Insight-driven growth for business and lifestyle
Chesney Bradshaw
A surfer from the Eastern Cape took his son to the beach. While they were there, his son was stung by a bluebottle or Portuguese man o war. The surfer began investigating what could work to relieve his skin because vinegar certainly didn’t. He discovered that papaya or pawpaw has a substance that works to relieve bluebottle stings. He developed this idea and now has a product that relieves a range of stings. Continue reading “A new business idea needs this one quality to really succeed”
In the song “Heroes and Villains” from Brian Wilson’s “Smile”, there is that memorable line “In the Cantina Margarita keeps the spirits high”. It conjurors a picture of men and women in a bar having a fun time possibly after hearing bad news or witnessing some awful event. But it reminds me of the importance of morale, especially when times are bad. Continue reading “When times are tough, keep the spirits high”
A small business owner who started a business in my local community has expanded his business twice.
In these hard times, this is extraordinary.
How did he do it?
Through the applied creativity that comes from identifying a market gap. Creating the right value-for-money product. And, most importantly, friendly, helpful customer service. Continue reading “Are you in need of help in these hard times?”
On a Friday evening in December we went to listen to an opera at the Roodepoort, Theatre. The main draw card was South Africa’s top tenor Stephan Louw. If you’re not interested in opera don’t worry because the fascinating part of this opera was the business model.
Opera audiences in South Africa aren’t big and running an opera in a small theatre such as the Roodepoort Theatre was probably the right size venue because even though we were to watch and listen to a top tenor, the theatre was about half full. Continue reading “Does your business model require a makeover?”
I had a problem. A small problem. A problem that kept nagging at me.
What was irritating me was when I would sit outside on the metal outdoor bench, when I would get up in bench would jump up slightly from the one side. I wondered how I could fix this problem. What could I use to stop the wobbling?
I gave it some thought about couldn’t come up with anything that was an elegant solution. Sure, you can find something in your house to stop a table or chair leg from wobbling but will it be unnoticeable and effective? You don’t want to continually have to get bits of plastic or other material and keep putting it under the bench leg. Continue reading “Here’s a product that may give you inspiration for coming up with something of your own”
It’s amazing, isn’t it, how some people just manage to come up with new ideas, new concepts and new approaches despite the doom and gloom.
It’s people like this that motivate and inspire us to reach within ourselves and to tap into our imaginations to come up with new ideas ourselves.
It doesn’t mean that you have to necessarily come up with a new product or service but if you have an existing product or service, you may want to find new ways to sell it or find new markets. Continue reading “Staying positive in a down market”
A small business owner who was a “marketing expert” started a small business but soon ran into trouble. The reason was basically because the small business owner had not worked in the retail food market before. But being a “marketing expert”, he thought he knew better.
Within 18 months the small business had to be shut down, the equipment sold to cover unpaid expenses incurred by the landlord and plenty of frustrated customers who wondered why the business had been opened in the first place. Continue reading “A business owners’s experience and skills triumphs over another who just pumps money into their small business”
In the local communities small business owners contribute to their communities in many ways. For example, one small business sells off their large hessian coffee bags at a dirt cheap price and collects the money for a charity. Without fanfare, this business quietly and in a dignified way does its bit to make a difference in its local community.
That’s just one example. There are so many others. Perhaps the biggest contribution that small business owners make, in contrast to big businesses, is that they create jobs for the local community. Instead of hiring people from other cities and countries, the small business owner in one community hires local youngsters for his business and helps to develop them so that they can go on to bigger things. Continue reading “Unsung heroes with real community spirit”
A fashion model in Sri Lanka came up with an idea for a new business when she was selling hair care products to salons and garments from the boot of her blue station wagon. Although she was a successful model her father wanted her to do something in business. Her idea was to come up with a fashionable brand that could cater for both local and international visitors. Now her fashion house is one of the largest and the only publicly listed such company in Sri Lanka.
It all started with a promising new business idea. Some business advisers like owngrading the value of an idea mainly because they are interested in selling their business training and consulting time. But the creativity, the most valuable part, the core element is the idea that comes at the right time. As the fashion house owner who built a business from scratch says, an entrepreneur finds a gap in the market even in a sector that is highly saturated and does something which may never have been seen or done before, or does something differently – something that is correct for that time and for the future. Continue reading “Where do you look for your new business idea that you can turn into gold?”
When we arrived at a farm where we were staying overnight we went out to the fields on a Saturday afternoon and found the whole family working in the fields. When it’s not raining, it’s an ideal time or the best time to harvest wheat. At times like this, the farmer works from early in the morning right through into the evening.
Life on a farm teachers you the value of hard work. Farmers are not shy of hard work. Two large harvesters were being used on the farm to harvest the wheat. You see, if you harvest when the wheat is wet, you risk spoiling the wheat because of fungi. So when the good weather comes, sunny and hot, it’s the best time to harvest the wheat. The farmer and his son started out early on Saturday morning, after harvesting the previous day and went on into the night continuing to harvest the wheat. Continue reading “One thing your start-up must do to avoid crashing and burning”
