The Business Connection: Business Networking Group in Cape Town

"Successful business referral group in Cape Town"

administrator

Meeting this and every Wednesday!
Visitors are welcome, by appointment

The Business Connection is a business referral group that encourages the growth of each Member's business by the passing of qualified referrals.

"Reach your goals"
The Business Connection meets every Wednesday morning for breakfast at "Gourmet Junction" in Westlake Square. We are a group of professional business owners that share valuable information on our business experiences, whilst building contacts resulting in successfully referrals for our members!

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 October 2010 09:47

MTN Loyalty Program

Tim Short

If you’re on Mtn and weren’t aware of their loyalty program, dial:

*141*9# (then call)

Watch the screen for prompts and register. Note you’ll need the account holder’s ID number to register.

Points can be traded for airtime, SMSs or data and joining the program is free of any charges.

Enjoy!

Turning vision into reality

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality" Warren Bennis

When push comes to shove, I’m sure that you have a pretty clear picture of what the future should look like for your business. But the problem is that often your managers and staff either do not share in that dream at all, or they have only a very foggy idea of what it’s all about.

In these challenging times, it’s even more critical that you assume a strong leadership role and make sure that you communicate your vision to your entire business. To succeed, you need every single person to buy into it and engage with it.

It’s no good just telling people what your dream is, you need to sell it to them. That’s the hard part. You have to convince each and every one of them that he or she will personally enjoy some very tangible benefits if the vision is achieved. The entire team has to own the vision for it to have any chance of becoming reality.

And, with their input, you have to lay down the grand plan – how you will get there, step by step. Not only that but you need to be with them every inch of the way - cajoling, encouraging and rewarding, even for small milestones reached.

That is the true measure of a leader – how well you can get people to follow you. It’s the only way your dream will come to fruition.

Adrian Fuller
12 January 2010

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 16:36

Small business marketing

Is there anything in your Marketing envelope?

Imagine you're walking along Muizenberg beach. You look down and see an envelope, which you pick up. It's made of fine quality paper and has stamps on the front and an elaborate logo on the back. Very impressive.

To your surprise, however, the envelope has nothing written on the front - no recipient's name, no address. And when you look inside, you see that it's completely empty.

This envelope is like most small business marketing. All your money is spent on the marketing channel - represented here by the nice, stamped envelope. This is like buying newspaper advertising, web sites, brochures, stands on trade shows and memberships of the Chamber of Commerce and BizzConnect.

But, what's missing is a target market (name & address) and a message or letter inside the envelope. Who should get this envelope? What do you want them to know?

In marketing terms, this missing piece is what we call a brand message stating who your services are for, and why they need to purchase from you. Without a brand message, you may as well throw your money into the sea, because your marketing is doing nothing for you.

Not having a proper brand is like sending out a sealed, stamped envelope without a name and address or anything inside.

The good news? You're not alone.

Last Updated on Monday, 11 October 2010 20:43 Read more...

Primary Residence Tax Concession

Ryan Dingley

Recent Tax Legislation allows homeowners who hold their property in the name of a company, close corporation or trust, to take the opportunity to transfer the property, free of any transfer duty, and capital gains tax (CGT) into their own name. This will allow for such persons to take advantage of the Primary Residence Allowance for CGT which is presently R1.5m.

(What must be borne in mind is that the normal conveyancing fees will however still be payable in respect of the transfer from the company, close corporation or trust.)

The Taxation Law Amendment Act commences on 1 January 2010 allowing a natural person 2 years to take the opportunity to transfer their residence with the advantage of no transfer duty. In order to take advantage of this opportunity the following conditions provide an indication as to whether you could stand to benefit from this amendment:

Last Updated on Monday, 11 October 2010 20:45 Read more...