Gary Crookes ShadowBall Inventor – Episode 17

Episode 17: Gary Crookes - Inventor of ShadowBall

Gary Crookes is the inventor, founder and MD of ShadowBall. ShadowBall is a weighted, half a rugby ball, which is being hailed as one of the greatest new innovations in rugby. The ShadowBall is engineered to rebound off any wall and come spiralling back to the passer, and for the first time ever, it enables rugby players to train solo passing and catching. However it is more than just a ball; it has evolved into a full- fledged rugby skills training program.

In this episode we discuss Gary's journey into entrepreneurship and how he was able to grow ShadowBall into the worldwide brand it is today. We also discuss a cornerstone of the ShadowBall brand, which is to give back to communities and to facilitate accessibility among disadvantaged youth to be able to develop their technical rugby skills.

 

 

A large part of Gary's success has been the key partnerships he formed along the way, such as Stellenbosch University's Sports Science Institute and Nashua. He also found in former professional rugby player Gcobani Bobo a great business partner and brand ambassador. ShadowBall has been nominated for the 'Cutting Edge' sports award, and for the 'Best New Sponsorship' for the collaboration with Nashua to establish the Nashua Rugby Skills Project. Since 2015 when they enrolled their first 500 kids from 4 schools into the ShadowBall Academy, they have enrolled a whopping 2500 kids in 2017, and have doubled this number to 5000 in 2018!

Key Takeaways:

* We first designed the product, which was the wrong way to go about it. You should first look at the market, understand the market opportunity, look at the problem and the target market you are speaking to.

* Having deep thinking and a business plan is important, but most important is to just start.

* If you're going to start, limit the risk. Decide upfront how much of your time and capital you are willing to risk upfront.Click To Tweet

* It is important to take your time to make sure the product or service works before releasing it to market

* Learning is only learned once applied

 

Links/Resources:

To purchase a ShadowBall, find out more about ShadowBall Academy or if you are a school interested in bringing the ShadowBall programme to your kids, visit their website at www.shadowball.co.za

You can also find Gary and the ShadowBall team on social media by following the hashtag #garycrookes or #shadowball, or follow them on Instagram: @garycrookes and @shadowball_team

Unaizah Toffar Modest Fashion Designer – Episode 16

Episode 16: Unaizah Toffar Modest Fashion Designer

Unaizah Toffar is one of the pioneers of contemporary modest fashion and design in South Africa. She started her business, Seruna Collection, before the time of Instagram and the rise of the modest fashion 'social influencer'. In this episode we unpack what growing a fashion brand entailed before and after social media, she talks about the influence her mother, Fatima Toffar had on her as a designer and business woman; and she shares some of the challenges she faced growing her business as a single mom of an autistic toddler.

Seruna Collection has enjoyed attention from modest fashion publications and within the design world internationally. She was invited twice to showcase her designs at the Indonesian Fashion Week, and has been featured on the cover and as a feature story in the Islamic Fashion and Design Council's 'Cover' Magazine.  IFDC’S Cover Magazine is an international publication that brings together global modest fashion and design.

 

At the time of the interview, Unaizah was newly remarried, and was in the process of negotiating with online retailer Zando. She has since become the first modest fashion brand in South Africa to be signed on a mainstream online retail platform. Unaizah was also selected to exhibit at the very first modest fashion exhibition at the Africa Halaal week in association with WESGRO and the Council of Modest Fashion Africa.

Key Takeaways:

* If you don't take the plunge you will never know if something is going to work or not

* "I decided that if I wanted to one day have my own business, it was more important for me to be financially literate, because I didn't need to be taught how to have ideas"

* "I don't think I would have had the strategic business ideas I have now if I didn't study business"

* When you are a designer you have to be careful to balance accommodating your own design aesthetic, but still always remembering what the customer wants

* You have to do your research and you have to learn to delegate

* You are an ambassador for your own brand so you have to be a reflection of what you sellClick To Tweet

Links/Resources:

WESGRO - The Official Tourism, Trade & Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape

Cover Magazine Article 

Seruna Collection Facebook Page

Seruna Collection Instagram Profile

Indonesian Fashion Week

Quinitus Jansen World of Dance SA Producer – Episode 15

Episode 15: Quintus Jansen World of Dance SA Producer

Quintus Jansen is a dancer and choreographer extraordinaire who is the founder of Dance Culture Studios and Creative Culture Productions. He has also performed on the international stage and has featured as a dancer and choreographer on TV shows such as 'So You Think You Can Dance SA', 'Strictly Come Dancing SA' and is also the producer of the South African franchise of the hit dance show 'World of Dance SA'.

