tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84121255461353852482024-03-06T12:01:46.338-08:0012 Businesses in 12 Months Business ChallengeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-74983062485087713432015-02-18T02:06:00.003-08:002015-02-18T02:06:59.038-08:00Turn it around!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Everyday i hear negative comments or negative thoughts and everyday i turn them around. One of they and very successful techniques i teach is to turn every negative comment into an opportunity by turning it around. This helps in both personal living and in business as well as a life perspective that enlightens everyday and is really fun and reduces confrontation to a zero. Let me start with politicians for they are the best to practice this technique. If a politician calls another politician a cockroach then they are the actual cockroach ( TURN IT AROUND-TIA). If a politician says "pay back the money", then it is they who owe money that needs to be paid back! (TIA) If a politician says another politician is a liar, then he is the liar! (TIA) I could go on all day. Basically anything a politician says TIA it and you should get closer to the truth!<br />
In business as an entrepreneur many comments are made all the time. That start up will never make it! TIA it and you could say "he will make it" or I could never really make it! ( says alot about people who make such comments). Your idea is worthless! TIA it....the person making the comment is worthless. I hear negative comments from so called venture capitalists and so called experts all the time and i am amazed at the negative style that is often purveyed to people....especially young people. Most of the time when i hear these negative comments i turn them around in my head and i think that person is actually showing me who they are....deep down. That is why i tell my university students to be carefull who they invite as judges to their pitch events.<br />
In personal life this theory works wonders. If i am surfing and someone calls me a shit surfer in the water, i beleive he feels he is a shit surfer. Or someone calls another a kook, he is the actual kook. If all surfers had this technique no would bother fighting. If your partner says "you are so lazy" or whatever TIA it. They feel lazy...or in reality if we looked at the facts they are actually the lazy one.<br />
So next time someone says anything negative or someone is debating an issue TIA it over and over and i promise your whole worldview will change, that will lead to opportunities and new doors that all people need to open. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-19475610951497949722014-12-25T01:24:00.000-08:002014-12-25T01:24:11.422-08:00BEBOLD winner announced<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is my final blog for 2014. The Final BEBOLD event was a phenomenal success with all the students giving fantastic presentations and the UCT guys coming up trumps. There innovative business to have a separate screen for questions for lecturers at university's as well as schools and conferences was a huge hit. Especially the functionality and that they had a proof of concept as well as a few sales under their belt and some good demand from other universities. The students themselves were all amazing and it proved that the hunger for innovation and entrepreneurship is huge amongst university students.<br />
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What does 2015 hold for me?<br />
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Well BEBOLD is gonna rock:<br />
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1. Set up Independent Entrepreneurship Societies at all 28 campuses across the country.<br />
2. Have regular pitch sessions at all of these campuses<br />
3. 50,000 university students in the system.<br />
4. Teach innovation techniques across all campuses<br />
5. Launch a crowdsource platform for university students only that want to invest in other student businesses<br />
6. Have a bigger better FINALS<br />
7. Have 3500 new businesses across all campuses<br />
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Wow, 2015 is going to be awesome.<br />
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On the innovation side, i will be doing more seeing the leaves workshops than ever across universities, corporates, rural areas, townships and hopefully internationally. This technique still works like a bomb and i still need to keep it going as i may be doing it for a very long time to come.<br />
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So lets all make 2015 the best innovation year yet and lets all support those who want to take the plunge to be innovators and entrepreneurs. They are my heroes.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-37896786676485372392014-11-18T06:05:00.000-08:002014-11-18T06:05:09.019-08:00Top questions all start up entrepreneurs should ask!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here are my top questions all start up entrepreneurs should ask of themselves: They are all Yes and No questions. If it is a NO then you should seriously reconsider your business.<br />
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1. Is your idea innovative and grounded?<br />
2. Do other people get excited about your idea?<br />
3. Do people want to give you money or purchase shares instantly or is it a hard slog?<br />
4. Do people criticise the idea or are they supportive?<br />
5. Have you sold any?<br />
6. Do you understand your customer?<br />
7. If you have been going for longer than a year and sold nothing is this idea really worthwhile?<br />
8. Have you built a prototype? and sold some?<br />
9. Can you explain your business in one sentence clearly that even a 10 year old will understand<br />
10. Do you have another idea should this one not work?<br />
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Like i said if you have too many NO's then your chances are probably a little slim to success. If you have many Yes's then you may be the next Richard Branson.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-81763598964582990862014-10-20T04:12:00.000-07:002014-10-20T04:12:47.402-07:00Intervarsity Pitch is almost here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Universities are strange places. There are so many awesome people who lecture, and attend these institutions. Thats why i beleive universities are the place where innovators are found...and wow have i found them. Not only innovators but also entrepreneurs. Young people who want to make things happen for themselves.
