Workshop Invitation: How To Write A Business Plan – 14 February 2011
Gaster Sharpley, author of “My Small Business” writes “Planning is critical to the success of a business, no matter how small or big the business is. Most Entrepreneurs only put a plan in place when they need to borrow money, however, even a cash based business should plan in order to stimulate and influence growth.”
Writing a successful business plan is the first stepping stone to achieving your goals as a business owner. This task can seem daunting, especially if you are not equipped with the correct knowledge.
Sisibukula in conjunction with the S A German Chamber and Women in Finance is proud to host a workshop entitled “How to write Business Plan” facilitated by Kevin Foot.
About Kevin Foot
With many years of experience in corporate management and International Trade, Kevin Foot has the insight into the workings of a business that will give your business plan the edge it needs to be successful. As an Associate of the Institute for Independent Business (www.iib.ws) and a registered business broker for Aldes business brokers (www.aldes.co.za) he aims to add value and a wider range of skills and knowledge to SMME’s.
This thorough course will take you through each step of the business plan covering each topic extensively.
Mission and strategies
Sales, marketing and finances
Product and service description
Target Market Profiles, Customers and users
Reviewing the competition
Marketing strategies, plan, projections
Technology and R&D
Operational plans including capital expenditure projections
Funding
Implementation
Join Sisibukula at this essential day long workshop:
Date: Monday 14th February
Venue: Training Room
S A German Chamber
47 Oxford Road
Forest Town
Johannesburg
Price: R950 per delegate includes notes, refreshments, lunch (VAT Incl)
RSVP: no later than Thursday 10th February 2011. Space is limited therefore bookings will be accepted on a first come first serve basis.
For Booking Please Contact:
SA German Chamber delegates, please contact Shaan Padayachy on 011 486 2775 or spadayachy@germanchamber.co.za.
Women In Finance delegates, please contact Colleen Larsen on 084 353 9865 or colleen@womeninfinance.co.za
Everyone else please contact Nikki Viljoen on 083 702 8849 or nikki@sisibukula.co.za
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Monday, February 07, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
BUSINESS TIPS - Managing Your Business - Part 3
BUSINESS TIPS – Managing Your Business – Part 3
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011
In my experience, one of the biggest challenges for SMME’s (Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises) is retaining clients. Now I am really not sure why this should be since the fact of the matter is that it is easier to sell to existing clients than it is to procure new ones. So what’s the deal? Perhaps it is because we don’t really know who and what a customer is!
The Wiki says that “A customer (also known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services.”
So how do we retain our customers? How do we ensure that we not only find new customers, but that we continue to sell our services and our products to current customers or even customers who we have not sold anything to in years?
Well there seems to be a whole host of different options and tips – some of these are (but not limited to):
- The personal touch. Here’s an example of both good and bad. I have been a client of Nedbank in my personal capacity for in excess of 25 years now, and in my business capacity for almost 8 years – quite frankly I bank with them through absolute habit, it certainly is not because of the service that they have given me over the years, but rather the perceived hassle of changing banks, debit orders etc. that keeps me with them. I have no idea who my ‘personal banker’ is, or if indeed I have one. I have been dealing with the Cresta branch for the last 20 odd years and sadly the only person who knows my name, when I walk in, is the security guard. In my opinion, the security guard should be doing their PR, he greets most people by name, always with a smile and a sunny disposition and the good that that does is soon smashed to pieces by the ineffectual, anal retentive service received by the branch staff. So make sure that you give your clients your absolute attention and use your personal touch as part of your branding and marketing.
- Assumption – I always say that perception and assumption are the two most dangerous words on the planet – and certainly what I am going to say now will bear that out. Just because your customers are not complaining, don’t assume that everything is peachy! Your perception of ‘everyone is happy because no-one is complaining’ is probably so far off the mark that it is scary. Many people don’t complain, they just vote with their feet or their wallets. Ask them if they are happy and if they aren’t do something about it!
- Expectations – all customers expect to receive good service, that is a reasonable expectation. Not only meeting that expectation, but exceeding it will bring them great delight and will go a long way to ensure that they become loyal customers. Remember though, do it once and the customer will expect even more the next time around, so don’t stop trying to do better.
- Customization – “One man’s food is another man’s poison”! Just because one client is crazy about your product or your service, doesn’t mean that everyone will be. Be prepared to ‘customize’ your product and/or service to meet the requirement of the client. In fact, make sure that what you are selling (service or product) is what the client wants, rather than what you think that the client may need.
Next time we will have a look at managing your working capital.
________________________________________
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011
In my experience, one of the biggest challenges for SMME’s (Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises) is retaining clients. Now I am really not sure why this should be since the fact of the matter is that it is easier to sell to existing clients than it is to procure new ones. So what’s the deal? Perhaps it is because we don’t really know who and what a customer is!
The Wiki says that “A customer (also known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services.”
So how do we retain our customers? How do we ensure that we not only find new customers, but that we continue to sell our services and our products to current customers or even customers who we have not sold anything to in years?
Well there seems to be a whole host of different options and tips – some of these are (but not limited to):
- The personal touch. Here’s an example of both good and bad. I have been a client of Nedbank in my personal capacity for in excess of 25 years now, and in my business capacity for almost 8 years – quite frankly I bank with them through absolute habit, it certainly is not because of the service that they have given me over the years, but rather the perceived hassle of changing banks, debit orders etc. that keeps me with them. I have no idea who my ‘personal banker’ is, or if indeed I have one. I have been dealing with the Cresta branch for the last 20 odd years and sadly the only person who knows my name, when I walk in, is the security guard. In my opinion, the security guard should be doing their PR, he greets most people by name, always with a smile and a sunny disposition and the good that that does is soon smashed to pieces by the ineffectual, anal retentive service received by the branch staff. So make sure that you give your clients your absolute attention and use your personal touch as part of your branding and marketing.
- Assumption – I always say that perception and assumption are the two most dangerous words on the planet – and certainly what I am going to say now will bear that out. Just because your customers are not complaining, don’t assume that everything is peachy! Your perception of ‘everyone is happy because no-one is complaining’ is probably so far off the mark that it is scary. Many people don’t complain, they just vote with their feet or their wallets. Ask them if they are happy and if they aren’t do something about it!
- Expectations – all customers expect to receive good service, that is a reasonable expectation. Not only meeting that expectation, but exceeding it will bring them great delight and will go a long way to ensure that they become loyal customers. Remember though, do it once and the customer will expect even more the next time around, so don’t stop trying to do better.
- Customization – “One man’s food is another man’s poison”! Just because one client is crazy about your product or your service, doesn’t mean that everyone will be. Be prepared to ‘customize’ your product and/or service to meet the requirement of the client. In fact, make sure that what you are selling (service or product) is what the client wants, rather than what you think that the client may need.
Next time we will have a look at managing your working capital.
________________________________________
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
Friday, January 14, 2011
HR - Check the Work Permit - Part 1
ARTICLE 65
Check the Work Permit – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC - January 2011
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 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
Check the Work Permit – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC - January 2011
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 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
Thursday, January 13, 2011
EARLY WARNING - Facebook Virus
EARLY WARNING – Facebook Virus
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting - January 2011 .
I received a mail from David Green of Switched On IT, that says “Facebook Virus Turns Your Computer into a Zombie”.
Apparently, through the IM (Instant Messaging) portal of Facebook, people are getting messages that go “I have this hilarious video of you dancing. Your face is so red. You should check it out.”
Now I personally haven’t had that exact message, but I have had plenty of similar ones that also seem to involve me in a video – here’s the thing though – there are no “video’s” of me out there that would have anyone in a state of shock or laughing their rear-ends off, so that raised a very red flag for me and I refrained from the temptation of clicking on that particular button. Furthermore, it was sent to me who although they are a ‘facebook friend’ (I play zoo and Farmville, so I have many ‘friends’ who I actually don’t know at all), they are not someone that I have ever met or know in any way other than ‘in passing’ in whatever game it is that we are playing. How very fortunate for me, that I didn’t click on the link!
You see, by clicking on that particular link (or any similar ones for that matter – either on Facebook or MySpace) you “might have been exposed to the Koobface virus” says the message that David forwarded to me. Apparently what happens then is that once you have clicked the Koobface virus then prompts you to update your Flash player (that’s the only way you would be able watch the video) and the virus is contained in the flash player file. What happens then is that “the worms transform victim machines into zombie computers to form botnets.” Now, I personally have no idea what that means, but it certainly sounds serious.
Kaspersky (which is my anti virus of choice) says that you can ‘usually spot phony e-mails by their titles’ and they found several as examples. These are (but not limited to) “Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf on the Street” – I know that she is a troubled child, but I can’t see her doing anything like that – or how about “Examiners Caught Downloading Grades From the Internet – You must see it!!! LOL” – that also just doesn’t sound right. Another easy way to spot a problem is that the spelling is usually very bad – if it looks dodgy then it usually is.
As usual with a little bit of common sense and precaution, you can avoid these things – don’t just be ‘clicking’ on everything that pops up. Don’t open things from people that you don’t know personally and my personal favorite – if it doesn’t look right then it usually isn’t.
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting - January 2011 .
I received a mail from David Green of Switched On IT, that says “Facebook Virus Turns Your Computer into a Zombie”.
Apparently, through the IM (Instant Messaging) portal of Facebook, people are getting messages that go “I have this hilarious video of you dancing. Your face is so red. You should check it out.”
Now I personally haven’t had that exact message, but I have had plenty of similar ones that also seem to involve me in a video – here’s the thing though – there are no “video’s” of me out there that would have anyone in a state of shock or laughing their rear-ends off, so that raised a very red flag for me and I refrained from the temptation of clicking on that particular button. Furthermore, it was sent to me who although they are a ‘facebook friend’ (I play zoo and Farmville, so I have many ‘friends’ who I actually don’t know at all), they are not someone that I have ever met or know in any way other than ‘in passing’ in whatever game it is that we are playing. How very fortunate for me, that I didn’t click on the link!
You see, by clicking on that particular link (or any similar ones for that matter – either on Facebook or MySpace) you “might have been exposed to the Koobface virus” says the message that David forwarded to me. Apparently what happens then is that once you have clicked the Koobface virus then prompts you to update your Flash player (that’s the only way you would be able watch the video) and the virus is contained in the flash player file. What happens then is that “the worms transform victim machines into zombie computers to form botnets.” Now, I personally have no idea what that means, but it certainly sounds serious.
