HR 101 – Who is an Employee - Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South Africa Labour and Best Requirements.
When your business has gotten to the stage that you need to employ someone to assist you, there are certain guidelines that you should follow in order to meet the requirements of the Labour Relations Act.
Hopefully by this stage you have actually identified what it is that you want them to do, whether you want them as a full day employee or a half day - obviously dependant on the amount of work that there is – and of course whether they are a senior person or a junior person that you can train and or mold into doing things the way that you want them done.
So now you think that you are sorted and you can start putting out the word, and advertising for the staff member that you want! Not really hey, there are other things to take into consideration.
These are but not limited to:
1. Are you going to employ them on a full time basis, as a permanent employee?
2. Are you going to employ them as a temporary or casual basis, or
3. Are you going to employ them on a sub or independent contractual basis?
Perhaps it is time to step back a little and go back to basics. It’s time to discover if we actually know “Who is an Employee”?
Over the next couple weeks we will go step by step through the process and discover what is required by law and what the different terms actually mean.
So here is step one.
I have found, during my travels through the SMME market that there are many and I mean many employers, who think that if the staff member is a Contractor, they are not entitled to leave, sick leave or any other benefits.
In fact I am sure that I can say with confidence, that there are many employers who think that if a staff member is an Independent Contractor, and they have a contract in place that also indicates this, that they are not entitled to leave, sick leave or any other benefits that are laid down in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Most employers who think like this are merely using these terms to avoid their obligations in terms of the Labour Laws and Labour Legislation and of course by doing this they are also avoiding things like pension and medical aid and any other benefits that they give to their “Permanent” employees.
For the record: An Independent Contractor is not an ‘employee’ and cannot be an ‘employee’ – so don’t get confused by this.
In next week’s article I will start documenting exactly ‘Who is and Employee’ in terms of the Labour Relations Act.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, May 29, 2020
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Marketing 101 – Realistic Belief
Marketing 101 – Realistic Belief
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I know that on many levels, it is really sad if you can’t dream – hell, I do! That said, I also know how dangerous it can become if your dreams are out of the ball park. Think about it for a minute – most evenings, sitting watching some of the ads that they present on TV, I actually have to ‘suspend belief’ in order for me to even try and understand the message that they are trying to get across. As an Internal Auditor, that for me is incredibly difficult – remember I live, deal and work in an environment that is based, strictly on fact!
Take for example the host of motor vehicle ads that are doing the rounds at the moment. Cars that morph into spiders, and snakes and the like, in order for them to travel where no other car goes. Firstly the idea of me actually believing that a car could change shape like that is an insult to my ‘logical’ brain and intelligence and secondly, I have no doubt that there are other brands of vehicles that can not only do the same kind of terrain, but probably a whole lot more than just that, seems to me to be a whole lot more reasonable.
Or how about the one where the driver, tired of listening to his girlfriend yapping away, opens the cubbyhole (or glove compartment – for the foreigners amongst us), and she gets ‘sucked’ into the compartment, never to be heard of again – well not until the next time that the ad is aired, you understand. Now I understand that they are trying to ‘sell’ the concept of ‘more space’ or spaciousness, but the idea of getting a whole body into that space for me is just ludicrous!
To be sure, that could be very well what they are trying to do to get me to remember the ad and therefore that will become my car of choice – but quite honestly, I don’t remember the make of the car or anything other than what a ridiculous ad that is!
Now if the car manufacturers have to go to these lengths to try and increase the level of sales, on branded products – why is it that so many of the small business owners or SMME’s as they are called, seem to think that because they have produced an ‘incredible’ product or service, that said product or service will automatically sell itself!
That for me is also where I have to ‘suspend belief’. Why would brands such as ‘Coca-Cola’ who are internationally branded and are known by just about every person on the planet, believe they need to advertise and yet someone who knows exactly 100 people on the planet, feel that they don’t need to advertise because the product will sell itself?
Clearly you need to market yourself. I, as an Internal Auditor – really do not know much about advertising and marketing – it’s not what I do. What I do know however, is that if people don’t know about you or your product, you are not going to sell any of your product and that is the bottom line.
Marketing can be as expensive or as inexpensive as the amount of money that you have to spend, and for me it’s got to be believable too.
When I started, I certainly did not have a huge budget (and to be quite honest – I still don’t), but I did know that I had to get myself out there. I had to tell people about who I am and what it is that I do and believe me, telling them once just doesn’t cut it! You have to go back and tell them time and time again, at some point a light bulb will go off in their heads and they will understand that they need either your service or your product, but until that time – you have to keep telling them.
As an Internal Auditor, I always tell people, that it is not about making money – that’s easy! It’s about making a profit! To make a profit, you have to sell and in order to sell, you have to market yourself and your product.
It does not matter how incredible your product or service is, people still have to know about it in order for it to ‘sell itself’, so the job of marketing must still be done.
To make your marketing easier, you need to ascertain who your customers would be and those are the clients that you need to be make aware of what you have to offer. I am sure you’ve heard the saying ‘as difficult as selling ice to an Eskimo in the middle of winter’? Well that’s exactly what it is. Selling to the right target market at the right time.
So remember, tell people who you are and what it is that you do and don’t forget to tell them why your product is different to all the others out there, or why your services are different.
Marketing, in its most basic form is about making people aware of what you have. Good marketing is making the right people aware of what you have, at the right time, and making them understand that your product or service is the best value for money.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I know that on many levels, it is really sad if you can’t dream – hell, I do! That said, I also know how dangerous it can become if your dreams are out of the ball park. Think about it for a minute – most evenings, sitting watching some of the ads that they present on TV, I actually have to ‘suspend belief’ in order for me to even try and understand the message that they are trying to get across. As an Internal Auditor, that for me is incredibly difficult – remember I live, deal and work in an environment that is based, strictly on fact!
Take for example the host of motor vehicle ads that are doing the rounds at the moment. Cars that morph into spiders, and snakes and the like, in order for them to travel where no other car goes. Firstly the idea of me actually believing that a car could change shape like that is an insult to my ‘logical’ brain and intelligence and secondly, I have no doubt that there are other brands of vehicles that can not only do the same kind of terrain, but probably a whole lot more than just that, seems to me to be a whole lot more reasonable.
Or how about the one where the driver, tired of listening to his girlfriend yapping away, opens the cubbyhole (or glove compartment – for the foreigners amongst us), and she gets ‘sucked’ into the compartment, never to be heard of again – well not until the next time that the ad is aired, you understand. Now I understand that they are trying to ‘sell’ the concept of ‘more space’ or spaciousness, but the idea of getting a whole body into that space for me is just ludicrous!
To be sure, that could be very well what they are trying to do to get me to remember the ad and therefore that will become my car of choice – but quite honestly, I don’t remember the make of the car or anything other than what a ridiculous ad that is!
Now if the car manufacturers have to go to these lengths to try and increase the level of sales, on branded products – why is it that so many of the small business owners or SMME’s as they are called, seem to think that because they have produced an ‘incredible’ product or service, that said product or service will automatically sell itself!
That for me is also where I have to ‘suspend belief’. Why would brands such as ‘Coca-Cola’ who are internationally branded and are known by just about every person on the planet, believe they need to advertise and yet someone who knows exactly 100 people on the planet, feel that they don’t need to advertise because the product will sell itself?
Clearly you need to market yourself. I, as an Internal Auditor – really do not know much about advertising and marketing – it’s not what I do. What I do know however, is that if people don’t know about you or your product, you are not going to sell any of your product and that is the bottom line.
Marketing can be as expensive or as inexpensive as the amount of money that you have to spend, and for me it’s got to be believable too.
When I started, I certainly did not have a huge budget (and to be quite honest – I still don’t), but I did know that I had to get myself out there. I had to tell people about who I am and what it is that I do and believe me, telling them once just doesn’t cut it! You have to go back and tell them time and time again, at some point a light bulb will go off in their heads and they will understand that they need either your service or your product, but until that time – you have to keep telling them.
As an Internal Auditor, I always tell people, that it is not about making money – that’s easy! It’s about making a profit! To make a profit, you have to sell and in order to sell, you have to market yourself and your product.
It does not matter how incredible your product or service is, people still have to know about it in order for it to ‘sell itself’, so the job of marketing must still be done.
To make your marketing easier, you need to ascertain who your customers would be and those are the clients that you need to be make aware of what you have to offer. I am sure you’ve heard the saying ‘as difficult as selling ice to an Eskimo in the middle of winter’? Well that’s exactly what it is. Selling to the right target market at the right time.
So remember, tell people who you are and what it is that you do and don’t forget to tell them why your product is different to all the others out there, or why your services are different.
Marketing, in its most basic form is about making people aware of what you have. Good marketing is making the right people aware of what you have, at the right time, and making them understand that your product or service is the best value for money.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Networking 101 – We Are All Sales People
Networking 101 – We Are All Sales People
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I am not a sales person! There I’ve said it and therefore it must be true! What a load of rubbish!
We are all sales people in this journey that we call life! We ‘sell’ ourselves every single day of our lives – whether it is to the person that we are romantically interested in, or to the person that we interact with at the coffee shop where we are having breakfast, or when we meet someone new (irrespective of whether it is a personal thing or a business thing) or when we go for that all important interview – we all sell! Acknowledge it, deal with and get over yourselves!
As small business owners (SME’s) or Entrepreneurs, we are all responsible for selling our product or service and will in turn generate income for our businesses. Granted some people are better at sales than others. Granted many of us have never received any kind of professional sales training to help us generate those sales and granted some of us, in all honesty need more than a little help to get going, but the bottom line is that we are all sales people!
Some of the sales methods that are available work for some and don’t work for others. Cold calling, for example is something that I have never been able to bring myself to do. As an introvert, the very thought of picking up a phone and talking to a stranger about my passion and what I do, is enough to send me rushing for the nearest cupboard in which to hide myself in. Yet there are some that swear by it and who love the challenge. Not for me thank you.
