Meet My Business with Baird Media

A general manager's desk was buried under his branch managers' paperwork. He was running out of time, unable to reach the work that mattered, and heading towards burnout. Four months into working with Paul Tanton, the desk was clear, he was home in time for dinner, and his division's profitability had grown by 700%.

In this episode of Meet My Business, Paul Tanton of U-Vita explains the approach behind that kind of change. A self-described leadership entrepreneur, Paul spent 26 years in corporate before leaving to combine two disciplines: using leadership principles to develop entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial principles to develop leaders. His work begins not with strategy or systems but with self-knowledge, stripping back the layers that school, parents and corporate life paint onto a person until they can see who they actually are.

Paul is candid about his own start. He talks about the false comfort of a six-month financial buffer, the loneliness of going from a team of twelve to working alone, and the tenacity that kept him facing an empty desk. Along the way he unpacks delegation, employee engagement, supporting retrenched teams through a career transition, and why a coach is celebrated in sport but still viewed with suspicion in business.

Contact Paul: [email protected] Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Centurion real estate agent Elmarie Human has spent 16 years proving that her real job isn't selling houses — it's solving problems. In this episode of Meet My Business she talks with Hendrik Baird about an unusual road into property: a childhood in the Kruger National Park, training as an accountant and teacher, a stint as an internal auditor for the intelligence agency, and a beauty salon on the side, before she found work that let her put people first.

She explains why she keeps only a handful of exclusive mandates, what building a name from the ground up actually takes, how she walks sellers through valuation and the whole process, and why working under eXp Realty lets agents build equity for the long term. A warm, grounded look at doing the job properly.

Reach Elmarie Human at eXp Realty:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 082 774 7088 Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Johannique Reyneke was in her fourth year of a teaching degree when her brother told her to write the security officer exams. She now runs the installations side of KNN Security in Pretoria, and carries a pink toolbox her husband bought her after she turned up at a client’s gate with no tools.

She talks to Hendrik Baird about being underestimated in a trade that did not expect her, why she trains on every system her technicians touch, the night she walked to a client’s house at 9pm after a break-in, and how often installers quote older people and women a price they would never quote anyone else.

Contact KNN Security: https://knnsecurity.co.za | [email protected] | 079 883 5649 knnsecurity.co.za · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Cornel Reyneke of JCR Plumbing and Maintenance (Centurion) joins Hendrik Baird to talk burst geysers, solar-gas hybrid systems, and why he merged plumbing with maintenance into one call-out. Three years in business, one bakkie turned into a team of four, and a near-quit moment that a business network group helped turn around. Practical tips included: why switching your geyser on and off doesn’t save power, and the early warning signs of a leak before it costs you a renovated kitchen.

Reach Cornel: [email protected] | 079 790 9693 Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Family attorney Karlien Botma has spent nearly 15 years running her own practice, doing work that rarely fits office hours. In this episode of Meet My Business she talks with Hendrik Baird about protecting children and women at their most vulnerable — from divorce and children's court to protection orders and the night she drove out to a client caught in a domestic violence crisis.

She traces her path from a schoolyard defender of the bullied to a family law specialist trained at North-West University, and speaks honestly about a strained court system, clients who can't always afford help, and the hard truth that leaving an abusive relationship often takes several attempts. It's a frank, compassionate look at what family law really involves.

Reach Karlien Botma at Botma Attorneys — [email protected] / 072 899 3144 / karlienbotma.co.za

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse, support is available. In South Africa, the GBV Command Centre operates 24/7 on 0800 428 428. karlienbotma.co.za · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Wanda Bruce has built a career in one of South Africa's most misunderstood industries: cannabis regulatory compliance. In this episode of Meet My Business she maps the full terrain — from R15-million-plus commercial medical facilities to the legacy growers of the Eastern Cape, the corner-shop club model, and the Private Purposes Act that leaves hundreds of stores in legal limbo.

