Avoid These Entrepreneur Mistakes - Someone Else Has Already Made Them!

It would be totally unrealistic to expect every entrepreneurial endeavour to have a completely happy ending. However if we learn from the mistakes of others we will be able to prevent some rather unhappy experiences of our own.

One of my favourite blogs is "The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur". I found this wonderful article entitled 31 Of The Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes That You Must Avoid At All Cost on the blog and wanted to share it with you.

Here are the top 10 biggest entrepreneurial mistakes according to the article :

1. Too Much Office Space

I made the mistake of getting more office space than I really needed.
It cost me too much money, which of course came from my pocket. I was way too caught up in the ego of having a nice space. These days, I am into virtual businesses and telecommuting–why waste money on rent?
Kathryn Korostoff, President, Sage Research

2. Not Knowing Costs Before Doing

When creating a direct response ad campaign in various national women’s magazines,
I failed to factor in the cost of producing and mailing catalogs to the thousands of respondents.
Gerhard Kramer, Marketing Director, Laura K Designs, Inc. www.Psalm23Jewelry.com

3. Hired The Wrong Bookeeper

Years ago, I made a couple of HUGE mistakes when I hired my first bookkeeper…Although I was referred to her by someone I knew, I didn’t really do my due diligence. And since I didn’t know my way around QuickBooks I also didn’t check very closely to see if she was doing her job as promised. After about 9 months I discovered she wasn’t. It took me two more bookkeepers, two years of time (a bunch of gray hairs) and about $3500 to get it reasonably straightened out so I could actually track revenues vs. expenses. Arrrgh!!
Stacy Karacostas Founder SuccessStream Sales & Marketing Solution

4. Moved Business Too Soon

I moved my business too soon… I loved the new location and space but it put more of a crunch on my cash flow than anticipated so I had a tough road for awhile.
Teajai ‘T J’ Kimsey, Internet Marketing Strategist, www.IdeasThatWork.net

5. Cutting It Close For Commitments

Initially gave all clients 24 hour turnaround on my virtual assistant services. That was great when I had one or two clients, but as I grew I couldn’t keep up. Plus, I didn’t limit how much work that would involve. Transcribing one tape takes a lot less time than transcribing three. And yes, some clients expected that 24 hour turnarond on everything!
Diana Ennen, President, Virtual Word Publishing

6. Not Knowing Local Building and Permit Codes

During the build out of our first children’s gym in Severna Park, MD, my business partner, Joe Dondero and I worked 3 straight weeks on building a giant foam pit to hold over 6000 foam blocks. We drew up our plans, loaded 20 pieces of plywood and other materials into a minivan and moved them into our gym to assemble. 3 weeks later after assembling, installing and wrapping the plywood with carpet our project was successfully completed in our eyes. Needless to say, the first inspector walked in and asked if the carpet met the vertical burn rates in commercial buildings, plus he asked if the plywood was fire retardant. It took us less than 3 hours to disassemble a project that took over 3 weeks to complete and not to mention the back breaking weight of moving the pieces around. A giant lesson was learned the hard way!
John Mann, President, Rolly Pollies International, Inc.

7. A Direct Mail Blunder

I bought a direct mail list for $5k without doing major research on the company, also purchased 10,000 postcards, and paid for bulk mail postage. Mailed out the first 5000 postcards and did not receive any inquiries, ouch.
Jenny Ford, President, Monkey-Toes

8. Paying Payroll Out Of Personal Account

I had the wrong bank account set up and paid an employee out of my personal account instead of the business account.
Janine Joi, Partner, Blue Sage Naturals, LLC

9. Not Getting Money Up Front

The biggest mistake I made as an entrepreneur is not to get money up front. I become a bill-collector, not a businessperson as a result and spend needless amounts of time following up on money owed. Dr. Linda Seger, Script Consultant (since 1981), Seminar Leader, Author

10. Not Researching Your PR Firm BEFORE Making A Commitment

Hired a PR firm based on their glowing pitch and promises without checking out their track record helping businesses like mine. $15k later, piddlling results.
Mike Van Horn, President, The Business Group http://www.businessownerstoolbox.com

For the remaining 21 you will have to check out the original post here.