Kaspersky (which is my anti virus of choice) says that you can ‘usually spot phony e-mails by their titles’ and they found several as examples. These are (but not limited to) “Paris Hilton Tosses Dwarf on the Street” – I know that she is a troubled child, but I can’t see her doing anything like that – or how about “Examiners Caught Downloading Grades From the Internet – You must see it!!! LOL” – that also just doesn’t sound right. Another easy way to spot a problem is that the spelling is usually very bad – if it looks dodgy then it usually is.
As usual with a little bit of common sense and precaution, you can avoid these things – don’t just be ‘clicking’ on everything that pops up. Don’t open things from people that you don’t know personally and my personal favorite – if it doesn’t look right then it usually isn’t.
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
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
BLOGGING TIPS - The Pros and Cons of Weekend Writing
BLOGGING TIPS – The Pros and Cons of Weekend Writing
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC January 2011
I have often been asked why I don’t have a weekend post. Well the truth of the matter is that generally speaking, I am battling to keep up with the writing of the daily articles that that right now, even the thought of having to write another one or two more articles a week, is enough to send me into a state of panic.
The reality though is that many people only work on the internet during the week, although as we small business owners would generally not fit into that particular category. Depending on who you target with your blogs, this would mean that there would be a lower number of readers over the weekend but that the number of readers on a Monday would increase sharply as these readers played “catch up”.
Many individuals though, just stop following a blog if they feel that they have missed too many ‘episodes’ and some also feel really overwhelmed if they have too many unread articles waiting for them from their favorite blogs.
So in view of this, is there even a point to posting something over a weekend?
Well here’s the thing, even though there are many individuals who aren’t on the internet over the weekend, there are still many who are and these clearly are the folk that you need to target.
All the articles that I have read on the subject though really emphasize the need to write shorter, thought provoking articles. These are sure to catch the attention of the individuals who brave the internet on the weekends as well as appeal to the Monday morning folk who play ‘catch up’. The weekend readers are also more likely to end up with a burning desire to ‘know more’ and hopefully will then also begin reading your posts during the course of the week.
Remember though to keep it short and interesting.
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC January 2011
I have often been asked why I don’t have a weekend post. Well the truth of the matter is that generally speaking, I am battling to keep up with the writing of the daily articles that that right now, even the thought of having to write another one or two more articles a week, is enough to send me into a state of panic.
The reality though is that many people only work on the internet during the week, although as we small business owners would generally not fit into that particular category. Depending on who you target with your blogs, this would mean that there would be a lower number of readers over the weekend but that the number of readers on a Monday would increase sharply as these readers played “catch up”.
Many individuals though, just stop following a blog if they feel that they have missed too many ‘episodes’ and some also feel really overwhelmed if they have too many unread articles waiting for them from their favorite blogs.
So in view of this, is there even a point to posting something over a weekend?
Well here’s the thing, even though there are many individuals who aren’t on the internet over the weekend, there are still many who are and these clearly are the folk that you need to target.
All the articles that I have read on the subject though really emphasize the need to write shorter, thought provoking articles. These are sure to catch the attention of the individuals who brave the internet on the weekends as well as appeal to the Monday morning folk who play ‘catch up’. The weekend readers are also more likely to end up with a burning desire to ‘know more’ and hopefully will then also begin reading your posts during the course of the week.
Remember though to keep it short and interesting.
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
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
BUSINESS TIPS - Managing Your Business - Part 2
BUSINESS TIPS – Managing Your Business – Part 2
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
As usual, let’s have a look at exactly what a “margin” is. The Wiki says :
Profit margin, net margin, net profit margin or net profit ratio all refer to a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the net profit as a percentage of the revenue.[1]
The profit margin is mostly used for internal comparison. It is difficult to accurately compare the net profit ratio for different entities. Individual businesses' operating and financing arrangements vary so much that different entities are bound to have different levels of expenditure, so that comparison of one with another can have little meaning. A low profit margin indicates a low margin of safety: higher risk that a decline in sales will erase profits and result in a net loss.
Profit margin is an indicator of a company's pricing strategies and how well it controls costs. Differences in competitive strategy and product mix cause the profit margin to vary among different companies.[2]
The easiest way for me to remember it is that the margin is the difference (financially) between what everything cost (not only materials, but also time and expenses [for me as a service type business] and research, printing, paper, ink etc) and what I charge. If your margins are too low, you will never make a profit and on the other hand if you set your margins too high, you run the risk of never making a sale – it’s a delicately balanced scenario!
Essentially there are two ways to increase your margins (profit margins) and those are either to cut costs or cut prices. In order to know which one to do it is obviously essential that you focus on your margins on a regular basis and also on what the current economic trends are as it is not always a good thing to cut prices, although it is always a good thing to cut costs, as long as that does not interfere with the quality.
Sometimes increasing the price of your services and/or your product has a powerful statement attached to it – it says “I’m worth it” or “the product is worth it”. I know that when I started out, I had nothing to compare my services to and the result is that I used my corporate ‘salary’ as a gauge to set my hourly rates – wow, was that ever a big mistake. I priced myself far too low and the result is that I attracted many clients, all of who desperately needed by expertise, but all of who could not afford me! Within 24 months I had doubled my hourly rate and I was attracting clients who needed me, but who could also afford me.
In this particular instance, me raising my charges had an incredibly power effect – it said ‘this is what I am worth’ and the psychological effect on me, as an individual, was incredible. Before, even though my prices were very low, I was chasing business by giving discounts, hoping to retain the very clients that could not afford my services in the first place – that was a very costly mistake – I wrote off a lot of money to bad debt.
Nowadays, if I am going to give a discount – it is because there is a huge value to me and it is based on a whole different set of criteria, such as (but not limited to) early or timeous payment etc.
Cutting costs is definitely the best way to increase your margins and thereby increase your profits. This is not always an easy thing to do particularly in tough times, when you are looking at staff and salaries. You have to divorce yourself from the emotions and look at the cold hard facts. Can you do without this particular function being performed by a single person, in other words “Don’t make it about a person or personal”, but rather about what’s good for the Company. If you have two people doing work that can be done by one person, then it stands to reason that you only need to employ one person – don’t get sucked into the emotional side of things.
Keeping your costs to a minimum and your clients to a maximum is therefore the best way to ensure that your margin remain on track and is the best way to meet and even surpass your budget requirements.
Next time we will have a look at your customers.
________________________________________
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
As usual, let’s have a look at exactly what a “margin” is. The Wiki says :
Profit margin, net margin, net profit margin or net profit ratio all refer to a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the net profit as a percentage of the revenue.[1]
The profit margin is mostly used for internal comparison. It is difficult to accurately compare the net profit ratio for different entities. Individual businesses' operating and financing arrangements vary so much that different entities are bound to have different levels of expenditure, so that comparison of one with another can have little meaning. A low profit margin indicates a low margin of safety: higher risk that a decline in sales will erase profits and result in a net loss.
Profit margin is an indicator of a company's pricing strategies and how well it controls costs. Differences in competitive strategy and product mix cause the profit margin to vary among different companies.[2]
The easiest way for me to remember it is that the margin is the difference (financially) between what everything cost (not only materials, but also time and expenses [for me as a service type business] and research, printing, paper, ink etc) and what I charge. If your margins are too low, you will never make a profit and on the other hand if you set your margins too high, you run the risk of never making a sale – it’s a delicately balanced scenario!
Essentially there are two ways to increase your margins (profit margins) and those are either to cut costs or cut prices. In order to know which one to do it is obviously essential that you focus on your margins on a regular basis and also on what the current economic trends are as it is not always a good thing to cut prices, although it is always a good thing to cut costs, as long as that does not interfere with the quality.
Sometimes increasing the price of your services and/or your product has a powerful statement attached to it – it says “I’m worth it” or “the product is worth it”. I know that when I started out, I had nothing to compare my services to and the result is that I used my corporate ‘salary’ as a gauge to set my hourly rates – wow, was that ever a big mistake. I priced myself far too low and the result is that I attracted many clients, all of who desperately needed by expertise, but all of who could not afford me! Within 24 months I had doubled my hourly rate and I was attracting clients who needed me, but who could also afford me.
In this particular instance, me raising my charges had an incredibly power effect – it said ‘this is what I am worth’ and the psychological effect on me, as an individual, was incredible. Before, even though my prices were very low, I was chasing business by giving discounts, hoping to retain the very clients that could not afford my services in the first place – that was a very costly mistake – I wrote off a lot of money to bad debt.
Nowadays, if I am going to give a discount – it is because there is a huge value to me and it is based on a whole different set of criteria, such as (but not limited to) early or timeous payment etc.
Cutting costs is definitely the best way to increase your margins and thereby increase your profits. This is not always an easy thing to do particularly in tough times, when you are looking at staff and salaries. You have to divorce yourself from the emotions and look at the cold hard facts. Can you do without this particular function being performed by a single person, in other words “Don’t make it about a person or personal”, but rather about what’s good for the Company. If you have two people doing work that can be done by one person, then it stands to reason that you only need to employ one person – don’t get sucked into the emotional side of things.
Keeping your costs to a minimum and your clients to a maximum is therefore the best way to ensure that your margin remain on track and is the best way to meet and even surpass your budget requirements.
Next time we will have a look at your customers.
________________________________________
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
Monday, January 10, 2011
MOTIVATION - Where is Greatness Found
MOTIVATION – Where is Greatness Found
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011
William Arthur Ward says “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.”
Well that should certainly shake things up a little, don’t you think? There are all these powerful (well they think they are) people in the world who are so full of their own importance, puffed up and proud and according to this statement – they are not great at all! That’s just really funny!
I guess that is why people like Nelson Mandela is one of the “greatest” men on the planet as opposed to, I don’t know – someone like George W Bush, who perhaps was one of the most powerful men on the planet (when his puppet masters pulled the strings you understand).
So who are the great leaders of the world today? Sadly when I look around, I don’t really see any? What I see are men who think that they are great, but who are destroying rather than building. I see men who are concerned only with ‘what’s in it for them’ rather than for the greater good and I understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ conspiracy theories spring up all over the place – because it’s all about the money, human kind be damned!
Then I look around and I see ordinary people, doing extra-ordinary things – making a difference one day at a time, one person at a time. I see ordinary people who have become celebrities and have used that platform to make a difference, one day at a time, one person at a time. I see people who have very little, helping people who have even less, one day at a time, one person at a time and I understand that I am in the presence of greatness.