She also shares how she got here: an alternative health practitioner and Rosebank spa owner who took on the government in court over the complementary health industry, then followed her intuition into a niche that now takes her from KwaZulu-Natal to Mauritius to Cape Town.

Practical, candid and occasionally contrarian, Wanda offers a rare inside view of what compliance really means when the rules are still being written. Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Category: Business Coaching

Website: https://ubequity.co.za

Location: South Africa

When a former travel agent chasing her dream of a nail studio couldn't crack R25,000 a month, she asked business coach SJ Pretorius for help. Six weeks later she'd hit R125,000, moved into her own salon, and hired two staff. That story frames this episode of Meet My Business, where SJ shares what actually moves an entrepreneur from stuck to strategic motion.

A self-described South African from the platteland who cut his teeth running international projects for the likes of Morgan Stanley and Delta Airlines, SJ returned home with a different view of business. He's spent 24 years coaching entrepreneurs — not by doing the work for them, but by teaching them the mechanics: the five profit drivers, the real difference between marketing and sales, and how to work on the business rather than being trapped inside it.

In this conversation he unpacks his three-months-six-months-nine-months coaching rhythm, the business health assessment behind it, the books that shaped his thinking, and "flash coaching" — solving one pressing business issue in twenty focused minutes. It's a candid, practical listen for any owner who has hit a glass ceiling and wants a way through. Ubequity Coaching · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

What does it take to go from "everything is clear, nothing is wrong" to finally being free of pain you've carried your whole life?

In this episode of Meet My Business, host Hendrik Baird talks with chiropractor Dominique Brussow about the reality of her profession — beyond the "crack and pop" people expect. Dominique explains what chiropractic actually treats, how it differs from physiotherapy, and why so much of her work is about movement patterns, prevention, and education rather than quick fixes.

She also shares her own unlikely journey into the field — an introvert who discovered chiropractic almost by chance on a trip to her mother's appointment, applied to university the day before applications closed, and had to learn how to work with people (and run a business) from scratch. Along the way she tackles the myths that give chiropractic a bad name, explains why pain is the last symptom to show up, and makes the case that any movement is good movement. Dr, Dominique Brussow · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

What if the biggest problem in your life is the one you've learned to tolerate?

In this episode of Meet My Business, host Hendrik Baird sits down with clarity coach Nicci de Wet du Toit, who describes herself simply as "a deep listener" — someone able to hear what people don't say, and to help them see the blind spots standing between them and the life they actually want.

Nicci shares the story of a senior professional who called her in tears, unable to reconcile her outward success with an inner sense that something wasn't right — and what happened after Nicci refused to let her simply "hang on." She also opens up about a client in his late sixties who, after decades of uncertainty, found the courage to be honest about who he is. Along the way, Nicci talks candidly about the early struggles of building a business she could barely put into words, what she wishes she'd known when she started, and why she believes almost every person deserves the chance to be truly, deeply heard. Centre for the Mind · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People

Trish Ford has spent thirty years in and around the human side of business — from a master's in research psychology to two decades in corporate strategy and monitoring and evaluation. Today, as managing director of Step Transformation, she does the work she says she was quietly missing all along: guiding leaders and business owners through deep, inner-world transformation.

In this episode of Meet My Business, Trish sits down with host Hendrik Baird to talk about what real coaching looks like beyond the post-COVID noise. She explains the difference between wearing "the consultant's hat" and truly holding space for a client, why so much leadership work is actually about self-doubt and identity, and how she uses science, structure and vivid analogies — including a broomstick named Joe — to help people see themselves differently.

Along the way she shares her own discipline built through triathlon (including guiding South Africa's first visually impaired athlete at the Commonwealth Games), the hardest parts of building a business, and the client success stories that keep her going. If you're a leader who has done the courses, built the strategy, and still feels stuck, this conversation offers a grounded, honest look at what it takes to move from burnout to clarity. Step Transformation · Virtual Coffee Date with Hendrik Baird · Virtual Coffee Date with Ethan Baird · Baird Media - The Podcast People