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For quite some time i have been driven by anger. Anger that we can have a whole sports varsity competition model going on and not something that means something really...something with a brain and something like entrepreneurship that will literally change lives and change the country. Im sorry but rugby and netball just doesnt change peoples lives and the lives of many people outside of the sport and it cant be played by all especially at the higher level. So it has always been an irony that sports at varsity is such a big thing when having a brain should be what its all about. For the sponsors like FNB it is also nonsense. Especially as a bank should be encouraging entrepreneurship. I suppose it didnt hurt to have Francois Pienaar work for the bank!<br />
Anyhow this anger led me to start BEBOLD and build a student driven process to entrepreneurship. The ideas have been awesome throughout 2014, more universities are joining all the time, more students are participating and thank god more enlightened sponsors.<br />
But its the student entrepreneurs who are most inspiring. Like the NWU student who designed a straw based system to take supplements, OR the UCT student who set up a tech application so students can ask questions in real time while lectures are happening OR the CPUT student who developed an e-newspaper that is neither online or paper based OR the Rhodes student who has designed a hydro-ponic system using recycled plastic pellets....<br />
So who will win? Which varsity will take the prize. This is what the intervarsity pitch will decide in december and i cant wait! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-82954207496967305612014-09-21T11:17:00.000-07:002014-09-21T11:17:31.366-07:00India has a market South Africa has a future in Innovation <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I believe that South Africa has a great future in Innovation. However many great startups in SA have a singular problem. The market in SA is very small and limited. While the Indian market is extremely large and variegated. Why do i say SA is moving toward an innovation culture and away from a manufacturing culture?<br />
1. If one looks at the number of protests in the manufacturing sector it remains to be seen how long this sector can last before government steps in or foreigners purchase all the companies ( if they haven't already).<br />
2. The cost of doing manufacturing in SA is just too expensive. Labour, electricity, rates and taxes etc etc etc. It doesnt't take a brain surgeon to realise that it will always be made cheaper elsewhere.<br />
3. Very few manufacturing companies will invest here unless there are massive tax incentives ( like the automotive industry) where the taxpayer gets screwed completely.<br />
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However SA is brimming with confidence when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship. Why?<br />
1. Because jobs are becoming scarcer even with a degree<br />
2. Universities are starting to push innovation and entrepreneurship<br />
3. The whole country and government is starting to push Innovation<br />
4. It cost far less to have an innovation industry developed than a manufacturing sector. These sectors also help build older property areas.<br />
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But the most important aspect is that young people in SA want to be innovative and entrepreneurial as they see a future in this sector. SA also has some fine examples of innovation in the last 10 years that have been exported globally.<br />
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This hunger will drive the wave of Innovation in SA.<br />
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So I see SA's youngsters driving Innovation but they will need a big market to make a success of their new venture.<br />
I believe that this market is India.<br />
I believe that SA innovators should take selected SA innovations and start testing them in the Indian market. Since India has such a big market it will only take a small part of that market and a few great innovations to make millions.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-5909864391244238792014-08-29T04:58:00.001-07:002014-08-29T04:58:40.190-07:00We dont need anymore chicken farmers! We need entrepreneurs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I recently felt quite upset at the Black Business Chamber and their organisers who wanted to help grassroots small businesses. Instead they helped some very basic businesses that i feel are disingenous to young people in this country as far as innovation and entrepreneurship are concerned and set us up for mediocrity.</div>
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In Response to the article about the Black Business Chambers awards I was severely disappointed. Why? If South Africa is going to promote chicken farmers and uninspiring small businesses as the way forward then there is no hope for small business in this country. The talent does exist in South Africa to promote more innovative businesses but schools and universities don't understand how to train young people to find new ideas that will inspire fresh approaches and innovation. I can recall one entrepreneur who took all the chicken skins that were discarded by retailers and turn them into a crunchy new snack and another entrepreneur who looked at the methods of township chicken sellers struggling toy take the feathers off chicken and designing a whole new methodology to remove the feathers. What the Black Business Chamber has done in promoting small business is scandalous and a total waste of time and resources. Its time we started teaching kids in this country the skills to be innovative and creative and to find the many business opportunities that are available to them.</div>
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One of their responses:</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I hope you are well. Thank you for sharing your views on the Black Business Chamber and it's recent Grassroots business competition.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I understand your frustration. At the same time, I also do understand what the Black Business Chamber is trying to achieve through the competition.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Below are some of the reasons I do support the competition, namely:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1. There are socio-economic reasons why such type of businesses should be supported to initiate growth.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2. Most of the grassroots businesses cannot access existing business support/ resources because of many known reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I think the Black Business Chamber achieved their goal through the competition. The goal is to support the grassroots businesses in CT. Here are two of recent examples to support my thinking:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1. The owner of the chicken business is now working on setting up a farm to supply restaurants and hotels in WC and EC. I am writing this email now sitting at Marcos African place, just eat the chicken the company want to farm (runway/ village chicken). There is a huge market for the runway chicken.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2. Didiza Productions used to do small TV scripts "here" and "there." But now, the company is now negotiating a contract with the Department of Defence to facilitate and manage the hiring of military equipment and installations by the Film Industry in RSA. This proposal is now supported by the Minister of Trade and Industry (see Minister trip to Hollywood news), Wesgro, WC and KZN Film Commissions, the Military Veteran, and more. I am accompany the owner of the company to attend another meeting with Wesgro tomorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The above are some of the reasons I think, with no doubt, that without this approach, the above businesses could have not seen the light to growth but remain "grassroots" despite potential.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I don't think every business must be based on a new idea only but it can also be working on a basic idea and do it very well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">My experience tells me that the Black Business Chamber must continue with the competition to support the "grassroots" businesses to initiate growth. It is for this reason the Black Business Chamber is relevant to these type of businesses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To sum up, I think different organizations will always find own ways to promote the culture of entrepreneurship. </span></div>
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My response: </div>
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I asked the students at RAA who are trained to come up with awesome fresh innovative ideas what they thought. They were as disgusted as me and felt that this kind of competition downgrades young people in this country. They beleive like me that with skills training and decent ideas generation that all young people can become entrepreneurs instead of small survivalist businesses.</div>
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The examples given above of small business "making it" are dubious at most in my opinion as i have been around for a very long time and heard these kind of delusional examples many times over.</div>
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In conclusion i am advocating for young people in this country to reach their full potential wether educated or not, wether rich or poor, to be skilled in the art of entrepreneurship and to use their full range of creative spirit as a young person instead of becoming small scale chicken farmers ( no offence to chicken farmers)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-45443666604504892872014-08-07T04:41:00.000-07:002014-08-07T04:41:33.407-07:00What is an MVP?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently had the good fortune to work with Socionext a Dutch based Amsterdam organisation working with a whole bunch of university students on the Wits campus. What i loved about their model was the MVP or Minimum viable product. The MVP model is exactly the way innovation and entrepreneurship should be managed as it is quick, simple, intensive and full of surprises.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Rockwell'; font-size: 20.000000pt;">5 Golden Rules of MVP’s
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Eric Ries
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The goal is to begin the process of learning.
