SMALL, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa should see challenges such as the recent spate of loadshedding by Eskom as an opportunity to create solutions rather than as a burden to their daily operations.
That’s according to Dr Martin Emerich, a consultant for a German-based leadership development agency MCE.
Emerich is visiting South Africa to deliver a series of lectures for SMMEs. Over his 20-year career he has developed leadership development programs for companies such as Daimler, Hugo Boss, eBay, Adidas and Toshiba.
“When the winds of change are blowing strongly, some people build walls around them, others build windmills. The opportunities for start-up companies, especially for SMMEs, have never been so good. Every problem we have in South Africa, can be seen as a blessing in disguise,” he said.
“Business-oriented people see plenty of opportunities to generate solutions to all the difficulties we encounter in South Africa in these months. Personally, I think it is highly captivating to absorb the vibrating energy of SMMEs in South Africa – a country ready for the next giant leap forward towards a more prosperous future.”
Eskom’s latest round of loadshedding has come at a huge cost for SMMEs. While many big businesses fell back on generator power to keep production going, most small companies were forced to close, losing crucial revenue.
Power outages are just one of the elements SMMEs are facing in their plight to stay afloat. The failure rate of SMMEs within the first five years is between 40% and 50%. Emerich said business owners need to do more than just adapt to the ever-changing business environment.
“If you adapt, like most other entrepreneurs do, you’re just one of many. The more promising strategy is to be disruptive. Go against the mainstream, try to differentiate yourself from what everybody else is doing,” he said.
Being unique is also a key building block for successful entrepreneurs.
“Don’t compete, be unique! You probably won’t be extremely successful if you open the next burger franchise restaurant in a street with dozens of already existing burger restaurants. There’s just too much competition if you follow this “me too” – strategy.
“You’ll – at least for a while – experience no competition whatsoever if you manage to create a business that is innovative, brand new and unique. Come up with a niche product. Find a disruptive new service. Go where no man has gone before.”
SMMEs in South Africa are currently contributing a very small portion of the local GDP compared to other developing countries such as India. This is despite the fact that they are seen as the engines of economic growth in South Africa.
Emerich said there was a crucial need for SMMEs to equip themselves with the relevant technical and sales skills to provide the market with solutions. “In order to uplift the SMMEs in South Africa, the business community also needs to get involved and embrace opportunities to work with these smaller entities where they can provide guidance where needed, in order to address the larger socio-economic problems we face.”