Jannie Mouton heads up PSG, one of the country’s most successful companies which founded inter alia Capitec Bank and Curro Private Schools. After becoming CEO of the company he was co-founder of, he was unceremoniously dismissed at the age of 48, but he started out again, this time making it truly big to be among the top 40 on the JSE with PSG. Mouton is well-known not only as a maverick entrepreneur, but also for his outspoken and colourful personality and strong if unconventional convictions about how businesses should be run. He lives in Stellenbosch on a wine farm and has a private library which contains almost every Afrikaans novel ever published

He will be discussing his business philosophy by referring to:

• Strategic planning essentials
• Adopting an entrepreneurial approach to everything you do in business
• Ultimate empowerment of the right people
• Corporate governance for excellent business practice

Event Details

Date: 8 March 2012, 07h00 – 09h00

Cost: R410.00 per person (excl vat), R3 950.00 per table of 10 (excl. VAT)

Venue: The Pavilion Conference Centre, V&A Waterfront

Catering: Traditional hot breakfast

Please click here to RSVP online

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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They aren’t just for the biggies; for the entrepreneurs aiming to sell 100,000 units of personalised coffee mugs during Q4. They’re a useful way to turn your freelance vision, wherever in its gestation it is, into a coherent strategy.

Take a weekend morning. Make yourself a cup of something delicious. Start.

Order
In general, put your sales pitch upfront and your numbers towards the back. Don’t forget to write a good, sharp intro (or ‘executive summary’) of 150 words or so, and a conclusion where you sum up or call for further contact. This isn’t rocket science, no, but you’d be amazed how often people leave this stuff out.

Structure
Structure is everything, so draw up a rough skeleton with Intro at the start and Conclusion at the finish. Plan to put in additional headings like ‘Aims’, ‘Services’, ‘Business Type’, ‘Rates’, ‘Industry/Competitors’, ‘Marketing’, etc.

Then, as you go, use research, creativity and numbers (if necessary) to plug the gaps. This is a helpful exercise for anyone new to freelancing (or even us oldies), as it helps to isolate where you see yourself, and how you plan to proceed and grow as you go. It can also drive you if need a vooma injection.

Tip: If you like, use the web to find a basic structure you can customise. Or, choose a few and take the best of each, given your situation. But never use an auto-generated, online business plan template – they read badly and look shoddy, and anyway, a cookie-cutter business plan won’t help you succeed.

Content
Get a picture of your industry, customers, competitors and market. Then:

• Write an executive summary, highlighting the detail of the business plan.
• Give an overview of the business’s aims.
• Unpack your services (this is your sales pitch) – explaining what your business will do in simple terms and highlighting features that set it apart.
• Talk about what type of business (sole prop, etc.) you plan to have.
• Provide a menu of rates, including terms and conditions if this is relevant.
• Follow this with info on the industry as a whole and who else is in it.
• Explain how you plan to market (website, web ads, flyers, networking).
• Finally, provide some detail on exactly who’s involved, with short CVs, and conclude with detailed contact information and a call-to-action.

Appearance
As a rule, keep it clean. Black text, white background. No colours or fancy fonts. Use bold headings and sub-headings that are one or two sizes larger than your main text font. And don’t be afraid of white space; it gives the reader visual breathing room and makes your plan look less like homework.

Language
Carefully consider your style and tone when it comes to language. Keep it professional, but straightforward and simple. Resist old-fashioned phrases: ‘herewith is’, ‘for your perusal’, ‘the aforementioned’, etc. And try to use powerful words like, ‘The business will or can…’, not ‘would’ or ‘might’.

Feedback
Even if you’re the only person involved in your business, find someone who can study your plan objectively and point out weaknesses or areas you might have missed. As you receive feedback, don’t be afraid to make changes to the document. A business plan should evolve along with a company.

Layout
Find a graphic designer friend, colleague or contact who can give you an hour of their time to lay out your plan properly. That way, if anyone wants to see it, or if you need to ask the bank – or anyone else – for money, it looks like something. You can also use bits and pieces of your plan as a corporate profile, which clients will ask for, so it helps to have it laid out properly.

If you’re skint, offer the designer a trade exchange: copy for design, photos for design, illustration for design – whatever. If you’re a designer yourself, get a copywriter or copy editor to check your writing for an hour. And so on.

Good luck!

More reading:

• Creating The Perfect Business Plan
• The 5 Types Of Clients That Freelancers Face

Tiffany Markman is a freelance web and print copywriter, editor and trainer who works for diverse clients, large and small, in South Africa and overseas. She writes regularly for Bizcommunity, tweets prolifically, reads voraciously and is known as a grammar, plain language and SEO nazi. Give Tiffany a shout on 082 492 1715 or visit her website. You can also sign up for Tiffany's newsletter here. View more articles by Tiffany Markman.