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Aim your MVP at early adopters. They don’t care about per-
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Be prepared for your MVP to bring bad news (and essential
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">No matter what happens, don’t give up hope. Keep on testing,
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So the students on the course had to first find a great idea using my newspaper technique and then do a MVP ( all in 5 days)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I dont think we thought it possible but working 9-5 for 5 days showed it is possible. A lesson in itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Great ideas like Train Surfing ( Literally standing on top of a train and surfing as a commercial enterprise), The sale of alternative milk (Like Yak milk), and even a self branding program for students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The students made it, delivered the MVP and even sold it...all in 5 days!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">Steve Blank talking about the MVP (2 minute video): </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joNKkWPafZs</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">I am going to take the MVP model and inculcate it into my Ideas Generation technique and limit the MVP to 2 weeks. Im very excited by this model and believe it will create the volume needed from idea to reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri,Italic'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">dicts. Most of the time the darn customers don’t behave as you predicted.” </span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri,Bold'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Steve Blank </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-77464200964554139682014-06-17T02:20:00.002-07:002014-06-17T02:20:54.533-07:00Could drunken students cooking become a business?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The UCT entrepreneurship Society are an awesome bunch. I recently took them through a process of seeing the leaves and they had to come up with great ideas and implement them. 4 awesome ideas were chosen.<br />
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1. Drunken students learning how to cook.<br />
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The students wanted to great easy to use printed recipes as students are generally poor cooks and guide students to purchasing clever at local retailers. A great big thanks to Shoprite managers who were the only one's to say go-for-it! What the students didn't realise was their promotional video is the actual business. This is one of the quirks of a start-up. Often the "real" business is the "mistake" or the unintentional part of the business. The video is quirky and funny and something students can relate to. Now every recipe can be placed on facebook and students will watch other students cooking with all the natural characters and impromptu students stuff that is impossible to script.<br />
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Check out the link<br />
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2. University tours</div>
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Universities have so many great stories, so many nooks and crannies and so many characters. This idea is so cool as students could easily run and manage it and then expand it to other universities. </div>
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3. Replicart</div>
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The winner on the night takes full scale replica art ( Think a full scale Jackson Pollock), and creates galleries so people can see what the art is really like. In a place like South Africa it would be nigh impossible for many kids and even adults to ever see a Jackson Pollock or the lilies painted by Matisse. Now they can experience it first hand. When they tested this idea they blew everyone away and with thousands of schools this idea is a winner.</div>
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4. Baby growers with crazy sayings</div>
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Imagine your baby with a baby grower saying, " watch your daughters" for a very cool little boy. The sayings are endless and funny and quirky and they sold out within a few minutes. A winner in my book as this could be a global trend very easily.</div>
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The UCT entrepreneurship society has been awesome to work with and i am sure if they pursue these ideas all of them will be successful.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-59197258234827641462014-05-26T05:03:00.002-07:002014-05-26T05:03:23.948-07:00Are you an Honest Broker (HB)? or a Greedy Mother F....R<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #d16349; font-family: Wingdings 2;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">1. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">Do you connect people with other people
at parties like clockwork? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">2. Do you sit at coffee shops all day
chatting away to people? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">3. Does your wife say you love to chat
when all she wants to do is leave? </span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; margin-top: 4.56pt; text-indent: -0.3in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">4. Do your kids get annoyed when you have
long conversations with people while they want to go and play?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">5. Does your brain automatically think
about dollar signs when you see a potential opportunity?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">6. Are you interested in other people’s
businesses? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">7. Do you try and cut yourself in a deal
even if its not your own?</span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; margin-top: 4.56pt; text-indent: -0.3in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">8. When you think of the word broker do
you think Mother </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">heresa? </span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; margin-top: 4.56pt; text-indent: -0.3in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">9. When you die will they put on your
tombstone “He helped other people” ? </span></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.3in; margin-top: 4.56pt; text-indent: -0.3in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 19.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;">10. Have you a story where you connected
