september / october 2015 chamber bulletin

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015

How to develop a

buyer persona for

your marketing

efforts pg 11

The big five requirements

of a realistic

Business Planpg 13

Inbound Marketing:

What is it?

pg 8

How to attract visitors

to your website by

blogging

pg 17

How does Eskom affect LabourWhat is Statutory DeductionsOccupational Health and Safety Act14 Benefits of having a business plan forecastThe importance of soft skills training courses in the workplaceB-BBEE Dissent is NOT RacismValidity period of WarningsHelp with budgeting

Inbound Marketing: What is it?

33

I N D E XSeptember / October Issue

35

B-BBEE Verification Agency

Tel:�011�814�2752011�814�2753

Cell:�083�268�5114Fax:�086�513�0744

For�more�informationwww.cenfed.co.za

We want to encouragemembers of the East

Rand Chamber ofCommerce & Industry to

submit any and all material we can publishwithin out next Chamber

Bulletin.

The purpose of theChamber Bulletin is to

give you the opportunityto put your company,your products and orservices into a well

compiled document,being sent out to all ourmembers and newsletter

subscribers.

We also want toencourage members to

make sure that theirwebsites are up to date,

if you have new information, or photos,

send them [email protected] or arrange for acompany representativeto come visit you. He willalso be able to take somephotographs we can use

in both the ChamberBulletin and as updates

within your website.

Make use of the servicesyou have at your

disposal.

If you are unsure whatexactly the extent of theservices are you qualify

for as an ERCOCmember, please let us

know and we will get youup to date.

As we are nearing the endof 2015 make sure that

you have covered all thenecessary angles of your

company. Make sureeverything is up to date sothat you can end the year

on a strong note.

page 11 How to develop a buyer persona for your marketing efforts

page 13 The Big Five requirements of a Realistic Business Plan

page 17 How to attract visitors to your website by blogging

page 20 10 Undeniable reasons why entrepreneurs hate business plans

page 23 11 Must haves for your Business Plans

page 29 Are labour brokers a thing of the past?

page 41 Employment Equity: Why having a plan is so important

page 43 Warning Employment Equity submissions 2015 are lurking

page 45 Gauteng Reports significant & sustained improvement in Financial Management

page 47 Refining your business plan: 2 Dominant Themes to Incorporate

page 50 Fact Sheet - 2014/15 Audit Outcomes

page 15 Economic Overview for Business Owners

CLAIM YOUR ERCOC SUBSIDYTO START YOUR OWN

INBOUND MARKETINGDEPARTMENT

Interest free for 5 yearsThe East Rand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ERCOC) and their American Inbound Marketing partner HubSpot, has embarked on a job- creation project by subsidising member companies to start their own Inbound or Electronic Marketing Department.

They believe that if a business entity earns more revenue they will obviously have to employ more staff, and due to the fact that the buying process now starts on the internet, it stands to reason that the astute business owners will want to increase their exposure in Cyber space.

Marketing Departments is a luxury that smaller enterprises cannot afford. To employ an Electronic Marketing Consultancy Company, at budgets of in access of R 400,000.00 per annum is in most instances not an option.

This limited offer to 10 membersonly, is as follows

www.chamberlink.co.za

Interest free for 5 years10% Deposit Required

Subsidised amount R330,000.00repay @ R5000.00pm

The following services will be performed:1. Target market analysis, creating buyer persona to properly direct marketing efforts. 2. A complete competitor analysis.3. K eyword research to ensure that correct keywords may be used to direct traffic to the newly designed website.4. C urrent website analyses to assist in the development of the new or altered website.5. R esearch and development of prime content (downloadable E-books) offer to be downloaded by website visitors.6. W riting of 4 Blog posts per month with market related content aimed at enhancing the image and expertise of the member in their related field of business.7. D esigning of a landing page to convert visitors into leads when downloading prime content.8. D esign and research Call to action to entice visitors to download prime content offer.9. D evelopment of a fully responsive website, capable to impress visitors.

Bulletin Blogs by Christiaan Swanepoel 8

Inbound Marketing What is it? Inbound marketing is afundamental new way to approach a potential customer.Instead of Cold Calling, Cold emails, Interruptive Ads andbeing Marketer focused, Inbound focus’s more on nurturingyour potential client with SEO, blogging and attracting newleads, by being Customer Centric.

Instead of creating print ads and buying display ads youcreate a blog where people can gather useful informationand look forward to reading more about your industry andfield of expertise. By using marketing automation you can nurture your leads and guide them by educating them along the way. By doing this you are informing the lead of your industry and educating him on all the relevant fields of knowledge. This way your potential lead can make a better informed decision when it comes to buy your services or products.

Inbound is about People, being helpful by sharing relevant tips and guidelines that make a difference and not breaking them down, interrupting them and pushing them for your sale.

INBOUND MARKETING: WHAT IS IT?

THIS LEADS US TOTHE INBOUND METHODOLOGY

Bulletin Blogsby Christiaan Swanepoel9

This methodology is broken down into four sections each presenting a stage in the marketing and sales process people go through to become customers and ultimately promoters of your product.

THE FOUR STAGES ARE:ATTRACT, CONVERT, CLOSE & DELIGHT

ATTRACT

In the attract stage it is where you are attracting new stranger to your website, and turning them into website visitors. You want to attract people that will potentially become leads. Attract your ideal customer or buyer persona by creating content that’s valuable and easy for them to find.

The Inbound Marketing process starts by accurately identifying the “Persona” we want to aim our efforts at.

Semi-fictional representations of your ideal customer based on real data and some select educated speculation about customer demographics, behaviour patterns, motivations, and goals. Each business has its own, sometimes multiple but peculiar customers. You have to know and understand their needs and pains as well as their fears and preferences. You have to identify the most likely keywords this Persona will be using when doing a search on the internet for your product. When he lands on your site he must be impressed with your expertise and knowledge so as to feel confident in your presence.

