Black Like You

by Mashaba, Herman;

  Chapter 18

  “What is the one thing that is common to all entrepreneurs?” I have been asked this question a million times, by everyone from schoolchildren and housewives to senior executives, and it is a question that always makes me smile. They want me to supply that elusive magic ingredient that they hope will provide them with a 100% guarantee for a successful business. But the reality is: there is no one single ingredient.

  Every successful entrepreneur has his or her own unique story. Education is an important factor. My own education was basic, but Mark Shuttleworth, who established Thawte and made enough money from the sale of his business to become an astronaut, was privileged to attend excellent schools and to complete his university career. In my case, I saw a gap in the black haircare market; Robert Brozin, the founder of Nando’s, had a love of good food. Each entrepreneur has different likes and dislikes, different management styles, and diverse skills; and ultimately, we all have our own ideal of success. While I don’t believe that one aspect of entrepreneurship should be elevated above another, I do believe that each has its own role to play during the various stages of a business career.

  Versatility is an important facet of entrepreneurship, and when I started Black Like Me, this quality was the key to stabilising the company – I had to fit in wherever I was needed. And, of course, salesmanship is my forte, and along the way, I learnt and perfected the skills of marketing and customer satisfaction. My early foray into the BEE space demanded that I up my corporate game as I didn’t have the educational pedigree of my colleagues. This was a sore point, and often after a long day in the boardroom, I’d come home and unburden myself. “What am I doing with these people?” I’d say to Connie. “I am not qualified for this.” In her usual way, Connie was supportive and reassuring as I waded into new waters.

  Mentors are invaluable to personal development, and I was fortunate to have had good mentors like Walter Dube and Tom Henry, both of whom helped me to fill in gaps in my knowledge. I have always tried to learn from successful people, and whenever anyone asks me for tips on improving their business skills, I say, “Read. Read. Read.” Earlier on, I mentioned how important Raymond Ackerman’s autobiography was to me. By reading about his personal journey, I learnt that hardship can be a blessing in disguise – as it was when Ackerman was fired from Shoprite. Undaunted, he went on to found Pick n Pay, thereby revolutionising the consumer experience in South Africa. Ackerman’s story showed me the importance of believing in oneself and working hard to achieve one’s goals.

  Richard Branson is another exceptional businessman who, like me, had no tertiary educational qualifications to speak of. His autobiography, Losing My Virginity, describes growing up in a society where the lack of education should have been a hindrance to success, and his refusal to allow these shortcomings to define him. Branson held firmly to his ideas, he worked hard to implement them, and the Virgin brand developed into one of the world’s most extraordinary success stories.

  Another inspiring story of success is Felicia Mabuza-Suttle’s autobiography, Dare to Dream. In it, she tells the story of a girl who grew up in the dusty streets of Soweto and pursued her dream; she was determined to get a higher education, to prove apartheid’s ideologies wrong. She achieved her goal, earning herself a BA, an MA and a PhD, and the last I heard, this remarkable woman was reading for a second doctorate – this time in business administration.

  One day my nephew, who had dropped out of his engineering course, came to see me. “Please, malome, can you please fund me – I want to change courses.”

  I gave him a chance to explain. “First, you will have to tell me why you did this,” I said. “Also, what is it that you want to study?”

  “Engineering is boring. I want to go and study entrepreneurship at a college,” he said.

  “Listen, it’s not enough just to want to become an entrepreneur,” I said somewhat angrily. He was clearly surprised at my reaction, and I went on, “Do you think that entrepreneurship is something that you can just go to a university and learn? No, man, you’ve got to have the aptitude. It’s not like engineering, or law – it demands creative flair, vision. Have you got that?”

  I went on to explain the importance of luck, and of being able to think on your feet, which are not things that can be taught – you either get a break or you don’t, and you either have the ability to react sharply or you don’t. I told him that almost every opportunity that has come my way has been something I have reacted to immediately – if you hesitate, you lose out.

  There are excellent tertiary business, marketing and sales courses, but none of them can teach gut instinct or belief in oneself – these are intangibles that a person either possesses or they don’t. I don’t believe that there is a college in the world that can teach business instinct. But there are certain basics that any potential entrepreneur needs, and this is why I give financial support to the St Mary’s Alexandra School Project. This project buses about eighty Grade 10 learners from five different schools in Alex to St Mary’s School in Waverley, where they are taught Maths, Physical Science, Life Sciences, Geography and English, as well as being provided with textbooks and stationery. The 2009 class proved the success of this kind of venture when it achieved an 88% pass rate.