So where does this take us to, during the beginning of this New Year – to traditionally, the place and time when people start all over again, with new hopes, new determination and new resolve? Who knows?
To borrow the line from Oprah Winfrey – “what I know for sure” though, is that there is hope, there is resolution and there is a change-a-coming and that we have the choice as individuals to be a part of that change or to sit back and reflect, in years to come on how we ‘missed the boat’.
I know what choice I am making – do you know what choices you are going to be making?
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – January 2011
William Arthur Ward says “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.”
Well that should certainly shake things up a little, don’t you think? There are all these powerful (well they think they are) people in the world who are so full of their own importance, puffed up and proud and according to this statement – they are not great at all! That’s just really funny!
I guess that is why people like Nelson Mandela is one of the “greatest” men on the planet as opposed to, I don’t know – someone like George W Bush, who perhaps was one of the most powerful men on the planet (when his puppet masters pulled the strings you understand).
So who are the great leaders of the world today? Sadly when I look around, I don’t really see any? What I see are men who think that they are great, but who are destroying rather than building. I see men who are concerned only with ‘what’s in it for them’ rather than for the greater good and I understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ conspiracy theories spring up all over the place – because it’s all about the money, human kind be damned!
Then I look around and I see ordinary people, doing extra-ordinary things – making a difference one day at a time, one person at a time. I see ordinary people who have become celebrities and have used that platform to make a difference, one day at a time, one person at a time. I see people who have very little, helping people who have even less, one day at a time, one person at a time and I understand that I am in the presence of greatness.
So where does this take us to, during the beginning of this New Year – to traditionally, the place and time when people start all over again, with new hopes, new determination and new resolve? Who knows?
To borrow the line from Oprah Winfrey – “what I know for sure” though, is that there is hope, there is resolution and there is a change-a-coming and that we have the choice as individuals to be a part of that change or to sit back and reflect, in years to come on how we ‘missed the boat’.
I know what choice I am making – do you know what choices you are going to be making?
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
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
BUSINESS TIPS - Managing Your Business - Part 1
BUSINESS TIPS – Managing Your Business – Part 1
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC December 2010
Most will agree that the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer an oncoming train and whilst the recession (such as it was) is now officially over, it will take the economy (read SMME’s) some time to rally, make a come-back and hopefully deposit us right back to where we were – obviously not in terms of what caused the melt down in the first place, but certainly in terms of running productive, successful businesses.
I know that I really had to ‘grit’ my teeth and bear it for a few months – you know what I mean – the uncertainty of money coming in or getting work in or making the sale and so on.
Fact of the matter is , that when you are in the dwang – that’s exactly where you are and sometimes it is just a matter of waiting it out.
There are a number of tips though, that will help and guide you through, should you find yourself in difficult and/or trying times. Actually it is not a bad thing to get yourself in the habit of doing these all the time – bad or good times.
Finance
For me, if you have lost control of your finances, then you have lost control of your business. I think that most people, when they think of business finances, what they think about are the books and whilst I agree with that on some level, I also want to make it very clear that the books are ‘reactive’. By that I mean that they are ‘in the past – what is contained in your books has already happened. Cash flow, on the other hand, governs what is happening right now.
Think about it for a moment – it doesn’t matter how many people owe you money, or who have promised to pay you – the bottom line is that when you look at your bank account, it is about what is actually there (less what needs to be paid out) that actually counts.
So it stands to reason that the cash flow needs to be properly managed and should be discussed at every management meeting. If, like me, you are on your own, it is a good idea to make time (at least weekly) to check up and see what is going on.
Make sure that the Management Accounts are monitored on a regular basis and that they are consistently checked for issues such as the key ratios, this will assist in enabling you to identify trends earlier, when you can still do something about them, rather than later, when you are already in the smelly brown stuff. Updating your cash flow forecasts on a regular basis will also assist in ensuring that you are ahead of the game – remember to watch the sensitive bits – issues like a change in the exchange rate or a price hike in fuel could have a huge effect on your margins.
Next time we will have a closer look at margins.
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC December 2010
Most will agree that the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer an oncoming train and whilst the recession (such as it was) is now officially over, it will take the economy (read SMME’s) some time to rally, make a come-back and hopefully deposit us right back to where we were – obviously not in terms of what caused the melt down in the first place, but certainly in terms of running productive, successful businesses.
I know that I really had to ‘grit’ my teeth and bear it for a few months – you know what I mean – the uncertainty of money coming in or getting work in or making the sale and so on.
Fact of the matter is , that when you are in the dwang – that’s exactly where you are and sometimes it is just a matter of waiting it out.
There are a number of tips though, that will help and guide you through, should you find yourself in difficult and/or trying times. Actually it is not a bad thing to get yourself in the habit of doing these all the time – bad or good times.
Finance
For me, if you have lost control of your finances, then you have lost control of your business. I think that most people, when they think of business finances, what they think about are the books and whilst I agree with that on some level, I also want to make it very clear that the books are ‘reactive’. By that I mean that they are ‘in the past – what is contained in your books has already happened. Cash flow, on the other hand, governs what is happening right now.
Think about it for a moment – it doesn’t matter how many people owe you money, or who have promised to pay you – the bottom line is that when you look at your bank account, it is about what is actually there (less what needs to be paid out) that actually counts.
So it stands to reason that the cash flow needs to be properly managed and should be discussed at every management meeting. If, like me, you are on your own, it is a good idea to make time (at least weekly) to check up and see what is going on.
Make sure that the Management Accounts are monitored on a regular basis and that they are consistently checked for issues such as the key ratios, this will assist in enabling you to identify trends earlier, when you can still do something about them, rather than later, when you are already in the smelly brown stuff. Updating your cash flow forecasts on a regular basis will also assist in ensuring that you are ahead of the game – remember to watch the sensitive bits – issues like a change in the exchange rate or a price hike in fuel could have a huge effect on your margins.
Next time we will have a closer look at margins.
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
Monday, December 13, 2010
MOTIVATION - Taking Responsibility
MOTIVATION – Taking Responsibility
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
Gita Bellin says “People fail many times, but they become failures only when they begin to blame someone else. Experience is determined by yourself – not the circumstances of your life.
Boy oh boy, does this resonate with me at the moment! Over the last few years, December and January seem to be the time when I do the most disciplinaries. For whatever reason, Companies want them done either to start the year with a clean page or to start the year sending the right message.
For the first time ever though, I’ve had to postpone a disciplinary in the middle of cross exam of a witness and the case is postponed until May next year – the reason – well the defendant is pregnant and going on maternity leave – it’s a strange situation to say the least.
What has really come out of the last few disciplinaries though, is really what I want to talk about and that is the defendants absolute inability to accept the fact that what they have done is wrong. It’s like people refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions or inactions for that matter. I’ve heard the strangest of excuses – like ‘the work was not completed correctly because I am having marital problems’ or ‘I made a mistake, but it was a long day and. . .’.
I’ve heard how an employee argued with the boss on ‘how’ he wanted something done, I suppose because she thought she knew better, only to end up not performing the task at all, because she ‘forgot’. The fact that she ‘forgot’ ended up costing the company an additional R6 000-00, but she is still indignant because he dared to question her.
I’ve heard how an employee refused to use a ‘check list’ to perform her tasks and as a result of that an invoice was raised incorrectly and because the invoice was raised incorrectly, customs impounded the goods and apart from the cost of the goods, just the cost of the courier fees (R40 000) has now had to be written off. The employee is screaming ‘victimization’ because the boss dared to call her into a meeting and chastise her.
Or what about the employee, who confirmed with her boss that the stock was in the hands of an event organizer, only for him to discover (when he arrived in the foreign country) that it had not been sent – but hey, she lodged a grievance against him because he complained!
What on earth has happened to the world? What has happened to self-respect? What has happened to taking pride in what it is that you do? I don’t know hey – I think this new “X” or “Y” generation (whichever one it is) has no fundamental foundation and no backbone. A few weeks ago, I was moaning about the school kids today who get everything handed to them – well I think that this inability to take responsibility for one’s actions is a direct result of this. Well you never did the work, so how can you take the responsibility? Right!
I think in ‘sparing the rod’ we have not only ‘spoilt the child’ but we have created a generation of monsters. On the one hand they have the longest umbilical cords, because of their inability to do anything for themselves and on the other hand, because they don’t know how to do things for themselves – well how can anyone (including themselves) hold them responsible for their actions.
This, for me is a really sad state of affairs – how will they grow as individuals? How will they become productive, worthwhile members of the human race? How will they cope, when all the ‘baby-boomers’ have all passed on to greener pastures and there is no-one left to do the work for them?
Can you imagine a world, where everybody did their own thing, because – well they know better, and then when the smelly brown stuff hits the fan and splatters, everyone blames everyone else. How will anything get fixed? When will the work get done (never mind how it gets done)? How will success be measured – will it be by the number of people you blame for your inability to perform a function?
Its mind boggling and I cannot see ‘how’ to fix it. Actually, if the truth be told – I am not sure that it can be fixed.
What it does do though, is make me understand how important it is for me to continue doing what it is that I am doing because if just one person sees the light and understands the lesson, then I have succeeded in what I set out to do.
So I guess, “one person at a time” will continue to be my goal. One person at a time!
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
Gita Bellin says “People fail many times, but they become failures only when they begin to blame someone else. Experience is determined by yourself – not the circumstances of your life.
Boy oh boy, does this resonate with me at the moment! Over the last few years, December and January seem to be the time when I do the most disciplinaries. For whatever reason, Companies want them done either to start the year with a clean page or to start the year sending the right message.
For the first time ever though, I’ve had to postpone a disciplinary in the middle of cross exam of a witness and the case is postponed until May next year – the reason – well the defendant is pregnant and going on maternity leave – it’s a strange situation to say the least.
What has really come out of the last few disciplinaries though, is really what I want to talk about and that is the defendants absolute inability to accept the fact that what they have done is wrong. It’s like people refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions or inactions for that matter. I’ve heard the strangest of excuses – like ‘the work was not completed correctly because I am having marital problems’ or ‘I made a mistake, but it was a long day and. . .’.
I’ve heard how an employee argued with the boss on ‘how’ he wanted something done, I suppose because she thought she knew better, only to end up not performing the task at all, because she ‘forgot’. The fact that she ‘forgot’ ended up costing the company an additional R6 000-00, but she is still indignant because he dared to question her.
