Business Tips - Creating A Budget

BUSINESS TIPS – Creating A Budget

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

For many of us who were employees before we became SMME’s or Entrepreneurs, creating a budget was something that we perhaps did on a monthly basis.  It was all that we needed because we were assured of a fixed income at the end of each and every month.

As an SMME however, especially when we are starting out, we do not know what to expect.  We can always theorize about what we would like to have coming in as income, but we do have quite a bit of control over what will be going out.  It is really is a good idea to know exactly how much your need to be coming in to be able to pay the basic bills.  So creating a 12 month budget is a good idea.

Having a 12 month budget will allow you to plan and strategize what you need and want to do for the following twelve months.  Creating a 12 month budget is not something that you should do when you have some spare time, but rather something that you should allocate time to do.  It should be seen as something that is critical to your business, rather than something that is viewed as a waste of time.  It will assist you in ensuring that your business has a manageable and sustainable financial plan.

For me the challenge always is just to get started.  If you are not sure about what you are doing, it is really easy to procrastinate.  So book it in your diary and just get going.

First of all you need to know what your profit/loss format is.  Don’t panic – it is not as scary as it sounds.  You start with your income – take what you charge for your product and/or service, less your cost of sale (which is the cost of the goods sold or the cost to you, in order to supply the service), less your overhead expenses.  This is your net income (also known as profit).

Don’t forget to list all of your expenses or the expenses that you expect to have during the next 12 months and also your projected income.  Then in order to ensure that you don’t overstate your income, it is always a good idea to validate it.  So for example if you predict that your income in July is going to be say R20 000.00, you need to list how that R20 000.00 is made up.  In other words, what you are going to do in order to bring that money into the company. Be careful that you don’t underestimate your expenses – be realistic about your expectations – it is always better to come in under budget on your expenses and over budget on your income than the other way around.

Remember to compare your actual monthly figures to your predicted theoretical figures.  This will be of real value to you, firstly to ensure that you keep your sales figures up and your expenses down and secondly it will assist you in the compilation of the following year’s budget.

As a business owner myself, I am all too aware of the demands on my time and how critical it is to manage my time effectively.  That said, I have learnt the hard way, just how costly it is, both financially and also from a time point of view, if the financial side of the business is not managed effectively and properly.

If numbers and the financial side of things is not one of your strengths, I promise you it is in your own best interests to find someone (either an employee or a bookkeeper or better yet an accountant) to assist you or get yourself on some sort of “Financial Literacy” workshop so that you have the basic knowledge of what is happening in the financial side of your company.  Believe me without it, you will be lost and that is surely the quickest recipe for disaster.

You are responsible for the financial well being of your company – at the very least you should be able to have a basic understanding of it.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Computer Shortcuts - Part 4

BUSINESS TIPS – Computer Shortcuts – Part 4

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

Another fabulously positive responsive week I got last week.  Seems I am not the only one who doesn’t know all the shortcuts and tips.  Here are last lot, which makes this one the end of the series.

Last  Up – Outlook Shortcut Keys
Alt + S Send the mail
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + P Open print dialogue box
Ctrl + K Complete name/e-mail typed in address bar
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted selection
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + R Reply to an e-mail
Ctrl + F Forward and e-mail
Ctrl + N Create a new e-mail
Ctrl + Shift + A Create a new appointment for your calendar
Ctrl + Shift + O Open the outbox
Ctrl + Shift + I Open the inbox
Ctrl + Shift + K Add a new task
Ctrl + Shift + C Create a new contact
Ctrl + Shift + J Create a new journal entry

Again I knew one or two of these, but certainly not the majority and now of course I will also have to irritate the heck out of my IT guy by asking all the ‘what does . . . . . mean?”.

Okay everybody, that’s the end of that, next week we will be looking at something completely different.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Help From Unexpected Quarters

MOTIVATION – HELP FROM UNEXPECTED QUARTERS

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

It is said that sometimes the people you think might kick you when you’re down, will be the very ones to help you get back up!

For me this is all about judgment and perception.  You see, I think that people have perceptions about other people based on things like, the way they dress.  So someone is judged by what they are wearing and the perception is that they would never assist or have the empathy and/or compassion to help a fellow human being!  How bizarre!

I believe that perception is how facts are interpreted and that if those facts are not looked at in their entirety then they are often distorted and that that is why perceptions are so often skewered.

I am often amused at the way that others see me, for example.  As an Internal Auditor, there seems to be an expectation of how I should behave, how I should dress and on some levels, even how I should think.  That expectation is never met when they actually meet me and dare I say it, get to know me and that can cause a huge amount of confusion.

You see, often people think that I should be a quiet, shy introvert who dresses very conservatively and who thinks inside the box.  The reality of the situation is that although I am an introvert, I am really not the shy or quiet – I say what I feel and tell it ‘like it is’.  I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and for me thinking in or out of the box is not an option – there is no box!  I mean think about it for the moment – logically speaking, would you expect every single Internal Auditor on the planet to look, behave and think in exactly the same manner?  If you really had to stop and think about it, I really don’t think that anyone would actually think like that and yet the expectation persists.

I think that we as individuals have to change our mindsets and our judgments and drop the blinkers, allowing ourselves to really look and see a person for who and what they are, instead of just making a judgment call before all the facts are in.  I have no doubt that if we allowed this to happen, we would no longer be amazed to receive help and assistance from people who we ‘thought’ would kick us when we were down.

Give people the benefit of the doubt and allow them to be who they actually are, rather than who you perceive them to be.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

HR 101 - Showing Remorse

HR 101 - Showing Remorse

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC

This pertains to South African Labour requirements only

To be quite honest, this particular case “bent” my mind in several different directions simultaneously, and not in a good way either.

What it also did however, was clearly highlight the need to use someone with the highest level of labour law expertise when conducting disciplinary hearings that may result in dismissal.

Let’s bring out the protagonists.

Mike owns a small paint factory in one of the industrial parks.  He is very conscientious about the health and safety issues around what happens in the factory because of the paint fumes and chemicals that are used and how badly they can react with one another.  All the staff are trained on safety issues on a regular basis and safety drills and evacuations take place quarterly.  Mike employs around 100 staff members.

Mike walks onto the factory floor and with the usual smell of paint fumes he detects another underlying smell.  Mike is very concerned when he realized that that smell is in fact gas.  He issues an instruction for all the staff to leave the premises immediately, while the problem is investigated.

The usual procedure is for staff to meet in the lower car park, several hundred meters from the factory.  When they do the drill the evacuation generally takes less than 15 minutes.

Mike contacts his service provider and the authorities to report the problem and then goes to join the staff in the car park to wait for the technicians to arrive, investigate the problem and then proclaim the factory safe or unsafe.  If the factory is declared unsafe the staff will be sent home until such time as the ‘all clear’ is given.

Mike gets to the car park around 20 minutes after his instruction to evacuate was issued and some of the staff are still taking a leisurely stroll to the car park from the factory and not only that, it is also clearly evident that many of the staff are not present and accounted for.

After chatting to the safety officers and investigating the issue further, it was discovered that many of the employees just did not follow the correct procedures – some just took their own sweet time to get to the safety of the car park and some went straight home without even reporting to the car park.

Mike was furious, and understandably so – what if the factory had exploded while staff were still inside.  What if they were looking for the bodies of people who had actually gone home and even worse, what if the safety officers or authorities had gone into the building to ‘rescue’ those that had not come out and the factory had blown up whilst they were inside and the people who they were supposed to be rescuing were safe at home.  Clearly this was not acceptable at all.

Every person who had arrived late (after 20 minutes of the instruction to evacuate was originally given) as well as everyone who went directly home, were required to attend a disciplinary.

So far so good, I am sure you will agree – but here is where the whole thing goes pear shaped.  You see, some of the employees were issued with final written warnings and some were dismissed.  The dismissed staff took Mike to the CCMA.