one person to another and something great happened in business because of you? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 27.0pt;"><span style="color: #d16349; font-family: "Wingdings 2"; font-size: 85%; mso-color-index: 4; mso-special-format: bullet;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;">To be nominated OR to become an HB you
should have scored:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;"> 8 (YES)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;">2
(NO)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;">Or somewhere close to that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 27pt;">connect@marketplacesouthafrica.org</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-34812249628974877072014-04-29T02:52:00.001-07:002014-04-29T02:52:17.471-07:00The dark side of innovation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Being a person who believes in the ying and the yang, the light and the dark, I suppose there had to be a dark side to innovation, the side that no one explores or debates, the uncomfortable side, the scary side. At a talk on low income solutions to marketing a case study was done on SAB and Kenya. SAB realized that their beers were too expensive for that market. Their strategy! To develop Cassava a cash crop into a low income beer using some awesome technology. With all the resources they have they succeeded in the technology. A case in point. And produced a low income beer. The sales of the beer are phenomenol in that market, but SAB really want the market buying more of this beer, slowly increasing the price to make their premium beers appetizing to the market in price. Genius or just plain devious. At the talk it was explained that the farmers could make much more money selling the cassava now ( a cash crop) BUT one has to balance out the social ills of all the alcohol consumed in the market and the total cost to the country in the long run. A dark cloud came over the room as the case study unfolded. When the presenter mentioned that for the first time in his life the CEO of SAB felt they had done something good in their lives I felt the room contract in disgust. The reality is excess alcohol use is one of the biggest scourges of the low income community....something they struggle with on a daily basis, and beer makes up the majority of that , and SAB is the biggest role player. Social ills such as violence in all forms, car accidents, shack fires and the list can go on and on are exacerbated by excess alcohol use. Not to mention that poor households spend income they cannot afford on alcohol that should be used for education and food, sometimes leaving families hungry! This is not anecdotal. (See one of my earlier blogs on How excess alcohol use is actually the main cause of shack fires) and backed up by many other research reports. Like i said i am not a teetotaller and do love my tipple but balancing the forces of good and bad when it comes to innovation should not be an issue. Innovation in this context helps the farmer but destroys a community or even a country. So innovation in this context favours the bad ( even though there is some good). Innovation should always favour the good of society BUT i understand their might always be a dark side. The final question should be how SAB can change their entire business model using innovation to become a force for good! Is this impossible?It is in my opinion. They have the resources, the brand, the technology, so they could actually change the world....for good....or they could keep on destroying it interspersing themselves with feel good innovations that will never counter their own dark side. All SAB needs is the will!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-80449903065319434302014-03-31T10:32:00.002-07:002014-03-31T10:32:20.497-07:00Technology and issues close to our heart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ever gone to a restaurant with a group of friends or a few couples and now the bill comes. Let's calculate quickly or just make a quick division to split the bill. The reality is if we are going to split a bill then surely we should do it correctly. It is quite an irritation as it is quite difficult to make a calculation right there. Also what if I wanted that extra special expensive cigar and no one else did.or more wine. I think that all restaurants should have a special app for split bills. I recently heard the idea and thought how practical, that's something I would use. Like all apps I am not a fan as most don't make any money but this is one that if fitted to all restaurants ( and restaurants would buy it) then it may work.<br />
At the same workshop I also heard another idea that is very personal to me. Magnificent hard working sportsmen and women who sweat blood and tears to make it on the world stage but receive no sponsorship from companies or government. Damn it irritates me because I know how hard these guys work. There should be an organization that connects sponsors with minor sports not just the big money sports. Perhaps starting with crowd funding and later with connecting money to actual sporting codes who don't have any financial support. I think this is something I need to do as my young son is a top karate fighter and if we travel overseas to compete it will cost me a fortune. This must be done on a web platform. Another good example of technology that could makea big difference<br />
I suppose the lesson here is innovation is sometimes best handled when very personal and tackles issues that are very close to our hearts.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-76613320441924731722014-03-09T22:47:00.001-07:002014-03-09T22:47:39.701-07:00People give money to People not businesses or causes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