Now Networking, well that’s an altogether different ball game – that works for me. You see, at a Networking event (well certainly the ones that I attend), I don’t have to deal with complete strangers. The events are ‘semi’ facilitated which means that I will be ‘introduced’ to the person and this of course makes conversation a lot easier.
The person attending the Networking event is usually someone who is ‘like minded’ and that means that they are there for exactly the same reason as I am – to Network, and that makes conversation a lot easier.
So for me, the sales solution is to get myself off to a Networking meeting. Actually, if the truth be told – you should to, it will change your life!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I am not a sales person! There I’ve said it and therefore it must be true! What a load of rubbish!
We are all sales people in this journey that we call life! We ‘sell’ ourselves every single day of our lives – whether it is to the person that we are romantically interested in, or to the person that we interact with at the coffee shop where we are having breakfast, or when we meet someone new (irrespective of whether it is a personal thing or a business thing) or when we go for that all important interview – we all sell! Acknowledge it, deal with and get over yourselves!
As small business owners (SME’s) or Entrepreneurs, we are all responsible for selling our product or service and will in turn generate income for our businesses. Granted some people are better at sales than others. Granted many of us have never received any kind of professional sales training to help us generate those sales and granted some of us, in all honesty need more than a little help to get going, but the bottom line is that we are all sales people!
Some of the sales methods that are available work for some and don’t work for others. Cold calling, for example is something that I have never been able to bring myself to do. As an introvert, the very thought of picking up a phone and talking to a stranger about my passion and what I do, is enough to send me rushing for the nearest cupboard in which to hide myself in. Yet there are some that swear by it and who love the challenge. Not for me thank you.
Now Networking, well that’s an altogether different ball game – that works for me. You see, at a Networking event (well certainly the ones that I attend), I don’t have to deal with complete strangers. The events are ‘semi’ facilitated which means that I will be ‘introduced’ to the person and this of course makes conversation a lot easier.
The person attending the Networking event is usually someone who is ‘like minded’ and that means that they are there for exactly the same reason as I am – to Network, and that makes conversation a lot easier.
So for me, the sales solution is to get myself off to a Networking meeting. Actually, if the truth be told – you should to, it will change your life!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Business Tips - Causing a Cash Flow Crunch
Business Tips - Causing a Cash Flow Crunch
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
We’ve all heard about the bad economy and how things are going to get worse before they get better. We’ve all heard about how this is a global recession and how everyone is going to feel the pinch.
The reality of what is happening today is people are losing their jobs. People are feeling the ‘credit crunch’ and feeling a bit squeezed and small businesses are closing down faster than they are starting up.
Part of the problem may very well be related to the ‘credit crunch’, however I suspect that the economy is getting blamed for a lot of bad cash flow management and how we as small business owners actually run our businesses and in some cases how big Corporate Companies and even the Government are the cause of small businesses going under.
Many businesses (especially the large corporate companies) seem to have the idea that they can just pay the smaller SMME if and when they feel like it – the South African Government in particular, is notorious for this.
The whole drive to assist small businesses, by both Government and the Private Sector is more often than not, negated by those self same companies when they don’t pay the SMME on time for the services or products rendered.
I have it on good authority that most of the big Corporate Companies only pay 60 or even 90 days and Government can be as long as 180 days (and that is with the SMME phoning and harassing them on a daily basis).
The National Credit Act (NCA) also doesn’t really protect the SMME from these hungry sharks either! You see as long as there is no additional ‘financial gain’ on the debt that is paid at 30, 60, 90 or 180 days, they are quite happy, and the SMME doesn’t have to become a registered credit provider despite the fact that the SMME’s are clearly giving credit!
Let me explain this in a little more detail – as individuals we are entitled to charge interest at prime plus two percent on outstanding bills. This is called ‘Incidental’ credit as it was not our ‘intention’ to give credit to the client, but rather a consequence of them not paying us on time.
If you however, charge interest on invoices that are paid 60, 90 days plus then you have to register as a credit provider. If you ‘load’ your rates, you will be undercut by someone else, so basically you are skewered either way.
The bottom line then is that big Corporate Companies and Government fund themselves using money that belongs to the SMME. Then they try and make themselves smell sweetly of rose petals by publically donating huge funds to get SMME’s up and running to boost the economy, whilst quietly destroying them by not paying them on time and thereby forcing them to close their doors.
So what is the point of these huge great big giants declaring that X percentage of their suppliers are from the SMME sector and this is how they are assisting the growth of the economy? How are they assisting? Personally I don’t see it and quite frankly this is one of the reasons that I (and thousands of small businesses across the country) would rather not do business with the Corporate or Government world.
In this instance, it really is a case of the “Cure is worse than the disease”.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
We’ve all heard about the bad economy and how things are going to get worse before they get better. We’ve all heard about how this is a global recession and how everyone is going to feel the pinch.
The reality of what is happening today is people are losing their jobs. People are feeling the ‘credit crunch’ and feeling a bit squeezed and small businesses are closing down faster than they are starting up.
Part of the problem may very well be related to the ‘credit crunch’, however I suspect that the economy is getting blamed for a lot of bad cash flow management and how we as small business owners actually run our businesses and in some cases how big Corporate Companies and even the Government are the cause of small businesses going under.
Many businesses (especially the large corporate companies) seem to have the idea that they can just pay the smaller SMME if and when they feel like it – the South African Government in particular, is notorious for this.
The whole drive to assist small businesses, by both Government and the Private Sector is more often than not, negated by those self same companies when they don’t pay the SMME on time for the services or products rendered.
I have it on good authority that most of the big Corporate Companies only pay 60 or even 90 days and Government can be as long as 180 days (and that is with the SMME phoning and harassing them on a daily basis).
The National Credit Act (NCA) also doesn’t really protect the SMME from these hungry sharks either! You see as long as there is no additional ‘financial gain’ on the debt that is paid at 30, 60, 90 or 180 days, they are quite happy, and the SMME doesn’t have to become a registered credit provider despite the fact that the SMME’s are clearly giving credit!
Let me explain this in a little more detail – as individuals we are entitled to charge interest at prime plus two percent on outstanding bills. This is called ‘Incidental’ credit as it was not our ‘intention’ to give credit to the client, but rather a consequence of them not paying us on time.
If you however, charge interest on invoices that are paid 60, 90 days plus then you have to register as a credit provider. If you ‘load’ your rates, you will be undercut by someone else, so basically you are skewered either way.
The bottom line then is that big Corporate Companies and Government fund themselves using money that belongs to the SMME. Then they try and make themselves smell sweetly of rose petals by publically donating huge funds to get SMME’s up and running to boost the economy, whilst quietly destroying them by not paying them on time and thereby forcing them to close their doors.
So what is the point of these huge great big giants declaring that X percentage of their suppliers are from the SMME sector and this is how they are assisting the growth of the economy? How are they assisting? Personally I don’t see it and quite frankly this is one of the reasons that I (and thousands of small businesses across the country) would rather not do business with the Corporate or Government world.
In this instance, it really is a case of the “Cure is worse than the disease”.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, May 25, 2020
Inspiration – Everywhere & Nowhere
Inspiration – Everywhere & Nowhere
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Michael Korda says “If your position is everywhere, your momentum is zero.”
Hahaha – man this is priceless! How many times have you heard the words “I am running round like a blue *&^%ed fly” or “Running around like a headless chicken”? I would probably be quite wealthy by now if I got a rand for every time I have not only heard this, but said it myself. How about, when some one asks “how are you doing?” or “how’s business?” and our standard reply (well mine is anyway) “Busy!”
Here’s the thing – ‘busy’ with what? I am also one of those people who start the day, very early I might add, with the best intentions – I am going to do x, y and hopefully even z by the end of the day. Yet when the end of the day arrives I haven’t stopped running around, I am pooped, worn out, bone weary and more often than not, x, y and z still haven’t been done! So what is it that I have been doing? Make no mistake, I am working – the admin gets done everyday, clients get called, articles get written, not only for the blog, but also for the newspaper and the Your Business magazine. I am interviewed telephonically or end up on TV, when I thought it was a radio interview. I have attended to the crisis of clients with unruly staff, met with potentially new clients, done the mentoring thing, done everything except what it is that I set out to do and although it’s only 07h00 in the morning here as I write this, I have already attended to two client calls and my x, y and z of today have already been pushed out.
The problem of course, is that x, y, and z are also going to make me money and even though I will be charging the clients that called this morning in a state of panic, the work that ‘their panic call’ generates is far less than what the x, y and z will generate – yet somehow they always seem to get pushed to the side to accommodate the rest. What’s with that?
Make no mistake everything always does get done, I am very fastidious about my deliverables but the point is that I find it very difficult to ‘stick’ to my day planner and often it comes at a huge cost to myself, like working through the night to get done, or working over weekends when I should be grabbing a little time to rest for myself. I have no problem with putting the plan in place or deciding upon the priorities for the day. I have no problem with focusing on what needs to be done and I certainly do not have any problem with working – hard. What I seem to have a problem with is saying “No” to clients who expect me to drop everything to accommodate them because they are having a crisis and therein lies my own particular challenge.
The result of all of this is of course, that I end up running around like a blue &^%ed fly or a headless chicken (depending on which video you like to see in your own head) and I don’t get what I have planned to get done, done.
So the challenge to myself today (and of course any of you who are experiencing the same issues that I am), is to stick to my plan for today and slot the ‘Crisis’ into the planner for tomorrow or even the next day. After all, if the client only woke up to the problem as it is about to implode on them, it is really their problem and it should not be made mine or alternatively (and the thought has just occurred to me) that the ‘Crisis’ will be dealt with today – at an additional cost of course.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Michael Korda says “If your position is everywhere, your momentum is zero.”
