South Africa must be one of the few places in the world where you can start a company with zero capital and turn it into a success. But it's going to take loads of hard work, a great sense of humour, and plenty of glasses half-filled with optimism.
I started Flow Communications in a small spare bedroom in my house five years ago and have learnt plenty along the way. Here are 10 tips from my experience.
Do the best job you can. Always.
Do the best quality work possible, no matter what. There is always a niche for high standards. But doing great work can be hard. Clients can be difficult. Murphy can intervene. Budgets may be low. Which brings me to...
Don't worry about the money
When you're starting out, you need to establish a track record so that you can sell yourself and your company with conviction. In the beginning, it will be harder for people to trust you. Do work for free to win clients if you have to, but make sure that you use pro bono opportunities to build relationships that will last a long time - even when you're much larger and charging much more.
Lead from the front
You've heard it before - starting a new business takes time, effort and passion. Success doesn't come easy. Be resilient. Put in long hours. Don't give up, no matter what. Don't leave the important things to others. Be committed and work, work, work! Take things personally enough to care, but not so personally you become debilitated.
Build a great team around you
Find people who are cleverer than you are, but who have a similar value system, and persuade them to join you. You are going to spend a lot of time together, so make sure you like and respect the people you work with.
Try to find people who have skills that are complementary to yours. If you're not good at numbers, for example, get a maths whiz on your side.
Realise that you can't do it all on your own. Make sure your team is motivated, and that you are all working towards the same goals. Winning teams train hard and practise a lot together.
Stick to your knitting
It's ok to take a while to figure out your business proposition, but once you do, focus on delivering this well. Don't be tempted to cast off in too many different directions, or you may end up spreading yourself too thin. Decide exactly what it is you're going to do, focus on it and become expert at it. Your business will forever be evolving, but get the basics right.
Laugh
A business without laughter is a very sad place. Laugh at yourself, and with (but not at) others. Sometimes tequila on a Friday morning just for fun is ok. A game of foosball can help you focus. Make your workplace a fun place to be and your team will be more motivated and more productive.
Be honest and fair
Be honest with yourself and others. Admit mistakes quickly, and be quick to fix them. It's often what you do after making a mistake that's more important than the actual mistake itself.
There may be times you are tempted to make a fast buck at someone else's expense. Don't. You have to sleep easy at night, so don't do anything that will make you lie awake.
There will be ethical dilemmas that will come at you out of the blue at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Stall for some time if you can on the tricky decisions, but if you have to make choice involving ethics quickly, trust your heart over your head.
When making tough calls, think to yourself, if your actions were led as evidence in a court of law, would you be comfortable hearing the testimony?
Read, read, read
There will be lots you don't know. The more you read, the more you'll realise how much you don't know, which can be a good thing. Read books, read blogs, follow relevant links from Twitter, Google like crazy to find out more about the stuff you know you need to know.
Value diversity
As you build your team, think about race, gender and age, though never hire just for these reasons. Diversity, if harnessed correctly, brings energy, depth, balance and stability.
Cultivate diversity in your client base, too. Small clients might give you insights into work for big clients and vice versa. A client in the tourism sector might give you an idea for a client in banking. That said, try to find things you and your team are interested in and good at, and specialise in a few areas.
Use this as a base from which to expand. Don't put your eggs in one basket - make sure you build a diversified client base so you don't rely too much on any one or two clients. Similarly, make sure you build a varied skills base amongst your team, so you don't rely too much on one or two individuals and risk losing too much if they decide to leave.
Be positive
As a leader, always try to see the glass half full. There will be days when you want to throw it all in the air; there will be times when you want to crawl in a hole in the ground and never come out. But you need to remain upbeat for your team to perform at their best.
Positive energy is infectious, but negativity even more so. Positive energy is constructive, negativity is destructive. Be passionate and positive about what you do, and the chances are high your business will flourish!
Tara Turkington is the CEO of Flow Communications (www.flowsa.com), which specialises in web development, e-marketing, journalism, design and media training; has over 80 clients; and employs about 30 staff in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. With a background in journalism, she's worked for a variety newspapers and magazines and as a journ lecturer, teacher and heritage manager. Follow her on Twitter at @taraturk1.
Hey Miss Turkington (comes out the former CBC Kimberley pupil).Your article immediately attracted my attention. It spoke to me because trying to start a media agency especially in Durban can be rather challenging, and more especially when ones experiences is so limited. I have been putting off going at it on my own for years now because i thought that i have no experience, so how else will i learn if i dont just go ahead and do it. I guess thats why the part where 'doing work for free' rings a bell with me. I've been struggling with this concept thinking that i will be selling myself short if i do that.Thanx for an insightful yet light enough to read article. Posted on 1 Sep 2010 13:49
Trust you well. I fully agree with you regarding this article. Its a little scary trying to open up any startup and I guess the old adage is true, that the anticipation of fear is worst then the fear itself. Mostly when we start something and take a chance, those fears turn into straw monsters. I'm also planning to open a little marketing business in KZN, if you want to chat and exchange idea's, please contact me via email, gino.69@live.co.za . I think its important to have a regular discussions with people who has similar interests. Hope to hear from you. Posted on 2 Sep 2010 12:08
You hit every base here. Spoken like someone who has actually been there and done that and not just heard about it at business school. Posted on 1 Sep 2010 21:12
Thanks Tara for sharing, this is great advise. It will certainly come in handy. Congrats - Flow is destined for greater heights. Posted on 1 Sep 2010 15:20
Tara I'd love to work in this sort of work environment. I am sure everyone who has read this is similarly inspired. Yay for humour! For hard work! For not taking ANYTHING so seriously that one's vision gets affected! Thanks. Let me know if you ever need a proofreader/editor/hardworker in Johannesburg area Posted on 1 Sep 2010 22:22
Its rather refreshing reading your aricle and yes behaviour breeds behaviour especially with your team.We have to think of positive things all the time to keep our mindset in tacked .. Thank you for the tips .God bless you !!Barry Nefdt Posted on 2 Sep 2010 07:41
I will find your advice useful as soon as I am free from my present engagement to concentrate on my communication company presently in a state of limbo.
Nothing good comes easy and that is the essence of your message. Posted on 2 Sep 2010 12:46
I started a company in the Garden Route, in my bedroom 18 months ago. I have 1 magazine, SOUTH, and have to open a Cape Town office now due to expansion. All of the above had to be employed in order to turn a success. Hard work, hard work, hard work. And remember, the world is kinder to good people. Posted on 3 Sep 2010 14:25
Hi Kate, thanks for the inspiration I am based in Cape Town and have started operating and am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. Great tips by the way... Well done and all the best with Flow...
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This Message Board accepts no liability of legal consequences that arise from the Message Boards (e.g. libel, slander, or other such crimes). All posted messages are the sole property of their respective authors. The maintainer does retain the right to remove any message posts for whatever reasons. People that post messages to this forum are not to libel/slander nor in any other way depict a company, entity, individual(s), or service in a false light; should they do so, the legal consequences are theirs alone. Bizcommunity.com will disclose authors' IP addresses to authorities if compelled to do so by a court of law.
Angola
Botswana
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Cote D'Ivoire
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Mauritius
Seychelles
Algeria
Egypt
Morocco
Zambia