Girls Taught About Construction

The economic empowerment of women is high on the agenda of the South African government. Businesses from large corporates to the SME sector have been urged to provide a platform for this to happen.

My belief is that this must begin to happen at school level. Teaching entrepreneurship is great but it must be linked to educating learners about the various needs of the overall economy. They must be shown which sectors of the economy present the greatest challenges yet also the greatest opportunities.

On BuaNews I came across this article which is very encouraging in this regard. It is wonderful to see government beginning to act on this. Here is the article :

-----

North West points pupils to careers in construction
---------------------------------------------------

By Lehuma Ntuane

Mafikeng - A construction industry expert has urged high school pupils, especially girls, to pursue careers in construction as the industry is booming and presenting rewarding opportunities.

Addressing a National Construction Week event organized by the North West Department of Public Works, Marianus De Jager said enrollments into the construction industry would also help address the skills shortage faced by the sector around the country.

More than 30 Grade 12 learners from Khayalethu High School, near Rustenburg, were taken to a project site visit to the R200 million Moses Kotane Hospital Wednesday.

"They should take advantage of the opportunities provided by government through bursaries, internships and learnerships. There are a lot of rewarding and attractive career opportunities in this sector," he said.

Mr De Jager said due to government's increased infrastructure spending as part of the Accelerated Skills Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA), the constructions sector has become one of the key beneficiaries but "there is a shortage of professional personnel."

He said the industry was already experiencing a need for more professionals to take part in major projects such as building stadia for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and construction projects for the Gautrain.

North West Public Works spokesperson Matshube Mfoloe, said the campaign was aimed at encouraging learners to pursue careers in the construction sector and also present study in the field of construction as an attractive option to potential students.

"We are promoting the sector to young people. This is a way to promote the seemingly 'unattractive and uninspiring' image of the construction sector," he said.

National Construction Week is meant to give learners the opportunity to experience and learn about opportunities available in the sector, "and also to dispel the belief that the industry was the domain for men only."

A 16 year-old pupil Ivy Leshetla said she wanted to study architecture.

"Careers in these fields are very possible and we appreciate the opportunities that the department is providing to create an interest and an awareness about the rewards in the building industry,'' she said.

The department will be holding similar project site visits around the other three districts in the province.

The National Construction Week seeks to showcase the meaning and the value of construction as a powerful institution in the reconstruction and development of the country.- BuaNews

------------------

I would love to see SME's and entrepreneurs beginning to engage with this issue at lot more intentionally. As good as this initiative in the North West is, I believe that we cannot leave it up to government entirely.

Stop Moaning - Sort It Out or Get Out!

Running your own business is hard work - period!

I am tired of hearing the moans of those who have taken the decision to start their own business and then discover that long hours and plain old hard work is required to make it profitable.

This post was precipitated by a conversation I overheard in an office yesterday. The gentleman concerned was on his cell-phone to a person who had cancelled an appointment and wanted to reschedule. This gentleman's words went something like this,

Do you know that I am self-employed? I can't just leave to come to a meeting. Do you know what time I worked to last night? Ten past one in the morning! Yes, that's what time I went to bed. And do you know I was up at five this morning. I haven't got time to be messed around - I'm self-employed you know.

Come on... Get a life! Business owners are not the only ones who work long hours. Self-management and better use of time is needed when you begin to live for work, not work to live.

When deciding to start your own business you need to be sure of the sacrifices required. The most successful start-ups are those that have been thoroughly thought through by the business owner.

So stop moaning - sort yourself out or get out!