BUYER PERSONAS ARE:


CONVERT

Once you’ve got visitors to your site, the next step is to convert those visitors into leads by gathering their contact information. In order to get this valuable information, you need to offer something up in return (ex: ebook, guide etc).

CLOSE

Once you’ve attracted the right visitors and converted the right leads, you need to transform those leads into customers with targeted, automated email nurturing and social media interaction.

DELIGHT

Using context and personalization to deliver tailored messages, continue to engage with, delight, and (hopefully) upsell your current customer base into happy promoters of your company.


HOW TO DEVELOP A BUYER PERSONAFOR YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

Buyer Personas are an integral part of your marketing efforts. It clearly defines who your target audience are that you want to attract to your website and ultimately sell your products to. But they are so much more than just a targeted audience.

First let us look at a definition:

Hubspot defines Buyer Personas as Semi-fictional representations of your ideal customer based on real Data and some select educated speculation about customer demographics, behaviour patters, motivations and goals.

Persona’s are an integral part in every stage of your marketing and should always be kept in mind when creating your marketing campaign. You don’t want to attract any traffic to your sight. You want to attract the right traffic to your sight that are looking for your products and services and solutions to their problems and needs. This is your ideal customer.

Buyer Personas are created through research and not assumptions. You might be assuming wrong and you be completely off, of what the client actually needs and are asking.

HOW TO DEVELOP A BUYER PERSONA FOR YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

BUYER PERSONA RESEARCH

You need to conduct thorough research asking them a multitude of questions ranging from their demographics, interest, challenges etc. You can ask these questions from your current customers, former customers, prospects and even co-workers. Through your research you are looking for trends and patterns that repeat themselves. This will give you a better picture of who your ideal customer should be.

If you are asking how much research should be done, the answer is as many as you require. Remember that your Personas are ever-changing and you can add and grow it as your company or business is growing.

These are good examples of what to ask for:

● What is their age, location, gender job and income? ● What is their life like? ● What problems do they face? ● What motivates them? ● What are their Goals, Challenges and Pain points? ● Are they married and do they have Children? ● What is their education? ● What is their company size?

These are just some of the questions to ask when creating your persona. You can always add to this list more questions. Questions can also be added that are relevant to your industry and business.

COMPILE YOUR PERSONA INTO A STORY

Once you have done your research you can compile the list of answers and start to create your persona based on the trends and patterns that you identified. You should also keep in mind that you can have more than one persona as you might have a different persona for each of your products or services. Keep in mind that when starting out, it is better to focus on just one primary one. If you don’t know which one to choose ask yourself which one will bring in the most revenue for you.

The final step is to compile all of your information gathered and turn it into a story. Use real quotes gathered in your research. This will drive the fact more that you are targeting real people. By writing the story you are creating a fictional person for your sales team that they can relate with.

Personas are a necessary part of your marketing and without it, you could be targeting completely the wrong audience.


Bulletin Blogsby Koot van der Walt13

THE BIG FIVE REQUIREMENTS OF AREALISTIC BUSINESS PLAN

When preparing or presenting a business plan, be it to impress an investor or to justify an investment to yourself or your board of directors, the one common denominator will always be that it is and will always remain a forecast based on variants, meaning it won’t be exact.

The obvious question then would be, why spend time and money on something that you know will not be accurate?

Therefor to answer this logic question lets us look at the variables of the top five requirements of a realistic business plan.

THE BIG FIVE REQUIREMENTS OF A REALISTIC BUSINESS PLAN

CAPABILITIES AND EXPERTISE

It is obvious that a business plan should be based on, or in the field of expertise of the presenter or applicant.

If an engineer or an engineering company present a business plan for the funding of a hospital or health clinic, it would be expected that the proposal will highlight the requirement and the cost of the necessary expertise lacking in the expertise of the presenter.

The fact that the proposal or application is outside the proficiency of the presenter will immediately raise the eyebrows of the benefactor.

SECURITY AND RISK

An entrepreneur seeking funding will have to keep in mind the old cliché of “if it sounds to be good to be true, it normally is” therefor the presenter will only be successful if he produces a realistic business plan

Most serious investors are only interested in a realistic return on investment they know the higher the percentage ROI the higher the risk. Therefor a realistic business plan will always reflect a high ownership interest.

An investor or financial institution very seldom wants to own the business of the presenter after investing, therefor they would expect the applicant to provide surety equivalent to share of risk.

That normally explains the frustration of applicants to venture capital that financial institutions will only lend you money if you have more security than the investment applied for.

MARKET NICHE

A well prepared business plan will always clearly spell out distinctive advantages why there would be a market swing or interest in the product or service of the presenter.

A properly prepared and well thought out SWOT analyses is there for a must. (a study undertaken by an organization to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external opportunities and threats, is called a SWOT analysis.)

A business plan accompanying a loan application to merely finance outstanding debtors or a previous loss is heavily frowned upon by financial institutions.

BUDGET INCOME STATEMENT

The crux of any astute business plan is the budget financial statements for the next year to five years prepared by the presenter or applicant.

This important document must be so prepared that a “What if” scenario may be created, clearly indicating a breakeven trade requirement and indicating results in the event of unforeseen trading situations that would have a positive or negative influence on the ROI.

CASH FLOW

Finally the most important document of any business plan or financial proposal is the well prepared Cash flow.

This document must form part of the Budget income statement and must assist the reader to clearly understand the financial needs of the applicant.

It would then be appropriate to end this discussion to say, yes a business plan is a necessity to at least measure the feasibility of the project and if you then add a proper “what-if” analysis, you would be able to forecast reasonably accurately the project’s likelihood of success or failure under certain events and circumstances. Your projects pricing can also be determent accurately whilst determining quantities of sales figures under breakeven situations.

The East Rand Chamber of Commerce and Industry can assist members with the preparation of business plans more especially the Income statement and cash flow preparations.

If done properly these two documents can then also serve as a monthly measurement tool of real performance against that as per budgets.

