Understanding how money works and what makes your competitors better were some of the juicy tips shared by young business mogul Vusi Thembekwayo at the Business Leaders Growth Forum, hosted by Le Duke Life at the East London ICC on Friday evening.
Local businessman Luthando Bara and Frere Hospital CEO Rolene Wagner shared the stage with Thembekwayo, sharing with the audience their business journeys ahead of the renowned entrepreneur Thembekwayo’s keynote address.
Thembekwayo, 33, is the founder of Iconoclast, a specialist public speaker representation management agency.
He is also a founder of My Growth Fund, a company which supports business people as they start, build and grow their businesses.
It does so by providing expert advice and implementation support across various disciplines.
He is also the author of Magna Carta of Exponentiality, a book that talks about the new trending ways of doing business and a respected “dragon” in the popular reality TV series Dragon’s Den.
At age 25, Thembekwayo ran a R400-million division in a R17-billion multinational company, and today he is one of the youngest directors of a listed company. He also serves on numerous boards.
“Most companies focus on being the biggest and not the best, yet when you focus on being the best, becoming bigger will happen by itself,” he told his audience.
Another gem he shared was “don’t be money-driven – be people-driven”.
A business run on a burning aim to serve people will have a bigger growth “because you have your clients’ interests at heart and they will keep coming back”.
“Have continuous engagements with your clients to establish whether or not you are still serving their needs, and if there is anything else that may interest them,” he urged.
Keeping your employees happy and motivated was also imperative, he added, explaining it was the key to ensuring a staff that was fully productive and passionate about the vision and mission of the company.
“Employees need to know that you believe in them, that you can trust them to carry out a task and at times you need to give them a sense of control by seeking their opinions and giving them some power.
“Encourage friction among your employees. If the people in your team don’t fight, you’re not building your business,” the young man said.
Black Business Forum and Vula Group founder Bara talked about the rise and fall of his company. Founded in 2008 and soon boasting five subsidiaries, it was nonetheless quick to go under.
Businesses fail because of poor leadership, said Bara, adding that “one of my weaknesses was doing too many things at the same time, and that divided my attention”.
But still, he said, it was better to venture into other opportunities once you’ve established sustainability and growth in the first one.
“The usage of business funds for personal use was another no-no factor. It became so bad that there were times it became difficult to pay salaries,” he said.
Bara said after a year of being employed, he went back to the drawing board and has now taken his company to new heights with multimillion rand-projects in the pipeline.
Wagner spoke about the role social entrepreneurs can play in government, generating support from communities to help with service delivery. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
Icons share experiences, secrets of best practice
Local businessman Luthando Bara and Frere Hospital CEO Rolene Wagner shared the stage with Thembekwayo, sharing with the audience their business journeys ahead of the renowned entrepreneur Thembekwayo’s keynote address.
Thembekwayo, 33, is the founder of Iconoclast, a specialist public speaker representation management agency.
He is also a founder of My Growth Fund, a company which supports business people as they start, build and grow their businesses.
It does so by providing expert advice and implementation support across various disciplines.
He is also the author of Magna Carta of Exponentiality, a book that talks about the new trending ways of doing business and a respected “dragon” in the popular reality TV series Dragon’s Den.
At age 25, Thembekwayo ran a R400-million division in a R17-billion multinational company, and today he is one of the youngest directors of a listed company. He also serves on numerous boards.
“Most companies focus on being the biggest and not the best, yet when you focus on being the best, becoming bigger will happen by itself,” he told his audience.
Another gem he shared was “don’t be money-driven – be people-driven”.
A business run on a burning aim to serve people will have a bigger growth “because you have your clients’ interests at heart and they will keep coming back”.
“Have continuous engagements with your clients to establish whether or not you are still serving their needs, and if there is anything else that may interest them,” he urged.
Keeping your employees happy and motivated was also imperative, he added, explaining it was the key to ensuring a staff that was fully productive and passionate about the vision and mission of the company.
“Employees need to know that you believe in them, that you can trust them to carry out a task and at times you need to give them a sense of control by seeking their opinions and giving them some power.
“Encourage friction among your employees. If the people in your team don’t fight, you’re not building your business,” the young man said.
Black Business Forum and Vula Group founder Bara talked about the rise and fall of his company. Founded in 2008 and soon boasting five subsidiaries, it was nonetheless quick to go under.
Businesses fail because of poor leadership, said Bara, adding that “one of my weaknesses was doing too many things at the same time, and that divided my attention”.
But still, he said, it was better to venture into other opportunities once you’ve established sustainability and growth in the first one.
“The usage of business funds for personal use was another no-no factor. It became so bad that there were times it became difficult to pay salaries,” he said.
Bara said after a year of being employed, he went back to the drawing board and has now taken his company to new heights with multimillion rand-projects in the pipeline.
Wagner spoke about the role social entrepreneurs can play in government, generating support from communities to help with service delivery. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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