A new challenge for 2013: Newspapers from around the world challenge

Every year I challenge myself more and more in the field of innovation. In 2013 I will take on a new challenge. Every month I will read a new newspaper from around the world. I will then formulate new ideas from each newspaper and send them to the various newspapers in the hope they will publish these ideas. I will try and get newspapers from every continent and develop as many innovative: ideas possible. You can all help me by sending me newspapers from any country or continent you want to challenge me on, as long as they are in English.

My first newspaper will be The Guardian (UK).

By the end of january I will post innovative business and social ideas from this newspaper and hopefully you will all enjoy this new challenge for 2013.

Of course you could join me in the challenge by reading the same newspapers and sending me your creative business or social change ideas.

Let the journey for 2013 begin.

Final lessons from 2012

This is my last blog for the year and what a year it has been. It has been a year full of action and drama like none I have ever had before. I have succeeded and I have failed but most of all I have learnt and adapted. An entrepreneur can never stop learning and these are my lessons from 2012. In fact I can honestly say I may have had a mid life crisis in between!

The first lesson is to keep focusing and fine tuning my vision for who I am, what I am, and what my life work should be. Its so easy to lose focus. I understand more than ever that when you focus things do fall into place. I have focused on my core vision and mission in life that is innovation and creativity. This is translated into the people I meet, the projects and business I start or get involved in. My keeping the focus I am able to build opportunities and start amazing new things.

The question I ask you all is what is your focus? If you know then follow it through and if you don’t then find it! I have helped quite a people in 2012 find their focus and maybe it because I am so clear on mine.

The second big lesson for 2012 is about implementation. I have always been a good implementor but I have also tended not to follow through 100%.  In implementing the rock roads my most challenging project to date implementation was key and I cant say I did the best job. A lesson well learnt. I have committed to 1 innovative new business at a time for 1 full day a week in 2013. I will implement until the end and then with success or failure I will move on to another venture.

The Third big lesson for 2012 was about essential business principles like taxes and cash flow. Wow we live in a country so full of bureaucracy for the small guy running a business BUT it needs to be done. The invoices, chasing the cash, getting paid enough, getting a tax clearance certificate for a government contract. As an entrepreneur just suck it up and deal with it

The fourth big lesson this year has been about stakeholder management. I have made friends and I have made enemies. Its better to make friends and apologise to enemies.

The Fifth big lesson for 2012 has been about not having an opinion, that has been a growing experience for me as a guy famous for his big mouth. If you have an opinion keep it to yourself or become a politician! Otherwise stick to your vision and focus.

The sixth big lesson is about growing something slowly but surely like the vegetables in my garden. It take a vegetables a few months to grow properly. If you don’t have patience you wont eat and you will go hungry. In business grow slow and sure and before you know it you will be rich.

The last lesson for 2012 has been about balance and how important it is. For me it was about surfing…. and how I have enjoyed and challenged myself doing it.  And I made time to surf when I could have been working. It was good for my body and soul and all entrepreneurs need to find something to help find that balance. Something you can do by yourself or with a friend, but most importantly something that makes you really really happy and inspired that is yours alone.

2013? Keeping focused, growing slow, making things happen, maybe surf somewhere exotic. Travel to Ethiopia to see the Coptic churches (Its on my bucket list). Sounds good.

