Small Business Feature – Magpie Calls

It’s often perceived that if you can turn a creative hobby into a career, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Tarah van Wyk has managed to do exactly this.

Photograph by Little Things Photography

Magpie Calls is an accessory boutique based in KZN that creates the most incredibly beautiful headpieces, sashes, bouquets and embellished shoes for all special occasions. Her signature style shines through in every piece and each one is individually designed and delicately crafted from scratch…

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Start With The Customer First

When you engage with customers, how often do you jump right in and start telling them how great your product or services are? You are so excited that you speed away on your wonderful product and service messages – way to go, right?

Well not quite. Are you thinking about your customer at all?

Next time you engage, my advice: start with the customer first!

Small Business Feature – Jack Rabbit Chocolate Studio

I think it’s safe to say that NOBODY loves chocolate more than Stephanie van Vuuren, and we’re honestly so lucky to have had the chance to chat to her about her fabulous chocolate studio.

Jack Rabbit Studio is an exclusive artisanal chocolate and confectionery studio owned and run by professional chocolatier, Stephanie van Vuuren – and what a phenomenal business it is! Situated in Pretoria, Jack Rabbit Studio creates some of the most delicious custom delicacies from a wide variety of flavors, textures and chocolate combinations.

“I am currently dealing with my chocolate addiction (it’s a real problem) especially when the product you’re addicted to is what you want to sell to make money to buy more to satisfy your addiction!”

The 3 Golden Pillars of Success that are Driving 21st Century Marketing

Today’s marketing – fast paced and every-changing. An environment filled with multiple choices and a ton of communication channels. How do you even begin to approach this?

The trap most marketers fall into, is that they believe the answer lies in complicated marketing plans with blurred positioning and fancy terminology & segmentation, as well as broad messaging intended to reach as many potential customers as possible.

Small Business Feature – Jim Jam

Starting a business isn’t easy, but the benefits can be so rewarding! Je’mae Mountjoy, owner and graphic designer of Jim Jam, tells us all what it’s really like to be your own boss.

Je’mae feels that the best way to describe what she does is simply that “people pay her to make pretty things”

With a passion for themed design, Jim Jam specializes in creating beautiful and professional concepts and design elements for startup brands, events, social media and digital design. She’s also guilty of, and not at all ashamed to admit that she loves using puns to add wit and humor to her work.

Why you’re not Achieving your Sales Targets and what Needs to Change.

In today’s fast paced, everchanging and challenging environment, most sales people do not achieve their targets. Why is this?

• More than 70 % of sales people do not plan for a sales call or sales meeting.
• Only a handful of sales people know exactly where most of their sales come from.
• Most sales people don’t have a clear, simple and dynamic sales plan.

The answer: PRACTICE. EFFECTIVE. PLANNING.

Make it a Habit to NEVER Work For “Free”

If you’re an entrepreneur you’ve probably been in a situation similar to one of these:

Small Business Feature – Guarnieri Atelier

A big part of why businesses fail is because they don’t offer anything unique or new to the market. When starting a business it’s important to keep in mind that even if you have fallen head over heels in love with your own idea, your consumers may not feel the same way.

The lovely thing about the Guarnieri Atelier business idea is that it’s not only something that the owners and designers are extremely passionate about themselves, but it’s also an idea that creates something so special, unique and beautiful that everyone wants to own a piece of it. For being quite a small business, they are streets ahead in terms of signature style and design

5 Myths about Starting your own Business

When I started my own business, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what to expect. I possessed the knowledge, I thrived in a hard working environment and I was looking forward to the benefits of being my own boss.

Even though I felt more than prepared to take on the challenge, physically starting and running your own business has a whole new set of obstacles and there are some tough lessons to learn. It’s time to get real with you about the misconceptions and myths surrounding the entrepreneurial life:

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners

Kristen Prescott said that if you can get a business off the ground, then you are capable of accomplishing anything in this world.

Entrepreneurs are a rare breed. We’re hardworking, tenacious and passionate. We’re flexible, open-minded and we love what we do, however, no entrepreneur was created equal…