Through his success in dance, Quintus is passionate about putting South African dance on the world map, to cultivate a greater appreciation for dance as a sport, but also to give back to under-privileged communities. He does this through his team's involvement in the incredible social enterprises Dance to be Wild and The Kindness Corporation.

Dance to be Wild is dedicated to:

* Empowering South African Children to take ownership of their wildlife heritage through the beauty of dance

* Enhancing social skills development and cohesion at grass roots level

* Providing an effective platform for South African and International dancers to contribute to the effective sustainability of our wildlife resources

* Making a significant and meaningful contribution towards anti-poaching initiatives in Africa

* Encouraging dance development programs for South African dancers

The Kindness Corporation non-profit organization with the aim of bringing aid and relief to those who need it most. They do this by assisting on a case by case basis within communities that are under served and under represented.

Key Takeaways:

* "My philosophy is that I want to be happy in life. I believe if you are really good at something, you will get paid well for it. So I pursued dancing as a career and I was determined to be successful in it"

* "In the beginning when I studied overseas, I had to live from hand to mouth and be willing to do hard work to survive"

* One dance is equivalent to running an 800m race at Olympic level, and we typically do five dances in a row! In South Africa it's actually under an umbrella called Dance Sport South Africa and is under SASCOC so you can actually get…Click To Tweet

* In South Africa you have to be very versatile and be quite broad in your specialties to make a living with dance

* Luck favors the prepared, so always be prepared

* Get everything in writing and be at the forefront

* Initiate and instigate change so as not to fear it

Kelli Stirrett Digital Operations Expert – Episode 14

Episode 14: Kelli Stirrett Digital Operations Expert

Kelli Stirret is the founder of Even Keel Ops. Kelli helps creative business owners grow their businesses and unload overwhelm via training, strategy, and support. Kelli is from South Carolina, she is a mother and a significant other, an avid reader, an amateur photographer, a shell hunter, and a sugar skull collector. Kelli shares her journey from corporate hustle to entrepreneur and how she now helps other businesses overcome the overwhelm of the digital operational aspects of their business.

Several years ago, Kelli accidentally fell onto the corporate ladder. After realizing her original career plan wasn’t exactly all she dreamed of, she started looking around for something else and ended up working for a small company that had become a medium size company by the time she moved on. During the transition from small company to medium company, she learned all the things about operations. She was good at all the operational things and was working towards a COO position. But as the company grew so did the office politics. The small family feel was gone, and Kelli was unhappy with where she was at in her career.

 

So she made a huge life move - she quit her job and moved her family to the beach. After a year or so of beach life, she realized she missed working with businesses to organize their operations, so she started working as a Virtual Assistant (VA), but it didn’t quite feel like that was what she was meant to do. She also realized a lot of creative business owners were treating their operations like their creations and just going with the flow and that wasn’t working for them, and so Even Keel Ops was born.

According to Kelli, Operations or Ops is all that 'non-creative shit' you have to do to keep your business runningClick To Tweet

* Tracking your finances

* Managing all of your projects and ideas

* Planning for next week, next month, and next quarter

* Launching new products and services

* Email marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, so much marketing!

The list goes on and on!

 

Links and Resources Mentioned:

https://joomag.com/badassery-magazine-issue-6/0871746001477927077/p34?short

http://onewomanshop.com/2017/solopreneur-business-operations-manual/

Free Business Tools and Resources

Trell0 - Project Management Tool

Canva - Create social media posts and other media posts

Waveapps - Cloud-based accounting system

The Founders of ILoveZA – Episode 13

Episode 13: The Founders of ILoveZA

What started out as a little stall in the Rosebank Sunday Market in early 2015, has now flourished into an organisation that assists individuals and businesses on various levels. Nabihah and Ziyaad Plaatjes co-founders, the sole funders, and the only staff who run the whole operation of iloveza.com, started the online platform to assist South Africans in realizing their dreams.

Both of them, going through some very traumatic experiences in their life while living in South Africa, but still finding the good in the people and the country and their love for their place of birth.