Freakonomics and shack fires

Have you heard of freakonomics? (You can read the book)Its a fantastic mechanism for analysing data and then coming up with new ideas that are often not thought about. Often the ideas are based on real data and the ideas are often quite controversial. Like reducing crime through increasing abortion in low income areas. very controversial! So the City of cape town asked me to do a presentation on new ideas for shack fires. Ok so i thought let me do a freakonomics exercise. I decided that the only data that is consistent and makes sense is time and date. What time did the fire take place and on which date ( season). So I phoned the fire and rescue guys Theo Layne and he passed me onto Richard Bosman " Your request will have to be authorised by the office of the Executive director of Safety and Security as it is not a standard request for info". Ok so i got nothing....typical government and city department after a really competent request. Not to be deterred by usual government and city bureacracy and this is an important lesson for entrepreneurs ( not to be deterred by these crappy bureaucrats) and bureacracy you will need to navigate endlessly as an entrepreneur in this country ( which is a serious problem for new entrepreneurs) ...oh i could rant and rave about this all day....but back to shack fires. So I went back to my trusty newspapers and looked at data they wrote about in terms of shack fires. and lo i found a pattern! Shack fires are most prevalent between 9pm and 2 am and most in winter. Immediately the freakonomics kicked in. Warmth and Heat. When i looked at most of the theories on shack fires they showed light (like candles) and cooking as the main problem rather than warmth and heat. But loads of people die in shack fires which assumes that many are asleep when the fires break out....assumption being warmth and heat.  Prevention should thius include heating options and ways to stay warm and keep heat in. These include blankets, layering of clothes, beanies and socks, insulation of shacks, New generation fire places specifically designed for shacks, public driers for clothing in winter, battery driven heaters, Floor solutions and so on. As an entrepreneur using this kind of thinking one can come up with a myriad of new solutions some of which can be socially driven but many that are business opportunities. I will feedback once i have presented to the city on the 19th November. Wonder what the bureaucrats will say to some innovation!

Whats the best way to take the feathers off a chicken? ( when its dead of course!) You use paraffin wax...you know like women do when they shave their legs. At a recent innovation workshop ( which i still run) i had a guy from Rainbow chickens and he had some great ideas of his own. So I mentioned that another young entrepreneur who wanted to work with women who slaughter chickens in the township and then defeather them came up with this concept ( which is quite commonly used in Europe by the way) and wanted to make a defeathering kit ( as millions of chickens are slaughtered this way in South Africa). Otherwise the women basically use hot water which is quite a difficult process. Here the wax just takes the feathers off quite easily. Awesome. On another note in the same workshop one of the guys saw a bowl of baked beans in a very nice ceramic plate. We looked at the picture and after a bit of discussion agreed that in South Africa there are 2 markets. The mass market and the "what i want to call the artisan" market. This is very evident with coffee. From crappy instant coffee the whole market seems to be moving to artisan coffee and willing to pay for it. So I said to him why not artisan baked beans. Lightbulb! I definitely think it would work in the making and packaging of baked beans. South Africa seems to follow the trend of the rich. So if the rich start using a certain product then everyone wants it as well as a trend and a "i wanna be like them". I have mentioned this before re: brands. So if the mass market sees the rich eating artisan baked beans then they will start to eat them too and pay a higher price. Thinking aloud a great example of that is purity baby foods and nappies which make no sense at all in the mass market as they are very pricey. Yet the rich have it so the mass market aspires to it. Image and advertising which is slighly different from other countries like India...or is it? What i have been saying for quite some time is that we live in an aspirational country. So to launch new products they should sell to rich first and get assimilated into the mass market as a brand you need to get. A great example is that of coffins. If the rich are seen to be buried in sideways coffins which are made with plastics then the mass market will follow! or will they? Damn i just thought of another great idea. Building private pools in the townships for householders. They charge people a fee to use them for leisure as well as charge for swimming lessons. Not bad! In the workshop mentioned above one of the participants saw a guy in cowboy gear. Now imagine a store that imports all the cowboy and cowgirl stuff and started a small retail store. I love this idea as i can see the trend growing in Tshwane with dudes walking around in their stetsons.

why mentorship is so important

I wanted to talk about mentorship and my own life experience. To truly have a mentor must be one of the most rewarding experiences of life and to be a mentor must be an even greater experience. I have been mentored by Israeli fighter pilots and by teachers.  I feel that I will always search for a mentor when the time arises which could even be when I am 90 years old. Perhaps our children become our mentors over time as well. I have mentored really badly  and I have mentored really well. I have realized that you cant change the person to be like you but you need to allow the person to become who they need to be. I have realized that humour is really important as well as frivolity. I have also realized that to build trust the most important element of true mentorship is being available when someone needs you for it is that time that is important, not any other time.  I suppose mentorship is not about success or failure but about life long learning with one person. It has taken me a long time to learn these lessons that seem so simple but I interact with so many people these days and realize they need a mentor. Someone positive and honest and when needs be a little tough. I have been working with Sarah on taking all the new ideas we have to a new level with a crowdsourcing model that means that we showcase all the new ideas that come our way and we sell shares in them. Quite exciting to be working with her as she has the type of energy I like. I am also working with Marcelle from Lavender in lavender Hill. And Tim. And Matt from Stellenbosch and all his mates. And lets not forget Vuyisa, and Luvuyo. Then there are the 18 gangster museum guys and  Brandon from Speakers Corner. So it seems like I am busy mentoring plenty of youthful talent mostly around 25-28 years of age. It’s a great honour and a great experience as it energises me and its creative and it works.  Some new ideas that have come my way recently are and will be showcased with new brands soon and sold with Sarah under the crowdsoucing model ar (that means you can purchase shares at under R10 in perhaps the next big thing):

