General

“The moment you make a mistake in pricing, you’re eating into your reputation or your profits.” (Katharine Paine, founder and CEO of KDPaine & Partners) It may seem a simple concept but getting your pricing right is an integral part of any business’s true sustainable success and can be a…

“If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion” (Elon Musk) The move to the gig economy has been in the works for years. Even before the pandemic people were leaving their jobs to “consult independently”…

“During recession greed dies, frugality survives.” (Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words) With yet another return of loadshedding in August, and major banks upgrading their forecasts to reflect an increased possibility of further economic downturns, recession feels inevitable in South Africa. A recession is simply where an economy stops growing and…

 “Happy customers are your biggest advocates and can become your most successful sales team.” (Lisa Masiello) Anyone who has started a business has had those meetings. The ones where you trade a dozen emails explaining what you do and how you do it, what your rates are and why you…

 “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” (Abraham Lincoln) A good business credit score is a critical tool in business success as it helps your business unlock, establish and maintain relationships with lenders, suppliers and vendors. It reveals whether an organisation should lend your business money,…

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” (Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple) It is easy in business culture to start believing…

“The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then guide the horse with loose reins and seldom use the spurs.” (Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice) For years you have been working in the industry of your choice and now you…

“The golden rule of all estate planning is: don’t wait.” (Missionwealth.com) Just 20% of South Africans have a valid will (“Last Will and Testament”), resulting in countless heart-breaking stories of grief-stricken surviving spouses and children with no income or access to funds as bank accounts have been closed, floundering in…

“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” (John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President) When people hear the term “crisis management” they immediately picture a PR team in front of the media defending a company from an unpredictable disaster,…

“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.” (Andre Gide) All of the largest businesses in the world started small. Apple, Google, and Amazon were all famously founded in garages. Now these giant multi-billion-dollar companies occupy multiple office blocks that…