  Apart from such basic education initiatives, I also support initiatives where aspirant entrepreneurs can discuss the meaning of entrepreneurship, where people like me can tell our own stories and those of other successful entrepreneurs. There are many inspiring stories, including those of Sol Kerzner, who introduced affordable resort holidays to South Africans and soon became an international hotel tycoon, and Donald Gordon, a visionary and philanthropist who changed the face of the South African insurance industry. These are men who believed in themselves and their vision. But entrepreneurs are not islands, they cannot succeed without help along the way.

  Two people who helped me enormously during the early days of my career were Steve and Heather Gustafson. With their help, I was able to upgrade my sales techniques. The entrepreneur continually needs to develop new skills in order to cope with the changing business landscape. Nothing happens in a vacuum and without outside help of some sort. There needs to be a more positive climate, with access to business infrastructure such as offices and warehouses, and also to manufacturers, as well as to training programmes; such access will assist entrepreneurs enormously in developing their skills.

  One important area where entrepreneurs need assistance is finance. In the 1980s there was an advert for a financial institution depicting a white bank manager greeting his white customers – an image that has stuck in my mind. With the emergent black middle class, people have more disposable income than before; the banks are happy to take their money, but there is still a reluctance to provide adequate business loans for black customers. This is, I believe, a result of the continued dominance of white males, in particular, in decision-making roles at our financial institutions. In addition to this, there is a general lack of confidence in black people, and bank officials seem to doubt that blacks have the necessary collateral to back up their loan applications. The access of black people to loans will continue to be limited under current circumstances, unless concrete changes are implemented to assist blacks in building wealth. It frustrates me to see that many dreams will never be realised, and for no other reason than blacks are perceived as being bad credit risks. This attitude is creating a generation of economically disadvantaged people.

  I am an unashamed capitalist, and I wish that South Africans would appreciate the good fortune they have to be living in a democratic, capitalist society which is a fertile environment for entrepreneurs. If South Africa’s tradition of entrepreneurship is embraced by those with the capital needed to build the economy, we will start to see huge strides in the growth of the country. The government needs to nurture black entrepreneurs – but this doesn’t simply entail the establishment of colleges that include business theory and ent
repreneurship in their curricula. When I am approached by family members or friends to support their children’s education, I am willing and eager to do so, but I always insist that the young people follow credible courses.

  My current secretary, Charmaine Rayson, has the unenviable task of screening my calls; she is inundated with requests from people wanting me to support them in their studies or in their new businesses. She recently forwarded me an email from a young Zimbabwean student who had been accepted to study actuarial science at the University of Pretoria, but did not have the financial wherewithal to pay her fees. Charmaine arranged a meeting with the young woman, and I agreed to help her. My decision to pay not only the fees, but also to provide her with a subsistence allowance, was based on many factors: the young woman had been proactive in finding someone to assist her with the fees her family could not afford, and she had refused to yield to the restraints of poverty. Africa needs the intellectual capital of young people like this who are both smart and determined.

  It saddens me whenever I visit the isolated rural areas of South Africa and I encounter young men and women who cannot find work because they live far from job opportunities, in remote areas that are out of sight and out of mind of both government and business. In South Africa today, revitalising the rural economy remains one of our biggest challenges. The government’s rural development strategy that is underway at present is simply not enough. Its focus is on infrastructure development, support for emergent black farmers and the subsistence economy, rebuilding social services infrastructure such as schools and clinics, and the provision of clean water. Of course, these things make an important contribution by creating appropriate conditions for economic empowerment and job creation. But entrepreneurs can add value to these development programmes by identifying opportunities, and realising them. If entrepreneurs are given the chance of finding effective means and methods of contributing to rural development, they will play a vital role in halting further stagnation and eliminating poverty. They will be able to create productive bases for industrialisation and the modernisation of rural economies in South Africa.

  Crime remains an area of concern, however, and business is often frustrated and even destroyed by the high incidence of crime – both white-collar and blue-collar. Stock losses can cripple businesses and put them under such financial stress that they are unable to recover. During my time with Black Like Me, robberies in the townships forced me to discontinue the credit system to many township customers whose businesses were robbed, making it impossible for them to pay me for stock. If business in general, and black business in particular, is to succeed, we have to work towards creating stability in our communities. Sustainable enterprises can only flourish under conditions of peace in our daily lives. The political stability and maturity that we are rightfully so proud of must be coupled with social stability and concerted efforts on the part of the entire criminal justice system to rid our communities of crime. Our success can be permanent only if we are all full participants in efforts to change our lives for the better. To this end, we need to form strong networks to protect entrepreneurship, and to ensure that it thrives.

