I think the most important thing to be an entrepreneur is to get out of theory. A lot of entrepreneurs spend hours at coffee shops and in meetings talking about how they are going to change the world, how amazing things are going to be, and how wonderful they are going to be. Everything they…
Studying entrepreneurship without doing it
...is like studying the appreciation of music without listening to it. The cost of setting up a lemonade stand (or whatever metaphorical equivalent you dream up) is almost 100% internal. Until you confront the fear and discomfort of being in the world and saying, "here, I made this, here I create this, here I started…
Eating The Big Fish – Platinum Stars FC #EatingBigFish
For a moment, lets put soccer aside and apply business principles in the soccer business. I always advice entrepreneurs that small as they are, the are capable of competing against big companies and sometimes even compete successfully. Platinum Stars was promoted to the Premier League in 2003-04 and had to compete with big fishes that…
Start Something That Matters
Blake at Toms shoes had a very simple idea. What would happen if every time someone bought a pair of shoes I gave exactly the same of pair to someone who doesn’t even own a pair of shoes. This is not the story of how you get shelf space at Egdars, it’s a story of…
All boats leak
There is always a defect, always a small leak somewhere, always a slow drip somewhere. Every plan, every organisation, every venture has a glitch, a tiny hole, a leak somewhere. The question is not, "is this perfect?" The question is, "will this get me there?" Sometimes we make the mistake of ignoring the big leaks,…
But what do people really think?
You know, behind your back... What do they think of your product or your sales pitch or your speech? What do they think of your new shirt or your new friend? Hint: You will not find out by searching for yourself on Twitter or Facebook. You will not find out by eavesdropping in the lounge,…
Urgent, please read asap
That's what gets done, of course. The urgent. Not the article you haven't gotten around to writing, the trip to the gym that will pay off in the long run, the business you have been planning to start, the planning for your upcoming birthday party, dinner with your parents (who would love to see you),…
Start Where You Are | Use What You Have| Do What You Can
Often times we spend more time planning and dreaming about doing things than actually taking the steps that need to be taken in order to get to our goals. Starting a business is hard, a lot more harder if you don’t have all the required tools, but lets face it, if you wait until you…
Top 10 Books for Entrepreneurs to Read this Summer
This summer, get away but stay-up-to-date and be ready to move your business forward with you when you get back. Discover the latest insights and lessons that will take you one step closer toward turning the vision of your company into reality. When most people think of summer, imagery of beaches, sunshine, braais (barbeques) typically…
Don’t Expect Applause
What this slogan means is don't expect thanks. This is important. When you open the door and invite all sentient beings as your guests, you also open the windows and the walls even start falling down, you find yourself in the universe with no protection at all. If you think that just by doing that…
Your dent
Are you making a dent in the universe? Hint: lots of random pokes in many different spots are unlikely to leave much of an impact. And hiding out is surely not going to work at all
Don’t Fix It, Change It
It’s clear that the economy has changed. What we want and expect from our best citizens has changed. Not only in what we do when we go to our jobs, but also in the doors that have been opened for people who want to make an impact on our culture. At the very same time,…