Goodbye to 2022: A Year of More Drama

2022 is not over yet, but we've all aged more than a year in South Africa. Contending with load shedding, political instability, and a cooling economy can demoralize the best person.

After two years in which the Covid-19 pandemic was the issue shaping our world, 2022 has not brought us much respite from histrionic moments. In the coming year, we will have to grapple with unpredictability around inflation, continued load shedding, the pre-election circus and an ongoing war in Ukraine.

If anyone thought that the unpredictability of the global pandemic had ended – we were wrong. It didn't. We are living in the most unpredictable of times. The struggle to handle inflation, higher interest rates, rolling load shedding and chaos in energy markets will continue well into 2023.

For Inospace, 2022 has been another year of growth and improvement. At the beginning of the year, we concluded the R1,25 billion deal with Fortress REIT, which doubled our Johannesburg business. We acquired several other new parks and reached the 50-park target we had set in 2017 when Inospace was founded.

With growth came a complete overhaul of our internal systems and processes. We rejigged our management team, centralized our head office functions, focused on building our HR teams and improved every aspect of our work. The launch of Inocircle and our enhanced technology bolstered our focus on creating innovative customer experiences. 2022 has been a year of massive change.

In November, I finally launched my book "It Takes a Tsunami". The book's central theme is very apt in our current world of volatility. It uses the metaphor of an unpredictable sea. For those who spend time in the ocean (be it for surfing, boating or swimming), being in the water can be a spiritual experience. Being part of nature, paddling out there with all types of ocean life – great white sharks included – witnessing wind, rain, sun, moon and all of the majesty and danger that nature has to offer, it becomes a spiritual practice of trusting and being humble to mother nature's magnificence.

Entrepreneurship has the same magic and power. It requires focus, discipline, confidence in yourself and trusting the process. As an entrepreneur, there are moments when you have no idea what the next step is or how you will get through. You must have the unwavering discipline, belief and commitment to taking that next step and trusting that somehow, some way, it will appear. It can be the same with a wave that is bigger than you have ever seen, and you have to breathe, fully commit, dig in and go, and trust that it will work out. Ultimately, they are spiritual journeys that will test your utmost grit, faith and commitment, and in the end, there is nothing more rewarding or exciting than rolling with the waters.

But, as my book explains, waves can also be treacherous and unpredictable, and a freak wave can cause catastrophe.

When he rounded Cape Point in 1580, the English explorer Sir Francis Drake famously described it as "the fairest Cape in all the circumference of the Earth". But before that, it had been described by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 as the "Cape of Storms". South Africa has beautiful seas and storm challenges.

But our attitudes shape our reality. If you think you can't, you won't. If you think you can, you will. It is that simple. To continue with the ocean analogy, if you get in the water and think you can't handle this, or you are not going to have fun or if you are paddling for a wave and think, "I am not going to get this," you won't. As an entrepreneur, it is no different. If we believe we will reach our goals, achieve our dreams, or succeed in our businesses, we will.

I recently said, "If you believe in the eventuality, eventually it will become your reality." This has been my mantra every time someone has told me, "You can't do that," and in my mind, I respond, "Oh ja, watch me!"

Persistence and perseverance is the key to success. Making that extra effort paves the way for that payoff of that awesome wave you catch. If you fail once, fail twice, fail thrice, try, try again and keep at it. Your effort will pay off. As an entrepreneur, this is key; if you take that extra step, persist and persevere, you can't fail. You may "fail", but what you gain in experience, opportunity and learning will put you ahead of the curve the next time you get out there. So don't give up; keep going until your effort paves the way for more joy, success and excitement.

On behalf of the incredible team at Inospace, I wish you a great 2023. Despite the turbulent waters, we thank all our clients for a fantastic 2022.