businesses that go through a rigorous incubation programme tend to be more sustainable than those thrown together by individual entrepreneurs, hoping to make it on a whim?
It's a thought. Use it or don't use it - but if you aren't prepared to lay out the cash for some expert advice, you can't cry into your cereal bowl.
- Fin24.com
On Tuesday I organised an entrepeneurs' networking session in Sandton. After the event, I chatted with one of the attendees and we spoke about small businesses which are battling to survive.
He relayed a story about how he had become indirectly involved in a rescue bid for a struggling wine farm.
The owner was at the end of the line in terms of how to turn this business around. Completely by chance, he bumped into an old school friend and convinced him to bring a fresh pair of eyes to the business. We will call him "the Fixer".
The Fixer agreed to get involved, and not just by putting some cash into the business and hoping that it would come right. He pulled in experts from all fields - chemical and systems engineers, web developers, branding and marketing experts; you name it, they had them all around the table.
They brainstormed every possible angle of this business and came up with a variety of new initiatives. A simple example is that the wine farm was trying to export to places like Russia and China, but the website was still in English. Another was that many of the wine's byproducts could be utilised in other products.
You won't make it on a whim
Gradually a rescue plan was put in place. The rest, I guess, is up to the gods to see whether it works out.
I think we can all agree that brainstorming and a fresh pair of eyes bring a lot of benefits to a small business. My question is: how much is that advice worth?
It is something I am seeing quite a lot of, and I hear it from small business mentors as well. Small business owners are looking for advice and support - but they're not prepared to pay for it.
Alternatively, they wait until they are so far in the hole that they can't afford the advice when they actually need it.
The word "sustainability" gets thrown around a lot when it comes to small business and many entrepreneurs will use it in their mission and vision statements, but it doesn't really translate into their actions.
Ask yourself honestly: how much would you be prepared to pay to sit down with somebody smarter than you, simply to throw ideas around?
How often do you eye December and start setting aside money for the Christmas bash - but will balk at the idea of throwing together a round table like they did for the wine farm?
Is it a surprise that businesses that go through a rigorous incubation programme tend to be more sustainable than those thrown together by individual entrepreneurs, hoping to make it on a whim?
It's a thought. Use it or don't use it - but if you aren't prepared to lay out the cash for some expert advice, you can't cry into your cereal bowl.
- Fin24.com