The arbitrator found that the dismissals were ‘too harsh because the dismissed  employees has shown “genuine remorse”’

Wow!  So it doesn’t matter that someone could have been killed going in to look for them whilst they were safely at home, but they were ‘sorry’ so that’s okay then. Now that is not good for me at all!

What is also not good for me though, is the lack of consistency with the penalties issued at the disciplinary hearings – for me personally, that is where most of the problem lies and whether they showed ‘genuine remorse’  or not should have been featured as part of the mitigating circumstances.  I understand that they were all given individual hearings (as they should have been), but the fact of the matter is that they did not follow safety procedures and because of this they put other people’s lives at great risk.

Let me put it this way – if Mike had ignored the problem and not followed the safety rules and the factory had blown up and the staff had been killed, but he showed ‘genuine remorse’ would his liability, responsibility, accountability and ultimate penalty, been reduced?  I doubt it.

Once again this evidences the need to have someone with the correct legal HR ‘know how’, when dealing with these matters as the law is always open to interpretation.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Early Warning - Warning from ADT Security

EARLY WARNING - Warning from ADT Security

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting

I received this communication from one of my colleagues:
“Please spread this email, to all your staff, friends and family, we all need to be aware and we all need to put a stop to this, winter is coming and that’s when most house break ins happen.

The following points were made in a discussion with members of SA Police Services on Radio IFM.

We are not aware that any of these signs are being used by criminals in our area but I feel it is good that you be warned.
• When there is a Z painted at the Stop sign – there is a few houses being robbed in that street
• If there is a heap of small stones in front of a house. – There are dogs
• If there is two large stones placed next to each other. – two old people
• Sometimes they pack a few stones in a row next to each other. – how many people in the house.
• Colors :
• Red coke can, red rag etc’ means the occupants can defend themselves
Coke can on its side. – somebody at home
Coke can standing straight up. – nobody at home.
* White: sorghum box pointing to house. - marked to break in
White plastic bag on fence. – easy target
* Green: directions, the direction the green bottle is showing. – the direction they should move
* Blue: any blue bag, paper etc. – Somebody in the house prepared to help you.
* Black: Stock Theft.
* If your dog suddenly dies or is vomiting and there is black dots in the vomit or any white powder next to the dog. Contact the police, they must remove the dog and vomit immediately, do not touch anything, it is dangerous.
• If your dog barks at night, - listen to the type of barking
• A Kiewiet makes one noise when seeing an owl but a different noise when seeing a human being.
• Simba Chips packet: it is folded neatly, If the face on packet is pointing towards your house. – Boss at home
• If face is pointing away from home. – Boss not at home
• If they see foot prints by your gate, they know somebody stays here.
• They phone your house number to find out if you are at home.
• They switch off your power at your (unlocked) mains box, if you go out to check your box, your home is open
For them to slip in or you are a soft target outside alone in the dark.
• Strange object: Arriving at home in your car, a strange object, dustbin, carton box, brick, tree branch, go past it,
if you get out to remove the object, you are a soft target.
• What Must You Do:
• Remove all the loose signs in front of your house, throw it away
• There has been cases where the “signs” were removed three times and the chap who had to plant the signs got into trouble
• Try and remove the painted signs, paint over them.
Report any signs that you think were planted there after you had removed them.
Regards,

Yogen Govender
Area Operations Manager – North”
Let’s be safe out there people!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - Doing Your Own PR

MARKETING 101 - Doing Your Own PR

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting

Once again, let me be really up front and tell you that I am not a Marketing guru.  Any articles that appear here on Marketing are from a totally logical point of view and are tips that have worked for me as a small business owner without a budget for Marketing.

As small business owners we all think that we have the greatest product and/or service in the world.  We are really passionate about what we do and we know, deep down inside of ourselves that ‘if only’ people knew about out product/service we would be so busy we would not know what to do with ourselves and we would have pots and pots and oodles and oodles of money just flying into out bank accounts.

Now here’s the kicker. It’s the ‘if only’ part.  You see the bottom line is that no matter how great our product is or how fabulous our service is, if no-one knows about it or how it will make a difference in their lives, no-one is going to buy it and well . . . .  our bank accounts will remain empty.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs can often be heard lamenting about the lack of . . . .  the lack of finance to put a really good marketing strategy together, the lack of finance to use a really good PR agency, the lack of . .  well I’m sure you get the picture.

Truth be told though, we are all capable of doing the whole thing ourselves and even, in some cases getting better results for ourselves than we might have gotten by hiring someone to do it for us.  You see good PR can be the greatest asset in a business but a bad publicist who fails to deliver can really do a great deal of harm.

So let’s have a look at some of the simple things that you can do as PR in your own company.

Take a good hard look at what happens in your company.  Remember, your company is unique.  What about your company is unique? What about your company is newsworthy? Do you have a monthly newsletter that goes out, do you have an anniversary of your business coming up or is there a special holiday coming up such as (but not limited to) ‘Workers Day’ or ‘Women’s Day’.  If you are not someone who looks at special promotions then perhaps it is time to start looking at something right now.  It can be linked to a public holiday or to an event or even to a group of people (e.g. all members of Business Engage will be eligible for a discount of 10% for the duration of the promotion).  You see the thing is that you can only pitch a concept to the media if you have something interesting to promote.

Make sure that you have some really great photographs of your store and/or product and/or yourself (if you are selling your service) because some of the smaller publications of newspapers and/or magazines may not have the financial means to have a photographer running around all over the country side to take photos and photos always, always, always can make a difference to whether your pitch is successful or not.  Be prepared.

In fact, it is quite a good idea to have a Business Profile and/or Personal Profile written up and ready for distribution.  It’s good to have your profile include whatever is being promoted together with a bit of the history of the business and/or yourself and of course it must include (but not be limited to) things like your contact details, address, web address etc., and it must be presented in a professional manner on your letterhead.  This is something that you can write yourself or if you are really not comfortable doing this hire a wordsmith on a ‘per word’ basis to do it for you.  Most freelance journalists will be able to assist you in this regard.

Once the profile is done, write a letter that is to the point that can be mailed or e-mailed to editors and/or producers with your profile attached, or better yet – see if you can get in to see them.

The letter must be as short and as simple as possible, but it must include all of the promotions that are on offer.

All the Editors and/or Producers want to know is ‘what’s going on’ and they are often looking for something different to report on.  Once they have this information they can make their own decision as to whether or not they want to cover.

Simple hey?  Simple and very effective!  So go on, I dare you – try doing something like this for yourself and see how well it turns out.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Holding Onto Anger

MOTIVATION – Holding Onto Anger

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Rene Sinnya says that “Holding onto anger is like grasping hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else – you are the one that gets burnt.”

Man oh Man – that one certainly got to me.  You see, I have held onto my anger for years.  The only person that got hurt was me.  My days were spent in a red haze and my nights were spent with nightmares, where I heard bones break as I smashed the nameless, faceless, unwilling participants of my horrific dreams.

So how did that hurt me – simply hitting someone in my dreams did not hurt me (or them for that matter), in any way?

Wrong, wrong, wrong again!  Apart from anything else, the level of rest that I got during my sleep was seriously limited!

Being in a rage ensured that I was always tense, muscles clenched and bunched in knots.  The knots went all the way up my spine and up through my brain stem and this resulting in the most excruciating headaches and migraines and the bottom line was that my perception was always that the ‘glass was half empty.”

What about the objects of my anger – how were they affected.  Well I don’t think that they even remembered that I existed!  How cruel is that?

It took a while – it took a really long while, but I eventually learnt – to let go of the anger.  “Just let it go” said Vanessa, my mentor.  “How” was my standard reply.

Here’s the thing, if those that you are angry with don’t really give a rats bum, then what’s the point?  If they don’t even  realize that you exist – then really, what is the point?

