Category Archives: Personal Development

– Know the implications of your role

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Not a day goes by without a user of a social network platform focusing on professional networking and career development posting or forwarding an article or two about what the difference between a leader and manager is, what modern progressive employers should do for their employees. All these are important, and wise and good employers would heed the message.

Taking personal responsibility and not deflecting the problem or issues elsewhere is the foundation of building success. That’s why employees too, should deeply reflect on their role in enabling the employer achieve goals and success. Many employees seem to think their employers are there to just give them “things” without them equally giving “something” back to the employer. An “Us” and “Them” tension will not create a conducive environment for excellence. It’s time for employers and employees to understand and deeply reflect on their roles. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 May 2020. Continue reading →

– #COVID-19 #Lockdown – Don’t lower your guard

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With our country experiencing recession and having recently had a sovereign credit rating downgrade to subinvestment (junk) grade, the covid-19 induced lockdown will mean more economic woes for many SMMEs and ordinary people alike. Many already struggle to adjust to a new routine of staying put with limited contact with the outside world, and some are facing job-losses after the lockdown. And with our public-health facilities already taking strain, depression will be on the rise. It’s normal for many to feel helpless, demotivated and discouraged, while some, in the same vein, resorting to pursuing quick “feel-good” solutions that may be ruinous in the long run if not carefully managed. We need to be alert and watchful against becoming sidetracked and ignoring the importance of using this lockdown period to face and tackle our challenges head on so we can emerge stronger afterwards. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 March 2020. Continue reading →

– Get to #KnowYourCustomer

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For a long time, I had been a proponent of textbook styled strategies, methodologies and principles on business administration and leadership. In big corporations, no initiative would be approved or considered unless it has supporting business case and matrices to prove the viability of the opportunity. Quite often, inordinate time passes before the opportunity could finally and favourably be considered. Many a small business entrepreneur may be unable to spare such investment in time.

Having little time to spare doesn’t mean SMME entrepreneurs choose to be flippant about conforming to business administration “basics” and ascertaining viability of prospects. Many entrepreneurs are not always driven by accounting and economic matrices alone in their decision making, but other considerations too such as having and relying on a hunch and a little faith among others. SMME entrepreneurs are more agile than their corporate counterparts owing to their low overheads, fewer “touch-points” and division of work.

Though many SMME entrepreneurs may find it onerous and eventually stop compiling important matrices, they should at least do some informed study on their customers to improve their understanding and offerings accordingly. Every product design embodies inherent assumptions after all, whether deliberate or implied, about the target market. Such assumptions have a direct and significant bearing on the uptake of the product. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 29 February 2020. Continue reading →

– Limit #distractions to avoid #burnout

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The last thing an entrepreneur eager to develop their business want to hear is advise to slow down to avoid burnout. For many, their busyness is not deliberate, but circumstances forcing them to have less rest. Such circumstances could be owing to limited capacity, resources, facilities, time, skills or even eagerness to convert an important yet elusive sale.

I fully understand why many are sleep-deprived, forced to work long hours, have fewer social interactions and have little time for many other activities, much less important ones. This then often leads to them becoming easily offended, irritated, impatient, secluded, indifferent and begin to live sedentary lives to the detriment of their health and general well-being. Spare a thought or two for these struggling entrepreneurs and perhaps quietly and proactively help them relieve their tension and stress. Such can go a long way than piling on their woes with presumptions, debates and questions. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 January 2020. Continue reading →

– Let us try to find a way to win

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When wrestling difficulties of expanding the business, protecting it against major setbacks that could result in its premature closure, may be the last thing and least priority on the owner’s mind.

Documentaries have been created detailing stories of economic difficulties of life during world wars, and those who lived long enough in this country, can also attest to difficulties of life for many during apartheid. But life in South Africa today, especially for the youth, is difficult to bear. Coupled with their parents lacking material resources to help them, and burdened by heavy debt of trying to improve their education and skills, many are still faced with bleak prospects of being active participants in this poor economy.