i recently started The Fundraising Academy. The objective was clear. Train people to raise money for their businesses or projects. As a profession in South Africa it is quite clear that there are thousands of people trying to do positive social projects ( or non profits)....in fact 100,000 of them and they all need to raise money, and there are thousands of entrepreneurs who need money for their business start-ups. The issue of capital raising is an interesting one but i dont think it has changed much over time. Most money is given by people to other people rather than the value of the new idea. What this means and what i teach at the academy is someone will first invest in you and not your cause or business. They first need to "like you" or trust you or beleive in You! This is a difficult proposition for most young entrepreneurs as they promote their brilliant ideas. They need to be promoting who they are and they need to start by building genuine relationships with possible people who can fund their brilliance in ideas. When i listen to a pitch most people sell ideas and causes. They dont understand that a potential investor needs to understand who they are first. In an age of technology, building genuine relationships has become much harder for young people. I mean a young couple can be dating online, thousands of miles away from each other, talk on the phone daily ( sorry i mean on facebook or Skype), for years and never actually meet face to face. What skills are these young people learning? What happens when they eventually do meet and move in together? A disaster. The same applies to raising capital for your business. You need to meet people. Build genuine relationships with them. Let them get to know you and then they might just bet on you. Let me emphasise genuine again and again, as most people who seek money from other people are often not genuine. If someone doesnt give you money its not personal. But that relationship needs to be. When i hear young people pitch new innovations they fail to build this connection between people. The idea is rarely strong enough. The other option to raise capital is to go to a bank ( good luck), go to the government ( better luck). This form of raising capital has and will always work. However let me throw in a quick caveat. Crowdsource funding may just change the game altogether. Where millions of ordinary Joe's fund other ordinary Joe's, anywhere, anytime. If you cant make this work however you will still need to revert to the old ways....people give to people not to great ideas.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-5624517264348432112014-02-09T09:11:00.000-08:002014-02-09T09:11:23.454-08:00My Raymond Ackerman entrepreneurship students are on a roll again! Check out the top 12!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<td colspan="3" height="15" style="height: 15pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 195pt;" width="195">Every year I lecture on innovation and love all the new ideas that come out of the course material. I really want the students to be as succesfull as Sizwe from Iyeza Express who has become quite a phenomenon. like always I get the students to use my newspaper technique and they look for innovative cutting edge ideas. I have chosen my top 12 ideas for this grouping:<br />
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1. Water protection devices for cloth bandages. In my research I saw that the product has been developed in the USA but nobody is importing it into the country. A great opportunity.<br />
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2. Breakfast traffic service. As long as the city of cape town allows this a great brand during peak hour traffic would be wonderfull.<br />
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3. A 2 -day storage box for shack fires. When there is a shack fire people need to store their goods for at least 2 days until they build another shack.<br />
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4. Mourning camps. Its easier to mourn in a group or online than as an individual and with high levels of violence we need this.<br />
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5. Mobile Beach lockers. My fave idea for now.<br />
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6. Gun-powder detector. I love this idea. If someone has any gunpowder on them it means take a wide berth from that person.<br />
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7. Lie detector system on phones. My second fave idea.<br />
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8. Manufacture of local celeb latex masks. Julius malema must be our first one.<br />
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9. Car Key breathalyzer. Again it does look like it could be imported but every car manufacturer should be placing these on every key for a new car bought.<br />
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10. Automatic car indicator. Most accidents happen because of a lack of indication. This can only work on a GPS system. Quite controversial.<br />
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11. Heart rate monitor while driving<br />
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12. Production of a range of swings for low income areas<br />
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Hopefully one of these will become a huge success with a great new brand.</td>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-86926766609885790172014-01-22T03:49:00.002-08:002014-01-22T03:49:32.614-08:00What will trend in Innovation in 2014?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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There are a few trends that should dominate my 2014. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first is the innovation trend to extrapolate a small
thing into many things. What I call innovation diversification. So when someone
identifies an insect like the locust as a new food in the market the true
entrepreneur will make 100 varieties of this same product. Chocolate ones
should be good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second trend in South Africa will revolve around
innovation in our national elections. How innovative will we be campaigning and
who will deliver the most innovative campaigns that will catch the eye of the
public. Julius malema’s red beret is a case in point. Well done Julius…good
job!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next trend will be how low income consumers adapt to
very difficult economic conditions. I see a huge market for cheaper varieties
and brands of soup, and bread ( note Mama Mimi’s) as well as beans ( the baked
ones in tomato sauce being my favorite).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another trend will be how foreigners bring in the mundane
older concepts from their countries into South Africa and it becomes a big hit
here. Like the Fondue from Switzerland ( remember the 70”s) or Schnapps from
Austria. As we have some nay foreigners in South Africa all they need to do is
to bring what they see as old and normal to us and we will love it. I think the
Japanese have so much to offer here and I encourage a Chindogu store please. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trending also will be the World Design Capital in Cape Town.
New ideas, new innovations and I hope lead to some really exciting and edgy
installations in my city. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I heard and interview with the new head of Primedia who said
in relation to movie theaters quoted someone else who said, “ Theaters have
been around for 1000 years and they will be around for another thousand years”.