Bulletin Blogs by Koot van der Walt 14

Four years ago the Rand was trading at close to Rand/$7. At the time of writing it is trading at aroundR/$13. Popular explanations for the extent of the currency’s plunge include electricity shortages, workstoppages and fears about a possible downgrade of South Africa’s sovereign debt rating to junkstatus.

Some of these factors do not provide us with a plausible explanation for the persistent currencyweakness of the past four years. Electricity outages commenced in December 2014. Work stoppagesamounted to more than 12 million working days in 2007 and more than 14 million working days in2010. At the time South African economists were debating whether or not South Africa should imposecapital controls to stem the currency’s persistent appreciation.

Certainly, persistent deterioration in government expenditure discipline from 2008 to 2011, as itsconsumption expenditure ballooned at the expense of infrastructure spending, was not helpful. Thecurrency is known as an economy’s share price and there is more than enough literature to illustratethe importance of sensible economic policy as a necessary condition for an economy’s well-being.But although there are still risks associated with fiscal policy, the National Treasury’s track record onsticking to its expenditure ceiling has been exemplary over the past three fiscal years.

Moreinteresting is that the start of the Rand’s fall coincided with the beginning of the downturn inSouth Africa’s commodity export prices in 2010 – when China’s post-financial crisis bounce inindustrial production peaked. China is the world’s largest importer of commodities.

Over time we expect the Rand to change in line with the inflation differential between South Africa andits trading partners. That is we assume that purchasing power parity (PPP) holds over time. But weknow the currency deviates from the path suggested by PPP for years on end. In our history, one ofthe most common causes of these deviations is commodity price shocks. For example, a falling goldor platinum price puts downward pressure on the Rand, pushing it weaker than its “fair value”.

The problem is that swings in commodity prices are no easier to forecast than currencies. All we can,therefore, say is that the Rand is cheap relative to an estimated “fair” value. But it could remaincheap.

Whichever explanation we favour for the Rand’s persistent weakness, at the very least, we should notignore the message the currency carries regarding unfolding developments in the global economy.Following the 2008 financial crisis, credit extension growth has been strong in many developingcountries, including China, against the backdrop of extraordinarily loose monetary policy stances indeveloped economies.

Economic Overview for Business Owners September 2015

A more painful adjustment than we would like?

Whichever explanation we favour for the Rand’s persistent weakness, at the very least, we should notignore the message the currency carries regarding unfolding developments in the global economy.Following the 2008 financial crisis, credit extension growth has been strong in many developingcountries, including China, against the backdrop of extraordinarily loose monetary policy stances indeveloped economies.

At the same time, macroeconomic imbalances (current account and budget deficits) have built up innumerous economies. Tighter global financial conditions have exposed the vulnerabilities of EmergingMarkets (EM) economies. This has been reflected in the “capitulation” sharp depreciation ofnumerous currencies, including Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Zambia,Economic Overview for Business Owners September 2015

Hungary, Turkey and Australia (although the latter is not an EM economy). Liquidity has waned andfunding costs have increased, while the required adjustment of these imbalances implies significantdownside risk to expected growth, including in South Africa.

But what does the Reserve Bank make of all of this? In hiking its policy rate by 25bp in July 2015, theReserve Bank’s accompanying Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement suggested that the MPCis concerned that South Africa’s real policy rate is too low, given likely increases in the US FederalFund target rate in the year ahead. Specifically, the Bank is worried that sustained Rand weaknessand sticky domestic inflation expectations could translate into persistently high inflation. Furtherinterest rate hikes cannot, therefore, be ruled out if the Rand continues to depreciate. If so, we are setfor an adjustment to domestic final demand that could be more painful than we would like.

I do not believe it is possible to predict currency movements consistently over time. But, hopefully,with some luck, the Rand has already depreciated sufficiently to meaningfully reduce the currentaccount deficit. Improvements in South Africa’s trade balance data in recent months, at least, givereason for optimism. Time will tell.

Written by Arthur Kamp, Investment Economist, Sanlam Investment Management

Economic Overview for Business Owners September 2015

Mostly everybody these days know about SearchEngine Optimisation (SEO), Google add words andKeywords, but did you know that blogging willincrease your search engine ranking as well? Factsare that Companies that blog get 55% more webtraffic & 70% more leads than those that don't.

HOW TO ATTRACT VISITORS TOYOUR WEBSITE BY BLOGGING.

HOW DOES BLOGGING HELP MYGOOGLE RANKING?

To answer this question you need to first look at what Google searches for today when it indexes sites in its search results.

I have had many people ask me questions like: Please add these keywords to my site to increase the rank or why do I need so many content, we can just add in the keywords to the page. In both of these cases the websites did not have lots of information on it and had 3-4 pages. Another scenario would be where we would receive a lot more images than text content.

Google can’t read images. It can read the name of the image and you can give it an alternative text (The text that pops up when hovering over an image). If you look at your product image, you can probably tell me all about it, what makes it unique, what are the pros and cons, the technical specifications but if you don’t put all of that content and text next to the image, Google will never know it.

Yes, you can optimise these pages, but the reality is that Google will not see your site as value adding. There were some truths to these statements 10 -15 years ago but the facts are that the internet is ever changing and Google regularly updates it algorithms to keep up with the pace and some might say to lead it.

If your site is not staying up to date with the latest trends and techniques then it will not be able to compete against your competitors who are already implementing the new requirements.

LET ME SHOW YOU A GRAPH OF HOW GOOGLE INDEXED SITES IN 2004 VS 2014.


HOW TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO YOURWEBSITE BY BLOGGING


http://www.slideshare.net/randfish/seo-tactics-to-love-vs-leave Rand Fishkin, MOZ

Most people are still under the impression that SEO can be a quick fix and they only have to work on Keywords. This might have helped in 2004, but from the chart you can see that even then Google was looking for more than just keywords. It is almost shocking to see what everything is that is required for an awesome rank today.

Now that you have a better understanding of what Google are looking for today, it still leaves the questions, why blog? Will blogging increase my Google Rank?

THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES, YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO BLOG AND IT WILL GREATLY HELP YOUR SITE TRAFFIC INCREASE. BUT HOW, I HEAR YOU ASK?