Statistics Show More South Africans Entering The Job Market

A report released yesterday by Statistics South Africa shows a decline in the category described as "not economically active" - from 13,6 million in July 2005 to less than 13,2 million last July. This implies that more people have entered the labour force.

The General Household Survey showed that 348 000 jobs were added to the economy in the same time period. It would be interesting to discover how many of these were in the formal sector and how many in the informal sector. A drive around many of South Africa's cities shows how many ordinary South Africans have been self-employed. Roadside "shopping malls" are becoming the norm and at every building site in Johannesburg some enterprising entrepreneur from the informal sector has set up a small shop to provide snacks and lunch for the workers.

The provision of jobs in our country is not solely the work of government. Our education system must teach entrepreneurship, financial intellegience, critical thinking and basic marketing skills to ensure that every young person leaving school can begin to add value not only to his/her life, but to the broader economy as well. Almost 5 million South Africans are unemployed adding to the burden on social grants, family units and society in general. As more and more young people are added to the working population each year the need for entrepreneurial skills development is increasingly important.

It has become a national imperative to increase South Africa's job market through entrepreneurial development and support to the informal sector. Is this the government's responsibility? Perhaps. But isn't there also validity in looking to the formal sector, corporate South Africa, to assist in this process? I believe so. Ordinary South Africans can also assist by giving time, resources and expertise to those who need it to set up their own enterprise.

There is an old proverb that says that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime. This may be an old proverb but it certainly rings true for us in South Africa today. We need to be very intentional about how we are teaching the people around us "to fish". It is everyone's best interest that this happens and happens soon.

Is A 4 Hour Work Week Possible - Maybe So ...

Could you change your current working reality so that instead of a 60-70 hour work week, you spent 4 hours a week working your business?

It seems that this may just be possible!

While listening to the Internet Business Mastery podcast I was introduced to the concept of a Four Hour Work Week. This was put forward by Tim Ferris who has made this his lifestyle and heads up a very successful business. Does this seem impossible to you? It certainly did to me. However take a look at these case studies of people who have implemented a reduced hour work week posted on YouTube. See this post on eSoup to read another account of how a reduced hour work week has changed the author's life.

The website of Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week, espouses the idea of "outsourcing your life". The site gives great insight into this concept and is well worth a visit. There are also chapter samples available to read to get an idea of what Tim's book is about. The book has been a New York Times bestseller and is based on a series of controversial lectures at Princeton University.

It is clear though that embarking on the journey towards chronological freedom entails risk taking, making sacrifices initially and the willingness to back yourself to win. That all seems perfectly acceptable to me - short term sacrifice, long term gain. Isn't that a principle of life? It seems that all successful people understand that.

I must confess that I have not read this book but having heard about it, listened to the testimonies around it and having explored the website, I am now dead keen to go out and purchase it!

Once I have read the book I will post my review. If you've already read it, please send me a review to publish as well.

If you know of any South Africans who utilise this type of work lifestyle, please do let me know. I would love to feature them (interview them) for this blog.

To find out more about the book or to purchase your own copy, please click on the cover below.

Art Of The Start - Essential Viewing

Every now and again one comes across a piece of teaching that is so valuable it cannot be kept to oneself. This is certainly the case with this video of Guy Kawasaki teaching about "The Art Of The Start".

It can be found on Guy's blog and I highly recommend any person in business to watch it and take notes. It is highly entertaining and informative. The slides used in the presentation are also available for download - all for free!

Enjoy . . .

Economic Empowerment In A Box

As the regular readers of this blog already know, I am always on the look-out for good news stories about economic empowerment (see my post on the power of peanut-butter)so I was excited when I came across this wonderful company called South Africa In A Box.

They create great South African gifts consisting of a box (made of wire, tin or card) containing products that are uniquely South African. What I love most about these guys is that they partner with economic empowerment initiatives across the country who provide some of the contents for the boxes.

