Challenge the big guys - The Entrepreneurial way ...........

From the desk of John Brandow

Link to this article :

Are you ready for the new challenges ?

Will Amazon Put You Out of Business?

Let me start by saying, I have nothing against Amazon. In fact, I’m a user and fan, but don’t look now, they are coming after your business.

They already own some pretty big market share in many categories beyond books and recently made real a proposed plan to add same day shipping. You know, it’s 8 am and you realize you’re out of toothpaste. No problem you’ll have a tube on your door before it’s time to brush and go to bed.

The service is launching selectively, (see map below) but is sure to further disrupt many small local businesses. But here’s the thing – we shouldn’t let it.

Read the full story by following the link above ....................

Comments by the blogger :  This is the challenge to Entrepreneurs; There is life after big business. There is life after technology - We cannot all become part of the latest technology - but if you become the :"go to man" in your community you can win it all 

I will be sharing my own experiences in this regard soon on this blog

Some Answers for Matriculants : Help ! I can't find a job

In all probability parents have spent the most on their children in their last year of School than any of the previous 11 years.  Some (most) of those children could not find a job.  Most of them have not considered the possibility of being their own employer.

Centurion study center have developed a program which will help anyone who even remotely considered becoming their own employer. That translates to becoming an Entrepreneur.

The program basically consists of the following:

1.  A 5 day course in the basics of Entrepreneurship  focusing on Identifying a viable business, The process and requirements of running your own business, Understanding the basics of financials and cashflows and drafting a workable business Plan.  One day is spent on discussing between 10 and 20 real business opportunities that any one of these candidates can start immediately
2. a Mentorship program where successful business people are utilized and to whom the students can have access to on an ongoing basis through email and telephone.
3. Follow up one day courses focusing on specific subjects ( financial management, human resources, effectively managing your cash etc etc. (These are optional but critical to the success of the entrepreneur)

A question to parents : What do you have to loose to spend just R6000 on your child sitting at home and doing nothing ?  This could be the difference between becoming despondent or becoming a successful Entrepreneur.

Note :
(One of our successful Mentors have started from nothing 4 years ago and now runs a business with turnovers of over a R100Mil +per annum )

These programs are done in English and is totally A-political and open to all Genders and Races

Next course starting in 2 weeks time in Centurion - Book Now ! 

John Brandow  direct (082 222 5002) or email johnbrandow@p2b.co.za

Serious banking problems ? Get a lawyer on your side !

This is a mouthful.  The problems clients encounter with banks are to many to be able to write a blog article about.  It will most probably take a few hundred to get even near to it.
The purpose of this specific page is the following: 
Clients obtain credit from banks.   Clients encounter problems with the repayment of the credit lines because of various reasons : Their small business fails, they lose their jobs, they get over indebted because of reckless lending from banks and other credit providers etc etc. I will handle this in an upcoming post. Because of these and other factors clients are taken to the courts by the financiers. Of course this is their good right to do so to try and get their money back.

BUT..and this is a massive BUT.   The banks will take short cuts and in the process trample on client's rights.  For example :  Credit providers are required to deliver a notice in terms of the credit act (in short called a 129a notice) to inform a client of his or her rights BEFORE any legal action can be taken.  The banks hide behind the clause in their contracts (which is nowadays unenforceable because of various new acts) that once they have sent this off it is assumed to having been received within a certain period of time.
According to a recent Constitutional ruling this no longer applies. They have to be able to PROVE that the client actually received the notice.

Now in most cases the banks will go ahead and issue summons. Another problem arises.  Whether this is intentional or because of ignorance is not of importance here. They will issue summons to any possible address they might have on record somewhere and possibly in the hope that the client does not receive the summons. In such a case default judment is taken and wholla !   They will repossess property, cars whatever and the client is non the wiser that he had rights !

We are now in a possition to help most of these clients: You have the right to have those judgments set aside.   You have the right to query any and all actions of the banks in their processes of collection !  Just speak to us :   A first interview will cost you nothing - even via Skype -

John   082 222 5002   Skype johnbrandowcenturion  email Johnbrandow@mweb.co.za

Whereto from here ? A must for matriculants !

2013: The year of the big challenge !   The work market has been flooded by tens of thousands of new Matriculants  in South Africa.  The South African work market is already overflowing with literally millions of other unemployed people - so what can you do ?

Innovation, thinking out of the box and being creative is what you will need to lift yourself out of the unemployed group and help you get a job.   

Ever considered employing yourself ?  Yes being the employer as well as the employee - It is called entrepreneurship.

Centurion Entrepreneurs is launching an intensive program to help job seekers to understand the whole challenge of getting a job, starting your own business, becoming your own boss , working for a boss and the whole scenario around this.

Following up on this we have identified 101 REAL business opportunities  that can get interested persons up and running in 24 hours - as easy as that ! (Multilevel marketing is not in our vocabulary !)

We will be conducting our first (FREE OF CHARGE) information session in Centurion on Saturday 26 January - titled : WHERETO FROM HERE ?

This is a no obligation no strings attached presentation - what do you have to loose ?
We will show you what we mean by :

"Innovation, thinking out of the box and being creative "



A Centurion Entrepreneurs initiative 

Entrepreneurial success

Entrepreneurship is the new IT,  It is where everyone is making money !  Right ?  Dead  wrong !