It give me great pleasure these days, to watch the expressions on the faces of Johannesburg taxi drivers (or in fact any drivers) who look at me in astonishment as I smile and wave at them in direct response to their giving me ‘the finger’ in rush hour traffic!

It always brings a smile to my face.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - Religious Discrimination - Part 2

HR 101 - Religious Discrimination – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC

As promised here is the story version of what happened at the CCMA.  Let’s bring out the protagonists.

Mike owns a very busy little gym in a quiet suburb and he has several body builder type staff working for him as personal trainers.  Patrons are not encouraged to work out on their own, but are allocated their own personal trainer(s) to assist them with getting the best out of a workout.  Patrons are then encouraged to make use of the gym’s masseurs, who are all properly trained in working with sports injuries.

As part of the branding, all staff are required to wear uniforms – the males are required to be clean shaven, with short hair (for hygiene purposes) and the females are required to wear their hair (specifically long hair) up in a ponytail and away from their faces.  When in the indoor heated pool, all staff are required to wear swimming caps, again for hygiene purposes and to minimize the amount of hair fallout.

Mike’s business is expanding with more and more sports patrons coming to his gym to receive expert training and he has had to increase the number of personal trainers and masseurs.  Mike’s letter of appointment specifies that the gym is open 7 days a week and the hair and hygiene requirements and he is careful to explain the reasons for the requirements at the interviews to ensure that both male and female staff are aware of the requirements and that they agree to them up front.

Everything goes along splendidly for several weeks and then he notices that several of the male staff are not shaving regularly.  Mike calls a staff meeting and reiterates the requirements and instructs all the male staff to come to work ‘clean shaven’ on a daily basis.  Mike further states that staff members who do not properly portray the image of the gym and the brand will be sent home to sort out what is required, at their own cost and without pay for the time wasted.

The following day, several of the staff again came to work unshaved and when Mike instructed them to go home and shave, they refused on religious grounds.  They explained to Mike that they belonged to the Nazarene religion and that this religion forbade them to shave or even trim their beards.  All of them were instructed to attend individual disciplinary hearings and all of them were dismissed.

Of course all of them went off to the CCMA and they claimed that their dismissal was automatically unfair as it was based on their religion.

Mike stood his ground and stated that:-
• Apart from the fact that beards made personal trainers and masseurs look dirty and untidy, all of these employees had been briefed on the requirements of being clean shaven as this was a hygiene requirement as well as part of the branding and therefore image of the company.
• All of the employees had arrived for the interview, clean shaven, they had signed their letters of appointment, thereby contractually agreeing to be clean shaven and
• For the first couple of week’s  they had all come to work clean shaven, with no problem at all.
• At no time, until they all refused to shave, had any of them advised Mike that they were of a religion that forbade them being ‘clean shaven’.  Clearly Mike was perplexed by this development.

The Court decided in Mike’s favour based on the following facts:
• There were several issues with this particular religion that were forbidden, yet the staff had transgressed on all of them, such as but not limited to: - the employees worked on a Sunday (and had never refused to do so) despite the fact that they were forbidden to do so in terms of their faith.
• The staff had arrived for their interviews clean shaven and had remained that way for several weeks despite the fact that they were forbidden to do so in terms of their faith.  These two issues indicated that the church was ‘flexible’ in the application of these rules.
• The staff could not show that they would have to ‘suffer a harsh penance’ for breaching the rule of not shaving.
• It was evident that these employees were selective in their choice of which religious laws and rules they would follow and which they wouldn’t.
• The fact that Mike was very consistent in applying the rules of ‘clean shaven’ male faces etc evidenced that these staff members had not been singled out on the basis of their religion, but rather on their non-adherence to laid down company procedures that had been previously and meticulously followed, by these very same employees.
• Grooming and hygiene was an important and integral factor in the running of a private gym.

Be warned though, just because Mike won this case , doesn’t mean that employers will always win cases based on ‘unfair discrimination’ relating to religion and beliefs – each case should be looked at in terms of its own merits and it is advisable to employ the services of a HR/IR (human resources/industrial relations) expert when in doubt.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Early Warning - The Stolen GPS

EARLY WARNING - The Stolen GPS

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting.

I received this story from my friend and colleague Toni Guerrero, who writes:

“A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game.  Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans.  Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.

When the victims got home, they found their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.

The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.  They then used that garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house.  The thieves knew that the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house.  It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.

Something to consider if you have a GPS – don’t put your home address in it.  Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so that you can still find your way home if you need to, but no-one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.”

Sounds like sound advice to me.  One of the things that I have realized during my time on this planet is the fact that everything good thing that comes into our lives has a ‘dark side’ and people who are that way inclined will always find a way to use that to their own advantage.  This is just one example of that.

So take care, beware, be aware and stay safe.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - Personal Branding - Changing Your Mind Set

MARKETING 101 - Personal Branding – Changing Your Mind Set

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

Like most things in life, there is branding and Branding and then there is BRANDING!

There is branding that belongs to a product such as Coca-Cola or Nissan and then there is personal branding that belongs to an individual, like GiGi (and the rest of the celebs) that we are currently viewing on Survivor or Edith Venter, our well known South African socialite.  Then of course there are those who not only have a personal brand but also a business brand.  Here GiGi carries dual branding because of her business, the club called Lollipop Lounge, which is situated in Randburg.

Just like businesses change and rebrand themselves, and the two that popped into my mind almost immediately, are Pick ‘n Pay and  Castle Larger (neither of them have been in the very recent past, but they have both been rebranded at some point).  Both companies changed their branding, their logo’s, their look and with it upgraded their image to something similar but also quite different to what it was before.  The new look seemed more modern but make no mistake, it cost them millions!

So cost aside, why would an individual ‘re-brand’ themselves – I mean at the end of the day, you are still ‘you’ – or are you?

Some individuals need to change their brands because they have moved on from what they used to do or because they were associated with another brand and the relationship has gone sour or a marriage that has not survived, whatever the reason, understand it is going to be a long, painful and probably very costly exercise.

Here’s the thing – when you started out branding yourself, you did it one step at a time, one person at a time.  You did an incredible job of letting the world know who you are and what it is that you do.  You told everyone who would listen (and even some who didn’t) all about your passion.  You got yourself interviewed on TV and radio and wrote articles that were published in magazines and newspapers.  You got yourself photographed with as many famous people as you could get close to. You wrote blogs and had an opinion on every subject under the sun.  You interacted on Facebook and told the world about your accomplishments and you ‘Twittered and Tweeted’.  Friends, family and colleagues were carefully instructed on what to say about what it is that you do and anyone who got your title wrong or made the slightest mistake about what you do, were gently corrected.

You created an all powerful brand . . .  that is you.

Now, due to whatever circumstance that has occurred in your life, that brand has to change – but remember, for years you have been telling the world that you are . . well “You” and now you want to tell them that you are no longer the ‘old you’, but a ‘new, improved you’.  Remember though, that people (no matter how ‘open minded’ they say they are) are basically creatures of habit and just because you have had a mind set change or undergone a personality change, their perception of you will in all probability, remain with the ‘old you’.  So don’t be expecting them to change their mindset or perception over night.

Make sure that you understand the process that you are about to undertake when rebranding yourself – it’s not a ‘quick fix’ kind of process, but rather one that is very long term and just like you branded yourself the first time, one step at a time, one person at a time – so to will the journey be for rebranding yourself (although in truth it will probably be a little faster, since at the end of the day – you are still . . .  well ‘You’).

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Computer Shortcuts - Part 2

BUSINESS TIPS – Computer Shortcuts – Part 2


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

What a fabulously positive response I got last week.  Seems I am not the only one who doesn’t know all the shortcuts and tips.  Here are the next lot.

