Jeremy Lang Many South African small and medium enterprise (SME) owners are grappling with the stress and strain of running a business. This was confirmed by the findings of the second quarter 2018 SME Confidence Index, which reveals that 76 percent of the SME owners surveyed say that the pressure of running their own business can sometimes be overwhelming and limit their potential. Stress, however, is in many ways inevitable for entrepreneurs. So in light of Mental Health Awareness Month, Jeremy Lang, regional general manager at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS), says that it is vital for entrepreneurs to know how to manage their stress in order to prevent it from negatively affecting their physical and mental health, which in turn may have a detrimental impact on their business’ growth. The first step to better manage feelings of being overwhelmed, according to Lang, is to understand the underlying reasons for the stress and ensure that the corrective measures ar...

A relatively large number of players in the franchise sector are lagging behind with the implementation of meaningful B-BBEE initiatives. This could create the impression that the sector resists transformation but this is not the case at all. We decided to examine the situation and came up with the following findings. Problem statement Transformation in the franchise sector has indeed been slow. This is an unintended consequence of the criteria for transformation set out in the B-BBEE Act. The Act lists five elements for compliance: Ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise development and socio-economic development. The weightings applied in terms of the Act placed emphasis on ownership and management control. Meeting requirements in these two areas created difficulties for franchisors and their franchisees alike. FRANCHISORS Responsible franchisors pride themselves on assuming moral responsibility for their franchisees’ success chances. This forces them ...

With Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni’s mini-budget speech still resonating and giving some hope with his call that ‘together, as a country, we can rebuild and recast our future... and choose a path that takes us to faster and more inclusive economic growth and strengthens private and public sector investment,’ the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA) signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Small Business Institute (SBI). According to Vera Valasis, FASA’s Executive Director  ”the collaboration with SBI will provide FASA with an official ‘voice’ to be represented and lobby through the SBI at BUSA level on business related issues that arise on a regular basis.  We hope our involvement with both the SBI and BUSA will help strengthen the voice of small business and franchising in particular to government.” The Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA) has a proud 40 year history of nurturing entrepreneurship through the franchise business system and o...

Nico Viljoen Written by Nico Viljoen, Executive Director, The Tax Shop Franchise Group The term ‘brand’ originally derives from traditional farming practices, where farmers used branding irons to mark their animals, so that they knew which animal belonged to which farm. The term was later adopted by producers of consumer goods to distinguish their product from others that were similar.  ‘Coca Cola’, and ‘Pepsi’ are obvious 20th century examples of this.  A brand became the name which told the client or consumer the source of a service or product. In today’s world of sophisticated marketing communications, the brand concept has become more complex.  The term ‘brand’ no longer only refers to the name of a service or product, it extends to a company’s whole offering – ‘the intangible sum of a service’s or product’s attributes’ as David Ogilvy put it.  The Tax Shop Franchise is a strong brand that provides value to the organisation well beyond its tangible wort...

Leonie Finch The current economic landscape is having a detrimental effect on both consumer and business confidence, however, PWC’s Family Business Survey: New vines from strong roots 2016/2017 reveals that South Africa’s family business sector is set for quick and aggressive growth over the next five years. This is according to Anton Roelofse, Regional General Manager at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS), who says that the report reveals that whilst other businesses are struggling to create revenue, around 78 percent of South African family businesses reported growth during 2017, and 62 percent are expecting to grow steadily over the next five years. “These growing businesses are essential to bolster the struggling economy, so if a person finds themselves in a position to take over a family business, this may be a great opportunity for them to consider.” Taking over a family business, however, can be daunting for many reasons, says Roelofse. For Business Partners ...

Sanisha Packirisamy What Italy’s debt issue and China’s counter-trade-war efforts could mean for SA As far removed as countries like Italy, China and Turkey may appear to be from South Africa, the local economy has been, and will likely continue to be, negatively impacted by the wide array of seemingly unrelated market issues – such as Italy’s debt woes and China’s retaliatory reaction to the US trade war – through a contagion effect. This is according to Sanisha Packirisamy, economist at Momentum Investments, who says that financial markets in South Africa are particularly vulnerable because of their depth and high level of liquidity. “While investor jitters started in Turkey and Argentina, where economic mismanagement was evident, financial markets in these countries are not as deep and liquid as South Africa and Brazil, which have been targeted in the latest risk-off episode. It is therefore far easier for investors to get out of positions in these tradeable markets, and as ...