Speaking from a South African perspective and especially looking at the high unemployment rate and the hype of "Start your own business !" a lot of people are doing just that.   

The challenge ( please note I am not saying problem) is that 99%+ have no cooking clue how to go about it.

The Solution ?  Get a consultant - Yuk - I hate the word and the species !  My biggest issue with consultants are the following (potential Entrepreneurs take note) :

When considering to make use of a consultant the following needs to be clarified and the problem is they normally are very vague and will not give you a direct answer

1.  What are their qualifications? 

2.  What are their claim to fame ? Why should you use them?

3.  What service do they render - really render ?

4.  How do they expect to be paid for their services?

Never accept any of the following :

1. Payment upfront before anything is done

2. Cost structures that are not linked to performance

3. Claim to fame being : I am linked to.......Robert...........Warren......whatever. Claim to fame is what have you done that moved the bottom line or what do you plan to move the bottom line.

 Here is a scenario you could look at when you are starting a new business:

Do your homework.  Attend a short course in basic Entrepreneurship that does not cost you an arm and a leg.  These courses are normally not accredited anywhere ( They are not required to be ) but you should know by the 2nd hour in the course that what you are learning here today is WOW!  ( Our own course is a 5 day hands on course where you can walk away anytime if you are not getting value for your money and we will gladly refund you- That is putting our money where our mouths are!) 

If you consider appointing a consultant their remuneration should be performance based :

Set up the company 

Here is a working model :

You and your partners ( the shareholders) create the business by registering a company. If you already have a close corporation change it to a company.

The partners normally fulfill the role of executive directors - Do this only when everyone is involved in the business 24/7.  Appoint at least one none exec director , preferable as marketing director.  Get a marketing expert in this position and remunerate him based on performance.  (We are available tot fill these positions and our remuneration is always based on performance).

I am writing this article this morning for the simple reason that in the past 24 hours I have had 2 invites from 

Specialist consultants offer to coach me in making my business a huge success. Both want exorbitant up front fees with no guarantee of success.    This just make me see red ( and teaches me to swear)

Should you consider your own business a chat with me could just be the thing to point you in the right direction !

John   082 222 5002  (00822225002)   Skype johnbrandowcenturion.  email  john@brandow.co.za

Investments vs Business

What do you do when you retire and have only so much money to live with for the rest of your life ?  This is an easy question but it does not have an easy answer.
Here are some of the solutions your Financial Adviser will give you. Yes those guys with the thick glasses and the laptops (or nowadays a Pad). This of course is to make sure you understand they know exactly what your dilemma is.  Your dilemma is of course you have this stash of money that they will want to invest for you so that you will get at least 8 to 10% per Year income and they will get a fair chunk in commission.  Let me be very clear on this point : There is nothing wrong with commission - it is their salary.  The amount they get vs the advice you get is where the problem most of the time lies.  But that is not the problem here.

They will advise you to invest and let us for argument sake say that you have the best adviser in the market and you get to get 12% per year on an ongoing basis.   Let us say you were earning around R 50k per month and your pension payout is R3million after all costs and taxes.  This will now give you R30 000 per month before tax.    This will roughly nett you R 25k per month.  Not bad heh?    

Of course this is about half of what you were used to.

Now here is something else to consider :

Why not start your own business ?    You can easily double that and have some change.
There are only a few teeny weeny problems but for someone with your acumen and knowledge these are so small it is negligible.  How difficult is it to draft a business plan , register a company , make sure all legal requirements are in place ( there is only about 17 of these) , do marketing ( you are an expert at marketing are you not ?), set up shop somewhere , get the right staff and bob's your uncle _ Whola  you are now getting 24% return on your investment !

OF COURSE IF ENTREPRENEURSHIP WAS THAT EASY WE WILL ALL BE ENTREPRENEURS WON'T WE ?


If you had the opportunity to become a business owner and earn around 24% per year without all the hastles of running the business and be trained (costs included ) in the process to really , really run a very effective business would you be interested? 


Details available upon request :  john@brandow.co.za   or phone me on 082 222 5002 

Business opportunities

Major Business Opportunity

Our offering:

50% shareholding in a Petrol/Diesel outlet with a guaranteed income of 24% p.a on your investment of R2.2mil.   R1.2mil goes toward the share purchase and R1mil into your loan account as shareholder.  The company will start paying back the shareholders loan to the shareholder after 24 months.  

What does this mean ?   You will be receiving around R 44 000 per month on an ongoing basis plus R1mil of your initial capital will be repaid to you starting in month 25.  You can of course choose to take the income risk and reward model where nothing is guaranteed but where you stand to make a lot more money in the end if you understand the business model.

The managing company is well known in the Retail fuel industry and will be the servicing agent delivering fuel(Diesel and Petrol) to these outlets. They own their own Fuel Tankers  Outlets are being bought from present owners that have had enough of the bullying tactics of the major suppliers and we are able to purchase these at good rates. A turnaround management strategy ensures the projected incomes we envisage.

This is your chance to get in at the onset of a major drive to start a new Brand and strategy in the fuel distribution industry.

WHAT MUST YOU DO ?

Phone me today   for a personal interview to discuss the finer details.

There is no funny stuff here : just a straight forward opportunity to get involved in a successful business without the hassles of micro management.  You will also be learning the finer details of Entrepreneurship, Management and Wealth Creation

John Brandow

082 222 5002

john@brandow.co.za