Next Up – Word Shortcut Keys
Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + N Open new blank document
Ctrl + O Open options
Ctrl + P Open to print window
Ctrl + F Open find box
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted section
Ctrl + K Insert Link
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + G Find and replace options
Ctrl + H Find and replace options
Ctrl + J Justify paragraph options
Ctrl + L Align selected text or line to the left
Ctrl + Q Align selected paragraph to the left
Ctrl + E Align selected text or line to the centre
Ctrl + R Align selected text or line to the right
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph
Ctrl + T Hanging Indent
Ctrl + D Font options
Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font + 1
Ctrl + ] Increase selected font + 1
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease selected font – 1
Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font – 1
Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters
Ctrl + <- class="Apple-tab-span" span="" style="white-space: pre;">
Move one word to the leftCtrl + -> Move one word to the right
Ctrl + (arrow up) Move to beginning of the line or paragraph
Ctrl + (arrow down) Move to the end of the paragraph
Ctrl +  Del Delete word to right of cursor
Ctrl + Backspace Delete word to the left of cursor
Ctrl + End Move cursor to the end of document
Ctrl + Home Move cursor to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + Spacebar Reset highlighted text to default font
Ctrl + 1 Single space lines
Ctrl + 2 Double space lines
Ctrl + 5 1.5 space lines
Ctrl + Alt + 1 Change text to heading 1
Ctrl + Alt + 2 Change text to heading 2
Ctrl + Alt + 3 Change text to heading 3
F1 Open help
Shift + F3 Change case of selected text
Shift + Insert Paste
F4 Repeat last action performed (Word 2000+)
F7 Spell check selected text and/or document
Shift + F7 Activate the thesaurus
F12 Save as
Ctrl + S Save
Shift + F12 Save
Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date
Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time
Ctrl + W Close the document

Again I knew one or two of these, but certainly not the majority and now of course I will also have to irritate the heck out of my IT guy by asking all the ‘what does . . . . . mean?”.

More next week.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Getting Past the Fear of Failure

MOTIVATION –  Getting Past the Fear of Failure

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

This is a topic that I have covered before, however that said, it is something that has really come to the forefront in my life lately.  The other fear that I seem to constantly battle with is the fear of success.

Let’s look at this in a logical and unemotional manner.

Firstly – the fear of failure is a very normal emotion.  I promise you, you are not alone.  Everyone has, at some time or another had this fear.  It’s how you deal with it that is important.

One of the ways to deal with the fear of failure, is to set yourself reasonable and effective goals.  Remember though that you need to keep your goals as bite sized chunks, so that they are easily attainable.

Here’s the thing – “We can only have one thought at a time” says Robin S. Sharma – the trick is to have the right thought.

I am currently reading “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” by Robin S Sharma and some of the advice that I have seen there, not only resonated with me – it blew me out of the water.  You see the whole book, (and I haven’t finished reading it yet) is around the fact that our minds control our thoughts and we should control our minds.  Our thoughts actually bring about our fears or failures or indeed, our successes and pretty much anything that we wish to achieve.

In this wonderful story the Sage (or teacher) says that even one negative thought is poisonous to us as individuals and that we, by controlling our minds and our thoughts’  can change these ‘negative’ thoughts into ‘positive’ thoughts that will serve us.  The reader is given exercises in visualization of the positive kind.  These exercises start at a few minutes a day and they progress from there.  There is also a section on ‘what to do’ when you have a negative thought.  It really is a wonderful book and one that I would really recommend to everyone.

Of course, like everything else in life, it is only in the repetitive actions of the individual, that the solution will take place – it’s not an instantaneous happening, but rather a gradual reformation, so don’t think that you can do the exercise once and then everything in your life is solved.  It won’t be, you have to repeat the exercise on a daily basis and you have to continue it for life.

Secondly, let’s have a look at the fear of success.  This is the one that bites me in the rear end on a regular basis.  I have spent all my life dreaming about my goals and when they finally arrive, I go into a kind of reverse action and my brain is flooded with thoughts of “I can’t do this because . . . “ or “I don’t deserve . . . .”!  Actually yes I do deserve – I have put in the work, I have sweated the blood and the reward is mine to enjoy.

Again, it is about controlling your thoughts and turning positive thoughts into successful actions.  Remember that a thought without any action is just that – a thought.  The thought needs an action in order for anything to happen.

The bottom line of course, is that it is up to you – they are your thoughts and you are the only person that can control them.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - Religious Discrimination - Part 1

HR 101 - Religious Discrimination – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC

The law states, in Section 6 of the Employment  Equity Act (EEA) that there can be no unfair discrimination against an employee on arbitrary grounds.  One of these grounds of course, is religion and this means that as an employer you cannot discriminate against an employee or a prospective employee, on the grounds of their religion.

Some of the area’s around religion that you would need to take into consideration are (but not limited to):-

- You cannot turn down a job applicant based on the fact that they are no (or are for that matter) of the same religion as you are, irrespective of what that religion is
- You cannot decide that only the employees belonging to a specific religion will be allowed to go to church/temple/shul/mosque etc., during working hours. The requirements of all the different faiths must be taken into account.
- You cannot insist that employees of a specific faith or religion must work on  public holidays

That said, this is not an exact science and although the statements made above are examples of the types of discrimination out there, there are instances where they may not be considered “unfair discrimination”.  Whether the discrimination is unfair or not will depend on various issues, such as (but not limited to) whether or it makes sense.  Now whether or not it makes sense or not will also be dependent on the requirements of the job.

Here are some examples:
If you owned a factory type business where there were machines operating and where stupid mistakes could lead to loss of limb or life, you could not stop religious emblems being worn underneath garments as this would not affect the way that they worked or put them in any kind of danger.  However, that said, if under the same conditions and circumstances you staff insisted on wearing these same emblems on necklaces around their necks, dangling out of their clothing, you could state that this put them at risk of injury to themselves and their peers and in this instance, of course you would be well within your rights to make that rule.  What you absolutely couldn’t do though is allow some of the staff to then wear necklaces and not others.  You have to be consistent in your decisions.

Some of the other examples that I have seen posted by Ivan Israelstam are rather evident in themselves and I must admit that I had a good chuckle to think that someone would even have considered them – some of these are “You could turn down a Jewish person for the position of Pope – that would not be considered unfair.  You could refuse to employ an atheist as a priest – that would be considered fair.”

Next time we will look at an actual CCMA case where the staff cried ‘foul’ and see what happened.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Early Warning - Stolen Identity

EARLY WARNING - Stolen Identity.

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting

Imagine trying to prove who you are, when your identity has been stolen by someone else.

Ok let’s put it into perspective.  You have a bank account and in that bank account you have several hundreds of thousands of rands.  The bank has decided that they have to ‘freeze’ your account because you are not ‘FICA’ compliant and now you have to prove who you are all over again.  Problem is though, someone has stolen your identity and the identity number that you have, have always had and should always have, now belongs to someone else, so the bank won’t allow you access to your funds, you cannot open a new bank account – in fact your drivers license is also affected and you cannot get a new passport either.  Gives everything a completely different slant doesn’t it?

A recent report in the newspaper tells of a disabled woman who is living on handouts because her identity has been stolen and she cannot access the disability grant that she is entitled to because of this.

In this instance, this poor woman, has no income and because of her disability is not able to work to provide herself with an income and whilst she is destitute, hungry and cold, someone else is cashing in on her grants.  The authorities appear to know all about it, but have done nothing – a case of fraud has been opened, but nothing has happened and she in the meantime has lost her right to a dignified life.

So here’s the thing, don’t give your identity number to just anyone, in fact don’t give out any of your details to just anyone.  If you call a bank or somewhere where they need to identify who you are, then that is fine – you have made the call to the relevant institution – but if someone calls you, telling you that they are from the bank or the insurance institution or MTN or Vodacom or Cell C or whoever, you are not obliged to give them any information at all – not over the phone and not when you have not made the call.