Firstly the biggest driving factor for a Google rank today is content. Content should be your primary goal on every single page of your website. Why? Because content gives Google context to what your site and pages are about. Content gives Google something to work through and analyse, and I’m not talking about 50 – 100 words. No. Your pages should at least contain 500 – 700 words.

Google works through your pages today to determine what that particular article or page is about. It wants to determine what the main message is that you want to convey in the article, blog or website page. Then it ranks you accordingly. And don’t just try to force in a bunch of keywords that would not make sense to a reader. Google is smart and will notice this behaviour and penalize you for it. Keep your key phrases below a repetition of 5.

By blogging regularly you are showing Google that you want to add value to your website and the internet and it will pick up on this. The more you blog the more content Google has to offer to its searchers. Each blog is seen as a piece of content that Google can work through. Just like it works through your website pages and ranks your content accordingly. This means that if you have 10 website pages for your products, about us section, services and contact us etc. and have 20 different blog posts then Google sees your website as having 30 pages.

So each time you add a new blog post to your website, you are adding in a new page. The more pages you have on your site the better. If you can frequently publish new posts Google will pick up on this and see that your site is consistently updating. This in turn will make Google come back to your site more often and rank new content faster. This can result in new pages being indexed in a couple of days rather than weeks.

TO SUM UP THE BENEFITS OF A BUSINESS BLOG:

● You’ll have more site pages for Google to index. ● Regularly posting new blog will make Google index your site faster as it sees that your site is constantly updating. ● You have more content on the site that Google can crawl through. ● It helps drive more traffic to your site as a result of the above. ● If you have properly placed Call-to-action buttons, it can convert your traffic into new leads. ● By regularly publishing content you’ll establish authority in your customer’s eyes. ● It drives long-term results.

For me the last point in this list is crucial: The long-term ranking. Remember that when you publish content on your website it stays there (Unless you remove it of course). You might publish a blog post today and get 50 views, and maybe the day after some people catch up on their email (If you promote you blog correctly, but that is another blog on its own) and you net in another 25 visits. That is a total of 75 visits in 2 days. But that is not all. Your blog is still on the web for everybody to see. You will still receive traffic afterwards as your blog are climbing the search engine ranks, meaning that for days, weeks and months to come you will still generate traffic.

About 70% of our traffic each month comes from posts that weren't published that month. Hubspot - speaking about their blog. Corey Eridon

Take this scenario and blog 8 times a month and you can see that your one blog of 75 visits will become 600 visits (75 x 8 = 600) really soon and that is not taking into account the traffic you generate the rest of the month. This is just a scenario as actual figures will differ, but from this scenario we can clearly see how beneficial and crucial a blog is to your website.

Hopefully by reading this blog you can see the potential of having one for your business and start making plans to incorporate it.


Website Blogging


10 UNDENIABLE REASONS WHYENTREPRENEURS HATE

BUSINESS PLANSThe only certainty about any business plan is that it is wrong, so why waste your time? This is one of many points entrepreneurs feel strongly about when the subject of a business plan comes up. Thoughts like this leave them with a negative outlook of a Business plan and they don’t realise the potential and helpfulness of creating one. In this blog we will look at some negative points and explain what the benefits are of getting past these thought stumble blocks.

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable- Dwight D. Eisenhower

10 Undeniable reasons why Entrepreneurs hate Business Plans! Most entrepreneurs willtell you that:

1. The only certainty about any business plan is that it is wrong, so why waste your time?2. It is mostly thought of and requested as a punishment or a deterrent tool against loan applicants with no collateral.3. There is no such thing as venture capital, financial institutions only lend money to applicants with sufficient assets to offer as collateral, so why bother with a business plan?4. Done impressively, a professional business plan will cost a fortune.5. Who is taking care of business while I write the plan?6. Business is simple, sell for more than your purchase price and minimise your expenses, why write a business plan?7. How on earth can I predict the future in a business plan? I don’t own a crystal ball and neither am I psychic.8. If I understand all the obstacles and challenges, I might be too scared to venture out.9. The market changes so fast by the time the business plan is complete the niche market I identified is lost.10. “Screw let’s do it” is a motto followed by the Multi billionaire Sir Richard Branson and who am I to differ? He even admitted not understanding the word “net profit” until someone explained to him that when you go fishing the net profit of you outing is the fish you take home in the net!!


All the above, although comical, is very true but without a well prepared and thoroughly researched business plan the newly born business is doomed as there could be gaps in the strategy you would have seen if thorough planning was done.

Writing out your business plan forces you to review everything at once: your value proposition, marketing assumptions, operations plan, financial plan and staffing plan. You'll end up spotting connections you otherwise would have missed. For example, if your marketing plan projects10,000 customers by year two and your staffing plan provides for two salespeople, that forcesyou to ask: How can two salespeople generate 10,000 customers? The answer might lead you toconclude that forming partnerships, targeting distributors and concentrating on bulk sales tolarge companies would be your best tactics. Stever Robbins

The layout of your business plan must be so structured that it should make you think of all the aspects of your business to consider when starting a new venture.

The following Table of Contents covers all the aspects of a well written business plan and will help you identify any errors and gaps that could be hidden in your strategy:

● Business Description ● Products / Services ● The Market ● Marketing Strategies and Sales ● Development ● Management ● Operations ● Financials ● Offering OR Funding Request ● Refining the Plan ● Appendix

More than finding gaps and errors in your strategy it can also be used to calculate growth more accurately. Your plan as a starting point will show you from where you came and guide your direction for the future.

Did your sales strategy bring in the customers you predicted? Why not? Was your market analysis on target or did you target the wrong audience who are not interested in your product? These are all great question you can ask upon reflection of your business plan. By taking the time from the start to write the plan will give you much more accurate answers to all of these questions.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin

By taking the time and money to plan early on will save you invaluably in the future as you can spot from the start if there needs to be a course adjustment or re-evaluation. So if you don’t plan you might end up having to make big course adjustments which will not only cost you time but money as well.