Cam Era’s security franchise business is based around the incredibly successful French verification alarm called VIDEOFIED. Because the Videofied alarm system has a discreet surveillance camera built into it, the Armed Response companies have introduced Priority/Panic Response as a way to change the way calls are being handled in the industry, once a verified alarm has been captured. How does this work?  By making use of video verification from a 10 second Video clip sent out by the system automatically. Cam Era’s MD explains that “Video verification is now available as an upgrade to any current alarm system”. Meaning that our franchisee’s clients can now afford to upgrade their existing alarm, to “LIVE VIDEO VERIFICATION” which is received at the Macado Command Centre (MCC). No more false alarms We believe that this aspect will become an insurance pre-requisite in the future, and they will insist that ALL commercial, industrial and high-risk residential sites should h...

The current economic situation in South Africa presents a huge challenge for all of us on a daily basis. Job-uncertainty and the large percentage of jobless people is making everyone a little bit fearful and uneasy about our own financial situations. If there ever was a more fitting and especially critical time to sharpen up your computer skills to enable you to stand out in the workplace, this is the time! Do not let any chance to immediately improve your job prospects, slip by in this last quarter of the year. With a Creative Minds ® / Cyber-Minds Training Institute, short computer course, you can get positive results quickly and build your cv to give yourself a fighting chance. Just call your nearest Creative Minds® branch for a discussion and find out how easy it is to make a huge difference in your computer skill set with the right computer course just for you. Creative Minds® offers the complete range of end-user computer course on Microsoft and Sage Pastel. More than ...

Whether it’s an office workstation, restaurant, factory floor or any of the multitude of other places where we earn our keep, work is a place employed South Africans spend the vast majority of their time. A significant contributing factor to workplace ergonomics hazards is posture, which is affected by the height of a person’s workstation, desk, chair and computer monitor as well as the size of the monitor screen. With people spending increasingly more time sitting at desks, in cars, and hunched over electronic devices, muscular-skeletal problems are on the rise. It’s no wonder then that the 2017 Old Mutual Disability Monitor reported that disabilities related to muscular-skeletal issues are now the third-leading cause of all disability claims. Speaking in light of World Spine Day, celebrated on the 16th of October, Urvashi Ramjee, Head of claims: Old Mutual Group Assurance, says that the key to addressing issues around ergonomic health is prevention. “Ergonomics promotes a holisti...

It takes stakeholders from across the business sector to cooperate in building businesses that can create jobs, says Cash Converters CEO Richard Mukheibir. The franchise sector continues to grow healthily, according to the survey results recently released by the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA). That sounds as if we should be in a good position to answer the President’s call to create jobs – but, as the saying goes, the truth is rarely simple. The sector’s estimated turnover was R721 billion in 2017, growing its healthy contribution to GDP from 13.3 percent in 2016 to 15.7 percent in 2017. International investors have clearly been impressed by the SA franchise sector’s track record and are confident about its prospects. The number of international franchise brands in SA more than doubled from 12 percent in 2016 to 27 percent in 2017. We saw employment rise in the franchise sector last year by 7.6 percent as 26 254 jobs were created in contrast to shrinking employm...

Contributed by  Surefire Franchise Developments The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘do you have the passion’? No matter what your planning, if you don’t have a passion for it, don’t do it. Ninety Five percent of all franchises succeed, so that’s what they have been telling us for decades. It may well be true, but it could also be a fallacy. So, what makes a good franchise? There’re literally hundreds of businesses to choose from, Restaurants, Take-aways, Estate Agents, Business to Business, Beauty, there’s even a franchise that walks dogs, the list is endless. There is an enormous amount of literature of what to do in reviewing a franchise, mostly written by people who have never run a franchised business or indeed been a franchisor. It’s all text book stuff but to my mind the most important ingredient they leave out is LOVE YOUR BUSINESS! Without that important ingredient there’s a very good chance you’re not going to make a great success of it. You may plo...

Gugu Mjadu The thought of parting with a business you’ve grown from the ground up may be unsettling, but Gugu Mjadu, spokesperson for the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, says that it is better for both your business and yourself to plan for this as early as possible. “The challenge that business owners often face in this respect is comparable to the difficulty that many new parents have with imagining their children grown up and leaving for university. Imagine, however, if parents did not plan ahead for the cost of their education – that would be detrimental to the future of their children. The same could be the case for your business.” Mjadu says that a good exit strategy is about sustainability and being able to measure your business performance against the goals you have set for it. “It’s really about being able to say, ‘this is when the work is done and I can exit the business or take on a different role – this is what s...

