The power of commitment

Contributor: Siya Mapoko, author of Conversations with JSE AltX Entrepreneurs

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary the word ‘commitment’ is synonymous with words such as dedication, application, pledge and undertaking. For us as entrepreneurs, we know that commitment is more than just a word – it is action. Commitment is not what we say but it is what we do. There are two types of action – the obvious action and the inspired action. The obvious action is the obvious next step in any process and inspired action is when we take advantage of synchronistic events (some people call it luck, coincidence, etc.) that get triggered by our previous thoughts, words or actions.

Jason Drew, the co-founder of Bioprotein.org put it even better when he said: “The world has only ever been changed by one thing and one thing only – commitment – and nothing else, not luck, not good luck, not even very good luck, just commitment. President J F Kennedy stood up in the 1960s and said, ‘We’re going to put a man on the moon.’ If he hadn’t made that commitment, we would have never put a man on the moon.

Is your business ready for The Consumer Protection Act?

Source: Brand Shack

This is no longer a Bill, it is already Law. Former President of South Africa, President Kgalema Motlanthe, signed the Consumer Protection Act on 24 April 2009 and it was published in the government gazette on 29 April 2009.

The Act will only operate from 24 October 2010, which allows time for businesses to prepare and relook at their approach to a number of aspects within their business. From a marketing point of view, no unsolicited contacts will be permitted. COLD CALLING will become very tricky! You will need to have a system in place which manages the request to be removed from your database for direct selling, much like an unsubscribe button on an email.

If you have a high turnover in your sales force, what contingency plans do you have in place to manage and maintain this as well as to notify customers before their contracts expire, to ensure renewals? This may become a standard requirement.

Ten Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

Source: BizAssist.co.za

Many women who have decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship find that the pressure is immense, especially if they have a family to support and bills to pay.

If you're struggling to cope here are a few pointers that you can do to put yourself more at ease

1. Are you doing what you love? Being passionate about what you do will keep you motivated and determined to succeed. There's nothing more damaging to the spirit than being stuck doing something you don't enjoy.

2. Does your new venture suit your personality? If the shoe fits, then wear it with pride! If it doesn't seem comfortable, you're jeopardising your potential to succeed.

3. Success is personal. If your idea of success is being able to spend more time with your children, while earning a little money on the side, then don't let someone else tell you that you lack ambition.

4. Develop your coping skills. Life is going to be very different from now on, so develop your emotional intelligence to deal with challenges maturely, objectively and with a positive outlook.

5. Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. No one is good at absolutely everything. Use your strengths to your advantage and find ways to improve on your weak areas.

6. Find balance. Pay attention to all areas of your life. At times, some areas will need more attention than others, which is normal. But don't be so consumed with work and family that you forgot to allow time for yourself, for example.

7. Learn to roll with the punches. Don't let a change in the status quo or a minor setback throw you off balance. Don't stress about it too much and focus instead on making it work for you.

8. Trust your instincts. Taking risks is part of entrepreneurship, but take time to assess the risks and minimise the pitfalls so it doesn't end up costing you.

9. You're the boss. Take advantage of it. More so than in a corporate environment, running your own business means you can think as far out of the box as you want to. Add your own creative flair to what you do and use your power as the leader to the benefit of your business.

10. Don't forget to reflect. You should have your goals written down somewhere. Look at them every now and again to see where you are and what you still need to do. As your circumstance change, so should some of your goals or your plans for getting there. These factors apply whether you are starting out or already well established. Use them to evaluate where you are and where you want to be.