Nikki’s Tip of the Week – week-ending 24th March 2018 & Some Opportunities.
Did I get into trouble this last week, or did I get into Trouble? I had a phone call from a friend, who I haven’t spoken to for a while, who was so angry with me because I hadn’t told her that I had gone in for surgery. To be fair, there were very few people that I had told, simply for no other reason other than I don’t like asking for help. I am fiercely independent! After a few minutes of trying to explain myself and the reason for not calling her, I understood the problem - she was hurt that I hadn’t called and asked for help and I tried to understand that.
I, like many of you I am sure, find it extremely difficult to ask for help, like it is some sort of weakness and that I will be judged like that. Actually if the truth be told, I really don’t care what people think of me and have always stated that it’s what I think of me that really counts. Here we get to the crux of the matter . . . what I think of me asking for help! I don’t really think that I am weak for asking for help, it’s more along the lines of I don’t really want to put people out or inconvenience them in any way.
The reality of course is that I did have to ask some people for help, like my neighbours and my significant other. It was hard . . . really, really hard but I managed and quite honestly they were only too pleased to help.
So maybe, just maybe we all just need to get over ourselves, or as Dr, John Demartini always says “You have to get out of the way to get on the way,” and ask for the help. The worst that can happen is that they say no! You certainly won’t be any worse off than you are right now and you could get a “yes”, which will make you better off.
So go on, just ask!
Here’s the deal . . .
Please feel free to engage with me, or not. Please feel free to send me your own snippets of information, early warnings, appropriate funnies and what have you, to share with other like-minded individuals, entrepreneurs and start-ups.
I hope and trust that you will enjoy the journey with me.
This weeks’ Blog:
BUSINESS TIPS – You are not alone
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Being an Entrepreneur is not for sissies! It’s tough – really tough! Especially when you are starting out. You have to be all that there is and more.
You’re the person in charge of operations, administration, bookkeeping, compliance, HR and Marketing. Then you usually have to be the cleaner, the delivery guy and the tea person too. Don’t forget all the research and legal stuff and legislative stuff that also has to be done not to mention procurement and . . . . and so the list of things that have to be done goes on and on! Yep, the life of an Entrepreneur is often very hard and often very lonely.
It gets even worse though when you experience a problem that you are not sure how to deal with because it is outside of your realm of experience. You will often feel that the weight of the world and your burdens are crushing you, squeezing all of your inspiration out of you and killing your spirit.
It can get so bad that you get to the point where you are ready to just throw in the towel and give up. The angst, the uncertainty and sheer enormity of the undertaking before you is just so overwhelming, it’s just too much!
Believe me when I tell you that we have all been there at some point or another!
The reality of course is that you don’t have to isolate yourself and do this all on your own. Ask for help – what’s the worst that can happen?
In my experience the worst that can happen is that that particular person cannot help because they themselves do not have the experience, but believe me when I tell you that there are always people out there who are more than willing to help.
Let’s take it one step at a time.
Firstly, as you are starting out, get advice from the start and I am not talking about advice from your mates who are all working for other people and who have never run or started a business themselves. I am talking about help from Entrepreneurs who are already up and running and who have already gone through (and survived and prospered) what you are currently going through.
Understand also, that in all probability you will need advice of one kind or another all the way through the rest of your career as an Entrepreneur. Even the most successful Entrepreneurs still have mentors and advisors, why would you be any different?
When you start out and are still in the planning stages and you are confused about the ‘how to’, differentiate your product or service from your competition or how to ‘price’ yourself, the easiest way is to actually use your competitors to improve your products or services. What are they selling that you can improve on?
Once you are up and running you need to measure on a regular basis. What are your customers experiencing? Are they satisfied with the experience? Are they happy with the product? What or how can you improve?
As an Entrepreneur there will come a time when you have a difficult or disgruntled client. That is just the reality of doing business. As difficult as it may be for you to deal with angry or upset customers, it is something that you need to do and please understand that it should be done sooner rather than later. Making an angry customer ‘wait’ before you contact them is not going to endear them to you in any way – if anything it will fuel the fire.
Keep yourself up to date with social media channels, especially those that are the home for complaints. Often this is the first place where you will become aware of a problem.
Keep yourself informed – you need to know what is happening in the markets around you. Depending on what industry you are in, it will often give you an advantage.
Finally, talk to your mentors and coaches - the people who know you best. The people whose ‘common sense’ (although that is a very rare commodity these days), or logical type advise is just what you need to hear and then really listen to what they say.
Often when you are not talking to them it is because your sub-conscious is telling you that you are doing something wrong – something that they would advise you against.
So listen to and really ‘hear’ what is going on around you – it may mean avoiding a world of pain further on down the line.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or [email protected] or https://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
What’s Happening with the Accelerators Club
Willem Gous, the founder of the Accelerators Club is having a meeting on 5th April, here in Johannesburg.
If you are interested please follow the directions below.
“Grow your business. Opportunity IS everywhere”
I am glad to announce that the next Opportunity Accelerators Club meeting will be held on 5 April from 09:00 until 11:00 in Sunninghill. From then on it will be every week. I look forward to seeing you there. The first one held last week was a success. Here is a short testimonial from one of the attendees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7snj923WJrk
Please use the following link to book your spot today.
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/43240-the-opportunity-accelerators-club/
If you have any questions or suggestions then please let me know.
Regards,
Willem Gous – Life Design for Business Owners
★ “Helping you to turn your business into a building block in your life” ★
Kahuna Mobility Solutions
+27 82 322 0600
@willemgous
https://za.linkedin.com/in/willemgous
What’s happening in the Life of Peter Carruthers
This one has a ‘time limit’ on the Special so please act quickly!
Here is a simple reason why saving tax now is important.
Imagine saving R20,319 in tax every year. This is one of the first actions we share in our tax course.
No, this is not about pumping more money into RAs. (Many of our clients don't have enough cash to do that at the end of a year.) We do look at RAs during the course, but using a painless financing method.
Imagine investing your R20,319 savings each year into a simple JSE based investment.
· Equity based investments have returned 9.1% per year for the past 25 years. (That's the average inflation-adjusted return.) This means the future payout will have the same buying power as now.
· How much will you have in 25 years?
· Click here to see the calculation.
The total payout would be around R 1,926,050. With today's buying power.
This is money you're already giving away in tax each year. So this is pure upside. (Check the bottom of this email if you suspect my calcs.)
I am not a financial advisor. I am a small-business owner like you who hates paying more tax than I should. That's why I teamed up with tax specialist Peter O'Halloran. He has 20 years of tax experience. I have 26 years experience in helping, training and mentoring small-business owners.
The result is a course to help you save tax:
· Save on annual income tax for the rest of your life and well into retirement.
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The responses from small-business owners so far:
· "This structure is amazing! Thanks a million for this course. Thanks for producing it in a language that even I can understand."
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· "Your Tax course has turned out be a catalyst for change in the way I have done business (played the game) in the past."
· "I think the most important thing, especially because tax is so complicated is keeping it simple to understand and I think you doing awesomely there"
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Want to save a shedload of money this year? And during your entire business career? And into retirement?
?? Your current R997 price expires on March 31. By then we'll have added the final three lectures and the price goes to R1497.
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Feel free to share this email with another small-business owner.
Warm regards
Peter Carruthers