I recently had the privilege of spending a few hours in the company of 3 great South African entrepreneurs at the Cape Town Entrepreneurship Week Open Day. Lessons were plentiful, but here are 5 that really stood out for me.
1. Sometimes you need to have really big family jewels
And I’m not talking the shiny pawn shop kind. Founder of African Star Communications, Farah Fortune, quit her job, paid her bills, registered a CC and pitched to her first big client – all within one month and with the last R1 000.00 in her pocket. If she failed she would most likely have been out on the street, jobless and penniless. That takes balls. In bucket loads. But it paid off. Fear is often what keeps us from achieving great things. Take a risk. They’re invigorating.
2. It’s OK to cry
Well, he said he ALMOST cried. But graphic designer/illustrator/all-round-creative-wunderkind, Daniel Ting Chong, would have been forgiven for shedding a tear or two when his submission for a New York Times Magazine cover on Somalian pirates wasn’t picked as the final design. It’s OK to be disappointed when you don’t achieve the result you wanted, but don’t give up on pursuing it. Sometimes even achieving a result is a success. The happy ending to this story is that Daniel was contacted a few weeks later and asked to do another design which went into a NYTimes Key Issue about the city of São Paulo. See, you just never know when all that hard work will pay off.
3. Sweat the small stuff
The slide came up, the man spoke, I heard angelic song as an ah-ha moment a la Oprah swept the room. Thank you Abey Mokgwatsane of VWV for what I feel was possibly the most valuable bit of wisdom of the day – EVERYTHING COMMUNICATES! Everything says something about you. Not just the expensive in-your-face stuff. The small stuff too. You’ve spend thousands of Rands on the soft white leather couches in your slick office entrance foyer, but your security guard’s uniform has seen better days – about 5 years ago (a great example Abey – we can all identify with that one.) That says a lot to potential clients. It says, “I don’t pay attention to detail” and “I’m not too concerned with the little people”. In a time where consumers are spoiled for choice, sometimes it’s the really little things that make the big difference. And that isn’t just true for customers – think investors, employees and suppliers too.
4. Balance isn’t just a skill for tightrope walkers
I rarely tweet or post business content on weekends. I try not to even turn my computer on from Friday to Sunday evening. And I feel so guilty. Shouldn’t I be working at my new business 24/7? Am I losing valuable opportunities? It’s has been a source of great anxiety, so Farah’s mention of the importance of balancing your entrepreneurial life with your personal one was an important affirmation. And her message is clear. Financial and business successes are hollow if you don’t have someone to share them with. We know this, yet it’s a mistake we make time and time again. You still need to be a father/mother, husband/wife, daughter/son, aunty/uncle, boyfriend/girlfriend. Your relationship with your spouse is just as important, dare I say more so, than the one with your bank manager. Don’t forget it.
5. Sometimes the greatest reward is found in paying it forward
If at some stage in the future I get the opportunity to address a group of aspiring entrepreneurs and inspire them as much as these three people did - I would undoubtedly consider it one of my greatest career successes. By sharing their experiences and advice, Farah, Daniel and Abey have had a far reaching effect on not only the people in the room, but their families, their communities and on South Africa as a whole. By sharing their knowledge they have helped address some of SA’s biggest challenges - job creation and economic growth. Never underestimate the impact you can have by sharing YOUR experiences too. Join an online community like www.mysmallbusiness.co.za, start a blog, run a free workshop, do something to engage and inspire others. Remember where you started and pay it forward.
Farah Fortune is the founder and director of African Star Communications, was voted one of Mail&Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans in 2011 and is most importantly, a mom .
Daniel Ting Chong is a Cape Town based illustrator, designer, artist and VJ/DJ, has produced work commissioned by Bacardi, Discovery Channel and Levi’s to name a few and is living proof that “it’s always the quiet ones.”
Abey Mokgwatsane is the CEO of the VWV Group - a global brand experience agency, the founder & director of Young Business for South Africa (YBSA), the founder of The Thought Leadership Initiative, the co-founder of The Experiential Association of South Africa (EXASA) and a really funny guy.