Imagine this - there are previously disadvantaged communities out there being fed through the proceeds of their effort to fill boxes with creative craft that is being sent around the country and overseas promoting our country which may well lead to further economic investment and future growth! Now that's what I call a business with its feet strongly rooted in the reality of the present but also with a keen eye on the future. Of course they are making these boxes for profit, they are a business after all, but the repercussions of their efforts will be felt for a long time in those communities which benefit from this initiative.

Well done to the team at South Africa In A Box - you make us proud to be South African!

Revisiting The Basics

It is so easy to become ungulfed in the reality of running your own business that you begin to neglect those basic principles that made you successful in the first place! Like a good sportsman, it is important to be grounded in the basic skills and principles so that when the going is tough you can continue to make progress.

Here then are 10 principles of business basics that we would do well to remember :

1) Know what you don't do - be clear on those things that your business is not offering clients. It is too easy to try to be all to all - a sure shortcut to business failure.

2) Know your market - understand who your business is serving - what is your target market? Write this down and be specific - age, gender, class, location, language etc.

3) Differentiate your service - be prepared to do something different to stand out from the crowd.

4) Watch the pennies - keep a very close watch on the comings and goings of your bank balance.

5) Truly care for your employees - a happy, cared for and affirmed work force is your greatest asset - look after them and they will look after you.

6) Under promise, over deliver - you cannot afford the advertising value of good word-of-mouth referrals (neither can you afford the negative publicity linked to a client's bad experience!)

7) Set goals and go after them - Write down your goals and share them with others

8) Make your business known - explore all options to let the market know what you offer - some creative thought and minimal expense can reap great dividends.

9) Stick it out! - every business will have rough patches - how we choose to react to them can be the difference between success and failure.

10) Always maintain your integrity - have a clear moral compass and ethical values in your business at all times.

- This blog post is adapted from an article by Greg Fisher in the May 2007 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.

How to earn customers who stick

Last week I signed up with TrafficSynergy.com - an affiliate marketing company which is now also based in South Africa. When I signed up I had to give contact information which is the norm for most online registrations. The information asked for also included an option to fill-in my Skype contact details.

Usually I fill in the required information simply because the registration will not proceed without it. I enter the info and I never expect it to be used - ever.

I was very pleasantly surprised when I was contacted through a text message on Skype by the TrafficSynergy representative who is now my personal contact at the company. She informed me that her role was to be available to answer any questions I may have and to be of any assistance she could to me.

What a nice personal touch! I now have Shelley on my Skype list and when next I have a question all I have to do is give her a call or text her.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners take note - the personal touch from your company is critical as you build relationships with clients. Personally I do not like standard email responses from a company with which I have just signed up. The message I receive is "Thanks for helping us make money" rather than "Thanks for partnering with us. How can we help you?".

We need to ensure that relationships are the top priority in our business - it is the new economic model. Relationships are key - work hard at developing and maintaining them.

The World Is Ruled By "C" Students

Let me start by saying that I am a great believer in education. I believe that essential skills such as critical and strategic thinking are borne out of further education. Sometimes it is not so much the content of the courses but the journey towards the diploma, certificate or degree that is significant.

That said I was fascinated to read a great blog post written by Scott Bradley, a young Boston-based entrepreneur. His assertion is that those who sit as average "C" students have a far better chance at succeeding in entrepreneurial ventures than those who consistently top the "A" student list. His arguments are sound and seem to make good sense. However I would still not want this argument to be an excuse for steering clear of furthering your education.

What I do think is that as small business owners looking to increase staff complement, we should be careful of falling into the trap of hiring based on the number of letters behind an applicant's name. Our hiring of staff should also be taking into consideration issues such as competence, chemistry with the existing team, character and so forth.

Take a look at Scott's post and leave your comments for others to consider.

Practical Marketing Newsletter

2B Marketing's electronic newsletter, The B2Be-zine, is a free fortnightly publication produced with the aim of assisting the smaller company or organisation with their marketing endeavors.

What's in it?

