South Africa has the potential to create small and medium enterprises and grow its economy exponentially, says a business coach who was forced to close his company offices in KwaZulu-Natal because of the impact of Covid-19.
However, Hans van Rensburg says, what the country needs is business owners who have the right mindset and willingness to work to educate themselves and municipalities to deliver vital services and create opportunities.
Hans van Rensburg had to close his offices in Pietermaritzburg and other towns because of the financial impact of Covid-19.
He now operates his company, The Business Sniper, from Pretoria, specialising in coaching and consulting.
He said the lack of service delivery hampered the establishment of new businesses and job creation.
Van Rensburg said that with the right education and infrastructure, the country could grow its business sector.
“In small towns, it is a little bit difficult but there is still a lot of potential.”
He said that access to the internet allowed people to expand their businesses across the world. Covid-19 changed how people could market their services by switching to social media.
“It does not matter which country or town you are in, the problem is that as long as business owners do not change (their mindset), they are not going to make it.”
Van Rensburg said he had worked with businesses that had operated for about 25 years but then closed because they had not kept abreast of changes in the world.
“Nine out of 10 businesses that are in trouble do not have basic stuff in place. They don’t have the accounting system in place, and if you don’t know your numbers, you cannot manage what you don’t know and you are not going to survive. The three biggest challenges are money, marketing and management.”
He said marketing strategies needed to be upgraded to fit in with new trends and technology.
Van Rensburg follows the world’s biggest investor, Warren Buffett’s habit of reading five hours a day.
“I am not saying you should read five hours a day because you have to get the job done, but you have to read.”
He said he had asked people how many books about business they had read over the past year. Many had replied “none”.
“That is why they don’t cope. You need to educate yourself, you need to know what is going on in business.”
Van Rensburg said a person who had the passion to start a business did not need to get a formal education but could educate themselves by reading business-related books and surfing the internet.
“It is nice to have a university degree, but you need to learn what is going on now in the world.
“There are so many businesses where you don’t even have to (work in the office). I can take my laptop and get into my car and drive for a week or six months. I can go live by the sea or anywhere. I will still do my business, and that is the great thing about the internet now.”