Really! Don’t think ill be investing in Primedia shares thank you if that’s the
level of innovation and change form the new CEO.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a great, Innovative 2014!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-70550066262824727502013-11-05T10:08:00.000-08:002013-11-05T10:08:04.421-08:00THE MOST EXCITING DAY OF THE YEAR IS WHEN MY STUDENTS PITCH THEIR FINAL IDEAS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every year i teach a course at the Raymond Ackerman Academy for entrepreneurs at the University of Cape Town. My course is strictly innovation but i follow the same process as always. Ideation technique through Seeing the leaves workshops and the newspapers, Testing ideas and finally pitch. The pitch session is happening on the 19th Nov and i would like to share with you some of the ideas that have been tested and will be presented as they epitomise innovation the way I see it.<br />
<br />
There is Aidan who with some help has designed a web site that will enable thousands of small businesses to have a one day sale once a month.<br />
<br />
There is Lundchen who has designed a barrier for accident and murder victims in the public domain to be used by police and emergency services so children and others don't need to see this traumatic incident.<br />
<br />
There is Nurishaam who has designed and made a personalised car alarm so you never get confused again whose alarm is that?<br />
<br />
There is Donovon who has designed and built a smelly water pistol device to be used as a deterrent against criminals. It smells like vomit....literally.<br />
<br />
There is Mel who has started recycling make-up and created het own range from it.<br />
<br />
There is Shihaam who has taken an Israeli concept using motorbikes to get to motor accident victims to stabilise them and thus save lives.<br />
<br />
And the list goes on...<br />
<br />
It will be a tense and wonderfull morning of pitches but it will be the highlight of my year.<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-15092634708524362712013-10-24T08:50:00.001-07:002013-10-24T08:50:23.408-07:00The Bakery Business and Mama Mimi's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So the biggest and most exciting thing in my life right now is Mama Mimi's. Mama Mimi's is a bakery business with a twist and it really works.<br />
Most Bakeries (especially as developmental projects) fail for the following reasons....<br />
1. They use equipment that is too expensive<br />
2. The equipment needs electricity that is too expensive<br />
3. There are too many bakers leading to low profit margins<br />
4. With the bakers ownership is always an issue and leads to conflict<br />
5. They use containers that are uncomfortable or community centres that are not good venues for bakeries<br />
6. The product is not consistent as they need to mix all ingredients themselves<br />
7. They are not a properly functioning business, and are not managed and run as businesses with proper records etc<br />
<br />
Enter Mama Mimi's. Now I am the most sceptical person the planet when it comes to bakeries but this model rocks and I came on board asap. So why does Mama Mimi's work:<br />
<br />
1. The equipment is a single wood fired oven<br />
2. The oven is very affordable even for poor women in communities<br />
3. The single women baker makes a great profit that she can control and she doesn't need to share it<br />
4. Mama mimi's can set up 1000's of bakers all over the country even in rural areas<br />
5. The bakeries are at women's homes<br />
6. The product is very consistent as they use a premix sold to them by Mama mimi's ( this is their core business)<br />
7. The businesses function well and are easily managed based on premix sales.<br />
<br />
So watch this space as Mama Mimi's is going to literally take over the baking world....and its not going to be bread alone as there is already pizza and cupcakes on the menu.<br />
<br />
How can you get involved?<br />
<br />
You can fund a oven for R5500 ( $550) to give a woman a great start in a great business. If you need the $550 back the women entrepreneur will make enough money within the first 5 months to do so.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-54803066370050554422013-10-24T08:32:00.000-07:002013-10-24T08:32:03.187-07:00The story of the boiled frog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There once was a frog and he was really comfortable in his cool pond. But then the pond started to warm up just a little, and although he was aware of the water temperature rising he decided to stay. As the water became a little hotter and hotter he realised that it was too late to move and he was boiled.<br />
This is a very famous fable for entrepreneurs and businesses, especially small businesses who often only have one large client. When that client pulls out the entrepreneur is boiled and goes under. Liquidated! <br />
The way to avoid being a boiled frog are:<br />
1. Generate a funnel of potential new business. This funnel should be documented onto paper and new leads followed up all the time. Some of the new leads will become real and sometimes it just doesn't work out. However without the funnel new business will never be created.<br />
2. Strategise about new ways of doing things all the time. A good strategy will translate into new business and new leads, and often a strategy needs to be revised every 6 months.<br />
3. My general rule is that for every 10 new leads 1 will be a success. So to have 10 new clients will mean I need to approach 100. This seems like a lot but the formula does seem to work.<br />
4. If over time new leads don't translate into business then move on. My general rule is a maximum time limit of 6 months.<br />
5. Keep focused on what your business does and don't stray too far from that focus. Many small businesses take on work that is too difficult because it is not part of the core business.<br />
6. You should have many smaller clients as well as a large client. If one small client is lost then its not a train smash.<br />
<br />
So the lesson here is important. When you are in a good place, and the water is cool and good you need to work very hard to keep it that way. The only way to do that is to generate a funnel of new business and keep working at it so you don't become a boiled frog one day.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-84892363515002944682013-10-11T00:40:00.001-07:002013-10-11T00:40:54.562-07:00Understanding Megatrends means you never snooze<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When a corporate looks to innovate it is important to look at the bigger picture. This is called a megatrend and thanks to my buddy Klaus I believe that megatrends are important to be aware of. Things like technology or nanotechnology or health and obesity as well as ageing are all megatrends. So when you look for new ideas it is vital you look at megatrends as well to guide a possible new idea. <br />