Never, ever give your pin number out to anyone – not even a bank official, if you are having a problem give them everything that they need until it is time to enter the pin number – this you must do whilst they have their backs turned to you.

Never ever give anyone your credit card and/or ID details on line unless it is a secure site.  A secure site will always have a little ‘lock’ in the corner.  The little lock in the corner is put there by the credit card merchant only.

Take care of your identity and report any thing that may be suspicious.  All of the banks have a ‘fraud division’.  Always get a reference number when making a complaint so that you can follow it up.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - The E-Mail Way - Part 3

MARKETING 101 - The E-mail Way – Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC.

Following on from last week –

I often sit in the traffic, waiting for the robot to change, watching the guys on the side of the road or in between the cars trying to hand out their pamphlets to the drivers and passengers of the impatiently waiting populace.  What a thankless task that is and very clearly, one that I would not enjoy doing at all.

Not only is that a really thankless task, but it is also one that is almost impossible to measure.  Many of the pamphlets get dumped  before they are even handed out.  Most business individuals will tell you that if you can’t measure it, you cannot manage it and therefore it is pretty much not much use.

Well, using e-mail marketing, it is really easy to track who responds and in doing so you will also be able to measure the success of your e-mail marketing. Actually if the truth be told you can actually see how many of the mails are delivered and even how many were opened and read – how cool is that!

Using e-mails and the internet effectively as well as it being so cost effective, makes e-mail marketing good business sense.  It is a great way to reach a small number of people or even a large number of people quickly, and with a minimum of fuss.  It saves time and yet is also a really effective way to keep in contact with your colleagues and even friends and family.

Clearly it is time for me to follow my own advice and start marketing myself using e-mail marketing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Computer Shortcuts - Part 1

BUSINESS TIPS – Computer Shortcuts – Part 1


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC

Wow! Wow! And Wow again!  By now you all know that I am a bit of a technophobe, mainly because I don’t know and/or understand the technical terms and having grown up using a typewriter (and yes I learnt on one of those old fashioned ones that you had to use the leaver to turn up a line), the shortcuts that we have on a computer up to now have just been more than I could cope with.  Hell I only learnt how to cut and paste a year after I started my business – before that I just typed everything out every time (just as well I am pretty fast and accurate with typing on a keyboard hey!)

Anyway, I found this whole thingymabobby that gives lists and lists of shortcuts so I will be sharing this with you over the next couple of weeks.  Please note though that this does not mean that I understand all of the jargon – hopefully you guys and gals understand more than I do.

First up – Basic Shortcut Keys
Alt + F File menu options in current program
Alt + E Edit options in current program
F1 Universal help (for all programs)
Ctrl + A Select all text
Ctrl + X Cut Selected Item
Shift + Delete Cut Selected Item
Ctrl + C Copy selected item
Ctrl + Ins Copy selected item
Ctrl + V Paste
Shift + Ins Paste
Home Go to beginning of current line
Ctrl + Home Go to beginning of document
End Go to end of current line
Ctrl + End Go to end of document
Shift + Home Highlight from current position to beginning of line
Shift + End Highlight from current position to end of line
Control +  <- arrow="" class="Apple-tab-span" left="" pointing="" span="" style="white-space: pre;">
Move one word to the left at a timeControl + -> (arrow pointing right Move one word to the right at a time

Now that wasn’t so bad – I must admit that although I did know some of these – many I didn’t.

Then -  Microsoft “Windows” Shortcut Keys

Alt + Tab Switch between open applications
Alt + Shift + Tab Switch backwards between open applications
Alt + Print + Screen Create screen shot for current program
Ctrl + Alt + Delete Reboot/Windows Task Manager
Ctrl + Esc Bring up Start Menu
Alt + Esc Switch between applications on taskbar
F2 Rename selected icon
F3 Start find from Desktop
F4 Open the drive selection when browsing
F5 Refresh contents
Alt + F4 Close current open program
Ctrl + F4 Close window in program
Ctrl + plus key Automatically adjust widths of all columns in Window Explorer
Alt + Enter Open properties window of selected icon or program
Shift + F10 Simulate right-click on selected item
Shift + Del Delete programs/files permanently
Holding Shift During Boot-up Boot safe mode or bypass system files
Holding Shift During Boot-up When putting in an audio CD, will prevent CD player from playing.

Again I knew one or two of these, but certainly not the majority and now of course I will also have to irritate the heck out of my IT guy by asking all the ‘what does . . . . . mean?”.

More next week

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Failure and the Opportunity

MOTIVATION – Failure & the Opportunity

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Hands up who loves to succeed?  I can see everybody’s hand shoot up.  Soooo – hands up who loves to fail?  Go on, who loves to fail?  Nope, not a hand in sight.  Yet think about this for a moment – we all know the Oscars are what actresses and actors strive to win for their performances in the movies and yet the other day I saw Sandra Bullock graciously accept a Razzie award (for the worst performance) for her acting in a film (ironically she also got the Oscar for the same role in the same movie – but then the Americans have always confused me anyway).

As far as I know, the movies (and perhaps Idols) are the only place where participants are given the ‘worst’ award.  Why is this do you think?  Well, I think it is because as children we are taught to succeed and in order to succeed we cannot and must not fail.  Well the word ‘fail’ is also a four letter word and in some households, being competitive is a way of life.  Sadly many children grow up thinking that if they don’t succeed then they have failed and as I am sure you can imagine, this produces its’ own share of nightmares.

What about if we look at so called ‘failure’ from a different perspective?  What about if we look at failure as an opportunity, not only to succeed in the future, but also as a ‘learning curve’?

Look, I’m not talking about looking at all types of failure as a good thing.  Let’s be reasonable here – imagine if you will, you lying on the operating table, about to undergo a heart transplant, and the surgeon walks in and says “oh by the way, I am not a qualified surgeon, I failed all of my exams, but I am using this opportunity of cutting into you, as a learning curve and perhaps it will allow me to pick up my grades and qualify!”  That’s just not good at all!  No I’m talking about the everyday things that we fail at and then beat ourselves up about and yes, I’m even talking about failure of businesses or business ideas.  Where those particular failures can be turned around and become huge successes.  I’m talking about the way we look at things and how we react to what it is that we have looked at.

For many of us growing up, failure was not a word in our dictionaries, or in our vocabularies and it was certainly not something that we even considered.  Yet it happened on a daily basis.  I remember being about 8 years old or so, at boarding school and being picked for a team the first time – we were playing rounders during the 10am midmorning break.  Now I have a problem judging distances, so trying to hit a tennis ball with a bat no thicker than a cricket stump, was a huge challenge.  Needless to say I was never picked, voluntarily, again.  This really suited me as it was not a game that I enjoyed and I was much happier sitting high up on a branch of my favorite tree, reading my book.  Children, being who they are though, thought that this was absolutely terrible and they teased me relentlessly about the absence of my ‘batting’ skills.  Right through junior school I was left out of the line up of any type of game that involved either a ball or a bat and I was repeatedly told how ‘useless’ I was, by kids and teachers alike.  How crazy is that and how absolutely damaging it could have been for me.  Fortunately, being an introvert and a loner, I was not really too interested in being part of the ‘gang’ and went about my business.  Here’s the thing though – I may not have been very good at hitting a ball with a bat, but my senior school days brought out a different side of me and I did well enough on the track in high jump and long jump.  I never won anything mind you, but that also never bothered me because for me it was about the enjoyment of the sport not in the winning.

So how about if we looked for the opportunities in the failure?  Things like if ‘we did this in a different way’ or even ‘clearly this is not our thing in life – let’s look at what else is available’?  What about if we looked at failure as an opportunity to ‘learn’ something new, or learn about ourselves or indeed, learn more about the product and/or service that we offer?  What if in that failure and in the ‘learning’ we improved upon what it was that we had failed at? What if in that ‘learning’ we discovered something even better and grander and we became even more successful than we ever could have been with what we failed at – would we then still be considered’ failures’?