Hahaha – man this is priceless! How many times have you heard the words “I am running round like a blue *&^%ed fly” or “Running around like a headless chicken”? I would probably be quite wealthy by now if I got a rand for every time I have not only heard this, but said it myself. How about, when some one asks “how are you doing?” or “how’s business?” and our standard reply (well mine is anyway) “Busy!”
Here’s the thing – ‘busy’ with what? I am also one of those people who start the day, very early I might add, with the best intentions – I am going to do x, y and hopefully even z by the end of the day. Yet when the end of the day arrives I haven’t stopped running around, I am pooped, worn out, bone weary and more often than not, x, y and z still haven’t been done! So what is it that I have been doing? Make no mistake, I am working – the admin gets done everyday, clients get called, articles get written, not only for the blog, but also for the newspaper and the Your Business magazine. I am interviewed telephonically or end up on TV, when I thought it was a radio interview. I have attended to the crisis of clients with unruly staff, met with potentially new clients, done the mentoring thing, done everything except what it is that I set out to do and although it’s only 07h00 in the morning here as I write this, I have already attended to two client calls and my x, y and z of today have already been pushed out.
The problem of course, is that x, y, and z are also going to make me money and even though I will be charging the clients that called this morning in a state of panic, the work that ‘their panic call’ generates is far less than what the x, y and z will generate – yet somehow they always seem to get pushed to the side to accommodate the rest. What’s with that?
Make no mistake everything always does get done, I am very fastidious about my deliverables but the point is that I find it very difficult to ‘stick’ to my day planner and often it comes at a huge cost to myself, like working through the night to get done, or working over weekends when I should be grabbing a little time to rest for myself. I have no problem with putting the plan in place or deciding upon the priorities for the day. I have no problem with focusing on what needs to be done and I certainly do not have any problem with working – hard. What I seem to have a problem with is saying “No” to clients who expect me to drop everything to accommodate them because they are having a crisis and therein lies my own particular challenge.
The result of all of this is of course, that I end up running around like a blue &^%ed fly or a headless chicken (depending on which video you like to see in your own head) and I don’t get what I have planned to get done, done.
So the challenge to myself today (and of course any of you who are experiencing the same issues that I am), is to stick to my plan for today and slot the ‘Crisis’ into the planner for tomorrow or even the next day. After all, if the client only woke up to the problem as it is about to implode on them, it is really their problem and it should not be made mine or alternatively (and the thought has just occurred to me) that the ‘Crisis’ will be dealt with today – at an additional cost of course.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Marketing 101 - Preparation and then . . . . Nothing!
Marketing 101 - Preparation and then . . . . Nothing!
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I was reading an article (and yes I do read, I don’t just write articles) by Martha Beck in which she said “To fail is divine she (Martha Beck) has repeatedly failed, and she has nothing to show for it except freedom, serenity, and a sure –fire recipe for success.”
Yet we all have a frighteningly huge fear of failure. The really crazy thing is that we fail on a daily basis, no matter how successful we are, we still experience failure on a daily basis. The missed or late arrival for an appointment. The missed or late deadline. The closed bank teller. They are all failures on our part, in one way or another. Even though we all fail on a daily basis, our fear of failure is so great that it often overwhelms us and we go to great lengths to avoid it.
How do we try and avoid failure, well we prepare and organize and research and then we prepare some more, and we organize some more and then we do some more research and so it goes on! Pretty soon we are so busy preparing and organizing and researching and running around like lunatics, to prevent failure that we don’t ever get to the point of actually getting started. How scary is that?
Think about a baby who is learning how to walk. No child that I have ever seen, got up onto their feet and walked after doing only crawling for the better part of their lives. They all fall down and then with immense cheering and motivation and yes, even a little bribery I suspect, they get up again, only to fall down again. Along the way however, their tenacity pays off and they start to walk.
Starting a new business is much the same, we all fail a little, adjust our thinking, pick ourselves up and get going again. Remember tenacity will pay off, but you still have to take that first step.
It is a good idea to remember two basic points, I would actually write them down somewhere where you can see them every day. They are:-
• Just because you are running around frenetically all the time, doesn’t mean that you are actually achieving anything. So Activity is not productivity!
• Just because you have this brilliant idea for a product or a service that you think you can sell one to every individual on the planet – you still have to sell the first one, before you can sell the rest! So make the first sale!
Bottom line, preparation and research are very important, but just get going!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I was reading an article (and yes I do read, I don’t just write articles) by Martha Beck in which she said “To fail is divine she (Martha Beck) has repeatedly failed, and she has nothing to show for it except freedom, serenity, and a sure –fire recipe for success.”
Yet we all have a frighteningly huge fear of failure. The really crazy thing is that we fail on a daily basis, no matter how successful we are, we still experience failure on a daily basis. The missed or late arrival for an appointment. The missed or late deadline. The closed bank teller. They are all failures on our part, in one way or another. Even though we all fail on a daily basis, our fear of failure is so great that it often overwhelms us and we go to great lengths to avoid it.
How do we try and avoid failure, well we prepare and organize and research and then we prepare some more, and we organize some more and then we do some more research and so it goes on! Pretty soon we are so busy preparing and organizing and researching and running around like lunatics, to prevent failure that we don’t ever get to the point of actually getting started. How scary is that?
Think about a baby who is learning how to walk. No child that I have ever seen, got up onto their feet and walked after doing only crawling for the better part of their lives. They all fall down and then with immense cheering and motivation and yes, even a little bribery I suspect, they get up again, only to fall down again. Along the way however, their tenacity pays off and they start to walk.
Starting a new business is much the same, we all fail a little, adjust our thinking, pick ourselves up and get going again. Remember tenacity will pay off, but you still have to take that first step.
It is a good idea to remember two basic points, I would actually write them down somewhere where you can see them every day. They are:-
• Just because you are running around frenetically all the time, doesn’t mean that you are actually achieving anything. So Activity is not productivity!
• Just because you have this brilliant idea for a product or a service that you think you can sell one to every individual on the planet – you still have to sell the first one, before you can sell the rest! So make the first sale!
Bottom line, preparation and research are very important, but just get going!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Networking 101 - The Power of Networking
Networking 101 - The Power of Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
An interesting thing happened to me a number of years ago – actually an interesting couple of things happened to me this week, one of which (and it is the one that is pertinent to this discussion) is quite a story.
Around 2004 (or thereabouts), I was privileged to meet Dr Saskia De Klerk from the University of Potchefstroom. Saskia was the guest speaker at a Business Engage, Hot Tables dinner (http://www.businessengage.co.za) and she was doing this whole thing on Networking for women. I took part in a questionnaire that she gave out as she was doing a paper on the subject. Over the years Saskia and I have kept in touch from time to time and sometime in around 2008, she asked me if I would allow myself to be interviewed by one of her students who was doing her PhD (I think) on Networking. Of course I agreed and we met for coffee and a very long chat about Networking, which as most have you have discovered, is one of my favourite topics.
The student (lets call her Jane) promised to let me have a copy of the paper once it was written and I left feeling great and that I had done my good deed for the day.
Time went by and I forgot all about this and carried on with life, not even giving it another thought – until early in 2010 when I got an e-mail from Jane. “What a lovely surprise” I thought and it really made my day when I read the mail telling me that she had passed with a distinction and thanking me for participating and also confirming that she would send me a copy of the paper soon.
Now here comes the great bit . . Jane was now a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and she was lecturing on Marketing Development and she asked me to come and do a presentation to her students on Networking and how to use Networking as an effective Marketing tool – how cool is that! A whole bunch of youngsters, many of who will become entrepreneurs and small business owners, in their own right. New people who I will now have met and have contact with and who will form part of my database.
A whole bunch of youngsters who will have friends, family and colleagues who I can ‘tap’ into and who I can now start doing business with or through.
Man, this whole Networking thing has such incredible possibilities and it gives such incredible rewards – all because I work it and use it effectively!
The date and time was booked and I was ready to go! What an amazing experience it was - hungry minds devouring everything that they were given. What joy it gave me and what a responsibility to have, helping to shape the minds of our youth. I am truly grateful for this experience.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
An interesting thing happened to me a number of years ago – actually an interesting couple of things happened to me this week, one of which (and it is the one that is pertinent to this discussion) is quite a story.
Around 2004 (or thereabouts), I was privileged to meet Dr Saskia De Klerk from the University of Potchefstroom. Saskia was the guest speaker at a Business Engage, Hot Tables dinner (http://www.businessengage.co.za) and she was doing this whole thing on Networking for women. I took part in a questionnaire that she gave out as she was doing a paper on the subject. Over the years Saskia and I have kept in touch from time to time and sometime in around 2008, she asked me if I would allow myself to be interviewed by one of her students who was doing her PhD (I think) on Networking. Of course I agreed and we met for coffee and a very long chat about Networking, which as most have you have discovered, is one of my favourite topics.
The student (lets call her Jane) promised to let me have a copy of the paper once it was written and I left feeling great and that I had done my good deed for the day.
Time went by and I forgot all about this and carried on with life, not even giving it another thought – until early in 2010 when I got an e-mail from Jane. “What a lovely surprise” I thought and it really made my day when I read the mail telling me that she had passed with a distinction and thanking me for participating and also confirming that she would send me a copy of the paper soon.
Now here comes the great bit . . Jane was now a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and she was lecturing on Marketing Development and she asked me to come and do a presentation to her students on Networking and how to use Networking as an effective Marketing tool – how cool is that! A whole bunch of youngsters, many of who will become entrepreneurs and small business owners, in their own right. New people who I will now have met and have contact with and who will form part of my database.
A whole bunch of youngsters who will have friends, family and colleagues who I can ‘tap’ into and who I can now start doing business with or through.
Man, this whole Networking thing has such incredible possibilities and it gives such incredible rewards – all because I work it and use it effectively!