Tel: 011 397 7729/1271

Fax: 011 397 1139

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.exval.co.za

Unit 9 & 10

Gateway Industrial Park

Graniet Street

Jetpark, Gauteng

The Operations section outlines how you will run yourbusiness and deliver value to your customers.Operations is defined as the processes used toproduce your products/services and deliver them tothe marketplace and can include manufacturing,transportation, logistics, travel, printing, consulting,after-sales service, and so on.

In all likelihood, about 80% of your expenses will befor operations, 80% of your employees will be workingin operations, and 80% of your time will be spentworrying about operating problems and opportunities.Be sure that you carefully link the design of youroperations to your marketing plan. For example, ifhigh quality will be one of your comparative advantages in the marketplace, then design your operations to deliver high quality, not low costs.

Remember that you will probably have to make trade-offs with your operations. It is impossible to have the lowest costs, highest quality, and best on-time performance in your industry all at the same time. Often, high quality means higher costs, low costs means less variety and less flexibility. Be careful how you make these trade-offs so that you can deliver products to the market in accordance with your marketing plan.

Some Questions to ask in the Operations Section are as follows:

● How will you produce and deliver your product/service? ● What will you do in-house, and what will you purchase (make vs. buy)? ● How will you use your operations to compete? Cost? Quality? Timeliness? Flexibility? ● What comparative advantages do you have with your operational design? ● What will be your relationship with vendors, suppliers, partners, and associates?

11 MUST HAVES FOR YOUR BUSINESS PLAN OPERATIONS SECTION

The Operations section should include the following subsections:

1 OPERATIONS STRATEGY

In this subsection, describe how you will fulfill your marketing strategy using operations:

● How will you use operations to add value for customers in your target market? ● How will you win in the marketplace on the dimensions of cost, quality, timeliness, custom service and flexibility? ● Which dimensions will you stress and which ones will be less significant?.


11 MUST HAVES FOR YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

OPERATIONS SECTION


2 SCOPE OF OPERATIONS

Describe the scope of your operations. Include details in an appendix, as necessary.

● What will you do in-house and what will we purchase (make vs. buy)? Why does this make sense for your business? ● What will be your relationship with vendors, suppliers, partners, and associates? ● What kind of people will you need to hire?

3 ONGOING OPERATIONS

How will your company operate on an ongoing basis? Include details in an appendix.

4 LOCATION

The location of your business can play a decisive role in its success or failure. Your location should be built around your customers, it should be accessible, and it should provide a sense of security.

State where your primary office will be located as well as any other facility where your business will operate and then explain the reasons for those locations. Give the actual size of each office and/or facility and along with a description of how each will be used and the duration in number of years these facilities will be adequate for operations. Some issues you may address include:

● What are your location needs? ● Describe locations of production, sales, storage areas, and buildings - Are the premises leased or owned? - Why is this area desirable? - What kind of space will the business require? - What renovations are needed, and how much will they cost? ● Describe access to buildings (e.g. walk in, parking, freeways, airports, railroads, shipping) - Is it easily accessible, is parking available? Is public transportation available? Is street lighting adequate? ● What are your business hours? ● Are market shifts or demographic shifts occurring? ● Include a drawing or layout of your proposed facility if you are seeking an expansion loan ● Location of the competition

FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

● Location: addresses, floor plans, etc. ● Lease: terms, length, important details ● Improvements: plans, funding, budget ● Key factors: expansion potential, proximity to market, unique aspects ● Physical condition

5 PERSONNEL

The right mix of personnel will be the most valuable asset any business has. Employees and staff will play an important role in the overall operation of your business. It is very important to know what skills you possess and the ones you lack since you will have to hire personnel to supply the skills you lack. Furthermore, it is essential that you know how to manage and treat your employees. Make them feel as part of the team. Keep them informed of changes and be sure to get their feedback.

Employees can often be a great source of excellent ideas, of innovations to existing products/services, and inspiration for new product lines and markets to enter, so be sure to take the time to listen to your employees as they may provide you with the new competitive edge you have been looking for.


This section should be broken down to include the following:

● Number of employees - Will your employees be full-time or part-time? - Can the business use part-time help to meet increases in demand?

● Type of labor (skilled, unskilled, professional) - What skills must they have? - Do you have written job descriptions for employees? If not, take the time to write some.

● Quality of existing staff - What unique skills do they bring to the business? - Who does which tasks? - Are schedules and procedures in place?

● Pay structure - Will you pay salaries or hourly wages? - Certain employee benefits are mandatory. Find out what they are. - What benefits, if any, can you afford? - Will you provide additional fringe benefits? If so, which ones? Have you calculated the costs of these additional fringe benefits? - Will you utilize overtime? If so, you may be required by law to pay time and a half, double time, and/or extra expenses such as meals.

● Procedures for acquiring new employees - Are the people you need available? - Training methods and requirements - Will you have to train people for both operations and management? If so, at what costs to the business?

6 PRODUCTION

Explain your methods of production or how you deliver your service.

● Production techniques and costs - How and where are your products/services produced? - Description of manufacturing process (if applicable) ● Quality control ● Customer service

7 OPERATIONS EXPENSES

Include here a description of the operating costs and assumptions that appear in your financial statements. Most expenses are often referred to as overhead expenses. Overhead expenses are all the non-labor expenses required to operate the business. Expenses can be separated in two ways: fixed (expenses that have to be paid no matter the volume of business) and variable or semi-variable (expenses which change according to the amount of business).