I don’t know!  What I do know though, is that we are often so hard on ourselves that the damage that we do to ourselves is often irreparable.  So instead beating up on ourselves, let’s look at the opportunities that our so called failures have brought and rather get on with the living of life.

Learn the lesson by all means, but then let it go and live!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit - Part 3

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit – Part 3

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour Requirements & Best Practices

So what happens if you have a huge project on the go and you need 20 or more people in order to meet the requirements of that particular project.

Ok, don’t worry – there is a solution to this. It will mean getting pre-approval from the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) as well as the Department of Labour and of course Home Affairs.  As soon as the Company in question has identified and appointed the individual workers, Home Affairs issues the authorization certificates and the foreigners are then able to arrive in South Africa and start working immediately.  Obviously the usual documentation still needs to be correctly submitted.
Students, interns and the like, who are under 25 and who are involved in exchange programs that are initiated by Government departments and/or schools or universities would need to apply for an exchange permit.  Be advised however that exchange permits are only valid for one year and once they have expired, the student/intern must leave the country.  Once they have left the country they would only be eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit after two years.
South Africa welcomes foreign investment and subsequently, those who invest here and are granted business permits qualify to work in and manage their businesses without any special permission requirements.
Here’s the thing though, just because you don’t know what the requirements are or what is allowed and very definitely isn’t – doesn’t mean that you can’t make it happen and I mean that in the legal sense of the word.
What it does mean though, is that you would have to do the research and ask the questions and find out what would be the best way to go about making what you want to happen, happen.

This brings to conclusion the article on work permit requirements.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - The E-Mail Way - Part 2

MARKETING 101 - The E-mail Way – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC.

Following on from last week –

One of the things that I have learnt from managing my database and Networking is that people have to constantly be reminded about you.  Who you are, and what it is that you do.

In view of this it is extremely important to have your branding on everything that you do.  Every mail that you send out should be properly branded and by using e-mail marketing, something (even if it is just a short newsletter of sorts) should go out on a regular basis, in order to build up and or maintain your data base.

Small businesses do not have the kind of cash flow that supports the big name brands such as Coca-Cola®, who spend millions on ad campaigns on TV, in the newspapers, in magazines and on billboards (to name but a few), to get their name embedded in the minds of Joe Public.  So how do we do it?

Again one of the most cost effective ways to run an ad campaign would be through the use of e-mails.  This would have a similar impact at a fraction of the cost.

E-mail also reaches the entire world which means that your product/service would also reach friends, family and customers where-ever they are in the world.  E-mail marketing knows no boundaries.

We are living in a technological age and this also means that most of what we do can be automated and this includes the use of E-mails for marketing.  There are systems available that add new customers or friends or e-mail addresses to your data base.  You don’t actually have to physically add all the addresses in yourself, this can be automated making the task even more simple and even more cost effective – how cool is that?  In fact, if the truth be told, there are even systems that will send follow up mails and prompt clients and prospective client to respond and even update their own information on your database as well as unsubscribe.  Now that’s technology for you!

Next week we will continue with some more advantages of e-mail marketing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Check If You're Black Listed

BUSINESS TIPS - Check if You Are Blacklisted

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC.

We’ve all heard about the bad economy and how things are going to get worse before they get better.  We’ve all heard about how this is a global recession and how everyone is going to feel the pinch.  Well on a personal level, I am not sure that I actually ‘buy into’ that, however that is another subject for another day.

The reality of what is happening today is people are losing their jobs.  People are feeling the ‘credit crunch’ and feeling a bit squeezed and people are being blacklisted despite what we are told about the NCA (National Credit Act) and the various rules and regulations.

The Credit Information Ombudsman has, to assist consumers, introduced the “Back to Basics” project.

According to Caroline Buthelezi, who is an Ombudsman spokesperson, “going back to basics was not just budgeting to survive the current financial turmoil, but emphasizing the importance of laying a solid foundation for the future.”

Not knowing where you are financially, both in you personal and business capacity, can have seriously detrimental consequences.

Buthelezi also said “Checking and know what goes on with your credit profile is part of the building blocks for the foundation.”

That said, it makes perfect sense to check your credit profiles at least once a year and to assist consumers in taking control of their credit history, the National Credit Act has decided that consumers are entitled to one free credit report a year.  If consumers choose to have more than one, a maximum of R20.00 may be charged.  How great is that?

As much as many of us would love to be able to save and then by everything we need for cash, the reality is that there will be times when we absolutely have to purchase items on credit and when we need the credit, our credit record will have to be a healthy one.

Please note that consumers who are battling to get out of debt can make use of Debt Counselors, who will assist them.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Failure

MOTIVATION –  FAILURE


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Today’s quote comes from Gita Bellin, who says “People may fail many times, but they become failures only when they begin to blame someone else.  Experience is determined be yourself – not the circumstances of your life.”

This for me, is like a kick up the backside! How many times do we not only say the words, but we also hear them – “it wasn’t my fault! It was because . . . .”

Well clearly it was my fault!

You see, I set it up that way and until I take responsibility for my own actions, I will never be able to correct the situation and move forward.

Let me give you an example.  I know a lady, let’s call her Jane who is happily married.  She has been married to the same man for the last 20 plus years and has had 4 children by this man.  She owns her own business and he works in the hospitality industry.  Jane is a bit of a control freak – actually she is a hell of a control freak!

When her and her husband first got married (let’s call him John), she set down the ground rules.  She would control the finances, the household and everything that went with that. John is a pretty easy going guy and hell if she wanted the responsibility who was he to deny her.

So every month John’s salary got paid into the joint account and Jane paid all the bills – no problem.  Then the kids arrived, one by one.  Jane managed the children, the household and the finances.  Still no problem.

Then some time down the line the children became extremely difficult – school became a huge problem and both the household and Jane’s business began to suffer.  The children were all diagnosed with ADD and they were also all dyslexic.  Jane really started to take strain.

Instead of Jane asking John for help, she started to pick arguments and fights. She started to nag and complain about everything in general and nothing in particular.  The fights extended to the bedroom, where she now started denying John sex as a sort of a punishment.  John had no clue what was going on so he did what he always did when there was strife in the home – he went to work, double shifts and on some occasions even triple shifts!

Clearly this situation could not continue and Jane ended up having an epileptic fit.

Jane blamed John for her health, the state of their marriage, the ADD and dyslexia that the children had and I guess even the weather!

Was John to blame?  I personally don’t think so.  John was doing what he had always done and in my opinion the only thing that he could be blamed for was ‘not noticing’ what was going on around him and then doing something about it!

It was at this point that she and John actually sat down and had a discussion about how to save their marriage, how Jane had to regulate what she did and the amount of stress that she could cope with and John committed to helping out at home more.

Jane had set her life up the way she wanted it to run and when the wheels came off, instead of recognizing that it was exactly as she wanted it, she blamed every thing on everybody else.  Jane felt she had failed because John had not “been there” for her or ‘helped’ her in any way.

The moment that she was able to understand that she was the one who was responsible for the mess and that she needed to ask for assistance instead of just moaning and groaning and picking fights, they were able to deal with the problem as a unit.

Don’t get me wrong, the problem has not gone away – the children still all have ADD and dyslexia, but now both Jane and John pick up the strain and deal with it together supporting each other and backing each other.

Jane now feels that she has more control over her own life and John feels like he is more involved with his wife, his children and his family.

It’s like that old saying “be careful what you wish for . . .” Getting what you wish for or how you set something up, carries a responsibility and with that comes accountability.

Part of that responsibility means having to ‘step up to the plate’!  Understanding that you have made a mistake and taking  ownership of the mistake and the problem and then doing something about it!

