I am concerned about the level of failure of the majority of South African small businesses and also of professionals. I have travelled around the country and I have seen many instances where Government and private funders have invested money in aid of ‘good ideas’ and to date these companies are failing where others could not even launch.
I visited a fisheries project in Limpopo in 2009; they had been funded to the tune of about R2m through a grant, they have been given municipal land (the size of three football fields) with complete infrastructure and rental at about R500 a month. They have LED mentors on call and still they are not improving. There was concern at that time that they may have to halt operations. I was disappointed to learn that they are still blaming the provincial governement for lack of support.
This is but one of the many projects that I have seen fail all around the country. I know of people who have registered Close Corporations and are “WAITING” for government to “GIVE” them tenders. There is a culture of entitlement that is quite rife in society; it does not have space in the business world. Should this be allowed to fester, we will soon wake up to a welfare state. Should nothing be done about this, we will find five million people (just under 10% of all South Africans) being over-taxed to care for our growing population which has now gone north of fifty million. The lack of new and innovative business ideas from within our borders will choke current ventures and entry into the South African corporate space will become expensive and might deter foreign investment.
Over the last five years I have done a lot of pro-bono work around the country. Along the way I learnt what makes people do what they do and I got to understand what sets winners apart from losers. Through this and coupled with my research about the human mind; I have found a mix that I know when implemented can yield results.
I often say that the subconcious mind is like fertile soil. You will reap whatever you sow in it. Human beings are wired for success; depending on where we concentrate our energies, we will see benefits from our efforts. Negative people who believe that they can never achieve greatness will “succeed in failing”. I have developed programs and aproaches to helping people realise their inherent mechanisms to success. My approach will benefit individuals, groups, startup businesses and even executives in established concerns.
Using the mind has never been introduced at school as a subject; that is why, once in a while there emerges a maverick who turns the world on its head and becomes the script in business circles. There is no special magic that makes daring entrepreneurs successful in what they do. These are people who have developed an understanding of the mind and have learnt to use it to great effect. These results can be replicated and even improved upon by another positive minded person. We have seen how one person can run a successful enterprise and another might take over the same business and run it into the ground. So handouts are not the solution!
Fortunately developing a positive mindset can be learnt and negativity can be reversed. I have developed a program that will create an individual who understands success and knows how to achieve it. This is a programs that seeks to rid our society of the culture of entitlement.
Currently the National Planning Commission (NPC) has lauched vision 2030; successful implementation and realisation of objectives vests in the fruitful mind of what they have come to term the ‘Active Citizen’. This is one who will not wait for handouts but will go out to create opportunities on the platform that has been set by Government. I have the tools to help create the ‘Active Citizen’. Positive results are within grasp and interventions are available for all.
– Thurston Sebotsane (Inspirational Speaker and Life Coach)