Overhead expenses normally include any or all of the following:

● Travel● Maintenance and repair● Equipment leases● Rent● Advertising and Promotion● Supplies● Utilities


● Packaging and Shipping● Unrecoverable receivables● Professional services● Insurance● Loan Payments● Depreciation

In order to develop the overhead expenses for this portion of the business plan, you need to multiply the number of employees by the expenses associated with each employee. The following equation can be used to calculate the sum of each overhead expense: Overhead = Number of Employees x Expense per Employee

COST CONTROLS

● Inventory: forms, systems (computer), practices● Food and beverage: check systems, management practices, training, periodic inventory● General: management, inventory

ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL CONTROLS

● Bookkeeping systems and policies (payments, billing)● Accounting systems (report intervals)● Sales systems (computers)

8 LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

Describe each of the following elements as they apply to your business:

● Licensing and permits● Bonding requirements● Health, workplace or environmental regulations● Special regulations covering your industry or profession● Zoning or building code requirements● Insurance coverage● Trademarks, copyrights, or patents [pending, existing, or purchased]

9 INVENTORY

Explain how you will manage your inventory. Give the details on each of the following elements of inventory:

● The kind of inventory kept: raw materials, supplies, finished goods● Average value in stock - What is your inventory investment?● Rate of turnover an how this compares to industry average● Season buildups - Will there be seasonal buildups? - How will you handle seasonal buildup?● Lead-time or ordering

10 SUPPLIERS

Identify the supplies you will use for your products and services. Be sure to document the following in this section:

● The names and address of each - Who are your suppliers? - Do you expect shortages or short-term delivery problems? - Are current suppliers providing the best service or should you be looking for new suppliers?● Type and amount of inventory furnished● Credit and delivery policies● History and reliability of each supplier● Are supply costs steady or variable? If variable, how do you deal with the changing costs?

11 CREDIT POLICIES

If your business will extend credit, be sure to include detailed descriptions of the policies you will implement. When creating your policies you should have answers to the following questions:

● What terms will you offer your customers? How much credit and when is payments due?● How do you check the creditworthiness of new applicants?● Do you sell on credit? If so, do you really need to sell on credit? Is it customary in your industry and expected by your clientele?● Do you know what it costs you to extend credit? This includes both the cost of capital tied up in receivables and the cost of bad debts.● Have you factored the costs into your prices?

You need to carefully manage both the credit you extend and the credit you receive.

If you can fill in and answer all of the questions in each section you would have a substantial amount of information on each section of you operations. This in turn will lead you to find any errors in your strategy and plan which you can address and save you time and money in the long term as you can change your plan accordingly.


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P.O. Box 1290Strubenvale

Springs, 1560

Bulletin Blogsby Christine Du Plessis29

ARE LABOUR BROKERSA THING OF THE PAST?

The Amendments to Section 198 of the LabourRelations Act has affected Labour Broking in amajor way. This blog addresses critical issuesthat will affect you as a business owner if youuse Temporary Employment Services (TES) orcommonly known as a Labour Broker.

Are Labour Brokers a thing of the past?Who is affected?

1. Employees earning below the threshold

In terms of Section 45 of the Labour RelationsAmendment Act, 2014, President Zuma declaredthat the amendments to the Act would come intoeffect on the 1st of January 2015.

The changes are only applicable to employees who earn below the earnings threshold as determined by the Minister of Labour. This threshold is currently R205 433.00 per annum.

“Earnings" can be defined as an employee’s gross salary before deductions such as income tax, pension, medical and similar payments. Company contributions made by an employer in respect of the employee’s salary are excluded.

This means that if an employer makes use of a TES, only those employees earning less than R17 119.41 per month will be affected by the changes.

2. Non-Standard employees

Non-standard employees are employees whose employment is not permanent. They include part-time employees, employees on limited duration contracts and “temporary employees”. A temporary employee is an employee whose employment contract or successive contracts’ duration does not exceed 3 months.

What does “equal treatment” entail?

Section 198A does not provide a claim for equal treatment by all TES employees, but only those who earn below the threshold AND who are doing work which is not defined as “temporary” (i.e. if they are employed for more than three months and if they are not filling in for someone who is temporarily absent.)

The employees placed by the TES must receive the same treatment as the client's employees, unless the TES offers better conditions of employment.

An employee employed on a fixed term contract for more than three months must not be treated less favourably than an employee who is employed on a permanent basis performing the same or similar work, unless there is a justifiable reason for different treatment.

An employer must also provide an employee employed on a limited duration contract and an employee employed on a permanent basis with equal access to opportunities to apply for vacancies.

Bulletin Blogs by Christine Du Plessis 30

What is a justifiable reason for different treatment?Where different treatment is a result of the application of a system that takes into account:a) seniority, experience or length of service;b) merit;c) the quality or quantity of work performed ord) any other criteria of a similar nature and such reason is not prohibited by section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act.

Section 6 (1) of the Employment Equity Act determines:No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth.

It is not unfair discrimination to:(i) take affirmative action measures consistent with the purpose of the Act: or(ii) distinguish, exclude or prefer any person on the basis of an inherent requirement of a job.

The Act refers to a “system” – a policy which regulates this should be implemented and signed by applicable employees, and yes we will gladly assist!

What should I know about dismissal when considering these changes?

The definition of a dismissal has been amended as per the new Act:In terms of Section 186(1)(a), dismissal is not just limited to the termination of a contract of employment by an employer – it applies to the termination of the employment relationship:

If for instance the TES places an employee at a client whose work is not of a temporary nature, and the client decides to terminate the employment contract, then the employee can refer the client to the CCMA irrespective of the contract with the labour broker, due to the fact that the employment relationship is between the employee and the client.

Another example of a dismissal is if there is no offer of permanent employment after a limited duration contract has lapsed. If the employer cannot justify the fact that the employee was not given a permanent contract, the employee has the right to refer the matter to the CCMA based on a claim of unfair dismissal. The employer then has to prove that he had a “justifiable reason” for not employing the employee on a permanent basis.

What can the East Rand Chamber of Commerce offer businesses that prefer using Labour Brokers?

As a client of a TES you have to ensure that your disciplinary code is the same code used by your Labour Broker. The client will be considered as the employer in the case where an employee who is placed by the TES does not conduct work that is of a “temporary nature”. This means that the employee can decide who he wants to take to the CCMA in the event of a dismissal – you or the TES, or you AND the TES.

This does not mean that Labour Brokers are obsolete – it simply means that it is advisable to ensure that your Industrial Relations are in sync and that the decision making when it comes to dismissals are centralised.

