Businesses that are managed properly usually have contingency plans in place to get through difficult times. Poor management is often the reason businesses fail. Here Robyn Hey of HWD Attorneys and Thomas van Zyl, an Insolvency Practitioner at Mazars, share some common mistakes and useful…
Forty-nine years ago, founder of Pick n Pay Raymond Ackerman took a bold step. He’d just been fired from his job and was walking around Zoo Lake in Johannesburg wondering what he was going to say to his wife when he got home. The young…
By Barry Wiseman. Time and effort must be spent determining the viability of the business before you start on a business plan. To determine its viability ask: Is there a need for your product or service? What makes it different from all the other offerings…
By Ellen Jackson. Some days I’m bursting with enthusiasm and motivation, ticking actions off my list as I power my way through each item. Other days I’m listless, bored and lacking the get up and go to get anywhere. These are the days on which…
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter. In a recession, everyone should be in marketing. Motivated employees contribute to creative thinking that can help retain current customers and identify new ones. Here are five suggestions: Increase customer contact Financial turbulence sometimes leads managers to over- emphasise pleasing banks…
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. If it dries up, your business will wilt. With seasonal businesses, this holds even more true, which is why business owners need to have the right measures in place to smooth over the impact of fluctuating revenue…
According to the global research firm Gallup, about two-thirds of all employees are not engaged in their work, resulting in lost productivity running to hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Motivation plays a huge factor in this. As a sales manager or business owner,…
By: BRETT TROMP I once heard a line of leadership advice that seemed so counter-intuitive in theory, and yet produced such brilliant results in practice, that I never forgot it. I was told: “Always be smart enough to hire people brighter than yourself.” At first,…
Most prospective business owners believe they need only prepare a business plan if they intend approaching funders. But the truth is that every business owner should compile a plan that includes both short- and long-term goals, as well as targets. A business plan is your…
Having proper policies, procedures and processes in our business lives is essential. They are critical to ensure that your business remains sustainable irrespective of whether you are a one-man show, have staff or stock or company cars, or sell products or services. There are many…