When Sello entered the Money Makeover Challenge, he was establishing a start-up business to manufacture eco-friendly straws for restaurants and retailers. He had taken out personal loans to purchase manufacturing equipment to produce the prototype....
By Vaughan David, CEO of Business Cash Investments at FNB Failure to optimise cash flow is one of the key reasons that could lead start-ups to shut their doors within their first two years of operation. In order to increase your chances of...
Recent research suggests that married women are more likely to be successful entrepreneurs than single women. The assumption is that, because married women – or women with partners – have more financial support and help with family and household...
By Gary Palmer, CEO at Paragon Lending Solutions Death and taxes – the two certainties in life. While we spend a good portion of our time working out, eating right and minimising personal risk to avoid the former, getting too clever in avoiding the...
We’re one month into tax filing season, and millions of South Africans are planning to file their annual returns within the given time frame. For many people who have left corporate employment to start a home-based business or join the gig economy,...
Siyabonga writes: I have a modern African restaurant and bar concept that I started researching five years ago. This is a start-up business, for which I have a comprehensive business plan and associated documentation. Over the years I have been...
Tanya Lochner of Glacier Fiduciary Services discusses a buy and sell agreement as an exit strategy where there are two or more partners in a business. A business needs to prepare for the event of one or more of the partners dying or becoming...
Seed Academy has developed a free ebook to help South African entrepreneurs navigate the fundraising landscape. Donna Rachelson, chief catalyst at Seed Academy says that based on surveys and their training of hundreds of entrepreneurs, raising...
Andrew Lester, Chief Marketing officer of Different Life, offers a solution to the problem of unemployment in South Africa “Small business creates jobs” or so the saying goes. The corollary to this statement is that it is big business’s mandate to...
Chris Norris, an Audit and Assurance Partner at BDO South Africa, provides some insight into the finer financial realities of selling a business or company. Quite often, the net proceeds receivable by the owner from the sale of a business are...
You want to be your own boss and becoming a franchisee seems like the perfect way to do it. Before you go racing off to make your fortune, though, there are a few things you need to bear in mind. Zanele Mvelase was on the executive fast track in the financial services...
Imagine a small-business funding model which allowed you to raise capital without going into debt or giving away equity, and which also test-drove your product idea before you even launched it. Crowdfunding has taken the world by storm and could within the next ten...
This article was provided by hippo.co.za There are a number of factors to be taken in consideration with the start-up of any business, and inadequate planning may lead to your company’s demise. One thing your business insurance does not cover is insufficient planning....
South Africa’s economic outlook for year 2014 remains the subject of a national discussion and economists continue to emphasise that the country is not out of the woods yet. Early in 2014, consumers were greeted by yet another petrol price increase when the Department...
Erika van der Merwe, CEO of the South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), has some tips for entrepreneurs who are looking for funding from a venture capitalist. It’s all about people The venture capitalist will do thorough background...
When starting your own business you don’t always need to be the expert, but you need to know how to run a business. When Bulelwa Tengwa decided to open her first hair salon she knew very little about how to style hair but what she did know was that there was a gap in...
It is very difficult for a small business owner to try and compare banking products and understand which bank’s products best meet his needs. So we gave the banks a real example to see who could offer this entrepreneur the best banking package. Nathan Calitz, owner of...
Creating a successful business requires two important elements: identifying a gap in the market and managing your finances, which includes keeping debt to a minimum. After working as a sports commentator during the 2010 World Cup, which enabled him to travel the...
A small business owner learns the importance of knowing his break-even point Nico Jano runs a waste management business in Pofadder in the Northern Cape which in his words is “making some money”. He is now in a position where he needs to start managing his finances in...
If you have a business idea that all your friends say they would invest in, or you have identified a business you want to put your money in, crowd funding could be your platform. Crowdfunding is a growing trend that allows entrepreneurs to connect online with the...