In celebration of Madiba's 92nd birthday we would like to contribute to a small business that is doing good in their local community. We would like to sponsor a worthy small business products and services to the value of R10 000. This sponsorship will run yearly as our Madiba day contribution....

Choices we make   Choice consists of the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and just selecting one of them. There is not an hour that goes by where we do not have to choose;  red or blue, black or cream … lets face it every aspect of...

Information Regarding Potential Franchises   By becoming a part of the franchise market you’ll be taking your first steps towards sound financial success. In this rather unstable economic environment, franchises offer consumers with low risk stakes while still providing budding businessman with the opportunity to run their own trade. Rather than...

Our secrets of success are the following: Only sell a good product. In fact sell the best product or a better one than your opposition. Make sure the product has passed the quality test.  Sell at the same price or preferably than your opposition. Remember quality can never be comprised no...

  For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own...

 

“I keep six honest serving men (they’ve taught me all I knew)

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who….  Rudyard Kipling

Athletes on the track win by a split second...canoeists by an oar stroke…horses by a nose…football teams by one creative pass. The winners have just a slight edge over the rest of the field and this we call The Leader’s Edge. In business it’s also the all-important difference between leading the field and being one of the “also-rans”.

I'd like to to tell you about how I became a Professional Architectural Draughtsman.
A dream once, a desire, to be significant in my way, and to fulfill the need to feel
stimulated in the word I do, and that's to create. I wanted to create a world where
I create lifestyles for people, and alter their homes or design new dwellings.

    Best Practice Financial Management Principles of SMEs in South Africa The evolution of market dynamics accentuated the focus of large corporate enterprises towards the emerging world in search of growth and competitive advantage (Miller & Shamsie, 1996). Globalization and Information Communication Technology (ICT) development are at the forefront of...

I recently attended a seminar on Business Rescue – part of the New Companies Act (Did you know there was a new Companies Act?). It enables companies to remain in business when things are not looking good. Effectively, it suspends all creditors claims (including SARS although SARS may not agree)...

A snippet from my new group on Facebook: Entrepreneurs United.  Please join me if you want to stay up to date on similar self-help articles: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Entrepreneurs-United/303075119784673 Outcome: The goal of this series of articles is to find the quickest, simplest and easiest method to create a clear over-all understanding of...

What most people in business don’t realise is that you can try to drive the staff or push the staff but cannot do that if his goals of your staff are misaligned with your corporate/company goal. Without understanding the habits and behaviours, and what drives your employees and yourself it will...

Bookkeeping is a skill that is sadly overlooked in many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, because business owners try to minimise expenditure on “extras”. However, bad financial management – both on the large and small scales – leads to the closure of over half of all new business venture. In this...

Although this article covers what President Obama and America are doing for small business, I thought I'd post it as small businesses form the backbone of any economy...These points are valid in South Africa as our small businesses are so important to our economy....

Today President Obama travelled to Seattle, Washington and met with three local small business owners, Senator Patty Murray and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke in a roundtable discussion about strengthening the economy and creating jobs. The President met with Gillian Allen-White, owner of Grand Central Bakery in Seattle and Portland; Tiffany Turner, owner of the Discovery Coast Inn in Long Beach; and Joe Fugere, owner of Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Seattle.  

The news that ESCOM will increase 24.8% this year, 25.8% in 2011 and 25.9% in 2012. What does this actually mean?
For every R1 of electricity you spend today, after the three hikes you will spend R1.98 in 2012, that mean basically that your electricity bill will be doubled.

The good part is that is it not 35%, the increase per annum that Escom was looking for.

According to Nersa (National Energy Regulator) that approved the increase, the effect on inflation will be less than 1.5% per annum.

Pravan Gordham first budget was a difficult one and although he had not much to play with he did give some relief for the man in the street. Here is the things he did not say but that will have an effect on everybody:

Wellness programs are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace, as employers realize the direct correlation between healthy employees and overall company happiness. Having healthy and happy employees leads to increased productivity, reduced sick leave, reduced health care costs and higher talent retention. Although organizing wellness programs for employees will require time...

We often hear the cliché, “Just be yourself.” What does it really mean to be “your authentic self” and why is it so important? Everyone, at some point in their lifetime, looks in the mirror and does not recognise the reflection. We realise that we are strangers to ourselves and begin...

“Just let me close off and finish everything before year end and I will get back to you next year” echoes through the phone lines around the world. This got me thinking that we live in increments of 12, further divided into smaller, bite size increments which assist us cope with stresses though-out our lives – we are well conditioned that January arrives like a knight in shining armor with a clean slate in hand and a plethora of new beginnings! So lets do exactly that, unwrap the New Year box and allow a fresh start and new look at how we can do things better in 2012!

A JOURNEY OF INTROSPECTION
TO SELF HEALING
Shahah's Ladder is a seven day program that takes the participant on an internal journey to find the healer within. This allows one the opportunity to heal many illnesses, at physical, mental and emotional planes. This program is in effect a planned journey undertaken to try to un-manifest the toxic nature that covers who you really are and helps to rediscover that which is you and yours once again, in abundance.

INGOING AND OUTGOING INSPECTIONS

What are ingoing and outgoing inspections? Do they have to be done when letting a property? Who must do them? When? What must be inspected? What happens if they are not done? To answer these questions...

ENLISTING A LETTING AGENT...

Why use a Letting Agent? What do Letting Agents usually charge / what is the cost involved? How do I choose a Letting Agent? What should I look for? To answer these questions...

The re-usable cloth nappy would actually be the perfect solution to replace disposables when babies/toddlers are at daycare or preschool. But why are schools so dead set against it? The steps in using a reusable cloth nappy are pretty simple.  You put the nappy on like you do a disposable...

Spring clean your computer By Colin Thornton, MD and founder of Dial a Nerd We’ve all come across it. A once sprightly computer system that actually did something when you clicked on an icon devolves into a machine with a response time that makes a dial-up connection in the 90s...

  I’ve been trying to get assistance from many places and organisations. I’m not sure if it has to do with my letter but I’m constantly getting rejected or even no response at all. Could you assist me in any way? I was refered to you by Donald Phejane from Corptrain....

What is cloud computing? Originally “the cloud”, was a metaphor for the internet. These days with “public clouds”, “community clouds”, “private clouds”, “hybrid clouds”, etc, the answer is no longer quite so simplistic.

Target Marketing   Have you heard the term; Target Marketing?  And have you actually explored its awesome potential to increase your profits and exposure?  Perhaps we should start at the very beginning and explore exactly what Target Marketing really is. Definition: Target Marketing involves breaking a market into segments and then...

Did you know that all marketing is emotionally driven?  When you watch an advert on TV, such as a fast food advert, pay attention to when they advertised this product to you.  I guarantee it was at breakfast, lunch time or just before dinner time.  Why do they do that? ...

The Rule of 1% is simply defined as adding to your customer service one percent at a time. Before you can do this you must have your consistency perfected or it will never work. This one percent may seem small, but if you approach the vision for your company with...

Why is cash flow so important? Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. Cash is absolutely critical in the growth and well being of a business. Business owners must plan and prepare for all future events and market changes. The most important aspect of planning is effective cash flow management....

Why starting small may be the right thing for you? “Big dreams, to do big things” These word simply describe just how each and every one of us entrepreneurs start off. Most of us want to change the world, bring an innovative product into the market that will grow into a...