The date and time was booked and I was ready to go! What an amazing experience it was - hungry minds devouring everything that they were given. What joy it gave me and what a responsibility to have, helping to shape the minds of our youth. I am truly grateful for this experience.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 2
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I know that I continually harp on about getting the right bookkeeper/accountant in place – the reason for this is that having the wrong one can end up costing you an arm and a leg.
It is imperative that your bookkeeper/accountant advise you in advance of any changes that will affect you. Imagine the waste of money and resources if the Company owner only found out that the has to pay VAT monthly when he reaches the R35 million turnover per annum mark, 6 months after he has met that particular milestone? The penalties and interest would be absolutely staggering!
The bookkeeper/accountant must also ensure that you are given monthly financial statements or management reports. Here’s the thing though, if you are given reports or statements that you have no idea how to read, these reports/statements are actually not worth the paper that they are printed on! So it is therefore incumbent upon the bookkeeper/accountant to make sure that you understand what it is that they are giving you. There is no way that you can make an informed decision around the financial aspects of your business if you have no idea about what is going on.
In terms of the law, your Company is obliged to produce Annual Financial Statements. This is to evidence to SARS (should they ask) what your financial status was during the course of the year and of course, so that the Company taxes can be correctly calculated. This must also be done timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant and they must be signed off correctly in terms of the law.
If, in terms of the law, your books must be audited, then it is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to assist the auditors with the auditing process and communicate and liaise with the auditors.
All of these issues should be done automatically and timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant, but that said, you – the business owner, remain accountable and responsible, so you need to manage your relationship with your bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that you are kept up to date.
As with most things in life, there are good bookkeeper/accountant’s and bad. Make sure that whomever you choose is at the very least registered and properly qualified and remember that no matter how brilliant/qualified/professional they are – you are ultimately responsible, so ensure that you, at the very least, pick one that you can build a relationship with and not someone who is just a voice at the other end of the telephone and that you are not just another invoice that has to be raised every month.
Finally – understand that SARS will not accept “ignorance of the law” as a reason for you not doing or paying stuff. Irrespective of whether or not you have a bookkeeper/accountant who did or didn’t do what needed to be done, it is your responsibility to ensure that things are done and you will be held accountable.
It’s your business at the end of the day and you need to keep your finger on the pulse.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
I know that I continually harp on about getting the right bookkeeper/accountant in place – the reason for this is that having the wrong one can end up costing you an arm and a leg.
It is imperative that your bookkeeper/accountant advise you in advance of any changes that will affect you. Imagine the waste of money and resources if the Company owner only found out that the has to pay VAT monthly when he reaches the R35 million turnover per annum mark, 6 months after he has met that particular milestone? The penalties and interest would be absolutely staggering!
The bookkeeper/accountant must also ensure that you are given monthly financial statements or management reports. Here’s the thing though, if you are given reports or statements that you have no idea how to read, these reports/statements are actually not worth the paper that they are printed on! So it is therefore incumbent upon the bookkeeper/accountant to make sure that you understand what it is that they are giving you. There is no way that you can make an informed decision around the financial aspects of your business if you have no idea about what is going on.
In terms of the law, your Company is obliged to produce Annual Financial Statements. This is to evidence to SARS (should they ask) what your financial status was during the course of the year and of course, so that the Company taxes can be correctly calculated. This must also be done timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant and they must be signed off correctly in terms of the law.
If, in terms of the law, your books must be audited, then it is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to assist the auditors with the auditing process and communicate and liaise with the auditors.
All of these issues should be done automatically and timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant, but that said, you – the business owner, remain accountable and responsible, so you need to manage your relationship with your bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that you are kept up to date.
As with most things in life, there are good bookkeeper/accountant’s and bad. Make sure that whomever you choose is at the very least registered and properly qualified and remember that no matter how brilliant/qualified/professional they are – you are ultimately responsible, so ensure that you, at the very least, pick one that you can build a relationship with and not someone who is just a voice at the other end of the telephone and that you are not just another invoice that has to be raised every month.
Finally – understand that SARS will not accept “ignorance of the law” as a reason for you not doing or paying stuff. Irrespective of whether or not you have a bookkeeper/accountant who did or didn’t do what needed to be done, it is your responsibility to ensure that things are done and you will be held accountable.
It’s your business at the end of the day and you need to keep your finger on the pulse.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, May 18, 2020
Inspiration – Express – Don’t Impress
Inspiration – Express – Don’t Impress
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Today’s quote comes from E James Rohn, who says “Learn to express rather than impress. Expressing evokes a ‘me too’ attitude while impressing evokes a ‘so what’ attitude.”
Well this is one that I am very definitely guilty of! In fact, my usual statement is “and that is my problem – how?” or “tell someone who cares?” and quite frankly at that point in time, that is exactly how it is. It is not an attitude but rather an opinion.
I guess when you get to my age (now there’s a new one for the books, I never thought that I would say something like that!), you’ve kind of earned your stripes, your bumps and your bruises and there is no longer a need to ‘impress’. Things just are what they are and for me ‘it just is what it is’.
I often see what happens with the youngsters, who still feel the need to impress and was quietly amused the other day whilst conducting my workshop with a young man (let’s call him Joe) from Cape Town. I conduct a workshop called “A Basic Practical Guide to Starting a Business”. It was a ‘one on one’ kind of training that had been requested and paid for by one of my colleagues who has just started to Franchise his business, and who having been around the block a few times, wanted to make the start up of the business as painless as possible.
As Joe sat down and we started getting into the whole exercise, Joe told me very ‘clearly’ that he had no use for my workshop as he had ‘started several businesses in his lifetime and knows what he is doing!’. As he rambled on about how many businesses he had opened and run. I wondered why he was actually sitting in front of me. When I asked what it was that he actually did, he told me that both he and his wife were working for an employer and it was then that I realized that he had no clue about what he was doing – all of his so called businesses had failed and he was forced to go back to the world of being an employee. His ego was definitely bruised, and in my opinion would continue to get bruised as he clearly hasn’t learnt the lesson.
My dilemma was therefore one of “do I tell him or don’t I?” Well, I opted not to tell him. You see Joe had ‘no use’ for anything that I had to tell him, because he ‘knew everything’ and he was so busy telling me how wonderful he was and how clever he was, that nothing I said would have made any difference at all. He was very clearly in “impress’ mode.
His workshop was purchased and paid for by someone else though and as I continued my way through it, he interrupted several times, not to ask questions or get clarity, but to tell me how he had handled situations that were similar to the ones that I had raised. In many of these instances, had he reacted as he said he had, he would have been in trouble with SARS or the Department of Labour. As I pointed this out – he merely laughed and shrugged his shoulders, clearly very pleased with himself and how clever he had been. The problem however, is that it was clear to me that as a direct result of his ‘cleverness’ he had lost all of his businesses – the lesson though was clearly ‘lost’ on him. You see he was in ‘impress’ mode and by this time the only person he was impressing was himself.
Joe, in my opinion, will continue his life in “impress” mode, as that is his mindset – he has not learnt to express himself and at this point, I doubt that he ever will because of his need to impress, at all costs.
Joe, in my opinion, will close the doors to this new business opportunity too, and it will be everyone’s fault but his. Until Joe realizes and understands that his mindset needs to change, that he cannot know everything that he thinks he knows and that he too needs guidance and help from time to time, he will never be successful at anything. Until Joe has recognized the fact that he is full of insecurities that need to be dealt with and that he is not so different from the rest of us – he will not move forward in the journey of life.
Joe, will probably never say ‘me too’ to anything in life – he is too hell bent on ‘impressing’.
Is your name also Joe?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Today’s quote comes from E James Rohn, who says “Learn to express rather than impress. Expressing evokes a ‘me too’ attitude while impressing evokes a ‘so what’ attitude.”
Well this is one that I am very definitely guilty of! In fact, my usual statement is “and that is my problem – how?” or “tell someone who cares?” and quite frankly at that point in time, that is exactly how it is. It is not an attitude but rather an opinion.
I guess when you get to my age (now there’s a new one for the books, I never thought that I would say something like that!), you’ve kind of earned your stripes, your bumps and your bruises and there is no longer a need to ‘impress’. Things just are what they are and for me ‘it just is what it is’.
I often see what happens with the youngsters, who still feel the need to impress and was quietly amused the other day whilst conducting my workshop with a young man (let’s call him Joe) from Cape Town. I conduct a workshop called “A Basic Practical Guide to Starting a Business”. It was a ‘one on one’ kind of training that had been requested and paid for by one of my colleagues who has just started to Franchise his business, and who having been around the block a few times, wanted to make the start up of the business as painless as possible.
As Joe sat down and we started getting into the whole exercise, Joe told me very ‘clearly’ that he had no use for my workshop as he had ‘started several businesses in his lifetime and knows what he is doing!’. As he rambled on about how many businesses he had opened and run. I wondered why he was actually sitting in front of me. When I asked what it was that he actually did, he told me that both he and his wife were working for an employer and it was then that I realized that he had no clue about what he was doing – all of his so called businesses had failed and he was forced to go back to the world of being an employee. His ego was definitely bruised, and in my opinion would continue to get bruised as he clearly hasn’t learnt the lesson.
My dilemma was therefore one of “do I tell him or don’t I?” Well, I opted not to tell him. You see Joe had ‘no use’ for anything that I had to tell him, because he ‘knew everything’ and he was so busy telling me how wonderful he was and how clever he was, that nothing I said would have made any difference at all. He was very clearly in “impress’ mode.
His workshop was purchased and paid for by someone else though and as I continued my way through it, he interrupted several times, not to ask questions or get clarity, but to tell me how he had handled situations that were similar to the ones that I had raised. In many of these instances, had he reacted as he said he had, he would have been in trouble with SARS or the Department of Labour. As I pointed this out – he merely laughed and shrugged his shoulders, clearly very pleased with himself and how clever he had been. The problem however, is that it was clear to me that as a direct result of his ‘cleverness’ he had lost all of his businesses – the lesson though was clearly ‘lost’ on him. You see he was in ‘impress’ mode and by this time the only person he was impressing was himself.