They chose the name iloveza.com because:

The 'i' represents a sense of belonging

The 'love' represents a deep emotion

The 'za' being the international abbreviation of South Africa

The '.com' connecting that love and sense of belonging of and for South Africa to the rest of the World

When the site was originally launched on 25 June 2015, under the name Sjok & Shizi, the site was primarily an online store. The idea of the online store was to give local traders a chance to showcase their products to the world. There are many talented individuals that either do not have the time nor the money or sometimes even the tech know-how to have their own online store. Nabihah and Ziyaad decided that (even though they have limited resources themselves) they would give these individuals the platform to advertise their products.

They do not charge for advertising, no monthly fees, no setup costs, no fixed percentages, and iloveza.com even package and deliver the products around the world on behalf of the traders. The model is easy and simple and makes sure that the trader is never out of pocket, but tries to provide a little something to cover the costs that Nabihah and Ziyaad incur while running this operation.

There is FREE delivery on any product throughout South Africa as well as highly competitive global shipping rates. The online store which is also mobile friendly is just one avenue where the couple are trying to uplift South Africans. Once the name changed to iloveza.com on 21 February 2016, there were major changes in what the organisation had to offer. Teaming up with Travelstart and Booking.com to provide a platform for users to book flights, accommodation, and car rentals, at discounted prices, was the first step.

Music is a big part of the South African culture, and being a small player, labels were not ready to advertise their CDs through the online store, so iloveza.com teamed up with iTunes to promote the latest local albums while stilll giving consumers the chance to purchase their favorite music through iloveza.com's site.

The website and online store are not the only platforms where iloveza.com promote local talent, but also through their weekly Newsletter and social media accounts; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and recently YouTube.

Lifestyle and social media are like best friends whether it's fashion, food, or travel. Behind the lifestyle post are bloggers and vloggers. Many of them work hard at their blog/vlog but never get the breakthrough that they need to gain the exposure that they deserve. iloveza.com uses their various platforms to promote these talented creatives to assist them in achieving their goals.

Faheema Hoosen – Episode 12

Episode 12: Faheema Hoosen | Owner Passionate Food Catering

Faheema Hoosen is a mom of 4, who embarked on her journey of entrepreneurship while pregnant with her 3rd child. She started a halaal catering business called Passionate Food. Faheema grew up on a chicken farm in Lenasia, Johannesburg. She is a qualified health and beauty therapist, but always felt that food was her real passion. Faheema was a stay-at-home mom for many years, and just one month prior to the birth of her 3rd child, her mother presented her with an opportunity to cater for a big company function. She grabbed her chance and has not looked back.

 

 Overcoming personal challenges

The early days of Passionate Food was fraught with personal challenges as her youngest son had to have surgery, so it was incredibly difficult to balance a business and supporting her son through this difficult time. He mom was the driving force behind her business during that time, and was instrumental in getting the business started and growing it to the point where Faheema was able to run the business on her own.

Today, Passionate Food is an established halaal catering business that offers braais, spitbraais, baking, novelty cakes, and fruit carvings. Faheema also provides complete end to end setup and decor for any size function. There was one stage in her business though, when a 6 month dry spell led her to feel defeated and demotivated, so she left the catering business to go into an office job. According to Faheema, it tooks a complete shift in mindset to reignite her business. Instead of becoming bogged down by the increase in competition in her industry, she chose to find ways to differentiate herself from others.

You have to believe that you can do it, and that you are the best person for the job - Faheema Hoosen, Passionate Food CateringClick To Tweet

Faheema's advice to other's wanting to start a catering business, is that it is important to save as much as you can, because there will be good months and bad months so you need to be prepared for the bad months to get you through. She believes that sometimes it is better to just get thrown into the deep end and then to find your way to the surface. Her parents are her inspiration - her mom inspires her creativity and taught her everything she knows about cooking, while her late father is who she aspires to emulate as a business person because she admired his work ethic and honesty.

Thank You for taking the time to listen! I truly appreciate all the support. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see on the page.

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes and on Stitcher radio, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and I read every single one of them personally!

Episode 11 – Thembinkosi Pantsi

Episode 11: Thembinkosi Pantsi | Dealer Principal, AUDI Polokwane

Thembinkosi Pantsi first caught my attention on Instagram, when I saw a post about him offering the use of the Audi dealership conferencing facilities to young entrepreneurs and startups who do not have the capital to invest in office space, but need to meet with clients to grow their business.