Outsourcing this function, which includes chairing of disciplinary hearings on behalf of both the TES and the client, is one way of solving this problem. We as the Chamber offer specialised packages that would suite both the pockets of you and your labour broker, and we add in that extra piece of mind that ensures compliance with both procedural and substantive fairness just in case you have a CCMA referral.

Ekonomiese Oorsig vir Besigheidseienaars September 2015

‘n Aanpassing pynliker as wat ons sou verkies

Vier jaar gelede het die Rand teen kort duskant Rand/$7 verhandel. Met die skryf van hierdie artikel,verhandel dit teen R/$13. Gewilde verklarings vir die omvang van die eenheid se val sluitelektrisiteitstekorte, werkstakings en vrese rondom ŉ moontlike afgradering van Suid-Afrika sesoewereineskuldgradering tot onder investeringsvlak, in.

Sommige van hierdie faktore bied egter net nie ŉ geloofwaardige verduideliking vir die deurlopendeswakheid van die geldeenheid oor die afgelope vier jaar nie. Elektristeitsonderbrekings het eers inDesember 2014 ŉ aanvang geneem. Werkstakings het in 2007 meer as 12 miljoen werkdae beloopen in 2010 meer as 14 miljoen. Op daardie tydstip was die debat onder Suid-Afrikaanse ekonome oorof Suid-Afrika kapitaalbeheermaatreëls moes instel om die geldeenheid se volgehouewaardevermeerdering te verstadig.

Die aanhoudende agteruitgang in die regering se dissipline rondom uitgawes vanaf 2009 to 2011, watlopende uitgawes skerp verhoog het ten koste van infrastruktuurbesteding, het beslis nie gehelp nie.ŉ Geldeenheid is die betrokke ekonomie se aandeleprys en daar is meer as genoeg leesstof wat diebelangrikheid van verstandige ekonomiese beleid as voorwaarde vir ŉ ekonomie se welstandillustreer. Maar, al is daar nog risiko rondom fiskale beleid, het die Nasionale Tesourie oor dieafgelope drie fiskale jaar bewys hoe goed hy aan sy uitgaweplafon kan vasklou.

Meer interessant is dat die Rand se val met die begin van die daling in Suid-Afrika sekommoditeitsuitvoerpryse in 2010 saamgeval het – toe China se opflikkering in industriëlevervaardiging na afloop van die finansiële krisis sy hoogtepunt bereik het. China is die wêreld segrootste invoerder van kommoditeite.

Oor tyd verwag ŉ mens dat die Rand ooreenkomstig die inflasiedifferensiaal tussen Suid-Afrika en syhandelsvennote in waarde sal verander. Ons neem dus aan dat koopkragpariteit (KKP) oor tydstandhou. Maar ons weet dat die geldeenheid jare aaneen van die patroon wat deur KKP voorgestelword, afwyk. In ons geskiedenis is een van die mees algemene oorsake van hierdie afwykings skokkein kommoditeitspryse. Byvoorbeeld, ŉ vallende goud- of platinumprys plaas afwaarste druk op dieRand, sodat dit laer as die “billike” waarde daarvan verhandel.

Die probleem is dat veranderings in kommoditeitspryse net so onvoorspelbaar soos geldeenhede is.Al wat ons dus kan sê, is dat die Rand, relatief tot ŉ geskatte “billike” waarde, goedkoop is. Maar ditkan goedkoop bly.

Watter verduideliking ons ookal vir die Rand se volgehoue swakheid verkies, moet ons ten minste niedie boodskap wat die geldeenheid rakende die huidige ontwikkelinge in die wêreldwye ekonomieoordra, ignoreer nie. Ná die finansiële krisis van 2008 was kredietverleningsgroei in baieontwikkelende lande, China ingesluit, sterk teen die agtergrond van die buitengewoon akkommoderendemonetêre beleidsinstelling van ontwikkelde ekonomieë.

Ekonomiese Oorsig vir Besigheidseienaars September 2015

Terselfdertyd het makro-ekonomiese wanbalanse (lopenderekening- en begrotingstekorte) in talleekonomieë opgebou. Strenger wêreldwye finansiële toestande het die kwesbaarhede vanOntwikkelende Markte (OM)-ekonomieë ontbloot. Dit word weerspieël in die skerp dalings van tallegeldeenhede, soos Brasilië, Rusland, Indonesië, Thailand, Nigerië, Angola, Ghana, Zambië,Hongarye, Turkye en Australië (hoewel laasgenoemde nie as ŉ OM-ekonomie beskou word nie).Likiditeit het gekwyn en befondsingskoste het toegeneem, terwyl die vereiste aanpassing van hierdiewanbalanse beduidende negatiewe risiko vir verwagte groei impliseer, ook in Suid-Afrika.

Maar hoe beskou die Reserwebank sake? Toe die beleidskoers in Julie 2015 met 25bp verhoog is,het die Reserwebank se meegaande verklaring deur die Monetêre Beleidskomitee (MBK) geïmpliseerdat die MBK vrees dat Suid-Afrika se reële beleidskoers te laag is, gegewe die waarskynlikeverhogings in die jaar vorentoe in die VSA se teikenkoers vir die Federale Fonds. Die Bank isspesifiek bekommerd dat volgehoue swakheid in die Rand en verhoogde plaaslikeinflasieverwagtinge na deurlopende hoë inflasie kan herlei. Verdere rentekoersstygings kan dus nieuitgeskakel word indien die Rand aanhou in waarde verminder nie. Indien wel, sal ons moet regmaakvir ŉ aanpassing in die binnelandse finale besteding wat dalk meer pynlik kan wees as wat ons souverkies.

Ek glo nie dit is moontlik om konsekwent oor tyd wisselkoerse te voorspel nie. Maar, hopelik en met ŉtikkie geluk het die Rand reeds voldoende in waarde verminder om die lopenderekeningtekortbeduidend te verlaag. Verbeteringe in Suid-Afrika se handelsaldo-data oor die afgelope paar maandebied ten minste rede vir optimisme. Die tyd sal leer.

