Starting a Business - The Small Business Site

3 ways your startup could benefit from a mentor

Article provided by Startwise

Here are the statistics in South Africa for the success rate of startups, as far as research has shown me. An article on News24.com reported, “More than 90% of all new companies do not survive the first five years.” And a more recent study indicates, the failure rate of startups is around 50% in South Africa within 24 months due to the inability and inexperience of their owners.”

The good news is that you can improve your chances of success by educating yourself and learning from others’ experience. I believe it’s the amount of determination, empowerment, and knowledge that one has, that can make your startup a success.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJuly 20, 20220Comments

Starting a Business

How to give your startup a fighting chance

Article by Mike Anderson (NSBC Founder & CEO)

Imagine putting everything you have - your hopes, dreams and finances into starting your own business, only to watch it crash and burn. The fear of failure is at the very top above anything else.

On the upside, starting out and succeeding as an entrepreneur has to be one of the greatest rewards in life. So, get to know why startups fail and what is needed to avoid failing. Then start your journey to achieve your dreams.

Seldom is a business so in tune with its niche that it can float along with minimal effort. But why do so many startups fail? The reasons run deep; from disharmony on the team to poor cash-flow, but here is what you should know before starting out.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJuly 18, 20220Comments

Risk Management Starting a Business

4 common business crises – how to prepare for them

When we start our businesses, very few people want to focus on the worst-case scenarios. They only dream about the good things they can do and achieve with their new business. But by not preparing for some of the most common business crises, your business could fail before it has even been given a chance to fly.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJuly 10, 20220Comments

Starting a Business

CIPC enhances systems to further reduce red tape

Article provided by CIPC

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is making efforts to reduce the regulatory burden by easing and simplifying the way our customers transact, thus, enabling our customers to focus on growing their businesses.

As we forge forward with our objective of automating our registration and transacting platforms, we will be introducing updates to the CIPC e-Services and BizPortal websites on 3 July 2022. The newly improved platforms are an effort to integrate the CIPC systems into two transactional points for customers for better user experience, quicker turnaround times, and reduced administrative burden.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJune 29, 20220Comments

Sales & Marketing Starting a Business

5 helpful marketing tools for startups

Article written by Ashleigh Butterworth (Bizcommunity)

Incredible products and services are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to taking your startup to the next level. An often overlooked and missing piece for many businesses is its emphasis on its marketing resources from the get-go.

It’s very easy to let marketing fall by the wayside during the initial set-up phase, especially if you don’t think you have the budget to focus time and energy on these efforts. But, when you set a good foundation using an updated and relevant marketing mix, the long-term results can be astounding.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJune 29, 20220Comments

eCommerce Starting a Business

How young people can start a business and become an entrepreneur

Article written by Fred Roed (Founder and CEO of Heavy Chef)

Starting a business is not only for old peeps like me. There are a lot of youngsters in South Africa right now who may want to consider starting a business. According to the latest figures, around 65% of the eligible youth (18-24 years old) do not have a job. Personally, I have my doubts about these figures. Anecdotally, I’ve seen many of the youth in our own Heavy Chef community who are earning money in their own way. They’re creating, procuring, hustling and transacting. In other words, they’re not standing on street corners staring at each other waiting for the government to figure out the problem.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJune 13, 20220Comments

Access to Finance Growing a Business Money Matters Starting a Business

4 alternative ways to secure small business funding

Article written by Charlotte Danby (Sage)

South African small business owners are a brave and resilient group of people. Our country is particularly blessed with an enormous entrepreneurial spirit – sometimes driven by necessity, other times by personality, and often, by a bit of both.

Owning and running one’s own business is an increasingly popular choice of earning a livelihood. But, of course, securing small business finance to start your own business is challenging at the best of times – and now, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s pretty tough out there.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamJune 13, 20220Comments

Access to Finance COVID-19 Credit Starting a Business

Tips to help get your small business funded in South Africa

Article by Rean Bloem (Bizcommunity)

You'll understand what it means to have your credibility intact when seeking funding if you've watched the Netflix sensation, Inventing Anna. At the risk of being a spoiler alert, in short, the protagonist Anna Sorokin's dream of building her society club, through securing millions of dollars of finance, comes crashing down when she is found out not to be what she claims to be.

Every SME looking for funding can learn a lesson from this: make sure what you present to the outside world, even in your personal capacity, is legit, and that you look, or more importantly, are credible to the highest degree. Else it could affect your ability to secure finance for your small business.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamMay 23, 20220Comments

Money Matters Starting a Business

Bizportal Banking Options for Small Businesses

Article provided by CIPC

CIPC considers the financial services sector, and individual banks in particular, a natural partner as there are several touchpoints of mutual business clients.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamMay 20, 20220Comments

Business Startup Starting a Business

5 factors to consider before starting a business

Article provided by SME South Africa

There are many factors to consider before starting your business such as what product or service to launch and whether there is a market for it. You will also have to decide how you will fund your new venture and what the legal requirements you will need to comply with.

Starting a new business can be an exciting, but overwhelming time. To up your chances of success, think about these important factors.

ByNSBC Editorial TeamMay 3, 20220Comments