Thembinkosi grew up as the son of farm workers, and through hard work and perseverance, worked his way up to become the dealer principal at Audi Polokwane. In this episode, he shares his journey, the hardships and opportunities and the 3 biggest lessons that he feels contributed to his success today.

 

The importance of values and perspective

Although his parents were farm workers, Thembinkosi, like many other South African children, grew up with a relative in a nearby town so that he could access better schooling. It was here that he was exposed to the greater world and the possibilities that existing that he would not have otherwise been aware of had he stayed on the farm to walk the 7km gravel road to school everyday.

Our circumstances and environment can sometimes blind us to the opportunities available out there - Thembinkosi Pantsi, Dealer Principal, Audi PolokwaneClick To Tweet

It was through this exposure, realizing what opportunities awaited him in the world, that the hunger and drive for success kicked in. He speaks about how he had to ask himself what he wanted to achieve in his life and what he needed to do to achieve his goals. One of the critical things that Thembinkosi attributes to his success is the values he inherited from his parents. He speaks with very high regard for this mother and father, describing the key values he learned from them as hard work, respect for others, and perseverance.

Start from the bottom if you have to, just start!

Thembinkosi initially wanted to become an engineer, but his parents couldn't afford to support his studies financially, so he had to drop out of university. However, as Thembinkosi says, "I didn't just sit back and cry foul, I decided to do something about it". He describes his first formal job as a cleaner at a restaurant in Knysna. Reflecting back on the values his parents taught him, he says that he always told himself that no matter what he did, he would always do it with excellence, even if that meant cleaning toilets with excellence. His work ethic and attitude did not go unnoticed, and with time he worked himself up, until he was offered the chance to enter the corporate work space.

Thembinkosi says that he was never phased about where he lived or worked, to him it was always about the opportunity and pursuing what he wanted in life.

You need to start small and build yourself up. Take every opportunity that comes your way - Thembinkosi Pantsi, Dealer Principal, Audi Polokwane

Episode 10 – Shaun Harry

Episode 10: Shaun Harry | Founder & Director Shaun Harry Inc.

Shaun Harry is a father to two beautiful girls, a husband to the love of his life and business partner, a son, a friend, and an international professional with over fifteen years experience. Before starting his business consultancy practice in 2015, Shaun held executive management & consultancy positions in internationally-operating companies as well as governmental organizations, including Denel (SOC), FINPRO, Enterprise Ireland, Mi-Fone BVI. In his interview, Shaun recalls the day he left his corporate job, booked a flight to Ireland, without any assurance of a business deal, and followed his dreams.

 

Today he is the founder and director of Shaun Harry Inc Pty Ltd, an outsourced business development and market entry facilitation consultancy for international Aviation, Aerospace , Defence , Embassies and Trade Promotion Agencies. He is also in partnership with his wife in an events company called The Cape Town Party, and is an investor in his wife's company 'Momster Box'. We also interviewed Shaun's wife, Vikki Harry in episode 01 of the podcast.

Shaun grew up on the Cape Flats, in Cape Town, South Africa. When he first moved to Johannesburg, he worked as a DJ. We spoke about how his experience as a freelance DJ, hustling to get gigs and make a name for himself prepared him for his journey as an entrepreneur. Over time, he found himself in the business consultancy field and discovered he had a talent for connecting business partnerships and facilitating good business relationships. Shaun admits that there are many perks that comes with being in a corporate job, but says that he would sacrifice it all every time for the sense of freedom he has now.

Shaun shared some very interesting insights into the journey of entrepreneurship. He took a huge risk leaving the security of his 9 to 5 to build a business from scratch, but his risk paid off. He advises anyone in a similar position to do all the background legwork, like setting up branding and a website before quitting your job, so that by the time you quit, you are ready to hit the ground running. He also stresses that it is important to test your business case by seeking feedback on the feasibility of your idea.

Thank You for taking the time to listen! I truly appreciate all the support. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see on the page.

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes and on Stitcher radio, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and I read every single one of them personally!

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live or to the newsletter to receive notifications of a new episode straight to your email!

Music credit:

Opening jingle: Original composition produced by Bradley Peters

Theme music: 'Nice to you' by Vibe Tracks

Guest Links

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Episode 09 – Your Business and the Law with Maushami Chetty

Episode 09: Maushami Chetty | Founder & CEO Aarya Legal

If you have been following our podcast, you will know that all our previous episodes featured entrepreneurs who shared their entrepreneurial journeys. This episode is different in that this is our first episode in our new category called 'Business Tips and Tools'. So we have 2 categories on this podcast - 'The Journey' and 'Business Tips and Tools'. Our first guest in this series is Maushami Chetty from Aarya Legal. Although Maushami is a serial entrepreneur herself, the focus of this interview was not on her journey, but rather on the legal aspects of starting and growing a business.