Each edition is uniquely aimed at the South African entrepreneur and is packed with interesting articles, ideas and insights including :

- Observations from the editor.
- An article written on practical marketing for the smaller business
- Practical article/s written by contributing writers.
- Links to the 2B Marketing Blog entries
- A book review or summary.
- A link to a website with useful information, programme or other resource.
- Loads of useful information, from what's happening, relevant links, and applicable directory listings.

This is a great resource. I urge you to subscribe and explore their website. I am sure you will some great ideas, insights and opportunities.

And no, I receive no commission for this blog entry! I just believe it is a really good resource!

Dressed For Success - Even At Home!

I have long held onto the belief that our dress-code speaks volumes about how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by others.

Way too many home-business owners fall into the trap of thinking that because their office is a small step from their bedroom, they can get stuck into work each day looking like they fell out of bed!

I was delighted therefore to come across a post entitled "Dressed To Bill" from a favourite blog of mine - Ideate.co.za

The book referenced in this post is Spare Room Tycoon: The Seventy Lessons of Sane Self-Employment written by James Chan.

Home-business owners take note - while your business success is not solely based on how you present yourself, you owe it to yourself and your customers to be professional in your dress-code and personal presentation.

SmallBizPod - podcast for small business

A UK venture, this podcast describes itself as "The UK's first small business podcast. Interviews and practical advice for small business, startups and entrepreneurs podcast to the UK and the rest of the world."

This appears to be quite a comprehensive podcast filled with interviews, insights and tools for the small business owner and entrepreneur. It has an obvious UK emphasis but there is plenty for the South African listener.

Download the podcast from iTunes by clicking here.

A nifty value-add is the addition of a video blog from this year.

Home site - SmallBizPod

I invite you to leave a comment on this post giving South African business podcasts. I will then write a post listing these for the readers.

Learning from Curious George

Remember Curious George, the curious little monkey? When I was much younger I read about Curious George in books from our local library - nowadays Curious George has his own TV show!

Enough of the trip down memory lane! I was reading an interview with Jim Collins today. You most probably know Jim as the author of the fantastically successful book Good To Great. He is credited with the following quote :

Be like Curious George, start with a question and look under the yellow hat to find what's there.

It is said that as Jim Collins began research into Level 5 Leadership, he assembled a team of young researchers which he called the "Chimps". They were given this name as chimps are unruly, irreverent, energetic, creative and, most of all, inquisitive. The team began pasting pictures of Curious George all over the board room as a reminder to keep asking questions and to keep open minds. Altogether, 21 Chimps worked on the job, usually five per year, performing such tasks as analyzing stock-price statistics, gathering articles, scheduling and conducting interviews, doing massive amounts of coding, and fact checking the numbers in the book. They read and coded every published article they could find about the 11 good-to-great companies, while researching 17 other companies they had selected for comparison. This team of Chimps held collective responsibility for decisions made and were totally committed to the task.

I believe two major issues raise themselves here :

1) Entrepreneurs who desire to build successful businesses need to keep asking questions. They need to have an intrinsic discontent for the status quo. They also require an open mind for solutions that may not fit into their paradigms.

2) Business owners need to surround themselves with a team of key people who are also not afraid of asking the difficult questions and who are open to new ideas and solutions.

What questions are you asking? Are you open to new suggestions, ideas, criticism? Is the idea of a team of "Curious Georges" a little scary for you? Are there questions you are avoiding because you know you won't like the answers?

Free link competition - Making Money Online

The power of the Internet is vast. Thousands have turned to it to market their businesses and to showcase their products or services to thousands of potential customers who may never see their brick and mortar store or have sight of a business card.

More recently many have turned to the Internet as their sole source of income. They rely of well-maintained, well-coded and well-developed websites to draw the masses to their monetized site. Knowing how to do this is critical and most of us require assistance in this regard.