So one of these trends is people are getting older and older. This means that logically all investment products should be sold at birth. Thus an insurance policy or a retirement fund should be sold at birth. Once a baby is born a parent should be purchasing all these products so when a kid reaches university age they can afford it. And when people reach other milestones in their life they can afford that too. Too often people struggle when they get old but if they use the system such as compound interest or long term investment then they should be very wealthy.<br />
The same applies to banks. Most banks and the systems they follow are geared towards" Older" persons but when will someone start a bank "only" for people between the ages of 5-16. Something unique and creative that caters for their needs in every way not just an after-thought from a large institution.<br />
In South African culture most black men need to pay a dowry called a LOBOLA. This dowry can be as high as R100,000 or more. However no financial institution has instituted a system of savings for this niche group of "men" who if they dont have the lobola they cannot marry, often living and having children but not being able to marry even if they wish.<br />
The lesson here is that entrepreneurs can find niche products and services either within corporates or they can develop products and services that they can later sell to larger corporates, as corporates are often quite slow to innovate. This provides some great opportunities.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-10595822552100775862013-09-29T07:26:00.001-07:002013-09-29T07:26:28.515-07:00The true power of Innovation is it uplifts the spirit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today a young man walked into my office and was so depressed. He bemoaned the fact that politics and the next election was just so depressing. He told me a terrible story about people in the rural areas having to eat cow dung because they had no food but they still have to take their HIV medication. He was depressed about crime and about everything else. So we started chatting about possible new ideas and changing negative stories into positive stories. He bemoaned the fact that he had no money for Lobola. For those who don't know what lobola is it is a fee paid by the wanna be husband to the family's father. The amount will differ and its often a secret. So I asked him if there was a savings program run by men for men who needed to save for Lobola. Not that he knew, he said. So I said start the movement and see what happens. His face lit up and I could see that he could see that he thought how this could be turned into a great business opportunity with a great social purpose. He even mentioned how he could purchase a farm and start savings of cows for lobola as the Zimbabwean banks have done quite successfully. <br />
As his mood softened he showed me a picture in the newspaper of 4 black workers with masks on their faces of monkeys and baboons superimposed by a computer. Look he said. This is what truly depresses me...the racism. I said...Yes it is racist but lets turn it around and create a business out of it that could be fun and positive. So he did. He superimposed crazy funny faces on some corporate employees that were not intrusive at all...just fun. And everyone loved it. He came to me and thanked me about uplifting his spirit when all around him things seemed negative. <br />
I know that innovation has the power to make life better in its own crazy way. This makes my life very enriching and this is the comment I most hear. Wouldn't everyone love to get this feedback while they work all the time. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-72507802440287487012013-09-24T07:35:00.001-07:002013-09-24T07:35:20.312-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Diamonds are a girls best friend. But what about the mining process as a whole. When a client asked me to take a look at some creative opportunities for workers I didn't quite fathom how deep ( excuse the pun) the mining industry actually is. South Africa has lost out to Botswana as a major processor of diamonds and thus new ways of thinking are needed. So I looked at the first stage of mining...prospecting. Now this doesn't sound that interesting but it conjures up images of men with long beards walking in mountains and streams or riding their ponies seeking gold and diamonds over months or years. I thought why not allow us city dwellers to become prospectors as a tourism thing and hide real gems ( off cuts of course) as a real incentive to explore. Quite exciting. But we are also inundated with TV programs showing survival skills. And the prospector had to learn to survive in tough conditions. I can also see Kids panning and sifting in makeshift zones linked to gem makers where one could manufacture and sell all the equipment for kids and plant some real gems to make it really exciting. But why stop there. What about an idea in this blog where a clothing brand called "African Cowboy" could be sold. Today metal detectors are used and I love the idea of ordinary people using a simple metal detector to find and explore but this could also be an empowerment project where hundreds of people could seek scrap metal with the metal detectors and sell it, making a living. The prospector also needed to understand mapping. I believe communities should map every aspect of their lives so we can all understand better what solutions are needed to make the world a better place. This includes geological mapping especially re: water sources. Other opportunities looking at the diamond mining industry included alternative uses for beeswax, often used to sort the diamonds from the soil, amazing security solutions such as helium filled balloons ( which could prevent cattle theft), and my personal favourite cutting stone tools to make alternative cutlery. This could become an amazing job creator as stone age tools can be cut to make knives, spoons, bowls, mortar and pestles etc. I can already see them at fancy steakhouses as a really quirky addition to the business. So the more I looked at creating fun and creative alternatives for the diamond industry the more I found. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-64416107496908027702013-09-15T00:39:00.000-07:002013-09-15T00:39:15.766-07:00SMIPES charity serviettes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%); font-family: 'MetaPlusMedium'; font-size: 60.000000pt;">We hope our food brings a
smile to your<br />
face ... so<br />
that we
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<span style="color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%); font-family: 'MetaPlusMedium'; font-size: 60.000000pt;">can bring
one to
others!
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<span style="font-family: Folio; font-size: 14pt;">Every time you use a 100%
bio-degradable SMIPES serviette,
we will donate a portion of the
cost of that serviette to Early
Childhood Development projects,
so that we can play a small role in
contributing to the education<br />
and care of vulnerable children in
South Africa.<br />
We thank the Bay Harbour Market
food traders for joining the
SMIPES movement!<br />
For more information, contact
Anthony Stroebel at 0832755586
or email anthony@smipes.co.za.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Folio; font-size: 14pt;">Join the SMIPES movement today!