I’ve heard how an employee refused to use a ‘check list’ to perform her tasks and as a result of that an invoice was raised incorrectly and because the invoice was raised incorrectly, customs impounded the goods and apart from the cost of the goods, just the cost of the courier fees (R40 000) has now had to be written off. The employee is screaming ‘victimization’ because the boss dared to call her into a meeting and chastise her.
Or what about the employee, who confirmed with her boss that the stock was in the hands of an event organizer, only for him to discover (when he arrived in the foreign country) that it had not been sent – but hey, she lodged a grievance against him because he complained!
What on earth has happened to the world? What has happened to self-respect? What has happened to taking pride in what it is that you do? I don’t know hey – I think this new “X” or “Y” generation (whichever one it is) has no fundamental foundation and no backbone. A few weeks ago, I was moaning about the school kids today who get everything handed to them – well I think that this inability to take responsibility for one’s actions is a direct result of this. Well you never did the work, so how can you take the responsibility? Right!
I think in ‘sparing the rod’ we have not only ‘spoilt the child’ but we have created a generation of monsters. On the one hand they have the longest umbilical cords, because of their inability to do anything for themselves and on the other hand, because they don’t know how to do things for themselves – well how can anyone (including themselves) hold them responsible for their actions.
This, for me is a really sad state of affairs – how will they grow as individuals? How will they become productive, worthwhile members of the human race? How will they cope, when all the ‘baby-boomers’ have all passed on to greener pastures and there is no-one left to do the work for them?
Can you imagine a world, where everybody did their own thing, because – well they know better, and then when the smelly brown stuff hits the fan and splatters, everyone blames everyone else. How will anything get fixed? When will the work get done (never mind how it gets done)? How will success be measured – will it be by the number of people you blame for your inability to perform a function?
Its mind boggling and I cannot see ‘how’ to fix it. Actually, if the truth be told – I am not sure that it can be fixed.
What it does do though, is make me understand how important it is for me to continue doing what it is that I am doing because if just one person sees the light and understands the lesson, then I have succeeded in what I set out to do.
So I guess, “one person at a time” will continue to be my goal. One person at a time!
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
Monday, December 06, 2010
MOTIVATION - Perseverance
MOTIVATION – Perseverance
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
H Jackson Brown says “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength, but by perseverance.”
Ain’t that the truth!
On a personal level, I find that when I am going through a particularly rough patch or trying time, the only way to get through it is to ‘Grit’ my teeth, square my shoulders and put one foot in front of the other and just keep going – sooner or later you have to come out the other end.
I remember my favorite teacher at junior school – her name was Olga Barrett, and she was the strictest disciplinarian in the school – stricter than even the headmaster. Mrs. Barrett saw something in me that I don’t think anyone else saw. She saw my ‘heart’ and understood that I was different to the other kids. She saw that although I was by no means gifted or genius, but that my mind need to be stimulated differently.
She saw that I was determined to succeed, but that I went about things differently and instead of trying to force me into a mold as the other teachers seemed hell bent on doing, she took my tenacity and taught me how to harness that energy, that spirit, that heart . . . and then use it to my own advantage.
Olga Barrett, encouraged me to reach for the stars and not give into the challenges that would come my way. Instead of forcing me to look at the world through her eyes, she tried to see it through mine.
Her patience and perseverance with helping me to achieve and be all that I can be, certainly went far beyond the call of duty and I will be forever grateful to her.
That tenacity and perseverance has certainly allowed me to meet the challenges and heartache that I have endured in this life time and I have no doubt that it will continue to serve me to the end of my days.
So remember, if your life is challenging or if there is something that you really want, because you have dared to dream – square your shoulders, grit your teeth and put one foot in the front of the other and just keep going.
You will eventually get there.
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – December 2010
H Jackson Brown says “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength, but by perseverance.”
Ain’t that the truth!
On a personal level, I find that when I am going through a particularly rough patch or trying time, the only way to get through it is to ‘Grit’ my teeth, square my shoulders and put one foot in front of the other and just keep going – sooner or later you have to come out the other end.
I remember my favorite teacher at junior school – her name was Olga Barrett, and she was the strictest disciplinarian in the school – stricter than even the headmaster. Mrs. Barrett saw something in me that I don’t think anyone else saw. She saw my ‘heart’ and understood that I was different to the other kids. She saw that although I was by no means gifted or genius, but that my mind need to be stimulated differently.
She saw that I was determined to succeed, but that I went about things differently and instead of trying to force me into a mold as the other teachers seemed hell bent on doing, she took my tenacity and taught me how to harness that energy, that spirit, that heart . . . and then use it to my own advantage.
Olga Barrett, encouraged me to reach for the stars and not give into the challenges that would come my way. Instead of forcing me to look at the world through her eyes, she tried to see it through mine.
Her patience and perseverance with helping me to achieve and be all that I can be, certainly went far beyond the call of duty and I will be forever grateful to her.
That tenacity and perseverance has certainly allowed me to meet the challenges and heartache that I have endured in this life time and I have no doubt that it will continue to serve me to the end of my days.
So remember, if your life is challenging or if there is something that you really want, because you have dared to dream – square your shoulders, grit your teeth and put one foot in the front of the other and just keep going.
You will eventually get there.
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 - Suspending an Employee
ARTICLE 64
Suspending An Employee
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2010
First of all, let’s be really clear about this . . . . suspending an employee, irrespective of whether it is with pay or not, is a really serious thing to do. It is not something that should be done lightly or at the very least, done without taking all of the consequences into account. One of the questions that you should ask yourself before suspending an employee is “Did the employee do something that can be considered as “serious” misconduct?
If the answer to that question is no – don’t suspend. If however the answer is a resounding “YES”, then here are a few more issues for you to think about, carefully – before you continue.
- Are you going to suspend the employee immediately, or wait a few days and what are the consequences to either one of these actions.
- Are you required to hold a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing and if so how do you go about it – what are the requirements?
- Would there be (and what would they be) any consequences if you did not hold a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing?
Firstly – employees should not be suspended unless you are reasonably concerned that they would interfere with your internal investigation. In other words if you thought that they may destroy documents or say delete e-mails etc., that would really strengthen your case. If you were concerned about them intimidating colleagues, who you may want to use as witnesses or if they may, in any way do damage to your reputation or jeopardise your income in any way, then you have grounds to suspend.
If you are at all concerned about any of these and I mean justifiably concerned, then by all means suspend.
Remember though, that a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing should take place ‘before’ suspending the employee as failure to do this could result in the CCMA awarding a financial penalty (which always goes into the employees pocket to add insult to your injury) as procedures were not correctly followed.
The length of time that the employee is suspended should also be taken into consideration. Keeping an employee suspended for too long, even if they are suspended on full pay, could also result in a financial penalty being levied against the employer.
Bottom line – don’t just have a knee jerk reaction. Think about what it is that you are doing and why, because the CCMA and the Labour Courts are very strict about unfair suspension.
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
Suspending An Employee
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC December 2010
First of all, let’s be really clear about this . . . . suspending an employee, irrespective of whether it is with pay or not, is a really serious thing to do. It is not something that should be done lightly or at the very least, done without taking all of the consequences into account. One of the questions that you should ask yourself before suspending an employee is “Did the employee do something that can be considered as “serious” misconduct?
If the answer to that question is no – don’t suspend. If however the answer is a resounding “YES”, then here are a few more issues for you to think about, carefully – before you continue.
- Are you going to suspend the employee immediately, or wait a few days and what are the consequences to either one of these actions.
- Are you required to hold a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing and if so how do you go about it – what are the requirements?
- Would there be (and what would they be) any consequences if you did not hold a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing?
Firstly – employees should not be suspended unless you are reasonably concerned that they would interfere with your internal investigation. In other words if you thought that they may destroy documents or say delete e-mails etc., that would really strengthen your case. If you were concerned about them intimidating colleagues, who you may want to use as witnesses or if they may, in any way do damage to your reputation or jeopardise your income in any way, then you have grounds to suspend.
If you are at all concerned about any of these and I mean justifiably concerned, then by all means suspend.
Remember though, that a ‘pre-suspension’ hearing should take place ‘before’ suspending the employee as failure to do this could result in the CCMA awarding a financial penalty (which always goes into the employees pocket to add insult to your injury) as procedures were not correctly followed.
The length of time that the employee is suspended should also be taken into consideration. Keeping an employee suspended for too long, even if they are suspended on full pay, could also result in a financial penalty being levied against the employer.
Bottom line – don’t just have a knee jerk reaction. Think about what it is that you are doing and why, because the CCMA and the Labour Courts are very strict about unfair suspension.
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
Thursday, December 02, 2010
EARLY WARNING - 419 Scam
EARLY WARNING
419 Scam
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting, December 2010.
“Dear John Smith
I am your partner in Christ and I need your confidential assistance. I know that we have never met but when I saw your profile on the internet, I knew immediately that you are the right person and that we could do some business together.
My name is Jane Doe and my late father, Dr. Sam Doe was ruthlessly murdered by a group of armed dissidents, here on the Ivory Coast. I was severely beaten and left for dead, but managed to escape and am now living under court protection, in my ivory tower here at the palace. I speak to and see no-one other than the servant who brings me my meals.
My late father, may God rest his soul, left me with a large inheritance – US$29.4 million to be precise, and I would very much like this to be used to not only secure my release, but also to start my life in a new country and in a well established business. I would like you to assist me with investing this money in the right kind of business for me.
I would of course need to introduce your name to the bank as a matter of urgency, as my late father’s foreign business partner wants to take the money and invest it in his country and then I will be left with absolutely nothing.
The bank will contact you and transfer the money to your bank account. As soon as the money is in your account, you will need to assist me to come over to your country, where we will run the business together. Please let me know how much you will take as your percentage to assist me in this regard.”
Sound familiar? I am sure it does!
Here’s the thing though – I took bits and pieces out of several of these e-mails which means that whilst they are never exactly the same they are all based on the same kind of theme.
That said, they all have the same consequence – you will lose not only your money, but also the shirt off your back, if you take this discussion any further!
So don’t think about what could be or should be. Turn your desperation key off and blow out the candle on your greed. This is one fight you will not win. Hit the delete button and get on with your life.
This is really one statistic that you do not want to contribute to or become a part of.
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
419 Scam
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting, December 2010.
“Dear John Smith
I am your partner in Christ and I need your confidential assistance. I know that we have never met but when I saw your profile on the internet, I knew immediately that you are the right person and that we could do some business together.
