Finding your ka-ching moment
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PART of being an entrepreneur means often staring defeat in the face. A business might be on the brink of closing its doors and retrenching staff, until one magical moment.
This specific instant can turn your company from being just another establishment struggling to survive into a fully-fledged small company with a healthy balance sheet.
Fin24 spoke to some entrepreneurs who shared their Ka-Ching moments and how they got that elusive lucky break.
Dr Adrian Saville - Cannon Asset Managers
Parenting the "baby"
The first point for me was when potential customers stopped confusing us with the digital camera business Canon.
The second point was finding my business partner Craig Simpkins, who made my life a whole lot easier. I no longer felt like I was the only one holding the baby – and perhaps more importantly, there was a reduction of key man risk.
I knew that the baby had grown significantly when big names within the industry started approaching us to work for the firm. The head of manager research of the country's leading multi-manager asked if he could join our company, and being in a position to appoint him as the CEO meant a further leap forward with the consolidation of professional business management.
Bruce Wade – Entrepreneur Incubator
Coached to success
Business owners continually seek opportunities to break into the big time, but they also need to be equipped to seize the moment when it comes.
One of the newest businesses I have been mentoring has just landed a contract that will push the company towards becoming a significant small enterprise. I started coaching Letsego Cleaning and Maintenance in November last year, and they've already been given the go-ahead for a cleaning contract at a major office park in Westlake.
This of course is the big break they've been looking for, so when they got the call this past Friday they were excited and also pressed for time. You need to always be prepared for a moment like this. There's no time for fear and to worry about all the "what ifs". We want to win big but we don't often have the resources.
Chris Hills - MGX (Now Metrofile)
Go big or go home
My Ka-Ching moment was way back in 1993, when I was MD of a small microfilm company called Micrographix. All our clients were grappling with how to manage their documents, whether paper-based, microfilm or digital, and it struck me that what the market needed was a company that could manage information all through its life cycle from creation to archival.
That is how the vision for MGX (now Metrofile) was born. We then set out to put in place the appropriate technologies to manage the information. This was achieved through a combination of acquisitive and organic growth. We listed the company in 1995, as a substantial amount of capital was necessary to achieve the vision.
Push the envelope
Bonnke Shipalana - Cell C marketing manager
For me the light-bulb moment was when I was given the task of delivering a new product for Cell C. The challenge was not in coming up with a solid strategy, but convincing senior management to go for the product. It was endorsed by (music star) Zola, and most senior managers were not familiar with him. To convince management I went the extra mile outside the boardroom, where in meetings my colleagues and I would have matchsticks sticking out of of our mouths (a big part of Zola's persona).
To cut the story short, we sold them on it and South Africans were able to buy a Hola 7 starter pack. From that day I knew that if I could do what people were scared of doing, I was bound to have a successful business.
Since then I have gone on to become CEO of The Communication Firm, a publicity and events company, launched a TV show entitled So You Think You're Funny, and brought American reality TV stars the Kardashian Sisters to South Africa.
Heather Malcomess
Tough business love
My business was barely surviving from day to day. After a year of throwing everything into my small company, then a flea market stall covering motorbike rallies, my hard work and sweat had amounted to nothing and I was not getting anywhere.
My website - www.bikers.co.za - was also going nowhere slowly.
I was down to living on R5 a day and a friend suggested I meet a common acquaintance. I sat waiting for him the entire evening at Silverstar and eventually at 4am I got up enough nerve to approach him. This turned into a shouting argument as the person had been waiting for me the entire evening.
However, he gave me a piece of advice that would change the perspective on my business. Instead of treating it as a brick and mortar company, I should view as a web development business. Since then I have been approached to do online marketing, websites and other online social integration. By saying "look at it differently" I had my Ka-Ching moment.
Rampa Masoko - Khalipha Holdings
Leaving your comfort zone behind
It was not until I landed a tender to supply nursing medical material that I realised my business had grown into a sustainable small company.
I still had a full-time job at Primeserv when I started the project. It was not until 2003 that I realised that if I were to manage the company and grow it, I would have to give it three times the effort.
Scoring a tender in 2005 elevated my business to new heights as we had to diversify into supplying medical equipment. We had to hire more people, and being responsible for other people's pay check was really a wake-up call for me.
