Why is small business so important to me?

Business, and more importantly, small business, is a passion that runs deep in my veins. I cannot be at a braai or at a dinner with friends, without asking about their marketing, or their staff, or their clients. And as soon as I do, I find myself instantly referring to what ‘we’ will do. How ‘we’ should incentivize staff.  How ‘we’ should market. I become possessive. I become obsessed. I sometimes have to be asked very politely to step away from the SMME.

And why? Well because I am a small business owner. I did not develop a business idea. I did not see a gap in the market and address it. I came in by default. As a temp staff member. And fell in love with the job. And for the past 20 years, I have been doing my job. 17 years ago I became a shareholder and in 2017 I became 100% owner of VCA. But in my mind, I still do my job.

And my job involves consulting to my clients. Sometimes around legislation. Sometimes around HR. But ALWAYS around compliance, and growth, and sustainability. Which is when I realised. What makes me excited is not the Acts. It’s not new legislation. It’s the entire jigsaw puzzle that is small business. It is how many hats a Small Business Owner has to wear. And when one starts out, one believes that you need to be proficient in everything. Then, you realise that there are specialists that can alleviate much of the burden for you, on an outsourced basis. So you can get the expertise you need at a fraction of the cost.

You also realise that you are not unique. We all feel extremely possessive over our businesses. My challenge is like nobody else’s. My product is unlike any other. My staff are totally different. The bottom line is that all business operates from the same lifeblood. All business operates in the same way, with the same veins, and the same bones. Some are miniature, others are giant. But all have the same frame, and the same structure.

Business is important to me because I was a single mom since I was 26. I am now 44 years old. I have been supporting myself and my two children for 18 years, and before that I was the breadwinner. I have done that by doing my job. In the process I have built a company, built a personal brand. I have coached around 3000 businesses in their compliance and towards their growth, including work for the Cheri Blair Foundation and Shanduka Black Umbrellas on a volunteer basis. I have coached micro and small companies for GIBS. And I have enjoyed every single second. Because business changes lives.

It helps a single mom out of an otherwise impossible hole. It validates the hustle of an otherwise feeble voice. It grows employees in turn, who can start their own passions. It turns conversations at parties into a takeaway other than a party box. Small business is the lifeblood of our economy. Join us. Its fun.