Maushami Chetty is an attorney with over 14 years post qualification experience and a speaker and consultant on gender and cultural change in business and schools. She has been a judge for the Gender Mainstreaming Awards and Oliver Empowerment Awards. She is the founder and CEO of Aarya Legal, a legal consulting firm that provide a full service solution for transforming your business. They do not only provide you with a BBBEE strategy and implement the legal structure, they can also help you assess and implement your transformation goals.

Show Notes

Maushami is currently running a campaign called 250-in-60, which aims to provide legal education to 250 entrepreneurs globally in 60 days. Through her experience she has seen many small businesses fail because they didn't have the proper legal structures in place. In our interview she talks about her checklist she uses to assist businesses to assess what they need in terms of legal structures, in relation to the long term vision they have for their business. According to Maushami, this is a critical first step when thinking of starting your own business, as having the wrong structures in place can be costly in the long run.

In her interview, Maushami talks about the difference between registering as a sole proprietor versus a private company. The key message here was that a private company is a separate legal entity and should therefore be treated at arms length from you as the business owner. Maushami suggests that business owners of private companies have an agreement with their business detailing how they will be allowed to draw from the business. She warns that drawing on your company account for personal expenses is dangerous and is not correct trading. One of the dangers of running your business accounts for personal affairs is that, in the event your business runs into financial difficulty, a judge could deem your use of the business funds as abuse of form, thereby ruling that you are liable in your personal capacity for the company's debt. This is known as 'piercing the corporate veil'. On the other hand, as a sole proprietor, you are in effect the business, and so anything you own can be attached by your creditors. If you are unsure which form is best for your business, an assessment by a legal adviser is your best recourse.

However, Maushami acknowledged the high cost of legal services and the tendency for business owners to shelf this expense as one that is unnecessary. She advises that business owners should really start caring about their businesses by thinking and planning for worst case scenarios, and structure their businesses upfront to protect themselves.

Episode 08 Erik Kruger

Episode 08: Erik Kruger | Founder BetterMan & Better[X]

Erik Kruger is a Personal Development & Leadership Coach. Currently completing his Masters degree in Business and Executive coaching through Wits Business School. He has been featured in GQ, CliffCentral, Good Men Project, Thought Catalog, Entrepreneur Magazine, TouchHD, KykNet, and more. As a coach, he spends time with entrepreneurs, leaders and teams in organizations to help them think about the challenges they are facing and how to overcome them. His strength lies in his ability to help others elevate their thinking & to develop a more strategic approach to business and life.

Show Notes

After high school, Erik was unsure what career he wanted to pursue, but he always knew he wanted to help others. He went on to qualify as a Physiotherapist, and while he enjoyed working in the profession, he still felt that he had a bigger purpose to fulfill. Whilst trying to market his Physio practice, he became enchanted by the idea of online business and the promise of passive income. The led him down a path to discovering the world of digital. It was only through establishing BetterMan - South Africa’s largest online community for men dedicated to personal and professional development - that he started to realize his true calling. Today, BetterMan has an email list 18,000+ strong, and a Facebook community of more than 60,000 engaged members. He has since expanded the reach of his personal development and coaching brand to a more general audience of people looking to improve themselves in areas of their lives, be it being better leaders, partners or parents.

In his interview, Erik talks about his personal development coaching philosophy, which encompasses 3 things:

* Accretion - the slow build up of skills, knowledge, and resources through action and decision taken over a period of time - @erickrugerClick To Tweet

* Acta Non Verba - Less talk and more Do

* Being more strategic in our thinking - learning to look not only at the problem, but also how we think about the problem

Using these core philosophies, Erik has developed a framework for his coaching practice, that encourages one to do at least 1 of these 3 things layered over any part of your everyday life, everyday:

* Meditation - taking time to reflect

* Movement - taking action

* Mastery - continually developing and improving

We also spoke about BetterMan, building and growing an engaged online community, and advice for others who would like to pursue the path of coaching and personal development. BetterMan was created out of the need for Erik to learn from other successful men about what helped...