My name is Jane Doe and my late father, Dr. Sam Doe was ruthlessly murdered by a group of armed dissidents, here on the Ivory Coast. I was severely beaten and left for dead, but managed to escape and am now living under court protection, in my ivory tower here at the palace. I speak to and see no-one other than the servant who brings me my meals.
My late father, may God rest his soul, left me with a large inheritance – US$29.4 million to be precise, and I would very much like this to be used to not only secure my release, but also to start my life in a new country and in a well established business. I would like you to assist me with investing this money in the right kind of business for me.
I would of course need to introduce your name to the bank as a matter of urgency, as my late father’s foreign business partner wants to take the money and invest it in his country and then I will be left with absolutely nothing.
The bank will contact you and transfer the money to your bank account. As soon as the money is in your account, you will need to assist me to come over to your country, where we will run the business together. Please let me know how much you will take as your percentage to assist me in this regard.”
Sound familiar? I am sure it does!
Here’s the thing though – I took bits and pieces out of several of these e-mails which means that whilst they are never exactly the same they are all based on the same kind of theme.
That said, they all have the same consequence – you will lose not only your money, but also the shirt off your back, if you take this discussion any further!
So don’t think about what could be or should be. Turn your desperation key off and blow out the candle on your greed. This is one fight you will not win. Hit the delete button and get on with your life.
This is really one statistic that you do not want to contribute to or become a part of.
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
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
BLOGGING TIPS - The Monday Blues
BLOGGING TIPS – The Monday Blues
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - December 2010
Sadly for many, Monday mornings are a challenge! They symbolize the return to the drudge that is their working life. For many the stress of starting a new week can seem overwhelming. Some just can’t get going and like my staff in my corporate days, need a good swift virtual kick up the rear end to get them going.
With this in mind, your blog needs to pack a punch to make a statement, to stand out from the rest.
Remember, like most of us – people get to work and usually the first thing that they do is look at their mail boxes and discover . . . . 27 million e-mails in their inboxes (me, exaggerate – don’t be ridiculous). By the time they have waded through the first 20 or so, the delete button become the favorite new toy of the day, so believe me when I tell you that the title of your Monday blog needs to jump off the screen creaming READ ME!
Oh – and when they drop everything to open up and read your blog, best it be worth the time and trouble they took to click onto your article, or believe me (again) that the little delete button will be working overtime!
For me, the “Motivation” series that I have going, works really well, although in all honesty they are more of a challenge or a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ kind of well . . . motivation (usually meant for me specifically), and as such I believe that it sort of ‘set you up’ for the coming week.
Hopefully, they inspire, motivate and even challenge you to get done whatever it is that needs to be done.
The point though is that you have to be different, innovative and clearly unique. Make your message so exciting or profound that the reader is left, excitedly looking forward to reading your next article.
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - December 2010
Sadly for many, Monday mornings are a challenge! They symbolize the return to the drudge that is their working life. For many the stress of starting a new week can seem overwhelming. Some just can’t get going and like my staff in my corporate days, need a good swift virtual kick up the rear end to get them going.
With this in mind, your blog needs to pack a punch to make a statement, to stand out from the rest.
Remember, like most of us – people get to work and usually the first thing that they do is look at their mail boxes and discover . . . . 27 million e-mails in their inboxes (me, exaggerate – don’t be ridiculous). By the time they have waded through the first 20 or so, the delete button become the favorite new toy of the day, so believe me when I tell you that the title of your Monday blog needs to jump off the screen creaming READ ME!
Oh – and when they drop everything to open up and read your blog, best it be worth the time and trouble they took to click onto your article, or believe me (again) that the little delete button will be working overtime!
For me, the “Motivation” series that I have going, works really well, although in all honesty they are more of a challenge or a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ kind of well . . . motivation (usually meant for me specifically), and as such I believe that it sort of ‘set you up’ for the coming week.
Hopefully, they inspire, motivate and even challenge you to get done whatever it is that needs to be done.
The point though is that you have to be different, innovative and clearly unique. Make your message so exciting or profound that the reader is left, excitedly looking forward to reading your next article.
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
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
BUSINESS TIPS - The New Consumer Protection Act
BUSINESS TIPS – The New Consumer Protection Act
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - November 2010
There’s a lot being said about the New Consumer Protection Act that I am led to believe, is coming into effect at the beginning of April 2011 and like so many of the Acts that we are seeing being introduced of late, there are some good things and some potentially bad things.
I am particularly excited about the clause that deals specifically, with fixed term contracts. Finally, we Joe Public, will get a little relief from some of the wolves that abound.
I have no doubt that we have all been caught by the contract that we sign, originally for one year and then we have about a nano-second to advise them in writing, that we no longer want to continue with the contract, before it rolls over again and we are locked in for another year.
You know the ‘re-newable’ contracts, like the gym memberships or the cell phone contract or what about the newspaper or magazine subscription? Yeah – those ones.
Well apparently, come end of March 2011, not only will these clauses have very little effect but we, as consumers, will also be able to cancel any fixed term agreement prematurely! Now that’s fantastic news.
Sure there is a procedure that will need to be followed but the fact of the matter is it can be cancelled and that is what is important.
The Consumer Protection Act, will allow the consumer to cancel the fixed term contract at any time as long as the consumer gives the supplier 20 (yes twenty) business days notice.
The notice has to be in writing or alternatively “in any recorded manner” (beware of the institutions who say that they are recording you for whatever reason – rather make sure and have your own recording).
To be fair, the supplier also is not left without any recourse. The supplier ‘may impose a reasonable cancellation penalty for any goods, services or discounts that were supplied to the consumer on the assumption that the agreement would continue for the proposed fixed term” according to Roy Bregman of Bregman attorneys.
Oh – and of course, if the consumer stills owes the supplier any money up to and including the period that the contract was terminated – that still needs to be paid, so don’t be thinking that you can just cancel the contract because you are behind in your payments – you will still be liable for those .
That said, if the consumer did not receive discounts or goods or services that the supplier can claim for, the supplier would be hard pressed to find ‘reasonable’ cause to implement the penalty. I like Roy’s example of this so I am going to use it (thank you Roy). If you have signed up for two years worth of dance lessons, you are paid up to date and you did not receive any discounts and you cancel the contract 18 months into the deal, the supplier, in this case would find it very difficult to substantiate a reasonable penalty for early cancellation.
Sure a ‘rolling’ type contract would continue and not come to a dead halt. That would not be good at all if you say had that kind of contract with your internet provider and then suddenly one Sunday morning, you have no internet coverage because your contract expired on Saturday night at midnight. From what I understand, these types of contracts “would automatically continue on a month to month basis, unless the consumer expressly directs the supplier to cancel the agreement on expiry date or agrees to a renewal of the agreement for a further fixed term” writes Roy.
In the event that a contract carries this clause, the supplier would have to notify the customer about the contract that is about to expire.
The customer would need to be notified, of this during a period of between 40 and 80 business days prior to the existing contract’s expiry date and any changes to the contract should also be notified at that time. If notification does not take place the contract would automatically be renewed, but would continue on a month to month basis.
Obviously, once the contract is in the ‘month-by-month’ category, either the customer or the supplier would be able to terminate the contract by giving a months notice.
The bottom line of course, is that it is up to the consumer to READ the contract before signing it. Sure it is up supplier to be transparent and up front with what their expectations are, but consumers also need to take responsibility for their actions.
In conclusion – don’t sign anything that you haven’t read and that you don’t fully understand.
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - November 2010
There’s a lot being said about the New Consumer Protection Act that I am led to believe, is coming into effect at the beginning of April 2011 and like so many of the Acts that we are seeing being introduced of late, there are some good things and some potentially bad things.
I am particularly excited about the clause that deals specifically, with fixed term contracts. Finally, we Joe Public, will get a little relief from some of the wolves that abound.
I have no doubt that we have all been caught by the contract that we sign, originally for one year and then we have about a nano-second to advise them in writing, that we no longer want to continue with the contract, before it rolls over again and we are locked in for another year.
You know the ‘re-newable’ contracts, like the gym memberships or the cell phone contract or what about the newspaper or magazine subscription? Yeah – those ones.
Well apparently, come end of March 2011, not only will these clauses have very little effect but we, as consumers, will also be able to cancel any fixed term agreement prematurely! Now that’s fantastic news.
Sure there is a procedure that will need to be followed but the fact of the matter is it can be cancelled and that is what is important.
The Consumer Protection Act, will allow the consumer to cancel the fixed term contract at any time as long as the consumer gives the supplier 20 (yes twenty) business days notice.
The notice has to be in writing or alternatively “in any recorded manner” (beware of the institutions who say that they are recording you for whatever reason – rather make sure and have your own recording).
To be fair, the supplier also is not left without any recourse. The supplier ‘may impose a reasonable cancellation penalty for any goods, services or discounts that were supplied to the consumer on the assumption that the agreement would continue for the proposed fixed term” according to Roy Bregman of Bregman attorneys.
Oh – and of course, if the consumer stills owes the supplier any money up to and including the period that the contract was terminated – that still needs to be paid, so don’t be thinking that you can just cancel the contract because you are behind in your payments – you will still be liable for those .
That said, if the consumer did not receive discounts or goods or services that the supplier can claim for, the supplier would be hard pressed to find ‘reasonable’ cause to implement the penalty. I like Roy’s example of this so I am going to use it (thank you Roy). If you have signed up for two years worth of dance lessons, you are paid up to date and you did not receive any discounts and you cancel the contract 18 months into the deal, the supplier, in this case would find it very difficult to substantiate a reasonable penalty for early cancellation.
Sure a ‘rolling’ type contract would continue and not come to a dead halt. That would not be good at all if you say had that kind of contract with your internet provider and then suddenly one Sunday morning, you have no internet coverage because your contract expired on Saturday night at midnight. From what I understand, these types of contracts “would automatically continue on a month to month basis, unless the consumer expressly directs the supplier to cancel the agreement on expiry date or agrees to a renewal of the agreement for a further fixed term” writes Roy.
In the event that a contract carries this clause, the supplier would have to notify the customer about the contract that is about to expire.
The customer would need to be notified, of this during a period of between 40 and 80 business days prior to the existing contract’s expiry date and any changes to the contract should also be notified at that time. If notification does not take place the contract would automatically be renewed, but would continue on a month to month basis.