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22seven was unveiled in Johannesburg last week to a select group of journalists, bloggers and industry analysts (Ideate was there, and we’ve been playing with it – we’re reserving our opinions until later notice). The immediate reaction has been a dazzling range of criticism and praise. The banks, especially ABSA, have weighed in, saying that they’ll be launching their own service shortly. FNB’s Michael Jordaan tweeted that it looked ‘cool’.

Either way one looks at it, it appears that 22seven is scratching an itch that many didn’t know they had.

“Our service doesn’t have all the answers but it does have a few insights,” says Christo Davel, CEO of 22seven and former chief of South Africa’s first ever web-only bank 20twenty. “22seven is founded on the idea that if we become more aware of why we make the decisions we do, we will be in a better position to make smarter money choices.”

Money management is not a new concept. Yet, in spite of having more financial tools and advice available than ever before it seems that people are feeling less in control, rather than more.

The team at 22seven believes the flaw is that traditional financial management tools rely on objectivity, rationality, budgeting and discipline. “The reliance on purely empirical data to make decisions is the problem,” says Davel. “People are hardwired to make choices on instinct, intuition and emotion. It doesn’t matter how many budgets we do or how many books we read, we will still act like the complex, emotionally governed human beings we are.”

22seven offers insight into how people make their money choices and guides them to being and feeling in control of their financial lives.

The online service uses a blend of intuitively presented data, empathy for the human condition and a sense of play to help customers become more conscious of their financial decisions.

A core element is the concept of play and the importance of what game designers term ‘productive failure’, or learning from mistakes to improve decision making.

“Playing gives us permission to try things we wouldn’t dream of doing in real life. Rather than fear failure we use it to learn and improve. This is exactly the kind of financial learning environment we want to create. 22seven must give us a chance to play in the ‘what if’ space of our money,” says Davel.

Another strategic component is behavioural economics, the study of the social, cognitive and emotional impulses that drive economic decision-making. “We have used this body of knowledge to understand why we are stupid when it comes to money and to design a service that highlights where common mistakes are made,” says Davel.

22seven is currently a South African focused service that makes it possible to automatically gather transaction information from local bank accounts, credit and store cards.

The launch version is in beta and will be free. Once ready, 22seven will cost R70 per month with the first month free.

When discussing the subscription based business model, Davel reiterates the importance of independence. “We will never recommend products or service providers to our users and will never be a sales channel for financial institutions. By charging a subscription we are aligning our commercial intent with the happiness of our clients. We have to consistently add value to customers’ lives or go out of business,” says Davel.

“22seven is a personal money service that knows that emotion, sentiment and desire are more powerful than rationality when it comes to decision making. It works with our humanness rather than against it,” concludes Davel.

Read more reactions to 22seven and weigh in with your own opinion:

• Memeburn: Why 22seven is most probably, but not necessarily safe
• Simon Dingle: Why it’s safe to use 22seven
• Kwanto Zonkwe: On common sense and convenience (22 seven)

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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Applications to the Fellowship Programme close 31 May 2012 for Grade 12 learners and 31 August 2012 for first year university students.

The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, a social responsibility initiative funded by the Allan Gray and Orbis groups, aims to assist and develop a new generation of dynamic entrepreneurs and leaders as a means of bringing about job creation in Southern Africa. Every year, the Foundation selects the best and most ambitious Grade 6, Grade 12 and first year university students to join one of its programmes.

Personal endowment by Mr Gray himself

The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation is the social responsibility initiative of the Allan Gray and Orbis Groups in South Africa.  It is funded annually by a donation of a minimum of 7% of the taxed profits of the Allan Gray Group, which has committed to making this donation to the Foundation in perpetuity.  As profits may fluctuate, this commitment is backed up by a capital endowment of over R1 billion donated by Mr Allan WB Gray, the founder of the Allan Gray and Orbis Groups.

In addition to financial support, the Fellowship Programme also includes exposure to thought leaders, mentorship and entrepreneurial mindset development, as well as access to funding for post-graduate studies for those who have excelled in the programme. Scholarships are available for students wishing to study toward a degree in the fields of commerce, engineering and science, with the exclusion of medicine.

Applicants who pass the initial screening phase will have the opportunity to write the National Benchmark Test. Those who successfully complete this phase will be interviewed and thereafter invited to attend one of the Foundation’s Selection Camps, which is the final stage of the selection process.

For further information on how to apply for the Fellowship programme SMS “FELLOW” to 33427 or download the application form on www.allangrayorbis.org

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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The recent launch of mobile app developer Snapplify gives the publishing market a full turnkey solution for transforming their content into mobile apps within minutes, for global distribution via the Apple App Store. It is the first to offers this kind of service to publishers at zero upfront cost.