Through my travels in the blogosphere I recently came across an excellent resource for those wishing to use the internet as a way to earn money online. Learn to earn being a webtrepreneur is a website geared to teach bloggers and site authors how to make some extra money online.

Webtrepreneur.co.za is giving away a free link, go take a look!

This is a fascinating site filled with wonderful ideas and insights. If you have any thoughts of using your site to make money then this is a site you do not want to miss visiting

Entrepreneurship in South Africa - up or down?

My blog post for April 17 was entitled "Entrepreneurship on the decline in South Africa". As you can read in that post, this was the conclusion of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2006.

This morning I find on the IOL Jobs site the following headline - "More South Africans Working For Themselves" ! According to Mike Schüssler in his South African Unemployment Report, entrepreneurship is on the increase!

How was this data researched and recorded? Why the discrepancy? Surely there is an empirically proven data-set from which these conclusions are drawn?
I am not a statistician nor do I have actuarial experience but what I do know is that both of these conclusions cannot be correct. Or can they??

Any useful comments would be welcome...

A Woman of Courage, Conviction and Passion

Catherine Mahubane is a name not known to the vast majority of South Africans and yet she stands tall as an example to all of courage, conviction, faith and vision.

The small village of Puleng is home to about eighty inhabitants and lies approximately 230 km northeast of Johannesburg. It is here that Catherine Mahubane decided to carve out a new future for herself and her family. She made the decision that spending time away from family and friends working as a domestic worker for those wealthier than herself in far away cities was not an acceptable option in her life. She had a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) : Open a peanut butter factory.

Armed with only a Grade 10 education this remarkable woman set about casting the vision to the people of her village, preparing the soil using only picks and shovels and preparing to harvest her first crop of peanuts to make into peanut butter. Lacking basic farm machinery and factory equipment the roasted nuts were ground using the traditional back-breaking method of hand-grinding. Despite these obstacles the first jar of Kono Kono Peanut Butter was produced to great celebration.

The story from then on is even more remarkable. Now the legally registered Kodumela Trading Cooperative boasts six hectares of farmland, a factory building with store and sales office, flushing toilets, a generator for electricity, a maching for removing peanut shells without damaging the nuts, a grinder and a mixer. This success is due in part to the help given to Catherine by Africare SA, the US Department of Agriculture and the South African Department of Agriculture.

Today Catherine is the General Manager and a shareholder of Kodumela Trading Cooperative. She has secured the rights for 70 hectares of farming land and this year alone plans to clear and plant 20 hectares of peanuts and 6 hectares of vegetables.

The Kodumela Trading Cooperative has been an inspiration to many of the villagers and those in surrounding areas. Their success has enabled other enterprising rural entrepreneurs to start up their own concerns. One local villager has acquired a tractor which he hires, along with himself, to the Kodumela Trading Cooperative and other budding farmers in the area.

Catherine's story is an inspiration. She shows us the power of a dream and personal determination. Hers is a story of economic upliftment through entrepreneurship and of rising above one's circumstances to improve the lives of others.
To hear an audio clip about this wonderful story click here. http://www.justicetalking.org/mp3/061016_PBReport.mp3

Any exporters, wholesale traders or other interested parties are welcome to contact me and I will connect you with the cooperative.

DVD Vending Machine business opportunity

Vending machines have been around for a number of years. Usually the content consists of fast foods, junk foods and cooldrink. Lately there has been a rise in vending machines offering a number of new services. The latest I have come across is from ARL Trading.

Their offering is a DVD Rental Vending machine. What a novel concept! I would love to able to pick up my DVD at my place of work on my way out rather than have to go out of my way to visit the DVD store on my way home. Imagine a chain of these at townhouse complexes, office parks, golf courses, convenience stores and so on. This is a great investment opportunity for those willing and able to invest the R185 000 needed upfront.