Obviously, once the contract is in the ‘month-by-month’ category, either the customer or the supplier would be able to terminate the contract by giving a months notice.
The bottom line of course, is that it is up to the consumer to READ the contract before signing it. Sure it is up supplier to be transparent and up front with what their expectations are, but consumers also need to take responsibility for their actions.
In conclusion – don’t sign anything that you haven’t read and that you don’t fully understand.
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
Monday, November 29, 2010
MOTIVATION - Strengths & Weaknesses
MOTIVATION – Strengths & Weaknesses
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – November 2010
Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe says “By nature we have no defect that could not become a strength, no strength that could become a defect.”
Wow! Apart from telling us exactly how it is, it certainly gives me encouragement as well.
Knowing that if I want to change or improve one of my weaknesses (and let’s face it we all have several), it’s great, but to know that I can improve one of my weaknesses to such an extent that it becomes a strength – now that’s a great incentive and quite frankly a task of mammoth proportions.
I am one of those people who would rather work on my strengths, to make them that much more effective and I am all for ‘outsourcing’ my weaknesses to someone else. You see my weaknesses are someone else’s strength so to me it makes perfectly logical sense to let someone else deal with those.
I continue however, to have this little niggling voice (you know the one that sits on your shoulder and whispers all sorts of things in your ear) that keeps telling me that although I am ‘outsourcing’ my weakness, I am also ‘giving up’ my power!
Perhaps on some level that is true, but I am also very aware of the fact that ‘outsourcing’ works for me, as it enables me to get on with what I love to do and what I am good at. It certainly reduces my stress levels (and probably my blood pressure too) as I don’t have to struggle with issues that I am not comfortable with or that I don’t fully understand . . . but perhaps, one day when I am not busy with something else and the mood takes me, I will work on those particular defects and weaknesses. Yeah right!
What I really want to do is chat about the second part of Van Goethe’s statement – the one that goes “no strength that could become a weakness”. Now this is the bit that really concerns me – in fact it damn near terrifies me!
I think that many of us, particularly those of us who own our own small little businesses and who consistently work long hours as we attempt to make a decent living and perhaps even a difference – we are in particular danger of getting to the point where it is our very strength that defeats us!
Oh, I can see all the blank looks on the faces of people who have no clue about what it is that I am talking about.
This is directed at all of us who work, we say for our families, but to such an extent and with such focus that we lose sight of those that we love, so much so that we actually lose them. The result is that our flourishing business is achieved at the cost of our wives, or husbands and our children and loved ones.
It is directed at all of us who bring about our own ill health because we refuse to take time out to rest and rejuvenate.
It is directed at those of us who are so focused on what we do and what we are good at, that it takes over our lives and devours us and we forget to live and exist merely to be a slave to that particular strength.
So I guess, the point of all of this is to take note of and be aware of the fact that our weaknesses can become our saving grace and our strengths could very well be the reason for our demise.
Be careful – very careful about which one you choose to pay the most attention to.
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – November 2010
Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe says “By nature we have no defect that could not become a strength, no strength that could become a defect.”
Wow! Apart from telling us exactly how it is, it certainly gives me encouragement as well.
Knowing that if I want to change or improve one of my weaknesses (and let’s face it we all have several), it’s great, but to know that I can improve one of my weaknesses to such an extent that it becomes a strength – now that’s a great incentive and quite frankly a task of mammoth proportions.
I am one of those people who would rather work on my strengths, to make them that much more effective and I am all for ‘outsourcing’ my weaknesses to someone else. You see my weaknesses are someone else’s strength so to me it makes perfectly logical sense to let someone else deal with those.
I continue however, to have this little niggling voice (you know the one that sits on your shoulder and whispers all sorts of things in your ear) that keeps telling me that although I am ‘outsourcing’ my weakness, I am also ‘giving up’ my power!
Perhaps on some level that is true, but I am also very aware of the fact that ‘outsourcing’ works for me, as it enables me to get on with what I love to do and what I am good at. It certainly reduces my stress levels (and probably my blood pressure too) as I don’t have to struggle with issues that I am not comfortable with or that I don’t fully understand . . . but perhaps, one day when I am not busy with something else and the mood takes me, I will work on those particular defects and weaknesses. Yeah right!
What I really want to do is chat about the second part of Van Goethe’s statement – the one that goes “no strength that could become a weakness”. Now this is the bit that really concerns me – in fact it damn near terrifies me!
I think that many of us, particularly those of us who own our own small little businesses and who consistently work long hours as we attempt to make a decent living and perhaps even a difference – we are in particular danger of getting to the point where it is our very strength that defeats us!
Oh, I can see all the blank looks on the faces of people who have no clue about what it is that I am talking about.
This is directed at all of us who work, we say for our families, but to such an extent and with such focus that we lose sight of those that we love, so much so that we actually lose them. The result is that our flourishing business is achieved at the cost of our wives, or husbands and our children and loved ones.
It is directed at all of us who bring about our own ill health because we refuse to take time out to rest and rejuvenate.
It is directed at those of us who are so focused on what we do and what we are good at, that it takes over our lives and devours us and we forget to live and exist merely to be a slave to that particular strength.
So I guess, the point of all of this is to take note of and be aware of the fact that our weaknesses can become our saving grace and our strengths could very well be the reason for our demise.
Be careful – very careful about which one you choose to pay the most attention to.
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 - 24 Hour's Notice
ARTICLE 63
24 Hour’s Notice
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
Let’s go back to my favourite protagonists – I haven’t used them for quite a while.
Mike is our SMME who owns a small store in a busy mall. George is his right hand man, who is basically the shop assistant and who is employed full time. George has worked for Mike for more than eight years.
George started working for Mike just after he left school and he had a basic standard 8 education and no work experience at all. George now is computer literate and is proficient at selling and he looks after the shop with the help of a casual, when Mike takes the occasional day off.
George now also has a full matric that he earned by correspondence and that Mike ultimately paid for.
George has a proper Letter of Appointment that he has signed and that states that a month’s notice should be given at termination by either party.
Over the past few months the relationship between Mike and George has been different. Not bad – just different you understand – but certainly different.
It all started when Mike did the annual increase and he gave George a 10% increase. George did not appear to feel that the increase was sufficiently big enough. Mike showed George all the increases that the business had to contend with, such as rent, utilities and so on and explained that due to the fact that sales were down and expenses were up, the store could not afford a bigger increase at that time.
Whilst George appeared to understand the predicament that Mike was in, he was not his usual self. Mike tried to find out what the problem was, but could not get any feedback from George – Mike hoped that ‘time’ would sort the problem out.
Well time certainly did sort the problem out, but not in the way that Mike would have liked. You see George came to work one day and stated that he was resigning with immediate effect and that this would be his last day and that he expected to be paid in full, including his leave pay etc., by the time he left that afternoon.
As I am sure you can understand, Mike was more than a little shocked! What now? Apart from anything else, it was coming up for Christmas – easily the busiest time for the retail sector and apart from him having to find another person to replace George, there certainly wasn’t enough time to find someone and train them. Mike was in for a very heavy two months.
Frustrated Mike stated that George had signed a contract stating that he would give a month’s notice. George shrugged his shoulders and stated “I am not coming to work here tomorrow and if you have not paid me and my money is not in my account tomorrow morning, I will go to the Department of Labour.”
Well so much for gratitude! So much for treating your staff well and fairly and for paying for their education . . . . Well, no use crying over spilt milk.
Understandably, Mike was furious, but what sort of recourse did he have?
In a similar case “National Entitled Workers Union v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration & others (2007) 28 ILJ 1223 (LAC), the union employed a person who left them without giving notice and the labour court disagreed that this was unfair labour practice perpetrated against them.”
According to Advocate Estelle Botha, “the court confirmed that the one recourse for employers is to sue the employee under common law, for breach of contract”. Yeah right! Exactly what purpose would that serve, other than to incur more costs and waste more of the employers valuable time?
Advocate Botha agrees that employees who give 24 hours notice or who just walk out are most definitely in breach of contract and that what they are doing is totally illegal – but how does that help the average entrepreneur or employer?
Wait – help is here! Advocate Botha has a solution for us and it goes like this.
Advocate Botha says “In order to protect themselves, employers must stipulate in the employment contract that should the employee terminate the employment contract without tendering the written contractual notice period, then the employer will deduct from the final payment to the employee, an amount equal to the period of notice not given.”
You see, if you include this clause in your Letter of Appointment or contract of employment, it becomes part of the agreement between the employer and the employee and when the employee signs the letter or contract of employment, it becomes a condition of their employment.
Then if the employee does ‘gap it’ or does only give 24 hours notice, you as the employer can deduct notice pay from whatever it is that you owe them.
How cool is that !
Remember though, unless you have that clause in place you cannot deduct the money. So for those who have letters and contracts of employment in place – don’t forget to ‘re-negotiate’ – whatever you do, don’t just change it.
I off to include the clause in my contracts . . .
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
24 Hour’s Notice
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
Let’s go back to my favourite protagonists – I haven’t used them for quite a while.
Mike is our SMME who owns a small store in a busy mall. George is his right hand man, who is basically the shop assistant and who is employed full time. George has worked for Mike for more than eight years.
George started working for Mike just after he left school and he had a basic standard 8 education and no work experience at all. George now is computer literate and is proficient at selling and he looks after the shop with the help of a casual, when Mike takes the occasional day off.
George now also has a full matric that he earned by correspondence and that Mike ultimately paid for.
George has a proper Letter of Appointment that he has signed and that states that a month’s notice should be given at termination by either party.
Over the past few months the relationship between Mike and George has been different. Not bad – just different you understand – but certainly different.
It all started when Mike did the annual increase and he gave George a 10% increase. George did not appear to feel that the increase was sufficiently big enough. Mike showed George all the increases that the business had to contend with, such as rent, utilities and so on and explained that due to the fact that sales were down and expenses were up, the store could not afford a bigger increase at that time.
Whilst George appeared to understand the predicament that Mike was in, he was not his usual self. Mike tried to find out what the problem was, but could not get any feedback from George – Mike hoped that ‘time’ would sort the problem out.
Well time certainly did sort the problem out, but not in the way that Mike would have liked. You see George came to work one day and stated that he was resigning with immediate effect and that this would be his last day and that he expected to be paid in full, including his leave pay etc., by the time he left that afternoon.