Profitable from the first month without any marketing, Snapplify has had great market validation of its service from clients. One, an academic institution, is using Snapplify to convert textbooks into apps, describing it as “a much easier and affordable way to teach and learn”.

Snapplify features
• Turnkey mobile apps
• Target and reach a global audience
• No upfront costs, so even smaller publishers can target niche markets
• Open to everyone regardless of scale of company
• Publishers use Snapplify’s Apple account, meaning they do not pay development fees to load their apps to the iStore.
• Publishers pay commission on book sales
• Apps can contain multiple e-books

Future developments
Lynch says a critical success factor has been Snapplify’s choice of mobile apps over physical magazines and books (EPUBS), for example – “they are easier, more cost-effective and interactive”.

Snapplify is aggressively developing its technology to incorporate many new features in the future. “We are working on enhancing the apps’ interactiveness, to allow publishers to add features such as quizzes or mobile colouring books.”

Snapplify will also incorporate a social media component and interactiveness in the future, he adds.

Frankfurt Book Fair
The company was founded by entrepreneur, investor and software developer Wesley Lynch, whose 11 years in the industry will stand the company in good stead as it grows.

Snapplify was publicly launched at the recent worldwide Frankfurt Book Fair. Lynch reports being inspired by the vibrant, deal-making culture at Frankfurt. “There is an immense hunger for going digital. Every presentation talked about it, but besides the larger players – publishers, retailers and device manufacturers – few had the strategy or knowledge to do it.

“It didn’t take much to see the enormous benefits of our solution for publishers in their current predicament. We told one publisher we could instantly repurpose their publication for iPad, and they gave us their content there and then.”

Snapplify has already established a UK and South African office, and has begun working for various publishing clients including in multiple regions including Africa, the UK, Asia and South America, says Lynch. They include iMaverick, Random House Struik, New Holland Publishing and Fiell Publishing.

Visit the Snapplify website for more information.

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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Screw Business As Usual is, in a nutshell, about social entrepreneurship – the concept of making money while doing good. In the book Branson relates his journey from shameless capitalist to social evangelist, providing sharp insight into the seminal moments in his career that motivated him to make a dent in the universe.

Some standout bits in the book:

• Branson telling how he and Brad Pitt traveled through Soweto visiting AIDS orphanages and were stunned and humbled by the joy and hope that the sufferers displayed in the face of despair
• How The singer Jewel got involved in Virgin Unite after a conversation about her homeless past
• How Ben Cohen (from the massive Ben & Jerry ice-cream business) stopped a jargon-spouting consultant in his tracks by asking “what the hell are you talking about?”
• The concept of “the missing middle” referring to small entrepreneurs who lack finance

One potential criticism against the book may be that it could be construed as one of Sir Rich’s shameless self-promotion exercises since much of Screw Business As Usual focuses on projects that companies within the Virgin Group are engaged with.

However, consider a story that our esteemed author relates midway through: At a critical time in Virgin’s foray into the South African marketplace, Branson made an impromptu change to a fairly innocuous pre-planned speech to a South African delegation. Having been affected by a visit to Soweto’s AIDS patients, Branson suddenly went on the rampage, and slated South Africa’s leaders for the lack of provision to HIV patients in South Africa. There was a risk involved, with a significant potential negative impact his words may have had on Virgin’s multitude of SA businesses. As it happened, Thabo Mbeki (who he attached in his tirade) responded with a long letter of reconciliation.

This anecdote reveals the heart behind the book. Throughout the book, Branson genuinely wants you, dear Ideate reader, to do good in whatever it is that you do.

It’s well written, if somewhat straightforward, and easy to read. The stories are enthralling and, as in all Branson’s books to date, it’s amazing to get a peak into his fascinating life. This book outlines an important global business trend – in Branson’s words “Have fun, do good, and the money will come!“

One more thing: 100% of the profits of Screw Business As Usual book sales is going to charity. Buy the book and let me know what you think.

Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.

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The survey, conducted in November 2011, revealed that 75% of the respondents actively participate in and recognise the important role that e-commerce will play in shaping South Africa’s future economy. In the three months leading up to the festive season, 85% of the respondents also claimed to have shopped online.

According to CEO of PayU MEA, Mark Chirnside “research indicates that consumers are beginning to recognise the benefits of online shopping, and the more popular it becomes, the greater the opportunity for South African businesses to reap the economic benefits of reaching new customers online.”

The online survey also revealed that 77% of respondents feel that a payment gateway service provider adds credibility to a website. South African retailer and long time PayU SafeShop customer, Pick n Pay, recognise the role that a secure payment gateway has in ensuring peace of mind for their online shoppers.