All 15 of my employees now depend on me to make this work, so I couldn't fail them.
- Fin24
This specific instant can turn your company from being just another establishment struggling to survive into a fully-fledged small company with a healthy balance sheet.
Fin24 spoke to some entrepreneurs who shared their Ka-Ching moments and how they got that elusive lucky break.
Dr Adrian Saville - Cannon Asset Managers
Parenting the "baby"
The first point for me was when potential customers stopped confusing us with the digital camera business Canon.
The second point was finding my business partner Craig Simpkins, who made my life a whole lot easier. I no longer felt like I was the only one holding the baby – and perhaps more importantly, there was a reduction of key man risk.
I knew that the baby had grown significantly when big names within the industry started approaching us to work for the firm. The head of manager research of the country's leading multi-manager asked if he could join our company, and being in a position to appoint him as the CEO meant a further leap forward with the consolidation of professional business management.
Bruce Wade – Entrepreneur Incubator
Coached to success
Business owners continually seek opportunities to break into the big time, but they also need to be equipped to seize the moment when it comes.
One of the newest businesses I have been mentoring has just landed a contract that will push the company towards becoming a significant small enterprise. I started coaching Letsego Cleaning and Maintenance in November last year, and they've already been given the go-ahead for a cleaning contract at a major office park in Westlake.
This of course is the big break they've been looking for, so when they got the call this past Friday they were excited and also pressed for time. You need to always be prepared for a moment like this. There's no time for fear and to worry about all the "what ifs". We want to win big but we don't often have the resources.
Chris Hills - MGX (Now Metrofile)
Go big or go home
My Ka-Ching moment was way back in 1993, when I was MD of a small microfilm company called Micrographix. All our clients were grappling with how to manage their documents, whether paper-based, microfilm or digital, and it struck me that what the market needed was a company that could manage information all through its life cycle from creation to archival.
That is how the vision for MGX (now Metrofile) was born. We then set out to put in place the appropriate technologies to manage the information. This was achieved through a combination of acquisitive and organic growth. We listed the company in 1995, as a substantial amount of capital was necessary to achieve the vision.
Push the envelope
Bonnke Shipalana - Cell C marketing manager
For me the light-bulb moment was when I was given the task of delivering a new product for Cell C. The challenge was not in coming up with a solid strategy, but convincing senior management to go for the product. It was endorsed by (music star) Zola, and most senior managers were not familiar with him. To convince management I went the extra mile outside the boardroom, where in meetings my colleagues and I would have matchsticks sticking out of of our mouths (a big part of Zola's persona).
To cut the story short, we sold them on it and South Africans were able to buy a Hola 7 starter pack. From that day I knew that if I could do what people were scared of doing, I was bound to have a successful business.
Since then I have gone on to become CEO of The Communication Firm, a publicity and events company, launched a TV show entitled So You Think You're Funny, and brought American reality TV stars the Kardashian Sisters to South Africa.
Heather Malcomess
Tough business love
My business was barely surviving from day to day. After a year of throwing everything into my small company, then a flea market stall covering motorbike rallies, my hard work and sweat had amounted to nothing and I was not getting anywhere.
My website - www.bikers.co.za - was also going nowhere slowly.
I was down to living on R5 a day and a friend suggested I meet a common acquaintance. I sat waiting for him the entire evening at Silverstar and eventually at 4am I got up enough nerve to approach him. This turned into a shouting argument as the person had been waiting for me the entire evening.
However, he gave me a piece of advice that would change the perspective on my business. Instead of treating it as a brick and mortar company, I should view as a web development business. Since then I have been approached to do online marketing, websites and other online social integration. By saying "look at it differently" I had my Ka-Ching moment.
Rampa Masoko - Khalipha Holdings
Leaving your comfort zone behind
It was not until I landed a tender to supply nursing medical material that I realised my business had grown into a sustainable small company.
I still had a full-time job at Primeserv when I started the project. It was not until 2003 that I realised that if I were to manage the company and grow it, I would have to give it three times the effort.
Scoring a tender in 2005 elevated my business to new heights as we had to diversify into supplying medical equipment. We had to hire more people, and being responsible for other people's pay check was really a wake-up call for me.
All 15 of my employees now depend on me to make this work, so I couldn't fail them.
- Fin24
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