Become a friend

First we were offline when we got here this morning, thinking it was an April fool’s joke we laughed and almost wet pants.

Be that as it may, a chat I had with Gavin on Saturday came to mind. He is a business strategist and has been at it for about 20years.

He says: “it’s debatable that business ethic has changed in the past 10, 20years or even in the past century”. We were talking about how it seems juicy business deals goes to the same people. They are either friends or have managed to have close ties with people in the companies they provide services to.

Become a friend or get close enough to build relationships.

Black Economic Empowerment : The real beneficiaries

This past Saturday I went to an SME workshop, planned and organized by Magna Carta for Standard Bank. We engaged in a conversation that birthed this post, with some of the delegates.

The conversation began with Anthony saying, since the initiation of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) many white owned companies were disgruntled. He says his courier company lost contracts with regular clients, which they negotiated after 1994 therefore still within the new dispensation.

Contrary to popular belief, South Africa’s black owned companies also hardly benefit from this innovation that was meant to assist in the emergence of new businesses. Most government projects, known as tenders, don’t reach the youth owned companies, as was intended. These tenders under the banner tag of “BEE” return a chunk of the profits as bribes to government employees.

One of the entrepreneurs I know whose company was built from these tenders confessed to having paid bribes for the past 5years and now outsources most of the labour, but pockets the profits. The other, an entrepreneur who has been in business for over 10years hasn’t seen any benefit from BEE. In fact he discourages any other company to embark on this direction. Both are ‘wholly black owned’ companies and account for very little of the intended recipients.

Evidently race and the qualifying criteria are by far not the least restrictions.

Not a fan. . . .

. . . . of buses in early morning traffic. After the frustration though, this marketing message struck me.

Idols also happens to be the one my least favorite programs on TV, in fact television for me
is a distraction. At the best of times.

This was quite a message. Someone has their act together.

One matchstick: Party of the Century with DJ Al for 150 people!

The One matchstick trader has made another move. View her post here.

Netweb Event last night

The Netweb Event last was made possible by a lot of remarkable people.

Among many I would like to thank:

- Oupa Moumakwe with his outstanding talk on forming Strategic Partnerships.

- Osman Nkosi of Dynasty Strategists.

- Themba Zulu of Doppio Zero in Newtown, both was remarkable along with their staff.

We also received free copies of Succeed Magazine as a giveaway at the dinner, which were really helpful.

Thank you guys. You rocked out.

Appreciation of little things

Ricc Webb attended one of our Netweb Events and I had a chat with him afterward. He used to work as a car salesman at Lexus, always in a suit, before some occurrences that eventually led him to a 27Dinner where we met for the first time.

“Some guy walked into the dealership one day looking like he stepped out of a skateboarder’s hangout” (not his exact words), is how the conversation started. This person wasn’t the kind you’d expect to come into a Lexus dealership, let alone say he is looking for the most expensive car on the floor and actually buy it.

They test drove one of the best cars in the dealership, played heavy metal instead of the regular jazz or classical music. Ricc told his client about the features, handling and the usual things he normally would. Along with that he also asked him about his preference in music, his interests and the things that made this guy different from everyone else.

They would normally give new car owners chocolate and cigars upon delivery of their vehicle, but this wasn’t an ordinary buyer. He was someone very similar to Ricc himself, on a Friday evening, and the gift with his delivery had to be distinct.

It is the little things that intrigue us about products, people and companies. The small things you do for me, which are distinct and memorable. How many people do you think talked about Lexus thereafter?

What fascinated Rich, some companies he gave the talk at and I, after 2years of the encounter, was the gift Ricc chose. He away put the cigars Lexus would normally provide and went out to buy a belt at a skater’s store. That minute detail caused Ricc to score himself the coolest job in the world working at Thunk. A company started by Rich 2years later. Have a look at his gift here.

What could you do to cause so much conversation?

And oh, he doesn’t miss being in suits.

3000 Blog posts: Congragulations Seth

Congragulations to Seth Godin who wrote 3000 posts in 3years. It's amazing how you still keep it fresh, informative and somehow ahead of this time.

As for my all time favorite, well that would be a hard one. Read through these to find one that speaks most to you.

Read the 3000th post here. Don't know much about him being a lucky guy though.

If you can change perception consistently for 3years, think otherworldly and apply yourself as an agent of change for this long. Then you are far beyond luck.

Interesting challenge

It has become increasingly challenging to prove value in what you offer. And everyday the goal posts keep shifting.

If your product or service is something worth using and you happen to be confident enough to let people craft it further. Then it becomes a matter of getting it out there as much as possible, without spamming the world of course. More things become unusable as new ones hit the shelves.

The interesting challenge here becomes how you continually expand your outreach, using as much relevant media to you, as you possibly can.

Once you think you have that figured, there's also the risk of becoming stale in what you thought was "unique".

Find the balance and start over again every day. Interesting, isn't it?

Netweb Event: Thank you's

The February 2009 Netweb Event was made great by the support of a lot people. There are far too many names to mention but here are some few:

• Shamillah Wilson of Sowilo : Thanks for making it to speak and once again transforming my perception.
• Telana Simpson: People found your interview inspiring.
• Don Packett who not only is a comedian, but also knows his way technical stuff.
• Ricc Webb had a very interesting story to tell about the appreciation of little things.
• Nikki Viljoen: Thank you for making it and contrubuting valuably.
• Lantz Mattinson: Thanks a boatload for making it and the online marketing ideas.
• StevieB for the interview and an opportunity to spread the word.

The gig wouldn't have happened with out every single person attending as they did. We appreciate all of you guys.

Netweb Event video footage will be available for you to view on NetwebTV and our youtube channel here.

Netweb Event : Radio interview on KayaFM

I was interviewed by StevieB on KayaFM about the February Netweb Event.