In addition to Pick n Pay, PayU Payment Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a division of multi-national media giant Naspers, also processes online payments for Groupon, Kalahari.com, NetFlorist and four major airlines, to name only a few.

Take a look at the PayU Survey infographic below:

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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1. Read more

If there’s only one change that you make in your life in 2012, make sure it’s this one – read more. Make a conscious effort to fill your downtime moments with books, magazines, blog articles and newspapers – whatever you enjoy – instead of watching TV or aimlessly browsing Facebook. Reading stimulates your brain and fills it with new knowledge, insights, ideas and views. Try branching out into new media and genres that you’re unfamiliar with. As an alternative, download some audiobooks or interesting podcasts to listen to while in the car or at the gym.

2. Learn one new hobby

Everybody has that one hobby that they’ve always aspired to, but never actively pursued. Whether it’s drawing, writing, knitting, studying a language or playing an instrument, learning something new awakens the brain, reduces stress and ensures that you have more fun in your free time – not to mention the confidence boost you get when you serve your first soufflé or play a full song on a guitar.

3. Take one professional skills course

Every working professional can list a few business skills that they could do with, but don’t have. Abilities like balancing the books, writing a proposal, delivering a public presentation or operating certain software packages are valuable to almost anyone. This year, critically evaluate which skills you’re lacking, or what gaps in your knowledge are holding your career back, and do something about it. Take an after-hours professional skills course to boost your abilities – and your salary.

4. Attend a conference

Almost every industry, hobby or interest has a conference of some kind every year – and it’s amazing what you can learn by attending one of these. Conferences usually have presentations, speeches and panels by leading people in the field, and these are excellent places to pick up new knowledge, get inspired and make connections for future. Whether you go to a cooking presentation at the Food and Wine show, a digital media talk at the Design Indaba or a seminar on environmental impact at the African Mining Indaba, make it your goal to attend at least one conference this year where you can learn something new.

5. Join a community

Finally, learning in isolation can be lonely, difficult and unfulfilling for some, so consider joining a like-minded community of people so that you can share your insights, struggles and lessons learned. This community can meet up in the real world (like a business support group or art class) or online (there are hundreds of websites and forums devoted to every hobby and profession you can imagine). Whichever you choose, you will quickly find that interacting actively  both by sharing and absorbing information – will increase your learning by leaps and bounds.

Anna Malczyk is a member of the academic department of GetSmarter, a specialist online training firm. GetSmarter works together with University of Cape Town to present short courses in small business management, project management, internet marketing, financial management and more. View more articles by Anna Malczyk.

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It seems from the feedback we’ve had from our readers that 2011 was generally a pretty tough year. We have, however, high hopes for all of you in 2012. We believe that there are enough economic signs to ignite trading once more, Greece/Italy/Eurozone problems be damned. Remember also that the sign of a great entrepreneur is someone who can take advantage of all trading conditions, whether positive or negative.

Here are 5 challenges to get your juices flowing:

Challenge #1: Thing BIG
There’s no point in being reticent about your vision. The world is your oyster; it’s there to be eaten with gusto.

Challenge #2: Collaborate
Don’t work in silo. Get out there and meet people. Look at your contact list and discern who the people are that you’d love to work with. Phone them and set up a coffee date… NOW.

Challenge #3: Be MORE Social
If you’re not socially networked by now, where. the. hell. have. you. been? Go onto Twitter and set up your profile. Go to Facebook and get your company listed. Same goes for LinkedIn. Follow important people in your industry and start pinging them. Be noticed. There’s no sense in being a wallflower. However, we assume most of you are networked, so the challenge is to be MORE social – get out there, make more noise (although stick to what you know) and get yourself heard.

Challenge #4: Be Brave
There are always opportunities out there. You were just too scared to knock on doors in 2011. No more. It’s time to get off your chair and get moving. Start now with a list of five attractive prospects, and start figuring out ways of bashing down their doors.

Challenge #5: Be Good!
As Richard Branson says in his business book  ’Screw Business As Usual’: Do good, have fun – and the money will come! He’s not joking either; it’s by doing exactly that that has made Sir Rich one of the richest and best known entrepreneurs on the planet. Figure out what ’social entrepreneurship‘ means, and figure out how doing what you do can make the world a better place for your children’s children.

Good luck from us at Ideate!

Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.

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As our last post of the year, Ideate presents to you a ‘how-to’ gallery to inspire you. Entrepreneurs, this is how you have to roll over the next few weeks. Enjoy!

That’s all folks. See you next year – well rested, we hope

Ideate is one of South Africa's biggest business blogs, with a team of authors all of whom have had entrepreneurial experience. Ideate is read by entrepreneurs thinking BIG. Follow us on Twitter here. View more articles by Staff Reporter.

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