The four decisions that entrepreneurs need to get right to grow their business

SUMMARY:
Young Business for South Africa (YBSA) is aiming to help young entrepreneurs work on their key decisions to get a good start for 2014. YBSA is presenting, with Jacques Velleman, two events to suit budgets and time constraints, as well as needs to work on the actual business.

The FOUR decisions you need to get right to grow your business
By Verne Harnis and Jacques Velleman

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed… every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

This short illustration communicates the importance of beginning every day with an attitude and plan for growth – or before you know it, the competition (the Lion) will be on your tail ready to inflict damage. So it is with small and mid-market companies: consistent, efficient and profitable growth is important to stay alive, healthy and to outrun the competition and peril in today’s markets.

Decisions Equal Success
Decisions equal success – and there are four decisions, in growing your business, that you must get right or risk leaving significant revenues, profits, and time on the table. These four decisions are in the areas of People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash.

People Decisions
In general, you know you have People challenges when you’re not enjoying running your company. You either have a partner issue, a customer with too large a piece of your business, a supplier delaying your success, a key employee or two that’s disrupting the rest of the organization’s effectiveness, or challenges at home. Or you might simply lack enough employees to serve your customers.

Strategy Decisions
Strategy challenges are indicated by a slowing in top line revenue growth. If revenue is not growing as quickly as you like, then it’s time to re-examine your strategy i.e. what you’re selling to whom. It’s important to have a concise articulation of that strategy so you can get everyone aligned and on the same page without wasting sales or operational energies on activities not useful to the business.

Execution Decisions
Execution challenges surface when your increasing revenues are not generating increasing profits. I’ve seen many firms triple their revenue, because they have capitalized on a differential advantage, only to see their profitability drop because of the sloppiness of their execution.

The other indication of poor execution is hours spent delivering your products or services. When execution is haphazard, the organization has to rely on the “heroics” of their people putting in incredible hours to just keep the wheels from falling off the organization. By simply tightening up your execution habits, you can dramatically improve gross margins and profitability while reducing the time it takes for everyone to complete their work.

Cash Decisions
And the last challenge is Cash. The first law of entrepreneurial gravity is “Growth SucksCash.” We encourage companies to calculate their Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) which measures companywide how long it takes between when you spend a Rand (marketing, design, rent, wages, etc.) until you get that Rand back.

Your Decision
South African companies seem to battle with the complexities of trying to promote growth and manage operations under dynamic, diverse and uncertain market conditions. Having a solid grasp of these four decisions, helps growing organisations and entrepreneurs, which account for a large percentage of the South African economy, to be more effective. In times where we can no longer rely on the giants such as mining conglomerates or financial services to support the economy, we need to ensure that growth is going to come from mid-market companies and entrepreneurs.

So what decisions do you need to get right to grow your business in 2014? Join YBSA on 05 November 2013 to learn more.

Young Business for South Africa (YBSA) is aiming to help young businesses work on their decisions to get a good start for 2014. YBSA is presenting, with Jacques Velleman, two events to suit budgets and time constraints, as well as needs to work on the actual business. These two options for entrepreneurs are: (i) The 1 hour Rockefeller Habits Masterclass: Four Habits to grow your business in 2014. (ii) The day long workshop Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Four Decisions Executive Programme.
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Event Information – Please note booking is essential due to a limited number of seats

1 hour Event:
Event: Rockefeller Habits Masterclass: Four Habits to grow your business in 2014.
Date: Tuesday 5 November 2013
Venue: Ogilvy, The Brand Building, Bryanston
Time: Registration: 18:00 Address: promptly at 18:30
Cost: YBSA Members R50 and R100 for non-members
RSVP: admin@ybsa.org.za (please include your full name, email address and cell number)

Day workshop:
Event: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Four Decisions Executive Programme
Date: Thursday 21 November 2013
Venue: Johannesburg,TBA
Time: 08:00 to 17:00
Cost: 4 or more Business Attendees (from the same company) R3300 – YBSA Members special rate of R1980 pp
3 Business Attendees (from the same company) R4300 – YBSA Members special rate of R2580 pp
1 or 2 Business Attendees (from the same company): R5300 – YBSA Members special rate of R3180 pp
RSVP: admin@ybsa.org.za (please include your full name, email address and cell number)

NOTE:
Membership to YBSA is free and can be claimed on this page:
http://youngbusinesssa.org.za/become-a-member

ENDS
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Background information

About YBSA

YBSA is a 15-year-old non-profit organization focused on consolidating meaningful leadership development efforts for the benefit of its members, the African leaders of tomorrow. The organization’s members are young economically active South African residents who are passionate about participating meaningfully in Africa’s economic and social development. YBSA members strive for opportunities to gain the knowledge and experience that will allow them to be effective leaders within their various spheres of influence and to contribute to Africa’s continued development.

YBSA’s strategic intent is to foster an environment in which the leadership qualities most critical to Africa’s developmental success are promoted in its economically active youth.

One of YBSA’s portfolios is the Create portfolio, which aims to develop entrepreneurship amongst its members. Entrepreneurship is the one area that has the potential to make the greatest contribution to alleviating the socio-economic imbalances and developmental challenges that exist in Africa. Fostering a culture and environment in which entrepreneurship can thrive and in which innovation is celebrated and supported makes for a sound investment in a prosperous future for our continent.

About Jacques Velleman
Jacques has over 15 years of business experience. He completed his articles with one of the big four auditing firms and has held the positions of Financial Director and Business Executive, responsible for IT, HR, Finance and Admin.

He has also been involved with Sales and Marketing, founding and heading a team of professionals for a medium sized consulting firm. Other ventures include owning a franchise, olive and olive oil distribution and an Accounting & IT Services start-up.

Jacques has completed various coaching courses and is a member of Gazelles, an International Coaching organisation started by Verne Harnish, author of mastering the Rockefeller Habits. He is also an active member of Toastmasters International.

Issued by: Phumlani Makhaye – 079 859 6436 – admin@ybsa.org.za
For: Young Business for South Africa (YBSA)
Contacts: Mongezi Mtati (YBSA Director), 083 757 3163 or prophakt@gmail.com
Jacques Velleman, 083 299 6830 jacques@ukuzwa.co.za
YBSA Website: http://www.ybsa.org.za

More Info link:: http://youngbusinesssa.org.za/become-a-member
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YoungBusinessSA
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ybsa
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Author: Phumlani Makhaye from Young Business for South Africa . Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za.

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Jacques Velleman