As I am sure you can understand, Mike was more than a little shocked! What now? Apart from anything else, it was coming up for Christmas – easily the busiest time for the retail sector and apart from him having to find another person to replace George, there certainly wasn’t enough time to find someone and train them. Mike was in for a very heavy two months.
Frustrated Mike stated that George had signed a contract stating that he would give a month’s notice. George shrugged his shoulders and stated “I am not coming to work here tomorrow and if you have not paid me and my money is not in my account tomorrow morning, I will go to the Department of Labour.”
Well so much for gratitude! So much for treating your staff well and fairly and for paying for their education . . . . Well, no use crying over spilt milk.
Understandably, Mike was furious, but what sort of recourse did he have?
In a similar case “National Entitled Workers Union v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration & others (2007) 28 ILJ 1223 (LAC), the union employed a person who left them without giving notice and the labour court disagreed that this was unfair labour practice perpetrated against them.”
According to Advocate Estelle Botha, “the court confirmed that the one recourse for employers is to sue the employee under common law, for breach of contract”. Yeah right! Exactly what purpose would that serve, other than to incur more costs and waste more of the employers valuable time?
Advocate Botha agrees that employees who give 24 hours notice or who just walk out are most definitely in breach of contract and that what they are doing is totally illegal – but how does that help the average entrepreneur or employer?
Wait – help is here! Advocate Botha has a solution for us and it goes like this.
Advocate Botha says “In order to protect themselves, employers must stipulate in the employment contract that should the employee terminate the employment contract without tendering the written contractual notice period, then the employer will deduct from the final payment to the employee, an amount equal to the period of notice not given.”
You see, if you include this clause in your Letter of Appointment or contract of employment, it becomes part of the agreement between the employer and the employee and when the employee signs the letter or contract of employment, it becomes a condition of their employment.
Then if the employee does ‘gap it’ or does only give 24 hours notice, you as the employer can deduct notice pay from whatever it is that you owe them.
How cool is that !
Remember though, unless you have that clause in place you cannot deduct the money. So for those who have letters and contracts of employment in place – don’t forget to ‘re-negotiate’ – whatever you do, don’t just change it.
I off to include the clause in my contracts . . .
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
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
BLOGGING TIPS - Research
BLOGGING TIPS – Research
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - November 2010
What a couple of months I have had. I know that my blogs have not been as consistent as they usually are and I really do need to apologize for that. Truth of the matter is that I have been really busy and for that I refuse to apologize. Actually if the truth be told, I’ve been productively busy. How cool is that?
Thing is though, every time I write a blog, I have to do the research! Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just wake up in the morning and decide ‘well today I am going to write about the inside of a ping pong ball!’ I may wake up with an idea, but it has to be researched before I can actually write the article.
Think about it for a moment – what if I write about something like perhaps VAT or HR and none of it is based on fact, all of it is just fiction that I have dreamed up or based on my personal opinion of what I think should happen. You take that information, believing that it is fact and apply that to your business, only to discover, when the brown stuff hits the fan, that it was all fiction. Going forward, how much of what I write would you believe? Not much hey! My reputation would be worth less than nothing and my credibility would be lower than shark poo!
Actually, perhaps I should ask the question – do you think that I ‘know it all’ or do you actually realize what goes into each and every article that I write? Each one has to be researched or is the direct result of something that has happened to me – personal life experience, which I guess, in itself is also research! Whichever way you look at it, a certain amount of research has to be done in order for me to arrive at the facts.
Truth be told, judging by some of the comments and requests that I get, many people are really clueless about the amount of work that goes into writing an article – it really is not a five minute job – it has to be topical, it has to make sense and it has to be researched.
Thing is though, I recently have been getting a large number of inquiries that go along the lines of “I read your article and need more information, send it to me”. HELLO! I actually got a call the other day from a woman who said “I read your article on cash flow and am interested in it” – that was the extent of the discussion. It didn’t matter what I asked – like ‘what about it interests you?’ etc. she just kept repeating that one line – I mean really!
The bottom line is that I have done the research and given you the fundamental basics. Quite frankly, if you want more – well you need to pay for it or do the research yourself.
My experience is that for many SMME’s or Entrepreneurs, the perception is that other people should do the research for them and indeed that research should be done at no cost to themselves.
Actually, whilst I am on this particular soap box . . . the baby boomers amongst you will certainly remember . . . when we went to school, we were given the topic or the heading and the book in which we would find the information and sent away to write the essay or do the work. I don’t ever remember evening having multiple type questions. We opened the book and read the required piece to get to the information that we required.
These days of course, everything done for the kids. The teachers provide copies of the information and that gets glued into the school books and the parents do the projects and the kids . . . well they work very hard on MXIT or play computer games or any other number of applications that are designed specifically for them out there. Pretty much playing adult games whilst still in their nappies.
Many start up SMME’s try to do the same thing.
They expect someone else to do the research (usually for nothing) or someone else to use their hard earned money to fund their un-researched idea and then play at being a “business owner”, when they don’t have a clue about what it is that they are doing. This, of course, is an extremely dangerous game to play!
My value add as I see it, is to supply you with enough information for you to ascertain if you need that particular information or not. If you do need the information it is up to you to then do the research to find the correct solution to your particular problem. Whether that solution is to hire an expert in that field to assist you with your problem, or for you to do the research yourself and come up with your own solution, well that’s your decision. My decision then is, if you want me to supply you with the information, understand it will be at a cost to yourself. I have already paid my dues – I have done the research.
So please, understand the dynamics – the research has to be done!
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC - November 2010
What a couple of months I have had. I know that my blogs have not been as consistent as they usually are and I really do need to apologize for that. Truth of the matter is that I have been really busy and for that I refuse to apologize. Actually if the truth be told, I’ve been productively busy. How cool is that?
Thing is though, every time I write a blog, I have to do the research! Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just wake up in the morning and decide ‘well today I am going to write about the inside of a ping pong ball!’ I may wake up with an idea, but it has to be researched before I can actually write the article.
Think about it for a moment – what if I write about something like perhaps VAT or HR and none of it is based on fact, all of it is just fiction that I have dreamed up or based on my personal opinion of what I think should happen. You take that information, believing that it is fact and apply that to your business, only to discover, when the brown stuff hits the fan, that it was all fiction. Going forward, how much of what I write would you believe? Not much hey! My reputation would be worth less than nothing and my credibility would be lower than shark poo!
Actually, perhaps I should ask the question – do you think that I ‘know it all’ or do you actually realize what goes into each and every article that I write? Each one has to be researched or is the direct result of something that has happened to me – personal life experience, which I guess, in itself is also research! Whichever way you look at it, a certain amount of research has to be done in order for me to arrive at the facts.
Truth be told, judging by some of the comments and requests that I get, many people are really clueless about the amount of work that goes into writing an article – it really is not a five minute job – it has to be topical, it has to make sense and it has to be researched.
Thing is though, I recently have been getting a large number of inquiries that go along the lines of “I read your article and need more information, send it to me”. HELLO! I actually got a call the other day from a woman who said “I read your article on cash flow and am interested in it” – that was the extent of the discussion. It didn’t matter what I asked – like ‘what about it interests you?’ etc. she just kept repeating that one line – I mean really!
The bottom line is that I have done the research and given you the fundamental basics. Quite frankly, if you want more – well you need to pay for it or do the research yourself.
My experience is that for many SMME’s or Entrepreneurs, the perception is that other people should do the research for them and indeed that research should be done at no cost to themselves.
Actually, whilst I am on this particular soap box . . . the baby boomers amongst you will certainly remember . . . when we went to school, we were given the topic or the heading and the book in which we would find the information and sent away to write the essay or do the work. I don’t ever remember evening having multiple type questions. We opened the book and read the required piece to get to the information that we required.
These days of course, everything done for the kids. The teachers provide copies of the information and that gets glued into the school books and the parents do the projects and the kids . . . well they work very hard on MXIT or play computer games or any other number of applications that are designed specifically for them out there. Pretty much playing adult games whilst still in their nappies.
Many start up SMME’s try to do the same thing.
They expect someone else to do the research (usually for nothing) or someone else to use their hard earned money to fund their un-researched idea and then play at being a “business owner”, when they don’t have a clue about what it is that they are doing. This, of course, is an extremely dangerous game to play!
My value add as I see it, is to supply you with enough information for you to ascertain if you need that particular information or not. If you do need the information it is up to you to then do the research to find the correct solution to your particular problem. Whether that solution is to hire an expert in that field to assist you with your problem, or for you to do the research yourself and come up with your own solution, well that’s your decision. My decision then is, if you want me to supply you with the information, understand it will be at a cost to yourself. I have already paid my dues – I have done the research.
So please, understand the dynamics – the research has to be done!
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
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
BUSINESS TIPS - Who is your Mentor
BUSINESS TIPS – Who is your Mentor
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
Let’s start at the very beginning – What is a Mentor? The dictionary says “Experienced and trusted advisor. Advisor of the young.”
Who needs a mentor? Well in my opinion – everybody! Shrinks go to their own shrinks, dentists go to their own dentists (imagine trying to work on your own teeth – urgh!) and so for me, even people who are mentors themselves, need to have their own mentors. No (wo)man is an island” and that certainly is true in this instance.
So who is your mentor? Do you have one mentor, or are there different people who fulfill different needs that we as individuals have. For example, I have a mentor who looks after me in terms of my business needs and others who look after me in terms of my spiritual and personal needs.
Who shows you the ropes or acts as your sounding board? Who do you trust to give you the kind of advice that you actually need to hear, irrespective of whether we want to hear it or not?
Here’s the thing – in my experience, people who have mentors or ‘coaches’ are usually far more successful in both their personal and professional lives than those who don’t.
Some have a single mentor and some like me, have more than one. Some folk even have a whole team of mentors!
Some have an informal relationship with their mentors and some have a documented, measured, formal mentorship arrangement.
Fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter how many mentors you have, as long as you have a mentor who gives you the support you need. That is what is important.
Fact of the matter is that all the money you spend on training or workshops or self help books is nothing compared to the invaluable advice you will received from someone who has already walked on the path that you are walking. The ability to learn something new or at the very least avoid making a costly mistakes, is priceless.
Having someone there to guide you in the right direction, to teach you all that they know, without judgment, is one of the greatest gifts that anyone could receive.
Then taking that invaluable knowledge and experience and adding it to your own and then playing that forward. . . When you mentor someone else, you are leading by example – it’s part of your legacy to the world. It’s a way of giving back to humankind.
So I ask you again – who is your mentor?