www.facebook.co.za/smipesZA
www.twitter.com/smipesZA
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<span style="color: rgb(100.000000%, 54.000000%, 0.000000%); font-family: 'MarkerMonkey'; font-size: 30.000000pt;">Viva Republica! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-3451522189170295412013-09-15T00:37:00.003-07:002013-09-15T00:37:57.319-07:00The Cape Talk business awards, the fish cake and what makes you truly unique as a business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was gracefully invited to help with the judging of the Cape Talk radio stations small business awards. My job which i enjoyed thoroughly was to prepare the businesses for the actual judging process. One of the key questions for all the businesses was , "what makes you unique?" or your unique selling position USP? The example i gave them was the previous years winner who was a fish shop but his real USP was his fish cakes. A great story. So I asked all the businesses " what their fish cake is?" Some had some interesting fish cakes....a transport company that focuses on women to airport, a alternative food company that makes a pizza that takes 5 days to make, a biltong maker who has made chicken biltong, a pyjama manufacturer who makes a one piece that is very popular. When looking carefully every business had a fish cake but they seldom focused on this when they explained their business. Instead they focused on being very corporate like. I explained to them that when explaining their business they should always tell a great story that focuses on their USP or fish cake. Then one business asked me for my fish cake....oops on the spot! So i told them the story of the vine, and that my fish cake is "The seeing the leaves workshops". So next time you explain your business and someone asks you what you do, tell them what your fish cake is!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-43410681562436658902013-09-04T03:12:00.000-07:002013-09-04T03:12:20.423-07:00Water Fountains and water coolers could be cool!Looking at the newspapers I saw a picture of a very pretty park. In the park hidden in the picture was a small water fountain. Looking at the fountain i wondered wether you could put anything in a water fountain? or a water cooler? Well yes of course you could. You could put in coke or milk or beer or iced tea! Then i thought how many water coolers there are and how many public fountains there are and i thought why not fill a few with some odd stuff and see what happens when people come and take a drink. At the public fountains it caused a huge rage as people suddenly got a squirt of coke or milk. Then i thought why not create my own fountains and see what happens? Then i can place them anywhere and i can get clients to fill them and people can then drink from the fountain....a new concept that could create brilliant brand awareness and generate a whole new form of income.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-78396015332745450692013-08-25T06:01:00.000-07:002013-08-25T06:01:40.174-07:00Changing perceptions: How investors and entrepreneurs can make magic and change the world.For sometime now i have been wondering like other people in my network how one changes the perceptions of people who do have money and link them with entrepreneurs who want to change the world. The problem is that people with money will often choosour e safe options as investment or they will invest with people they know. The journey to find a new system came with the realisation that there is a missing link between these two parties. The missing link is the connector. That person who connects the entrepreneur with the investor. However connectors at the moment are institutional investors, people who manage funds for other people and they are paid a fee to connect. In other words they are like brokers and they get paid to do so so the people they represent make more money. However this system is flawed as connectors should not be paid! And this was the radical realisation! We all live in tribes still. The religious tribes, the colour tribes, the sex tribes etc. So connectors are busy all the time connecting people within their own tribes. To connect someone from outside the tribe does entail some risk and personal reputational damage. So why not build a system of connectors across tribes who will connect with one another and connect with thousands of businesses and then these businesses should connect with one another as well. And this is the essence of a new world order from the I-ego to the W-ego. Where connectors understand that everyone including themselves benefit as does society in the growth of jobs and prosperity for all. So it does not matter wether connectors are connecting with regards to a small businesses selling chickens or the next technology enterprise that could change the way we do business in Africa. The point is real connectors are the missing link who operate because they beleive this is the right thing to do. If they do benefit they could be the first to invest or be paid if the entrepreneur chooses to do so not because its the dealmaker. Connectors are sitting in coffee shops all the time doing just this. I know because i am one of these people. Now imagine an organisation dedicated to supporting these connectors. Holding events for them, paying the coffee bill, maybe a flight to connect two people together to create magic. Would you want to be a connector? Soon something is going to happen where 1000 connectors meet and try and see if 10,000 businesses can receive the connectivity they need to take their businesses to the next level and change the way we perceive what we do now as seriously old school.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8412125546135385248.post-62593042401537172852013-08-13T04:16:00.003-07:002013-08-13T04:16:47.824-07:00Some Great New ideas! Drive through ATM's, Dead body barriers and self help affidavits at police stationsOnce upon a time I wanted to draw cash from an ATM. Problem 1: I couldnt find parking. Problem 2: when i did find parking it was miles away. Problem 3: The cost of the parking was blue murder Problem 4: I had to go into a mall wasting my time Problem 5: It was late and dark and dangerous. So why not have a drive through ATM. We have fast food drive thru's and they work really well. Security is better and one could have all the banks under one roof. ATM cash withdrawals will become much easier to manage and convenient for me. My vote is for DRive thru ATM's as i could also buy my burger and chips at the same time.<br />
When one looks at the newspapers or images of dead gangsters or murdered people on the TV one can see real live dead bodies, people under blankets with red splotches and often kids seeing these images in the communities where they live. Someone needs to design a proper barrier that is erected by police or the community so people dont have to be bombarded with these sickening images. As this is a global problem police all over the world could use and purchase whatever barrier is designed as a uniquely SA design. Im sick and tired of seeing a 4 year old seeing these images in poor communities when i would never let my kids see the same things.<br />
When people go into a police station they often need to give an affidavit. However there are 2 problems for people who enter a local police station. 1: The police writing the affidavit often dont do such a great job and their literacy skills are often poor. 2: Many affidavits are lost. A self help kiosk similar to a a self help kiosk at the airport for ticket vending could be designed so people can do their own affidavits, print them and save them on a central server. The police officer can read and sign and store the paper copy. I really like this idea as the justice system is often fraught with poor record keeping and management.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06249395423777924054noreply@blogger.com0