Income is generated in four ways :

1. The rental of DVD’s and video games
2. Late fees from overdue movies
3. The sale of advertisements (onscreen and positioned within the DVD jewel case)
4. The sale of previously viewed DVD’s

I am meeting with the folks who have brought this concept to South Africa and will be able to report further on this opportunity once I know more. At first glance though it does look like a great gap for an entrepreneur!

Entrepreneurship on the decline in South Africa

According to the recently released report on entrepreneurship in South Africa (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2006), only 5% of South African adults are starting new businesses. This is way below the world average of close to 10%.

Some other interesting stats are :

1) 40% of South African entrepreneurs start a business out of necessity. This in contrast to Australia where 10% start businesses because they feel they have to. I would imagine this is largely due to the fact that we live in a country struggling with a high unemployment rate.

2) Almost half of South African entrepreneurs have only a matric (Grade 12) while 25% have only some level of high school education. Although qualifications are not the be all and end all of business savvy, there can be no doubt that the skills and training received in tertiary education are of great assistance in starting a new business especially in the fields of engineering and information technology.

3) Only 9% of women believe they have the personality traits of an entrepreneur while only 4,8% are actually starting their own businesses. This against the global average of 7.7%! Why this should be so I do not know - could it be the fight many women have in South Africa against a very male dominated economy and traditional views of women in society?

Given that the most likely age-group for start-up entrepreneurs is 25-35, the issue of emigration becomes a cause for huge concern as this is also the age-group most likely to be moving overseas to what they perceive as greener pastures. The latest issue of Succeed magazine puts it like this:

New research suggests that there is a nationwide shortage of mid-career or
management staff in critical industries. This is driving up the numbers of
unemployed graduates as there is now an absence of people with skills and
experience to train new entrants into the workforce.

The statistics show that these graduates are not likely to start their own businesses either and it is these skilled graduates the country needs most. With a high unemployment rate South Africa needs new businesses to create the job opportunities so badly needed, whether that be in a small bakery or a giant manufacturing plant.

Dr Gidoen Maas, the principle researcher for the South African leg of the GEM remains positive though. Quoted in Succeed magazine, he says,

If coordinated and focused ways of supporting entrepreneurship can be
developed and maintained over time, the chances of creating a sustainable
entrepreneurial South Africa should be high.

The future of South African entrepreneurship hangs in the balance. Many primary and high schools now offer entrepreneurship as part of their curriculum. This is exciting and I believe will create the self-belief in our young people that they can begin a new business and make it successful.

What are you doing to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship in your neighbourhood / suburb / city / country? You and I are where it starts. We cannot expect government or big
business to do it - it is up to us!

Ideas, ideas and more ideas

Imagine a website where creative / fun / original / profitable business ideas from all over the world were gathered together with contact details for entrepreneurs so that they could investigate taking the ideas to their own countries or contexts.

Imagine a website where a team of over 8000 spotters from all over the globe report their findings of new business ideas and have their findings reported on the site. Imagine that you could be part of that spotters network.

Enter SpringWise. Filled to overflowing with new and original business ideas, this site is well worth a visit. You can spend a few hours browsing the ideas database and there is the option of a newsletter subscription.

The genius of this site is the spotters network known as SpringSpotters which consists of individuals sending in new business ideas they have spotted. This is an awesome idea as it gives the site a truly international feel and the ideas are literally from all over the world.

Anyone can join as a spotter and be part of this network. Of course the next question is "What's In It For Me?"

This is how it works :

1) Sign up as a spotter

2) Be on the look-out for new / original business ideas in your country / town / neighbourhood

3) Submit the idea

4) You are paid 10 points per accepted idea (1 point = $1 USD)

5) For every idea featured on SpringWise or Trendwatching.com, you are paid an additional 15 points (a total of 25 points)

6) When your points tally is 50 points or more you qualify for a gift ranging from iPods to Amazon.com vouchers

7) You are also able to claim bragging rights to your friends about your business savvy when you name is published with the idea you submitted!

I encourage you to take a look and sign up!