Joe, in my opinion, will continue his life in “impress” mode, as that is his mindset – he has not learnt to express himself and at this point, I doubt that he ever will because of his need to impress, at all costs.
Joe, in my opinion, will close the doors to this new business opportunity too, and it will be everyone’s fault but his. Until Joe realizes and understands that his mindset needs to change, that he cannot know everything that he thinks he knows and that he too needs guidance and help from time to time, he will never be successful at anything. Until Joe has recognized the fact that he is full of insecurities that need to be dealt with and that he is not so different from the rest of us – he will not move forward in the journey of life.
Joe, will probably never say ‘me too’ to anything in life – he is too hell bent on ‘impressing’.
Is your name also Joe?
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Friday, May 15, 2020
HR 101 – How to Report Work Related Incidents – Part 2
HR 101 – How to Report Work Related Incidents – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this applies to South African Labour and Best Practice Requirements
Last time we looked at some of the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), in terms of the reporting of incidents that occur in the workplace.
We looked specifically at the reporting requirements around (but not limited to) incidents such as:
- When someone dies
- When someone becomes unconscious
- When someone suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb
- When someone suffers a permanent physical defect or
- When someone is likely to be unable, for a period of at least 14 days to either work or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Today we will have a look at some of the other reporting requirements.
In terms of the OHSA subsection (C), the following incidents endangering the health and safety of any person must also be reported to the inspector:-
- Where a dangerous substance was spilled,
- Where the uncontrolled release of any substance under pressure took place
- Where machinery or any part thereof fractured or failed resulting in flying, falling or uncontrolled moving objects or
- Where machinery ran out of control.
So let’s bring on the protagonists.
George owns a furniture manufacturing company. He is preparing for his year-end stock take and is having an ‘end of year’ sale to try and sell all the “older” lines before year end to get as much turnover through the books and also to make space in the warehouse for the new lines and stock that are to be manufactured in the new financial year.
Samuel is a fork lift driver. He works specifically with the fork lift that has the ‘telescopic’ arms that reaches the highest shelves in the warehouse.
Some of the furniture cannot be palletised and this means that several employees need to be lifted up onto the top shelves to manually move and manover the furniture onto the “telescopic” arms of the fork lift.
John and Simon are at the top of the shelves moving an awkward six seater semi circular lounge suite couch onto the ‘telescopic’ arms of the fork lift. As John moves the couch onto the one arm, he slips and loses his grip on the couch. To stop himself from falling, although he is secured in a safety harness, he grabs the nearest post and with legs flailing and kicking he manages to pull himself into a more comfortable and secure position.
Unfortunately as he was flailing and kicking he dislodged the couch even further as Samuel moved away from the shelves to give him more room. The couch is now swinging wildly out of control.
Samuel, in an attempt to try and get John to some sort of safely, tries to move the forklift closer to the shelves, but unfortunately the forklift is long overdue for a service and the gears are slipping and instead of a ‘smooth’ forward slow motion towards the shelves the forklift jerks backwards and stalls snapping the harness that John is attached to and putting John in an even more precarious position as the unexpected forklift movement has dislodged him completely from his position on the shelving and he’s lost his balance.
The jerky movements of the forklift has also caused the couch to not only swing from side to side, it is now also spinning and John grabs desperately at the legs of the couch in a last ditch attempt to grab onto something . . . anything to break his fall.
John misses and the last thing he remembers is the terrified look on Simon’s face as he falls some 15 meters to the floor and lands with a sickening resounding thump!
As Simon is leaning over the edge of the shelf and watching his colleague fall to the floor he is not aware of the danger that he is in from the ‘out of control’ couch as it swings wildly.
Suddenly some instinct seems to warn him of danger and as he looks up the couch crashes into him, causing him to lose his balance and he loses his grip on the post and his footing and he also plunges down the same 15 odd meters to the floor.
Samuel, in his panic to control the forklift and the madly swinging and gyrating couch presses the wrong button and the forklift leaps forward driving over the now prone unconscious bodies of Simon and John.
Clearly this is now a very serious situation on multiple issues.
So what has to be reported here?
George obviously needs to take immediate action in terms of the requirements of his staff , the out of control swinging couch and the forklift.
Once the ambulance has arrived and taken care of his two employees, there are obviously certain requirements in terms of the OHSA that have to be met as well as certain requirements in terms of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund that need to be dealt with in order for the claims to be approved and paid out.
In this instance, the OHSA requirements are that an incident has to be reported when:-
- A person dies or
- A person becomes unconscious or
- A person suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or
- A person is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely to die or:
• Suffer a permanent physical defect or
• Is likely to be unable to, for a period of at least 14 days, either to work for or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Don’t forget though, that your report has to contain the following information:
a. The name of the injured person(s);
b. The address of the injured person(s);
c. The name of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
d. The address of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
e. The telephone number of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
f. The name of the contact person
g. The details of the incident
h. What happened
i. Where it happened (place)
j. When it happened (date and time)
k. How it happened and
l. The names of the witnesses.
Also to contained in the report (because machinery was involved)
“Where the machinery ran out of control as a result of the failure of a control or safely equipment and could have caused an injury to a person who had been conveyed on or in such machinery or had been in the vicinity thereof.”
Getting the reports right and submitted correctly and on time will contribute to the effectively of the actions that need to be taken.
Next time we will look at a new topic.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this applies to South African Labour and Best Practice Requirements
Last time we looked at some of the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), in terms of the reporting of incidents that occur in the workplace.
We looked specifically at the reporting requirements around (but not limited to) incidents such as:
- When someone dies
- When someone becomes unconscious
- When someone suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb
- When someone suffers a permanent physical defect or
- When someone is likely to be unable, for a period of at least 14 days to either work or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Today we will have a look at some of the other reporting requirements.
In terms of the OHSA subsection (C), the following incidents endangering the health and safety of any person must also be reported to the inspector:-
- Where a dangerous substance was spilled,
- Where the uncontrolled release of any substance under pressure took place
- Where machinery or any part thereof fractured or failed resulting in flying, falling or uncontrolled moving objects or
- Where machinery ran out of control.
So let’s bring on the protagonists.
George owns a furniture manufacturing company. He is preparing for his year-end stock take and is having an ‘end of year’ sale to try and sell all the “older” lines before year end to get as much turnover through the books and also to make space in the warehouse for the new lines and stock that are to be manufactured in the new financial year.
Samuel is a fork lift driver. He works specifically with the fork lift that has the ‘telescopic’ arms that reaches the highest shelves in the warehouse.
Some of the furniture cannot be palletised and this means that several employees need to be lifted up onto the top shelves to manually move and manover the furniture onto the “telescopic” arms of the fork lift.
John and Simon are at the top of the shelves moving an awkward six seater semi circular lounge suite couch onto the ‘telescopic’ arms of the fork lift. As John moves the couch onto the one arm, he slips and loses his grip on the couch. To stop himself from falling, although he is secured in a safety harness, he grabs the nearest post and with legs flailing and kicking he manages to pull himself into a more comfortable and secure position.
Unfortunately as he was flailing and kicking he dislodged the couch even further as Samuel moved away from the shelves to give him more room. The couch is now swinging wildly out of control.
Samuel, in an attempt to try and get John to some sort of safely, tries to move the forklift closer to the shelves, but unfortunately the forklift is long overdue for a service and the gears are slipping and instead of a ‘smooth’ forward slow motion towards the shelves the forklift jerks backwards and stalls snapping the harness that John is attached to and putting John in an even more precarious position as the unexpected forklift movement has dislodged him completely from his position on the shelving and he’s lost his balance.
The jerky movements of the forklift has also caused the couch to not only swing from side to side, it is now also spinning and John grabs desperately at the legs of the couch in a last ditch attempt to grab onto something . . . anything to break his fall.
John misses and the last thing he remembers is the terrified look on Simon’s face as he falls some 15 meters to the floor and lands with a sickening resounding thump!
As Simon is leaning over the edge of the shelf and watching his colleague fall to the floor he is not aware of the danger that he is in from the ‘out of control’ couch as it swings wildly.
Suddenly some instinct seems to warn him of danger and as he looks up the couch crashes into him, causing him to lose his balance and he loses his grip on the post and his footing and he also plunges down the same 15 odd meters to the floor.
Samuel, in his panic to control the forklift and the madly swinging and gyrating couch presses the wrong button and the forklift leaps forward driving over the now prone unconscious bodies of Simon and John.
Clearly this is now a very serious situation on multiple issues.
So what has to be reported here?
George obviously needs to take immediate action in terms of the requirements of his staff , the out of control swinging couch and the forklift.
Once the ambulance has arrived and taken care of his two employees, there are obviously certain requirements in terms of the OHSA that have to be met as well as certain requirements in terms of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund that need to be dealt with in order for the claims to be approved and paid out.
In this instance, the OHSA requirements are that an incident has to be reported when:-
- A person dies or
- A person becomes unconscious or
- A person suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or
- A person is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely to die or:
• Suffer a permanent physical defect or
• Is likely to be unable to, for a period of at least 14 days, either to work for or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Don’t forget though, that your report has to contain the following information:
a. The name of the injured person(s);
b. The address of the injured person(s);
c. The name of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
d. The address of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
e. The telephone number of the user, employer or self-employed person(s);
f. The name of the contact person
g. The details of the incident
h. What happened
i. Where it happened (place)
j. When it happened (date and time)
k. How it happened and
l. The names of the witnesses.
Also to contained in the report (because machinery was involved)
“Where the machinery ran out of control as a result of the failure of a control or safely equipment and could have caused an injury to a person who had been conveyed on or in such machinery or had been in the vicinity thereof.”