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
By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
Let’s start at the very beginning – What is a Mentor? The dictionary says “Experienced and trusted advisor. Advisor of the young.”
Who needs a mentor? Well in my opinion – everybody! Shrinks go to their own shrinks, dentists go to their own dentists (imagine trying to work on your own teeth – urgh!) and so for me, even people who are mentors themselves, need to have their own mentors. No (wo)man is an island” and that certainly is true in this instance.
So who is your mentor? Do you have one mentor, or are there different people who fulfill different needs that we as individuals have. For example, I have a mentor who looks after me in terms of my business needs and others who look after me in terms of my spiritual and personal needs.
Who shows you the ropes or acts as your sounding board? Who do you trust to give you the kind of advice that you actually need to hear, irrespective of whether we want to hear it or not?
Here’s the thing – in my experience, people who have mentors or ‘coaches’ are usually far more successful in both their personal and professional lives than those who don’t.
Some have a single mentor and some like me, have more than one. Some folk even have a whole team of mentors!
Some have an informal relationship with their mentors and some have a documented, measured, formal mentorship arrangement.
Fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter how many mentors you have, as long as you have a mentor who gives you the support you need. That is what is important.
Fact of the matter is that all the money you spend on training or workshops or self help books is nothing compared to the invaluable advice you will received from someone who has already walked on the path that you are walking. The ability to learn something new or at the very least avoid making a costly mistakes, is priceless.
Having someone there to guide you in the right direction, to teach you all that they know, without judgment, is one of the greatest gifts that anyone could receive.
Then taking that invaluable knowledge and experience and adding it to your own and then playing that forward. . . When you mentor someone else, you are leading by example – it’s part of your legacy to the world. It’s a way of giving back to humankind.
So I ask you again – who is your mentor?
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
Monday, November 22, 2010
MOTIVATION - Expanding Your Mind
MOTIVATION – Expanding Your Mind
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – 22 November 2010
I don’t know about you, but I love to have my mind stretched. Especially when I am having a debate or discussion with someone whose mind works a little like mine. I must say that that doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen, it leaves me with a profound sense of well being and a joy, deep down inside of me in that part that knows the truth. I walk around for days with a silly grin on my face and pretty much in a state of euphoric bliss.
Studies have shown that children absorb knowledge and learning at the rate of knots, in their formative years, but that doesn’t mean that adults cannot learn and absorb information or knowledge just as efficiently. Fact of the matter is that we, as adults have the ability to learn. In fact, I would go as far as to say that we, as adults (well some of us anyway and even if we remain children at heart) have a responsibility, not only to ourselves, but also to the people whose lives our lives touch, to learn and then play that learning forward by sharing the information with the people around us.
I don’t think that there is a person on the face of the planet who can honestly say that they don’t need to learn anything because they ‘know it all’. That kind of statement would probably rank right up there with arrogance beyond belief. Yet as adults we often say the words “I’m too old to learn!” or “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” What a load of absolute crap!
Childhood for me was full of wondrous discovery and challenge. I grew up on a huge farm and discovered amazing things, every day – each day was an adventure, each day I used what I had learnt the day before and to be sure, I also learnt another new thing to be used the following day. The question now becomes, do I as an adult, take what I learnt yesterday into my adventure today? If the answer is ‘no’, then I, in my own option, have a huge problem! You see, for me, not learning at least one new thing every single day, means that my mind is not being challenged and stretched and therefore I am not growing as an individual.
Here’s the thing – studies have shown that an adult’s brain goes into a decline at a certain age. We all know that ‘older’ or more mature people sometimes have memory lapses. Think about it for a moment – have you ever heard of a child with Alzheimer’s? I haven’t. That should tell you its own story – the minute, as an adult, you give up on learning, your brain will start going in reverse. The message of course is quite simple – keep the mind learning – note, I did not say “keep the mind busy”.
Going about your life on auto pilot is really not doing yourself any favours (or anyone else for that matter). You stop dreaming, you stop trying new things, you stop reaching for the stars – how sad is that?
Set yourselves a target – to learn at least one new thing a day. Read, research, debate and discuss – ensure that your mind is active and constantly being challenged.
So I wonder – like me, do you love having your mind challenged?
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
By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC – 22 November 2010
I don’t know about you, but I love to have my mind stretched. Especially when I am having a debate or discussion with someone whose mind works a little like mine. I must say that that doesn’t happen very often, but when it does happen, it leaves me with a profound sense of well being and a joy, deep down inside of me in that part that knows the truth. I walk around for days with a silly grin on my face and pretty much in a state of euphoric bliss.
Studies have shown that children absorb knowledge and learning at the rate of knots, in their formative years, but that doesn’t mean that adults cannot learn and absorb information or knowledge just as efficiently. Fact of the matter is that we, as adults have the ability to learn. In fact, I would go as far as to say that we, as adults (well some of us anyway and even if we remain children at heart) have a responsibility, not only to ourselves, but also to the people whose lives our lives touch, to learn and then play that learning forward by sharing the information with the people around us.
I don’t think that there is a person on the face of the planet who can honestly say that they don’t need to learn anything because they ‘know it all’. That kind of statement would probably rank right up there with arrogance beyond belief. Yet as adults we often say the words “I’m too old to learn!” or “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” What a load of absolute crap!
Childhood for me was full of wondrous discovery and challenge. I grew up on a huge farm and discovered amazing things, every day – each day was an adventure, each day I used what I had learnt the day before and to be sure, I also learnt another new thing to be used the following day. The question now becomes, do I as an adult, take what I learnt yesterday into my adventure today? If the answer is ‘no’, then I, in my own option, have a huge problem! You see, for me, not learning at least one new thing every single day, means that my mind is not being challenged and stretched and therefore I am not growing as an individual.
Here’s the thing – studies have shown that an adult’s brain goes into a decline at a certain age. We all know that ‘older’ or more mature people sometimes have memory lapses. Think about it for a moment – have you ever heard of a child with Alzheimer’s? I haven’t. That should tell you its own story – the minute, as an adult, you give up on learning, your brain will start going in reverse. The message of course is quite simple – keep the mind learning – note, I did not say “keep the mind busy”.
Going about your life on auto pilot is really not doing yourself any favours (or anyone else for that matter). You stop dreaming, you stop trying new things, you stop reaching for the stars – how sad is that?
Set yourselves a target – to learn at least one new thing a day. Read, research, debate and discuss – ensure that your mind is active and constantly being challenged.
So I wonder – like me, do you love having your mind challenged?
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
Friday, November 19, 2010
HR - When You Want to Hire Staff - Part 4
ARTICLE 62
When You Want to Hire Staff – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
I have this serious allergy! I, personally, am allergic to staff. Yes it’s true – there was a time, while working in the Corporate World, where I did manage staff. In fact, at one point I commanded a work force of in excess of 250 people and the one thing that I did learn from that experience is that I don’t like or want or need to have a staff compliment.
So, how do I get around this little allergy that I have – simple really, I outsource everything that I cannot do or that I don’t want to do.
I have a virtual PA as well as my own accounting department and an IT department not to mention a really brilliant legal team, a design team a . . . . well I could go on and on, but it would in all probability bore you to tears.
Bottom line is that I don’t have to have someone constantly in my space. I don’t have to think about deadlines and staff being late or being off sick or doing disciplinaries because staff have been caught stealing my Company assets or stealing Company time or in fact just staff getting up my left nostril. Point is that in the long run I am saving a fortune on salaries because I am not paying staff for the time that they spend chatting around the water cooler or regaling tales of what happened over the weekend. I pay for the actual time it takes for someone to do what needs to be done or the price that I have been quoted for the job. How cool is that?
Outsourcing is not the only option out there for individuals who would prefer not to have staff working for them. There are obviously Companies who have no alternative but to employ staff and quite frankly, having them as clients gives me quite a good income as I help them to deal with their staff issues.
There are many small business owners or independent contractors out there, who would be open to partnerships or joint ventures or strategic alliances or even value trade exchanges. There is also nothing to stop you from having a mix of all the options – whatever works for you is right.
The trick though is to make sure that both parties have their expectations met. That both parties do their part to the best of their ability and consistently, particularly if what you are doing is a value trade exchange. The minute one person feels that they are not ‘getting their fair share’ or that they are doing more than the other, is the minute that things start to go pear shaped.
Whatever your choice is – to employ staff or not to employ staff, make sure that you deal with people fairly and with integrity. Be open, be honest and above all, stick to you word and keep to the bargain.
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
When You Want to Hire Staff – Part 4
By Nikki Viljoen of Viljoen Consulting CC November 2010
I have this serious allergy! I, personally, am allergic to staff. Yes it’s true – there was a time, while working in the Corporate World, where I did manage staff. In fact, at one point I commanded a work force of in excess of 250 people and the one thing that I did learn from that experience is that I don’t like or want or need to have a staff compliment.
So, how do I get around this little allergy that I have – simple really, I outsource everything that I cannot do or that I don’t want to do.
I have a virtual PA as well as my own accounting department and an IT department not to mention a really brilliant legal team, a design team a . . . . well I could go on and on, but it would in all probability bore you to tears.
Bottom line is that I don’t have to have someone constantly in my space. I don’t have to think about deadlines and staff being late or being off sick or doing disciplinaries because staff have been caught stealing my Company assets or stealing Company time or in fact just staff getting up my left nostril. Point is that in the long run I am saving a fortune on salaries because I am not paying staff for the time that they spend chatting around the water cooler or regaling tales of what happened over the weekend. I pay for the actual time it takes for someone to do what needs to be done or the price that I have been quoted for the job. How cool is that?
Outsourcing is not the only option out there for individuals who would prefer not to have staff working for them. There are obviously Companies who have no alternative but to employ staff and quite frankly, having them as clients gives me quite a good income as I help them to deal with their staff issues.
There are many small business owners or independent contractors out there, who would be open to partnerships or joint ventures or strategic alliances or even value trade exchanges. There is also nothing to stop you from having a mix of all the options – whatever works for you is right.
The trick though is to make sure that both parties have their expectations met. That both parties do their part to the best of their ability and consistently, particularly if what you are doing is a value trade exchange. The minute one person feels that they are not ‘getting their fair share’ or that they are doing more than the other, is the minute that things start to go pear shaped.
Whatever your choice is – to employ staff or not to employ staff, make sure that you deal with people fairly and with integrity. Be open, be honest and above all, stick to you word and keep to the bargain.
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
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