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.

Reconnect with your purpose - Howard Mann

I was at Howard’s talk this morning where spoke of key topics he wrote about in the Business Brickyard, a book that I think any business should keep.

After reading his book a few months ago it hit me that we had lost the fun we initially when we started. In all the things we build as a company, after all has been said and done, the basics that make any business succeed should be in place.

In reconnecting with your purpose you are then able to reject the work you shouldn’t be doing and focus on what makes you succeed.

Some significant questions he raised are:

- What is your purpose? (as a company)
- Why do you do what you do?

You can read his blog here or get the book.

It’s refreshing to find entrepreneurs that aren’t stiff and have me yawning as they speak.

Diversions are costly

When I started my company and needed to make an income quickly or something horrible would happen. We tended to divert from our focus and do anything that came our way, which was a mistake most new companies make.

We later found ourselves busy instead of working effectively. If you find yourself in this same place then ask yourself: Is this worth the time and money it promises?

There seems to be a lot of promises coming your way when you're focusing. Now we know that effectiveness means avoiding what you don't do and defining yourself through it.