Getting the reports right and submitted correctly and on time will contribute to the effectively of the actions that need to be taken.
Next time we will look at a new topic.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Marketing 101 - Making Time To Market – Part 4
Marketing 101 - Making Time To Market – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised last time, here are the last of the ideas, in this particular series, on ‘making time’ to market yourself and your business.
Social Event
Some of my best and even biggest clients have come out of a chance meeting at a social even or when I least expected them. Let me explain – some years ago now, I was at a club, spending time with friends, laughing and chatting with not a thought of business in mind. A young chap, standing at the bar on his own, came over and introduced himself. Turns out he owns two very successful businesses and he has been both client and friend from that day. Chances are that I would not have met him anywhere else as we mix in totally different circles.
Remember though if it is a social occasion, to keep it light. No-one wants to talk business all the time. Exchange contact details, exchange cards and then get back to them the next day or at a later stage.
Relax and make it happen
If you are anything like me, you will understand that it is extremely difficult to relax in the normal sense of the word. For example it is very difficult for me to even contemplate sitting at the beach for a couple of hours or lying next to the pool, soaking up the sunshine – my mind would completely rebel at such inactivity.
For me this would be the ideal opportunity to update my data base or plan new marketing strategies or to re-evaluate plans or goals or even for me to write a couple of articles for my blog. Whilst my body does need to relax, my mind still feels the need to be active and it is something that I cannot just ‘shut down’.
As you can see there are many small, yet effective ways in which to include your marketing requirements in your everyday activities.
The secret is to be innovative, be creative and just do it!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised last time, here are the last of the ideas, in this particular series, on ‘making time’ to market yourself and your business.
Social Event
Some of my best and even biggest clients have come out of a chance meeting at a social even or when I least expected them. Let me explain – some years ago now, I was at a club, spending time with friends, laughing and chatting with not a thought of business in mind. A young chap, standing at the bar on his own, came over and introduced himself. Turns out he owns two very successful businesses and he has been both client and friend from that day. Chances are that I would not have met him anywhere else as we mix in totally different circles.
Remember though if it is a social occasion, to keep it light. No-one wants to talk business all the time. Exchange contact details, exchange cards and then get back to them the next day or at a later stage.
Relax and make it happen
If you are anything like me, you will understand that it is extremely difficult to relax in the normal sense of the word. For example it is very difficult for me to even contemplate sitting at the beach for a couple of hours or lying next to the pool, soaking up the sunshine – my mind would completely rebel at such inactivity.
For me this would be the ideal opportunity to update my data base or plan new marketing strategies or to re-evaluate plans or goals or even for me to write a couple of articles for my blog. Whilst my body does need to relax, my mind still feels the need to be active and it is something that I cannot just ‘shut down’.
As you can see there are many small, yet effective ways in which to include your marketing requirements in your everyday activities.
The secret is to be innovative, be creative and just do it!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Networking 101 - Always be respectful
Networking 101 - Always be respectful
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
One of the things that I always tell people when I Network, is that they need to treat people in the same manner that they themselves would like to be treated – it’s common courtesy and I promise you it will go a long way towards building good relationships. Actually if the truth be told, it is essential to treat all relationships like this, not just your Networking relationships – so that means your referral sources (usually to be found when Networking), your prospective clients, your current clients, your suppliers (who knows – one day they may very well become your clients too) your partners and so on.
We all have our own way of doing things and we all have our own personalities and as much as we would like people to understand how and why we do the things in the way that we do them, so too should we try and understand why people do things the way that they do them. Remember though that you are the one looking for the referral, so you are the one that has to make the most compromise and bend over backwards the furtherest.
Try and find out as much as you can about your prospect. The internet is a great place to find as much information as there is available. Knowing the likes and dislikes of your prospect will mean that you are in a far better position to answer questions and give the requested information, without alienating anyone.
The secret of turning a referral prospect into a current client is to find, develop and use all the tools that you can. It may be as simple as finding the right venue for your first meeting to how you present yourself in your personal capacity and how professional you are in your work space.
Getting yourself connected to some local (in South Africa) Networking groups such as (but not limited to) Business Engage (http://www.businessengage.co.za) or the Real Entrepreneur (http://www.entrepreneur.co.za) or even the local chambers, and making sure that you attend the various functions, workshops and Networking events will ensure that you have a constant supply of referrals and also prospects.
Remember that you don’t have to just Network with like minded people, but that there are a number of diverse people out there that could possibly surprise you with who they are connected to.
Above all, remember to have fun!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 1
Business Tips – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty)
I’m really getting to the point where I am beginning to feel like I am ‘sounding like a broken record’! Problem is that many SME’s don’t seem to be listening and that is really sad.
Every day I meet people who haven’t listened and who are now paying the price and I mean “paying” in every sense of the word. People who are trying to negotiate payment plans with SARS and people who are trying to hide from the Sherriff of the court, who has arrived to attach their possessions and even people who have had to liquidate their businesses and their stories are all the same – they didn’t understand or know how to do the finances of their businesses.
If only they had listened!
Sure a good bookkeeper/accountant will cost you money. Sure there will be administration that you will need to do on a daily/weekly/monthly and annual basis, but look at what you have to gain from than – a business where you actually know what’s going on! For me there’s actually nothing worse than not knowing where I am financially.
Here are some of the things that a good bookkeeper/accountant should be doing for you (so NO, it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also about delivering a good service and understanding your business too).
Your bookkeeper/accountant should ensure that you are properly registered – not only as a company but with all the different legislative bodies that you need to be registered with. You don’t automatically have to be registered with all of them as some of them are industry specific. For example if you run a pub or bar or restaurant, you would need to have a liquor license but if you run a book store you wouldn’t. If you have staff, you need to be registered as an employer both with SARS and the Department of Labour, and so on. Your bookkeeper/accountant would need to ensure that you are properly registered and that your annual fees (where applicable) are paid and up to date.
The bookkeeper/accountant should also ensure that your books are maintained on a monthly basis and that they are accurate and calculated and recorded and documented in compliance with the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) requirements.
It is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that the monthly/bi-monthly and annual statutory requirements are met on or before the deadlines.
As most of you know by now, there have been many changes to legislation over the last few months, but here’s the thing – legislation changes all the time. Your bookkeeper/accountant needs to keep up to date with, not only all the changes that have taken place, but also the changes that are being proposed for the future. The bookkeeper/accountant should be keeping you up to date with all of the changes, especially in terms of SARS (VAT and Tax). Changes in these two elements could have a financial implication on your company if they are not correctly and timeously implemented.
Next time we will look at some additional issues that your bookkeeper/accountant should keep you informed about.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty)
I’m really getting to the point where I am beginning to feel like I am ‘sounding like a broken record’! Problem is that many SME’s don’t seem to be listening and that is really sad.
Every day I meet people who haven’t listened and who are now paying the price and I mean “paying” in every sense of the word. People who are trying to negotiate payment plans with SARS and people who are trying to hide from the Sherriff of the court, who has arrived to attach their possessions and even people who have had to liquidate their businesses and their stories are all the same – they didn’t understand or know how to do the finances of their businesses.
If only they had listened!
Sure a good bookkeeper/accountant will cost you money. Sure there will be administration that you will need to do on a daily/weekly/monthly and annual basis, but look at what you have to gain from than – a business where you actually know what’s going on! For me there’s actually nothing worse than not knowing where I am financially.
Here are some of the things that a good bookkeeper/accountant should be doing for you (so NO, it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also about delivering a good service and understanding your business too).
Your bookkeeper/accountant should ensure that you are properly registered – not only as a company but with all the different legislative bodies that you need to be registered with. You don’t automatically have to be registered with all of them as some of them are industry specific. For example if you run a pub or bar or restaurant, you would need to have a liquor license but if you run a book store you wouldn’t. If you have staff, you need to be registered as an employer both with SARS and the Department of Labour, and so on. Your bookkeeper/accountant would need to ensure that you are properly registered and that your annual fees (where applicable) are paid and up to date.
The bookkeeper/accountant should also ensure that your books are maintained on a monthly basis and that they are accurate and calculated and recorded and documented in compliance with the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) requirements.
It is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that the monthly/bi-monthly and annual statutory requirements are met on or before the deadlines.
As most of you know by now, there have been many changes to legislation over the last few months, but here’s the thing – legislation changes all the time. Your bookkeeper/accountant needs to keep up to date with, not only all the changes that have taken place, but also the changes that are being proposed for the future. The bookkeeper/accountant should be keeping you up to date with all of the changes, especially in terms of SARS (VAT and Tax). Changes in these two elements could have a financial implication on your company if they are not correctly and timeously implemented.
Next time we will look at some additional issues that your bookkeeper/accountant should keep you informed about.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, May 11, 2020
Inspiration - Education
Inspiration - Education
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Today’s quote comes from Oscar Wilde who said “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”
Well ain’t that the truth. Most of the biggest lessons that we learn in life comes from experience. Having said that, I am often astounded by the fact that some people feel that it’s necessary to ‘experience’ every single lesson that they think that they need to learn! How sad! It is written somewhere (I’m sure) that we are permitted to learn from the experiences of others from time to time. Then of course there are some people who live life furiously and actually never even get the plot! Shame, that must be very frustrating (depending of course if they understand that they have missed the boat completely!)
For me this is about being a mentee and a mentor. It is really important for me to have someone in my life that I can learn some of life’s lessons from and it is equally important for me to be someone in someone else’s life to guide and help them learn life’s lessons. It’s about giving back to the Universe. We can’t always just be the taker’s, we also need to give back.
My mentor is a lady by the name of Vanessa Paige, and she, in my opinion, is absolutely fantastic! She tells it exactly like it is and although I often don’t really want to hear what she has to say, I absolutely need to hear it. She doesn’t pull any punches and she has saved me years and years of living some of life’s hardest knocks.