NIAGARA counter top unit for F&B industry The amount of pollution floating in our oceans has skyrocketed over the past decade. Last year, a study conducted by the United Nations noted that if we carry on dumping waste at the rate we are right now, there will be more litter in the ocean than fish by 2050. The world is currently going through a state of change, and while we are still doing a lot of damage to the planet many environmentally-conscious food and beverage companies are putting measures in place to ensure that they do as little harm to the Earth as possible. Banning single use plastics like straws, replacing plastic bottles with glass and enforcing strict recycling practices are just some of the ways many of these companies are going green. H2O International has long been part of the charge by helping homes and businesses reduce their use of plastic. Managing Director of H2O International SA, Tony Marchesini says, “While there are many issues that need to be addr...

David French Recent efforts to right the country’s listing economy were praised from all quarters at the recent South Africa-French Business Forum, attended by a delegation of French government officials and companies who are in the country to bolster bilateral ties. According to tax consulting director at Mazars , David French, these signals are significant at a time that South Africa is trying its utmost to win back the confidence of international investors. Commenting during a panel discussion on what the country needs to do to achieve this, French said that despite the positive sentiment at the forum, a near-disaster has been averted following the collapse of governance at SA Revenue Service (SARS). Having had first-hand experience of that decline, while working in the tax authority’s Tax Avoidance and Reportable Arrangement unit until recently, French says that fortunately, the decline was caught just in time. The extent of the decline at SARS is currently being uncovered ...

Morne Cronje FNB is hosting the 7th Franchise Leadership Summit at Montecasino on Tuesday, 13 November 2018. The summit is a well-attended industry discussion amongst high calibre franchisors and industry stakeholders. The Summit is aptly themed “Equipping you to future proof your franchise”. The discussions will include exploring the impact of technology on the franchising industry. To this end, Morne Cronje, Head of Franchising at FNB Business explains that “the rise in online applications in franchising means we need to find innovative ways on how to continue to grow and improve this new dimension to this already robust industry.” The South African Fast Food Landscape Report of 2018 backs the position that Cronje speaks to as it revealed that a growing number of consumers are opting for the convenience of online delivery services when purchasing fast food, this has a far reaching impact that the Summit will begin to talk to in this year’s leg. The speaker line-up include...

Pavit Ramnarain Given the volatile nature of local markets in recent years, smooth bonus funds have increased in popularity among South Africans seeking a more stable ride to retirement. This most likely shows that South Africans, especially those who are most vulnerable, are opting for all the protection from market volatility that they can get. However, considering the steep fees and costly guarantees that are typically associated with these funds, is this smooth ride all it’s expected to be? This is a question posed by Pavit Ramnarain, Actuary at Momentum, who says that the high capital charges come down to the expensive nature of providing investors with a guarantee on the money they invest (referred to as the “capital” amount) and on part of or all future bonuses. “These guarantees – while integral to capital protection when the market is not performing – can be so expensive that they actually end up eating into returns, because the capital charges are normally deducted fr...

Dawie Kriel by Dawie Kriel Refrigeration represents a substantial operational cost to companies that use these utilities, and there is a strong case to be made for outsourcing this function to a service provider that will own, operate and maintain the refrigeration infrastructure.  Energy cost is by far the biggest single component (often more than 60%) of the life cycle cost of Refrigeration and this is the one which is not controlled by businesses. Businesses are prone to wasting a lot of money through additional electricity costs by using refrigeration systems that have become inefficient. Newer, more efficient systems are available, but the capital outlay required to install a state-of-the-art refrigeration system often seems too high in the short term. The argument to be made for this is clear: in addition to the significant costs that a company spends on the operation and regular maintenance of modern refrigeration systems, managing refrigeration often diverts preci...

The Signarama franchise group recently held their national conference in the picturesque Dinokeng area in the north east of Gauteng. The conference took place over 3 days, and covered some great training, fun team building events, and culminated in the Signarama Gala Awards Dinner where the top achievers in the Signarama franchise network were recognised. The conference forms a major part of the support that the Signarama franchise offers to their franchisees. It gives franchisees the opportunity to break away from their businesses and aside from the training and updates provided by the franchise office support team, it gives franchisees the opportunity to benefit from peer-to-peer learning. “Who better to learn from than someone else who has been there, done it, got the t-shirt?’, asks Kurt Tyack, the franchisor for Signarama. Signarama franchisees enjoying one of the informative sessions at the conference Tyack believes that one of the strongest resources that any franchiso...