1.     Mobile hardware vehicles

2.     Penis Cutlery ( never laugh at an idea)

3.     Cement steps in flooded areas

4.     45 ( do a new years resolution and stick to it)

5.     A recycled can grater

6.     Read a book in jail and write a report for a reduced sentence

7.     Be what you wanted to be ( a business that allows you to experience your childhood dream….)

8.     Developing the mighty spinach into a range of new products and brand

Hopefully many new business opportunities and new opportunities  to mentor bright new talent.

Have you ever heard of the brand Native Yard?

Have you ever heard of the brand Native Yard? Not yet, just wait! A small business sent me their profile and they wanted to do a new radio station and information service for Guguletu, one of the oldest townships in South Africa. I didn't like their business idea but OMG what a brand. In Guguletu all the streets are name Native Yard or NY, and this is what people know. Now there is a shift towards changing the NY system to "real" names. The reason for changing the name is a political issue rather than a business or marketing issue. But not necessarily a good business or marketing decision. What the people who are changing the names don't realise is how business and clever marleting works and how South Africa is a very brand oriented culture. Most of us still buy the old products our mom's bought because of brand loyalty and then south africans get very excited by new brands such as loxion culture. We love brands. So in South Africa what is really important for a new business is a great brand that resonates with all south africans and specifically the mass market. So let me come back to Native Yard and these new business entrepreneurs. I love the brand, i mean i really love it! It also becomes so much more desirable as the weenies want to get rid of the name altogether. This opens the door for someone like them to trademark the brand and add it to anything....coffee, restaurants, clothing, anything. What is important as a lesson is that sometimes creating an innovative business may be difficult but creating a unique brand may be easier and much more profitable as well as creating the profile and history all in one shot. Native Yard! Watch this space. if you think you have a great brand send it to me. I would love to see it.

How to pitch your idea for success

I have been watching the dragons den on TV an old program from the UK actually but just arrived on our shores....Basically the dragons ( very rich business people) hear 3 minute pitches of new business ideas most of which are inventions ( no services actually)....

The prospectives make their pitch and then the dragons decide to invest and mostly take equity.

The biggest lesson in the program is how to pitch and how shockingly bad most of the pitches are.

Most of the people stutter around and are really bad at answering the questions of the dragons.

To be an entrepreneur the pitch is sometimes the most important thing you may do and doing it well requires skill and preparation. Most of all preparation. The people in the UK TV program defintely dont look prepared. I have been asked to help the Cape Talk 567 Small business awards in the art of pitching so here are the tips that I will be giving them in their preparation to win. When you pitch it is a winners take all approach. Tip 1: Preparation of the pitch. The pitch needs to be 5 minutes max.

Outline of a pitch:Start with a great story and if its funny then even betterOutline 4 main points:

1. Who you are. Your credentials
2. What makes your business or business concept unique and special
3. What is your market and how you will get that market or if you are an existing business how do you keep your customers
4. How much turnover and profit you are making or expect to make

Each point should be short and sweet and tell as many stories as possible.

Conclude with an ask for a normal pitch: what it is you need to make the business even more succesfull.Once the pitch is done the people evaluating it will ask some questions and they are usually quite standard and you can prepare for them.These are some of the prep questions:

How much or how many of the product or service will you sell and over what time period

What is your profit margin?

Why should we invest in you?

Will you spend every waking hour on this business?

What are the risks in this business and how will you deal with them?

How many customers do you have already?

How many have you sold?

Most importantly dont argue with the panel, when they are critical say, “i accept that, and will address the problem by....”

If you cant answer a question, say, “I'm not sure but I can find that out”If an investor asks you what you need, you are almost there....Give away equity.....10% of a business is better than 90% of nothing!