  I am fortunate to do business with many international companies, from whom I have learnt much. I appreciate the Kaizen business philosophy of the Japanese, which focuses on making continuous small improvements that keep a business at the top of its game, and I also respect the German post-war commitment to modernisation – which I believe needs to happen in post-apartheid South Africa. However, I believe that South Africans should maintain their own identity. South Africa has absolutely no need to imitate any other nation’s model. South Africa is its own special brand, and labour, business and civil society have all been active participants in inventing our unique South African imprint – which was especially obvious during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

  To reiterate, South Africa embraces the capitalist system, and the role of business is to create wealth, which can in turn benefit the general community through job creation and the development of the economy. Hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup saw an upgrade of infrastructure nationally, and their construction created employment for many skilled people. We also benefited from the importation of foreign skills, especially in the upgrading of roads, and the local workforce benefited from exposure to these imported engineering skills. The World Cup also introduced our many tourism destinations and our friendly citizens to the world. The vuvuzela may have been the signature of our supporters, but our professionalism, affability and ability to deliver showed the world what South Africa is capable of.

  The government has created conditions conducive to growth. But it is up to all economically active South Africans to work hard to prevent the economy stagnating. The government also tried to create a reasonably flexible labour market dispensation, which would encourage the labour movement to be well organised and strong enough to improve the conditions of workers; this initially compared favourably with those of other developing countries, but I am convinced that we need to revisit our current labour laws if we are to ensure that they achieve the results that were originally intended. In such an environment, businesses would have the necessary freedom to make profits and to prosper. Of course, the challenge is to strike a healthy balance between the interests of the business sector and those of a society in transformation. Without such a balance, we run the risk of unending economic skirmishes, which might cumulatively defeat the overall objective of growing and developing a sound economy.

  The government has enacted the economic policies necessary to realising the success of our country, but civil society has an important role to play in mobilising communities. Business leaders must empower their workers to realise their full potential. In turn, these employees must empower their families, by encouraging attendance at schools and participation in educational and social activities. Everyone should strive for excellence in what they do, and encourage and teach others who lack skills. This will ensure meaningful and inclusive participation. Communities that support each other will sustain the growth of our entrepreneurship and our economy.

  One way I try to help young entrepreneurs is by talking to them – at schools, in universities and in the workplace. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have my own experiences, and some of these may resonate with people experiencing similar problems. One group I am especially proud to be involved with is employees from the PG group; I mentor and share knowledge in an informal way with PG employees who are interested in empowering themselves. It often concerns me when people say that, because they’re employed in a bread-and-butter job, they can’t be entrepreneurs. But this is simply not true. Everyone has a dream – perhaps even the lady who makes tea at your office. Who knows? She may dream of opening a daycare centre. But my job is not to hold her hand through every step she would need to take. As a mentor, my job is to teach such a person the value of having a vision, and to show what steps are needed to get the appropriate qualification or experience that will propel them in the direction of realising that vision. When people share similar hopes and dreams, they can often work with and for one another to help realise their individual visions.

  I enjoy working with journalists and writers who publish stories about entrepreneurs, and I frequently take part in radio shows about current affairs or business programmes. And though I have come to enjoy the game of golf enormously, I will even give up a game to do such shows. Now and again I have to put up with the resentment of friends and colleagues, who say, “Oh no, you don’t need to do another TV talk show, everyone knows who you are.” I smile at this, but don’t explain that these efforts have nothing to do with building my personal platform. By now, I have established myself. I do the interviews, the talks, the one-on-one mentoring, the books and the articles because I see them as an opportunity to reach a wider audience, to reach readers and listeners who wish to hone their skills, their talents, their education – whatever it is they need to help them realise the vision they have
for themselves.

  I give talks to a range of people, from township schoolchildren to international business forums – including business schools in South Africa, the St Gallen Business School in Switzerland, and Oxford University. Across the world, in all places, people strive for success; I feel privileged to be in a position where I can share my knowledge and experience to help others achieve their goals.

  Chapter 19

  At Black Like Me, we took our corporate responsibility seriously – offering bursaries to needy students and sponsoring political funerals. In terms of career building, we used to pack up product samples and literature and hit the road, going into communities and training hairdressers, improving their product knowledge and their skills. We were already very busy with various forms of community upliftment, so I was hesitant when Rod Fehrsen approached me yet again in 1997 to become a patron of the Field Band Foundation (FBF) – a worthy organisation aimed at uplifting black children and, by extension, their families.

  The previous year, the PG Group had celebrated its centenary. It had decided to establish a community upliftment project – but it wanted to ensure that it would also be meaningful and sustainable. Rod had approached me about this, saying, “I want to have the best people involved in the project. We need some creative thinkers to brainstorm ideas and to throw around a couple of innovative concepts. This is an important project for two guys, Bertie and Ronnie Lubner. I really hope you’ll join us.”