Vanessa has also taught me how to take care of myself (and I don’t mean with my fists), teaching me about things like ‘self worth’ and ‘confidence in my own abilities’ and so on. These are definitely things that you don’t learn in any book, but are intrinsically valuable to the human soul.
Some of these ‘life lessons’ are extremely hard for me to learn and as I struggle with my own personal demons, I am often aware that she is standing quietly in the wings, just waiting patiently for me to grasp and embrace the lesson. I know that she is always there to help pick me up and dust me off, when I fall over, and without her this journey we call life would have been very different and way more difficult. For that I will always be grateful and I can only hope that I am the kind of mentor to my mentee’s that she has been mentor to me! What a challenge that is, and how self rewarding it will be when I get it right.
So to all of you out there I say, embrace life’s lessons and then ‘play it forward’ and teach it to others.
Live life, Love life and embrace your own uniqueness.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za .
Friday, May 08, 2020
HR 101 – How to Report Work Related Incidents – Part 1
HR 101 – How to Report Work Related Incidents – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) has several requirements in terms of the reporting of incidents that occur in the workplace.
Let’s have a look at some of these through our protagonists.
Mike has a Postnet store in a busy mall. He supplies certain stationary as well as services related to business operations such as (but not limited to):
- Photocopying of documents
- Binding of manuals
- Faxing
- E-mails and internet usage
Joe is one of the employees who works on the counter.
A client enters the store and wants 200 manuals copied and bound. There are two items on each page so the pages therefore have to be cut in half before they are all bound.
Joe works quickly and efficiently for a while until, whilst he is busy with the guillotine cutting the pages in two he notices something lying on the floor. Without thinking about what he is doing, he steps back to pick it up off the floor and the guillotine handle drops with a loud thud, cutting the back of his hand badly and severing his pinky finger. There is blood everywhere and some of the female staff are screaming with fright. Joe, shakily looks down at his damaged hand in disbelief and reacts to the sight of so much blood by promptly fainting! As he falls down one of the female staff, Lizzy, tries to assist him but trips over a box of photocopy paper and falls down hitting her head on the corner of the Photostat machine.
There are now two unconscious individuals lying on the floor with blood everywhere!
So what has to be reported?
Clearly Mike needs to take immediate action in terms of the medical requirements of his staff. Once the ambulance has arrived and taken care of the two staff, there are obviously certain requirements in terms of OHSA that have to be met as well as certain requirements in terms of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund that need to be dealt with in order for the claims to be approved and paid out.
OHSA states that an incident has to be reported when:
- A person dies or
- A person becomes unconscious or
- A person suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or
- A person is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely either to die or
• Suffer a permanent physical defect or
• Is likely to be unable for a period of at least 14 days either to work or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Mike of course now has to provide two reports - one being for Joe who was unconscious and who may also lose part of a limb and one for Lizzy who was knocked unconscious.
Both Joe and Lizzy were at work performing their normal work duties when the incident took place so therefore both are entitled to claim from the Workmen’s Compensation Fund but both incidents also need to be reported in terms of the OHSA requirements.
Next time we will look at some of the other reporting requirements.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Relations and Best Practice requirements
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) has several requirements in terms of the reporting of incidents that occur in the workplace.
Let’s have a look at some of these through our protagonists.
Mike has a Postnet store in a busy mall. He supplies certain stationary as well as services related to business operations such as (but not limited to):
- Photocopying of documents
- Binding of manuals
- Faxing
- E-mails and internet usage
Joe is one of the employees who works on the counter.
A client enters the store and wants 200 manuals copied and bound. There are two items on each page so the pages therefore have to be cut in half before they are all bound.
Joe works quickly and efficiently for a while until, whilst he is busy with the guillotine cutting the pages in two he notices something lying on the floor. Without thinking about what he is doing, he steps back to pick it up off the floor and the guillotine handle drops with a loud thud, cutting the back of his hand badly and severing his pinky finger. There is blood everywhere and some of the female staff are screaming with fright. Joe, shakily looks down at his damaged hand in disbelief and reacts to the sight of so much blood by promptly fainting! As he falls down one of the female staff, Lizzy, tries to assist him but trips over a box of photocopy paper and falls down hitting her head on the corner of the Photostat machine.
There are now two unconscious individuals lying on the floor with blood everywhere!
So what has to be reported?
Clearly Mike needs to take immediate action in terms of the medical requirements of his staff. Once the ambulance has arrived and taken care of the two staff, there are obviously certain requirements in terms of OHSA that have to be met as well as certain requirements in terms of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund that need to be dealt with in order for the claims to be approved and paid out.
OHSA states that an incident has to be reported when:
- A person dies or
- A person becomes unconscious or
- A person suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or
- A person is otherwise injured or becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely either to die or
• Suffer a permanent physical defect or
• Is likely to be unable for a period of at least 14 days either to work or continue with the activity for which he was employed or is usually employed.
Mike of course now has to provide two reports - one being for Joe who was unconscious and who may also lose part of a limb and one for Lizzy who was knocked unconscious.
Both Joe and Lizzy were at work performing their normal work duties when the incident took place so therefore both are entitled to claim from the Workmen’s Compensation Fund but both incidents also need to be reported in terms of the OHSA requirements.
Next time we will look at some of the other reporting requirements.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Thursday, May 07, 2020
Marketing 101 - Making Time To Market – Part 3
Marketing 101 - Making Time To Market – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised last time, here are some more ideas on ‘making time’ to market yourself/your business.
Sharing some time over coffee or a meal.
I usually set aside, one day a week to do my networking – this means that I usually can be found on a Thursday having a ‘one-on-one’ meeting with several people that I have briefly met at a networking event or meeting. Whilst I have my networking meeting and find out what it is that the other person does, I also take the opportunity to do some marketing as well. On occasion there may be someone that I have already ‘earmarked’ within my data base to meet, or there is a particular person that I want to discuss issues with, or there may be two individuals who I want to introduce to each other and I will, on occasion also invite those people along too. It gives me an opportunity to ‘catch up’ with a colleague as well as introduce two people, who in all probability should be doing business together.
Over exercise
Those who know me well, know that I am not too keen on the whole exercise thing. Oh don’t get me wrong, I used to be a sports fanatic and I used to do the gym thing on a daily basis. Then I started my own business and well, that’s where things went pear-shaped for me in terms of my daily routine – somehow the time just wasn’t there anymore. That said, there are many of you who love to exercise at the gym or walk or even when you go and watch a game – how about inviting a colleague or someone that you would like to do business with to your exercise class or on your walk or to watch the game with you. Think about how much business actually gets done on the golf course and use the same opportunity in whatever sport it is that you play or participate in. You’d be amazed at the results that you can achieve.
More tips next time.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
As promised last time, here are some more ideas on ‘making time’ to market yourself/your business.
Sharing some time over coffee or a meal.
I usually set aside, one day a week to do my networking – this means that I usually can be found on a Thursday having a ‘one-on-one’ meeting with several people that I have briefly met at a networking event or meeting. Whilst I have my networking meeting and find out what it is that the other person does, I also take the opportunity to do some marketing as well. On occasion there may be someone that I have already ‘earmarked’ within my data base to meet, or there is a particular person that I want to discuss issues with, or there may be two individuals who I want to introduce to each other and I will, on occasion also invite those people along too. It gives me an opportunity to ‘catch up’ with a colleague as well as introduce two people, who in all probability should be doing business together.
Over exercise
Those who know me well, know that I am not too keen on the whole exercise thing. Oh don’t get me wrong, I used to be a sports fanatic and I used to do the gym thing on a daily basis. Then I started my own business and well, that’s where things went pear-shaped for me in terms of my daily routine – somehow the time just wasn’t there anymore. That said, there are many of you who love to exercise at the gym or walk or even when you go and watch a game – how about inviting a colleague or someone that you would like to do business with to your exercise class or on your walk or to watch the game with you. Think about how much business actually gets done on the golf course and use the same opportunity in whatever sport it is that you play or participate in. You’d be amazed at the results that you can achieve.
More tips next time.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Wednesday, May 06, 2020
Networking 101 - Feeding the Hungry Beast that is Networking
Networking 101 - Feeding the Hungry Beast that is Networking
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Networking for Entrepreneurs is vital and knowing how to network effectively is an essential skill that all Entrepreneurs and Business people should ensure that they get.
It is extremely important that as an Entrepreneur, you understand the basics. Networking essentially is about building and maintaining relationships. So many people that I have encountered along the way seem to be under the impression that Networking is about selling their product or service. The reality of course, is that very few people go to a Networking event to ‘buy’. The reality is that if everybody goes to a Networking event to ‘sell’ – there will be very little selling (or buying for that matter) happening. The reality is that if there is no buying or selling going on – there should be a whole lot of relationship building going on – I mean what else is happening?
Relationship building is essential for and to any business owner. It strengthens ties between individuals, it builds trust and once trust is established, referrals are made and the ‘loop tape’ starts to play!
One hand washes the other and before you know it, other ‘players’ enter the arena and the circle of influence grows, ever wider, ever bigger, until like myself, all or most of your business comes out of the Networking environment.
Be warned though, it’s a hungry beast and to be effective, it needs to be fed on a regular basis. Relationships need time to grow and to maintain them also takes time. So even in the times of plenty, it is really important to Network constantly, to interact with your circle of influence and to maintain your relationships!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Networking for Entrepreneurs is vital and knowing how to network effectively is an essential skill that all Entrepreneurs and Business people should ensure that they get.
It is extremely important that as an Entrepreneur, you understand the basics. Networking essentially is about building and maintaining relationships. So many people that I have encountered along the way seem to be under the impression that Networking is about selling their product or service. The reality of course, is that very few people go to a Networking event to ‘buy’. The reality is that if everybody goes to a Networking event to ‘sell’ – there will be very little selling (or buying for that matter) happening. The reality is that if there is no buying or selling going on – there should be a whole lot of relationship building going on – I mean what else is happening?