The high increasing costs of living, much less, rising property prices, have made life extremely difficult for many people and much worse, the youth in this country. If there ever was a time for wanting to make a difference and having meaning in your life, this is it and it is now urgent that we truly come together to turn our hopeless situation around. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 December 2019. Continue reading →

– The immeasurable economy of humility, generosity and kindness

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Ultimately, what matters to any business is the ability to generate revenue. The more diverse the sources of revenue, the better the prospects for the business. Likewise, the fewer and narrower the sources, the higher the risks to the business.

Sometimes business earns income because it has superior offerings, capabilities and the brand, among others. Sometimes, earnings are from customer patriotism and sentimentality (loyalty, familiarity, proximity, tradition etc). Other times, out of the generosity and general good behaviour of employees.

One thing is clear, unless your business is a monopoly, arrogance, self-centeredness and unpleasantness towards customers will not bring them through the doors of your business. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 November 2019. Continue reading →

– Be good to customers and generous to loyal ones

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When economic hardship increases and prolongs, chivalry often dies. It’s as if the root of all successes is in rudeness, officiousness, generalisations and all other nasty “nesses” out there. Perhaps we worship materialism and its abundance in our lives proves our closeness to our “material god” that a lack thereof, reveals our distance from our “material deity”.

Big companies, despite having resources to attract and retain customers, often resort to draconian and often “suicidal” rules to guard their revenue generation despite the impact on customers. No wonder loyalty is beginning to wane, with customers easily switching to competitors when their offers are seen as sustainable and dependable alternatives. Entrepreneurs should seize the moment and use the economic downturn as the opportunity to build a solid and loyal client base by maintaining good customer care practices, acquiring true knowledge of their customers, showing appreciation to loyal customers and offering customers, especially loyal ones, more flexibility to their offerings. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 August 2019. Continue reading →

– Unprecedented #Unemployment Levels

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Mahlamba Ndlopfu, not Houston, we have a problem!

According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the official unemployment rate is now 29.0% for the second quarter of 2019. This figure represents a percentage of those still seeking employment, estimated at 6.7 million. This implies we have a bigger unemployment rate problem if we also consider the number of those having given up looking for work. The number of unemployed represents a significant portion of the population, now estimated at 58.8 million. With only 16.3 million (~28%) people employed, we have many dependent on the few for survival.

About 20% of the population lives in despair with no sight of a solution soon. If anything, this is a national disaster requiring us to collaborate in finding simple, effective and localised solutions. We cannot ignore the problem any longer simply because we have some means, though thinly spread for some, enabling us live for another day. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 July 2019. Continue reading →

– #Resistance, an imperative for #advancement

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It’s somewhat obvious that without some resistance, there would be no strengthening and weakness would increase. This applies to our physical strength and to anything else created. Though good for us, we are uncomfortable and resent experiencing any resistance. Our natural reaction to experiencing resistance is either avoiding the situation causing it, or removing the source of resistance. Rarely do we focus on increasing our strength so the initial resistance feels less and insignificant even when it has not diminished. Perhaps we know that increasing our strength does not occur overnight, but through regular persistent practice and training.

Resistance is everywhere. In fact, from a business perspective, it is impossible for business to operate without experiencing some resistance. Resistance is as prevalent as night and day, or good and evil. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 June 2019. Continue reading →

– Pay Attention To Your #BusinessRisks

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Whatever you do, do not take those business risks for granted. Of all the risks, the most ignored is the need for diversification of the business, its offerings and focus. It’s understandable why the mitigation of this type of risk is often trivialised and not prioritised. That’s because many small-business owners either focus on increasing the scale of their businesses or their specialisation, that thoughts about introducing new offerings to reduce risks to the business are not foremost.

But some owners do not even bother focusing on expanding their businesses, but are quickly excited by increased turnover of their businesses and have shifted their focus on their lifestyles. You see them working fewer hours and spending most time galivanting the world when they could be opening new branches or adding new offerings or buying new businesses to diversify their business portfolios.

While commendable that entrepreneurship enables some to have a better life, it is also easy for one small change in the market to disrupt it all and for the business to lose everything resulting in premature permanent closure. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 May 2019. Continue reading →