The South African Economy Runs on 6 Productive Months - Something to make you laugh and cry simultaneously.

It is May in South Africa, which means our first productive month of 2023 because the South African economy is carried by six productive months from March to October. The rest is mostly a dog's breakfast filled with time off, frustration to get business moving, and a misguided sense of hope that things will be different this year.

Our summer holiday is in December. Thus, in November, people already start to wind down for December. They ease up on the accelerator. You can still get some orders in but work for December is done unless someone has serious issues at which they have to throw a lot of money at. School holidays start at the beginning of December, and 50% of the workforce goes on holiday in the first two weeks and the other half in the last two weeks. That is why, since 2020, I have started to take 6 weeks of summer holiday. I might as well because January is not much better.?

The work year starts on the 3rd. However, that does not mean people are back and ready to do business after a long rest. Nope, most people are back by the 15th, and you usually have a 100% workforce by the beginning of the fourth week. That is why I start work on the 15th and use that first week for planning. If my phone does ring for business, I feel like a high school boy whose first love calls after weeks of silence. It is this game of telephone where we call each other to hear if someone has business, but few do. Hearing people answer the phone positively is uplifting, and it makes me feel special, and as soon as they realise I am not calling to place an order, the energy dissipates quickly.?

Most people and small businesses are running on fumes needing cash fast. We place our hope on February, like a gambler betting on a long shot at a race track with his last few bucks. February is not a fully productive month either because of the 28 days. To make things worse, for most companies, it is financial year-end. Even if they have business to give you, they are too busy submitting numbers.?

March must bring business, and yet it does not. With year-end finished, it is now time for budgeting. It feels positive because everyone asks for quotes and pricing, and you think, “This month, things will be better”. But it is not. Nobody is committing until budgets are done. Even if there was business, many people are already slowing down for April.?

Comparing April with December from a business perspective is like comparing a cold, dead body with an eight-year-old toddler on sugar. The reason, if you are not from South Africa, is that the BULK of our public holidays happens in April. That means people can take a few days’ leave and go on an extended holiday. Week one is Good Friday, and week two has Family Day. Week three is open purely to give us some breathing space for week four which has Freedom Day on Thursday and Workers Day on Monday, 1 May.

After that, the economic sun rises, and we can start to turn this economy on again. The next six months will be crazy because you must generate most of your revenues in the coming six months. You work so hard, and by the end of the six months, you walk into your home, and your kids think you are a stranger. Look at the bright side. You have six months to repair that.?

I hope you got a little chuckle, a feeling of being heard by those in this cycle and a greater understanding of how the South African economy functions.?

The work I do in South Africa | I created a recipe for job creation

I am an international speaker on leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. I am a finalist in 2022 for Startup Mentor of the Year and Incubator of the Year at the 2022 Africa Startup Ecosystem Builders Awards. I am also a Thinkers 360 – Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Lean Startup 2022 & 2023.

I run The Human Entrepreneur and developed the Rapid Entrepreneurship Development Programme. Made in Africa, for Africa, and proven in Africa.?

A disruptive and human-centric approach to entrepreneurship and business acceleration around the needs of necessity-driven entities, enabling people to become micro-business owners in 5 weeks without external funding and financially sustain themselves. We can do it at scale, creating hundreds, even thousands of these entrepreneurs, per month.?

I am a dedicated single father to an amazing 13-year-old son, and we live in Johannesburg, South Africa: an avid reader and personal development enthusiast. For fun and giggles, I am a firewalking instructor.

I hold a Master’s degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Liverpool, U.K., and my dissertation focused on applying various innovation methodologies within existing businesses. A regular conference speaker and facilitator, I also serve on the advisory board of the professional interest network of the University of Liverpool Management School.

Visit the website for more information: https://thehumanentrepreneur.org/the-rapid-entrepreneurship-development-and-job-creation-programme-made-in-africa-for-africa/