Relationship building is essential for and to any business owner. It strengthens ties between individuals, it builds trust and once trust is established, referrals are made and the ‘loop tape’ starts to play!
One hand washes the other and before you know it, other ‘players’ enter the arena and the circle of influence grows, ever wider, ever bigger, until like myself, all or most of your business comes out of the Networking environment.
Be warned though, it’s a hungry beast and to be effective, it needs to be fed on a regular basis. Relationships need time to grow and to maintain them also takes time. So even in the times of plenty, it is really important to Network constantly, to interact with your circle of influence and to maintain your relationships!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 12
Business Tips - Being Your Own Boss – Part 12
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So here we are almost at the end of this particular journey.
Many of the institutions that you will engage with, will almost definitely ask you for your business plan.
By taking you on this particular journey in the manner that I have however, means that I have taught you how to create your own business action plan. How cool is that and not nearly as difficult as you thought it may be.
Although not quite the same as a business plan, your business action plan evidences the research that you have done, whilst explaining what your business is all about. It also gives you a step by step, logical chain of events that will ensure that you grow yourself a strong and sustainable business.
Now all that is left for you to do is to document everything you have learnt in this series and your business action plan will be ready to go.
Don’t forget to start off by defining exactly what your business is and what the main benefits are to your clients or target market.
Make sure that your plan is easy to read and understand by demarcating the various sections and keeping them separate from each other. For example, operational and administrative issues are very different and should be kept apart. Don’t forget to include all the legal/legislative requirements as well as your branding, marketing and sales requirements.
The financial aspects of your business are also extremely important and this should include your pricing module as well as cash flow predictions.
Each step of your business action plan should include the next action step that you intend to take in order for you to achieve your goals.
As your business grows, so too should your business action plan. It should evolve and monitor and even be used as a measurement tool to see what has worked, in order for you to continue to grow your business successfully.
Good luck and remember to always have fun!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
So here we are almost at the end of this particular journey.
Many of the institutions that you will engage with, will almost definitely ask you for your business plan.
By taking you on this particular journey in the manner that I have however, means that I have taught you how to create your own business action plan. How cool is that and not nearly as difficult as you thought it may be.
Although not quite the same as a business plan, your business action plan evidences the research that you have done, whilst explaining what your business is all about. It also gives you a step by step, logical chain of events that will ensure that you grow yourself a strong and sustainable business.
Now all that is left for you to do is to document everything you have learnt in this series and your business action plan will be ready to go.
Don’t forget to start off by defining exactly what your business is and what the main benefits are to your clients or target market.
Make sure that your plan is easy to read and understand by demarcating the various sections and keeping them separate from each other. For example, operational and administrative issues are very different and should be kept apart. Don’t forget to include all the legal/legislative requirements as well as your branding, marketing and sales requirements.
The financial aspects of your business are also extremely important and this should include your pricing module as well as cash flow predictions.
Each step of your business action plan should include the next action step that you intend to take in order for you to achieve your goals.
As your business grows, so too should your business action plan. It should evolve and monitor and even be used as a measurement tool to see what has worked, in order for you to continue to grow your business successfully.
Good luck and remember to always have fun!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
Monday, May 04, 2020
Inspiration - Dream to Meet Your Goals
Inspiration - Dream to Meet Your Goals
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Like most people who own their own businesses, I am very "goal orientated" and again like most people who own their own businesses, those goals can and have changed on a daily basis.
The below advice to put the goals into some sort of order of priority is something that, quite frankly needs to be done! The way that I find easier to do this type of thing is to have a 10 year, 5 year and then 1 year plan, and at this time I am referring specifically to the work arena.
Looking forward into my life and into the future for me, makes what I do and how I achieve those goals very important. So I take the most difficult of all and ask the question - what would I like to be doing in 10 years time. Where would I like to be in terms of my business and what would I have liked to achieve. For me these are the 3 most important questions and they are listed separately, with all the bits and pieces going on in rows beneath them.
Once that is complete, I tend to break it down and so here comes the 5 year plan. Looking at the 10 year plan, many of them are automatically achievable if certain of the other goals are met and brought to fruition, those do not get transferred to the 5 year list, but remain on the 10 year list. Again what is on the list is broken down into easier to achieve "bite size portions".
Again, once that is complete, I break things down and out of this the 1 year plan is born. As with the 10 year plan, many of the points on the 5 year plan are automatically achievable if certain goals are met and brought to fruition, those do not get transferred to the 1 year list but remain on the 5 year list.
I now have a list that is 'doable', even if it is somewhat daunting! Now for me, here comes the challenge. There may still be goals that are automatically achievable if other goals are met - these are split out from the others and listed to one side. The remainder of goals are then taken one at a time and what needs to be done to achieve each one is listed as a sub-heading under the goal to be achieved. These are then given a 'due date' by which they are to be completed - those due dates are diarized, and also put down into my year planner so that they can be seen at a glance. By checking my year planner on a weekly basis the task can be planned out into daily expectations and what I like to call "mini targets".
I now have a workable solution to something that at the beginning of the exercise, was a hugely daunting, frightening and quite frankly an overwhelming task.
On a daily basis, use your diary, or a journal to record what you have done and what you have achieved or have not achieved and why. Apart from documenting your life, you are also cleansing your mind and settling emotions!
So what am I saying here . . . . Well basically it is this - If you want to be a success in life or in business, you have to have a plan! Issues need to be put into perspective. You need to achieve your goals, one little step at a time - remember the statement (I forget now who wrote it, but it is very true) that the greatest of journey's begin with a single step. Note it says step - not leap, or sprint or anything else that you may want to conjure up in your mind's eye.
At the end of the year, take your lists and look at what you have achieved. Now is also not the time to beat yourself up over what hasn't been achieved! I have no doubt that you have done this sufficiently during the course of the year. Remember daily goals have changed to accommodate ever changing needs and there are goals that have been achieved that were not even recorded or considered. Because of the changes there are also many goals that are now obsolete, so they now no longer feature.
Adjust your goals for the coming year. Take time out - I mean quality time with yourself, turnaround and have a look at where you were 12 months ago, what you have achieved and the journey that you have walked. Pat yourself on the back and give yourself credit for what you have done! Too often we are too busy bashing our own selves on the head because of what we haven't done, instead of congratulating ourselves and patting ourselves on the back for what we have achieved . . . more often than not with more tasks that had not been on the list than what were.
And remember . . . focus on the goal that is in front of you - don't gaze into the future and try and complete the 10 year plan in the 1 year space.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Like most people who own their own businesses, I am very "goal orientated" and again like most people who own their own businesses, those goals can and have changed on a daily basis.
The below advice to put the goals into some sort of order of priority is something that, quite frankly needs to be done! The way that I find easier to do this type of thing is to have a 10 year, 5 year and then 1 year plan, and at this time I am referring specifically to the work arena.
Looking forward into my life and into the future for me, makes what I do and how I achieve those goals very important. So I take the most difficult of all and ask the question - what would I like to be doing in 10 years time. Where would I like to be in terms of my business and what would I have liked to achieve. For me these are the 3 most important questions and they are listed separately, with all the bits and pieces going on in rows beneath them.
Once that is complete, I tend to break it down and so here comes the 5 year plan. Looking at the 10 year plan, many of them are automatically achievable if certain of the other goals are met and brought to fruition, those do not get transferred to the 5 year list, but remain on the 10 year list. Again what is on the list is broken down into easier to achieve "bite size portions".
Again, once that is complete, I break things down and out of this the 1 year plan is born. As with the 10 year plan, many of the points on the 5 year plan are automatically achievable if certain goals are met and brought to fruition, those do not get transferred to the 1 year list but remain on the 5 year list.
I now have a list that is 'doable', even if it is somewhat daunting! Now for me, here comes the challenge. There may still be goals that are automatically achievable if other goals are met - these are split out from the others and listed to one side. The remainder of goals are then taken one at a time and what needs to be done to achieve each one is listed as a sub-heading under the goal to be achieved. These are then given a 'due date' by which they are to be completed - those due dates are diarized, and also put down into my year planner so that they can be seen at a glance. By checking my year planner on a weekly basis the task can be planned out into daily expectations and what I like to call "mini targets".
I now have a workable solution to something that at the beginning of the exercise, was a hugely daunting, frightening and quite frankly an overwhelming task.
On a daily basis, use your diary, or a journal to record what you have done and what you have achieved or have not achieved and why. Apart from documenting your life, you are also cleansing your mind and settling emotions!
So what am I saying here . . . . Well basically it is this - If you want to be a success in life or in business, you have to have a plan! Issues need to be put into perspective. You need to achieve your goals, one little step at a time - remember the statement (I forget now who wrote it, but it is very true) that the greatest of journey's begin with a single step. Note it says step - not leap, or sprint or anything else that you may want to conjure up in your mind's eye.
At the end of the year, take your lists and look at what you have achieved. Now is also not the time to beat yourself up over what hasn't been achieved! I have no doubt that you have done this sufficiently during the course of the year. Remember daily goals have changed to accommodate ever changing needs and there are goals that have been achieved that were not even recorded or considered. Because of the changes there are also many goals that are now obsolete, so they now no longer feature.
Adjust your goals for the coming year. Take time out - I mean quality time with yourself, turnaround and have a look at where you were 12 months ago, what you have achieved and the journey that you have walked. Pat yourself on the back and give yourself credit for what you have done! Too often we are too busy bashing our own selves on the head because of what we haven't done, instead of congratulating ourselves and patting ourselves on the back for what we have achieved . . . more often than not with more tasks that had not been on the list than what were.
And remember . . . focus on the goal that is in front of you - don't gaze into the future and try and complete the 10 year plan in the 1 year space.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
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