Own your mistake, learn from it, do something about it and then move on!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit - Part 2

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC - March 2011

Please note that this pertains specifically to South African Labour Relations

Following on from last time, let’s have a look at some of the other types of permits that are available out there.

There are also often instances where foreigners, who have rare skills are needed here in South Africa.  Sometimes these particular skills are not included on the ‘quota list’, usually because of their rarity.  More often than not these foreigners will also be granted the ‘general’ type work permit.  Again, these should be processed through a professional immigration practitioner as this will ensure that the proper procedures are followed and that all the required documentation is present and accounted for.

Individuals, such as (but not limited to) academics, who have published, or an internationally recognized motivational speaker or even a sports coach whose teams always does well, irrespective of which country they are coaching in, or what about a surgeon who has invented or perfected a particular medical process, these individuals would be recognised as people who have ‘exceptional skills’.  Before any of these individuals get the required permit, they will have to provide Home Affairs with documentary evidence to validate their particular achievements.

One of the easiest permits to get issued are the intra-company permits.  These are used mainly by multinationals and they are used specifically to bring in staff that hold key management and/or skills that are specific to that particular company.  These permits are usually issued for a two year period.  Understand though that a tea lady or a driver or a cleaning person etc., would not be considered ‘key’ management personnel.

So what happens then if the person who has an ‘intra-company’ permit (that has been issued for two years), falls in love with South Africa and wants to stay here.  Well that is not typically a problem provided that the foreigner becomes a part of the local (or South African leg) of the multinational company.  In this instance the intra-company permit can be changed to another type of permit before it expires.  If it expires, however, that is a whole different ball game.  Once the permit expires the foreign individual must leave the country and the permit would have to be reapplied for.

Be careful here though, because although the ‘work’ permit is valid the permanent residence permit is not guaranteed and there are instances where this has had a negative impact on the multinational as they have lost key personnel, who are critical to the local leg of the multinational.  Be careful about this as it could seriously hamper your ability to trade effectively.

There are also instances where corporate permits are issued for companies who know, in advance, that they are going to need large numbers of foreign workers with a specific work skill that is not readily available in South Africa, as was the case with the French nationals who were brought out to South Africa specifically to build the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.  Although they were artisans, their specific skill set was for the construction of Nuclear Power Stations which differed considerably to those of the normal construction artisan.

Next time we will look at the final lot of permits that are issued to foreigners.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Early Warning - Tow Truckers "Jam" Cellphones at Accidents

EARLY WARNING - Tow Truckers ‘jam’ Cellphones at accidents.

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting March 2009.

This is one of the most disgusting stories that I have found the need to tell! A recent newspaper article penned by Natasha Joseph has revealed that apparently some of the tow truck drivers in Cape Town are using some sort of electronic device that jams the signal to and from a cellphone. Apparently they are doing this to make sure that people who have been involved in accidents cannot phone alternative tow truck drivers.

Now here is my opinion – that, in itself is not the end of the world although I am a firm believer in free enterprise and all that that goes with. The problem however is that this typically means that the person involved in the accident or even witnesses or passengers or passers by also cannot contact an ambulance or the police or family or friends for assistance.

How terrible is that? I mean what if someone actually dies as a direct result of no-one being able to summon assistance? Who then becomes responsible? How would you feel if you found out that your loved one passed away because nobody could dial out to get hold of help, because someone jammed the signal? I mean, what kind of people do this? Do people actually have nothing better to do than to think up things like this? Clearly making money is more important than a person’s life!

You do understand of course, that if this is happening in Cape Town, chances are that it is also happening in Gauteng and probably Durban and well . . . . anywhere where there are tow truck drivers.

Apparently though – there is a way around it – if you move some 30 meters or so from where you are trying to call, and try again, chances are that you might then be able to make the call – provided of course that they then don’t get electronic devices with a longer range.

Satra (South African Towing & Recovery Association), chair Andre Van Der Merwe ‘has urged anyone who has had this problem at an accident site to report this to Icasa’, writes Natasha.

Quite frankly, I wouldn’t just report them, I would lay a charge of sorts against them as well.

Stories like this make me despair of the human race!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Marketing 101 - The E-Mail Way - Part 1

MARKETING 101 - The E-Mail Way – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting August 2009.

On a personal level, I am often quite resentful of e-mail marketing – probably as much as I used to resent what we used to call ‘junk mail’, remember how it used to fill our letter boxes to overflowing.

It must work though, as it didn’t seem to stop the hundred and thousands of companies that had their leaflets shoved into literally millions of letter boxes throughout the country.  Nor does it seem to stop the thousands of people throughout the world who market their wares both legal or not, by means of internet and e-mail marketing.

Let’s have a look at some of the advantages that are directly attributed to e-mail marketing.

The reality of the situation is that e-mail is one of the most useful and widely used tools known to the world today.  Most people have access to email either at home or at work (if not both).  It is easy to use and relatively inexpensive.  Many of us get some sort of e-mail marketing on a daily basis.

Most of us, in a business sense and particularly small businesses do not use e-mail effectively as a marketing tool, which is quite silly really because e-mail marketing is probably the easiest and most cost effective way in which to reach a large number of people/customers, in a short space of time and with very little effort.

In view of the fact that e-mail marketing can be used to promote the sale of products or services or in actual fact pretty much anything, e-mail marketing is the obvious way to go.

If we actually used e-mail marketing properly it would drive more customers into out stores or to the services that we deliver and seeing that most people log on to check their e-mails at least once a day, we can be sure that our messages reach their targets pretty quickly and efficiently.

Next week we will continue with some more advantages of e-mail marketing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Business Tips - Bookkeepers & Financial Year End - Part 2

BUSINESS TIPS – Bookkeepers & Financial Year End – Part 2

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – May 2011

I know that I continually harp on about getting the right bookkeeper/accountant in place – the reason for this is that having the wrong one can end up costing you an arm and a leg.

It is imperative that your bookkeeper/accountant advise you in advance of any changes that will affect you. Imagine the waste of money and resources if the Company owner only found out that the has to pay VAT monthly when he reaches the R35 million turnover per annum mark, 6 months after he has met that particular milestone?  The penalties and interest would be absolutely staggering!

The bookkeeper/accountant must also ensure that you are given monthly financial statements or management reports.  Here’s the thing though, if you are given reports and/or statements that you have no idea how to read, these reports/statements are actually not worth the paper that they are printed on!  So it is therefore incumbent upon the bookkeeper/accountant to make sure that you understand what it is that they are giving you.  There is no way that you can make an informed decision around the financial aspects of your business if you have no idea about what is going on.

In terms of the law, your Company is obliged to produce Annual Financial Statements.  This is to evidence to SARS (should they ask) what your financial status was during the course of the year and of course, so that your Company taxes can be correctly calculated. This must also be done timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant and they must be signed off correctly in terms of the law.

If, in terms of the law, your books must be audited, then it is the responsibility of the bookkeeper/accountant to assist the auditors with the auditing process and communicate and liaise with the auditors.

All of these issues should be done automatically and timeously by your bookkeeper/accountant, but that said you – the business owner remain accountable and responsible, so you need to manage your relationship with your bookkeeper/accountant to ensure that you are kept up to date.

As with most things in life, there are good bookkeeper/accountant’s and bad.  Make sure that whomever you choose is at the very least registered and properly qualified and remember that no matter how brilliant/qualified/professional they are – you are ultimately responsible, so ensure that you, at the very least, pick one that you can build a relationship with and not someone who is just a voice at the other end of the telephone and that you are not just another invoice that has to be raised every month.

Finally – understand that SARS will not accept “ignorance of the law” as a reason for you not doing or paying stuff.  Irrespective of whether or not you have a bookkeeper/accountant who did or didn’t do what needed to be done, it is your responsibility to ensure that things are done and you will be held accountable.

It’s your business at the end of the day and you need to keep your finger on the pulse.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Motivation - Everywhere & Nowhere

MOTIVATION – Everywhere & Nowhere

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – February 2010

Michael Korda says “If your position is everywhere, your momentum is zero.”

Hahaha – man this is priceless!  How many times have you heard the words “I am running round like a blue *&^%ed fly” or “Running around like a headless chicken”?  I would probably be quite wealthy by now if I got a rand for every time I have not only heard this, but said it myself.  How about, when some one asks “how are you doing?” or “how’s business?” and our standard reply (well mine is anyway) “Busy!”

Here’s the thing – ‘busy’ with what?  I am also one of those people who start the day, very early I might add, with the best intentions – I am going to do x, y and hopefully even z by the end of the day.  Yet when the end of the day arrives I haven’t stopped running around, I am pooped, worn out, bone weary and more often than not, x, y and z still haven’t been done!  So what is it that I have been doing?  Make no mistake, I am working – the admin gets done everyday, clients get called, articles get written, not only for the blog, but also for the newspaper and the Your Business magazine.  I am interviewed telephonically or end up on TV, when I thought it was a radio interview.  I have attended to the crisis of clients with unruly staff, met with potentially new clients, done the mentoring thing, done the committee work for Business Engage  (http://www.businessengage.co.za), done everything except what it is that I set out to do and although it’s only 07h00 in the morning here as I write this, I have already attended to two client calls and my x, y and z of today have already been pushed out.

The problem of course, is that x, y, and z are also going to make me money and even though I will be charging the clients that called this morning in a state of panic, the work that ‘their panic call’ generates is far less than what the x, y and z will generate – yet somehow they always seem to get pushed to the side to accommodate the rest.  What’s with that?

Make no mistake everything always does get done, I am very fastidious about my deliverables but the point is that I find it very difficult to ‘stick’ to my day planner and often it comes at a huge cost to myself, like working through the night to get done, or working over weekends when I should be grabbing a little time to rest for myself.  I have no problem with putting the plan in place or deciding upon the priorities for the day.  I have no problem with focusing on what needs to be done and I certainly do not have any problem with working – hard.  What I seem to have a problem with is saying “No” to clients who expect me to drop everything to accommodate them because they are having a crisis and therein lies my own particular challenge.

The result of all of this is of course, that I end up running around like a blue &^%ed fly or a headless chicken (depending on which video you like to see in your own head) and I don’t get what I have planned to get done, done.

So the challenge to myself today (and of course any of you who are experiencing the same issues that I am), is to stick to my plan for today and slot the ‘Crisis’ into the planner for tomorrow or even the next day.  After all, if the client only woke up to the problem as it is about to implode on them, it is really their problem and it should not be made mine or alternatively (and the thought has just occurred to me) that the ‘Crisis’ will be dealt with today – at an additional cost of course.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit - Part 1

HR 101 - Check the Work Permit – Part 1

By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC - January 2011

Please note that this pertains to South African Labour & Best Practice Requirements

We have probably all been in the position where we have hired a gardener or a domestic helper, who it turns out, is an illegal alien.

The problem is when we have foreigners working for us, who have the incorrect (or worse no) documentation or work permits.

The consequences to them (and you particularly if they bring a specific skill with them) can be quite serious.

Here in South Africa, there are a whole host of different types of work permits – some of these are (but not limited to):
- Quota permits
- Intra Company permits
- General permits
- Exchange permits
- Exceptional skills permits
- Business permits
- Retired persons work permits

Even some of the ‘visitors’ permits allow foreigners to work here for a while.  The challenge of course, is to ensure that they have the correct permit.

In my experience, most foreigners who come to South Africa, get their permits by getting a written job offer first and believe me this is not a new thing – when I came to South Africa in 1977, this is exactly how I got my work permit – I got a written job offer and based on that, my work permit and resident’s permit was granted.  This is a general work permit and the prospective employer needs to evidence that they have tried unsuccessfully to employ a South African with the necessary skills.  This is usually done by advertising nationally.

A ‘quota’ work permit is one that is available for foreigners, whose work skills fall into a particular category.  This category is determined by whatever skill shortage is currently prevalent in the country at that particular time – so last year it may have been engineers and this year it may be accountants (just to give an example).  The categories that are nominated are chosen by the Minister of Home Affairs who also decides on the number of quota permits that will be issued, and to which category they will be issued.  Here’s the thing though – only about 20% of the quota permits are ever actually filled as Home Affairs does not actually market and recruit for these particular skills and/or requirements outside of South Africa (makes me wonder what the point then is actually).  It is also very difficult for foreigners, who are based outside of our borders, to apply and go through the application process themselves.

In many, if not most of these cases, it would be a good idea not to even try and process these applications yourselves, but to rather get the services of the right Professional Immigration Practitioner.

Next time, we will have a look at some of the other types of permits in a little more detail.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Early Warning - Hi-Jacking - Number Plates

EARLY WARNING - Hi Jacking – Number plates

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting  March 2010.

Whilst I understand that writing these Early Warning articles is a good thing to hopefully prevent someone from getting hurt/scammed/conned etc., I must confess that I actually hate writing them.  It feels like such a negative issue in a world where I am trying to create positive affirmations.

I have received this communication in an e-mail from an Insurance Broker.

“There is a new number plate hi-jacking trend brewing around.  These hi- jackers will stalk you to a parking lot or mall, after parking your vehicle, they remove your number plate and wait for you to drive off.

They then follow you and overtake you displaying your number plate at their window as if you had lost it and want to give it back to you.

Shocked that your number plate has fallen off your car, you bring your vehicle to a halt to get it from them.

This is all they want you to do and by the time you realize what has happened it is too late, your cars was hi-jacked or could have been raped/killed.

Please don’t stop for anything, a number plate is valueless compared to your life.

Think about what is happening before you react to it.

Criminals are clever and cunning but are ruthless in getting what they want . . . “

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za

Customer Service - The Customer is Always Right

CUSTOMER SERVICE 101 - The Customer is always right

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

We’ve all heard the phrase “The customer is always right”.  The phrase was apparently first coined in 1909 by the founder of Selridge’s Department Store in London.  It was used to instil a greater sense of awareness amongst the employees, of their attitude towards customers and how they interacted with them.  It is used today, rightly or wrongly, by business to indicate or give the impression of providing good service.

In many businesses today, particularly where there are call centres in place, this has become merely lip service.  Nowadays though, with the internet, e-mails and blogs, the networks and people who are linked with working networks, when a client chooses to complain, very few companies can afford not to listen.  With the introduction of industry ombudsmen there are even more complaint channels available to people who wish to voice their complaints.

This makes consumer power bigger and better than it has ever been.  The question of course is do we, as consumers, complain enough, or do we just put up with bad service, poor quality and indifferent sales people for the sake of a quiet life?

If a client takes the time and/or trouble to voice a complaint it should be seen as an opportunity, by the business, to right a wrong, or as a second chance.  The fact is that customers who complain give business the opportunity to improve their service and thereby retain the patronage of their clientele.

Ironically, the reality of the situation is that very few of us take the time and trouble to complain or express our dissatisfaction directly to a company usually because the perception is that it is not really worth the effort.  Many South Africans just tolerate bad service.  What we usually do is ‘vote with our feet’ and of course our voices, when we tell all of our friends, family and colleagues or in fact anyone who will listen about the bad experience that we had.  This does not help the situation at all, as we have not dealt with the root of the problem.

Human nature being what it is though, means that we usually complain a lot more that we praise.  So when we moan and groan quite liberally to all and sundry we very rarely spread the news when service or quality is exceptional.  The result of this of course that we as consumers have the ability and potential to make or break a small business.

Clearly it is of the utmost importance to deal with customer complaints effectively and efficiently.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za