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R 4838.00

R 6384 (12 x R532)

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QSME Certificate R3500-00QSME Certificate R3500-00(>51% Black Ownership)


Many of our clients adhere to the requirements of a “designated employer” when it comes to submitting an Employment Equity REPORT, but most of them unfortunately are not aware of the dangers of not having an Employment Equity PLAN.

The purpose of this Article is to try and simplify the “legal mumbo jumbo” to ensure that you avoid penalties.

Who should read this article? - An employer who employs 50 or more employees.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY: WHY HAVING A PLAN IS SO IMPORTANT? WHAT ARE THE RISKS IF I DO NOT COMPLY?

I have recently spoken to so many of our clients who informed me that an inspector from the Department of Labour randomly chose to visit their company to ensure that they adhere to Employment Equity (EE) legislation.

Their modus operandi is to visit the premises and provide the owner with a letter informing them that they will return in a few days to do an inspection.

If they return to find that your house is not in order, they have the power to issue a “Compliance Order” (a document which lists the things that you do not have in your EE file, as well as other documentation that needs to be drafted and implemented). Non-compliance to this may in turn lead to a referral to the Labour Court, where the owners of the company will have to defend themselves to try and avoid a fine. Fines according to the Department can range from 2% to 10% of a company’s annual turnover.

The Department is of the opinion that all employers knows that they have to comply.

WHAT ARE THE RULES WHEN IT COMES TO THE EE PLAN?

Employers must prepare and implement and employment equity plan, which will assist them in reaching employment equity in their workplace.

Although this is easier said than done, and even if it is impossible to achieve this sufficiently, employers are still required to have a plan in which they attempt to conform.

STEP 1: SELECTION OF EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES

Representatives should be selected through a method which is considered to be fair and reasonable (we can help with this). These employees should be diverse and represent employees who are considered to be from designated groups

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY: WHY HAVINGA PLAN IS SO IMPORTANT


STEP 2: CONSULTATION

Employers are required to discuss the analysis, preparation and implementation of the Employment Equity Plan. The Plan itself is not submitted to the Department of Labour (like you have to do with the Employment Equity Report). Instead it is kept in your EE file, while you hold your thumbs that you are not the lucky winner of a “Departmental visit” (but, if you allow us to do all your “dirty” (paper) work for you, you can invite them for a cup of tea just to show off your EE file).

STEP 3: THE PAPERWORK

If you are interested in inviting us for a cup of tea, we will assist in analysing your current workforce, and setting realistic targets which will not land you in hot water in a couple of years. We will compile the information of the plan itself for your record purposes.

Both the content as well as the format of the plan is regulated by the EE Act. In addition to the plan there are other prescribed documentation that has to be drafted and signed by the relevant employees who are part of the committee. We supply appointment letters and other documentation required by the Act.

TYPICAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE PLAN

Employment equity plans should contain –

● objectives for every year;● affirmative action measures that will be implemented by the company;● where black people, women and people with disabilities are not represented what the action plan for this would be● the period of implementation of the action plan;● strategies and procedures used to ensure that you adhere to it;● how the company intends to resolve any disputes about the implementation and general administration of the plan; and● employees who will be involved in the process.

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO INVOLVE US?

We as the East Rand Chamber of Commerce will not only ensure that your plan, and its supporting documents are drafted correctly, we also provide you with a training session which includes the employees who are involved in the Employment Equity Committee. That way we ensure that you have the required know-how to continue conducting the required meetings.

If you want us to assist you as a “Facilitator” at every EE meeting, we will gladly assist.

The bottom line is that non-compliance will affect your bottom line – something which can easily be avoided by bringing us on board.


WARNING: EMPLOYMENT EQUITYSUBMISSIONS 2015 ARE LURKING

With the Employment Equity submission period which starts in a few months, we thought we would give you a little reminder of what we can do for you.

WHO SHOULD SUBMIT?Employers who are “designated employers” are required to submit their Employment Equity Reports annually to the Department of Labour within the prescribed window.

Previously there was a distinction between smaller and larger companies – smaller companies only had to submit every second year, but with the amendments to the Employment Equity Act during 2014 the legislator is now expecting companies to submit every year.

WHAT IS A “DESIGNATED EMPLOYER”?Any company which employs 50 or more employees or which has an annual turnover equal to, or more than the amounts tabled below, is considered to be a “designated employer” according to the Employment Equity Act. Practically this means that you should consider your most recent financial years’ turnover, and compare it to the table below:

Sub sector

Agriculture

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas and water

Construction

Retail and motor trade and repair services

Wholesale trade, commercial agents and allied services

Catering, accommodation and other trade

Transport, storage and communications

Finance and business services

Community, social and personal services

Total annual turnover

R6.00m

R22.50m

R30.00m

R30.00m

R15.00m

R45.00m

R75.00m

R15.00m

R30.00m

R30.00m

R15.00m


WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

1. Less frustration in submitting your BBBEE

When being audited for BBBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) purposes, submitting your Employment Equity Report (EER) might be the difference between scoring points or being disqualified to score points under that element;

2. Assisting you in a better nights’ sleep:

The Department of Labour does random inspections to ensure compliance with the EE Act and the fines which could be imposed are the greater of R1, 5 million or 2% of the employer’s annual turnover. Repeat offenders could face fines equal to the greater of R2, 7 million or 10% of the employer’s turnover.

Submitting your EER will therefore assist in having one less sheep to count at night.

WHY CHOOSE THE EAST RAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE?

We will assist you by providing the following services:

a. Online submission of the EEA2 and EEA4 reports to the Department of Labour:

Simply complete our spread sheet and send it back to us, and Bob’s your uncle! Remember that our Labour customers receive this service free of charge.

b. EE Committee training:

We supply you with all the tools to ensure compliance through our training sessions.

Establishing and managing an EE committee has certain requirements as prescribed by the Codes of Good Practise. Not only do we provide training, we also provide you with document templates (in Word format) which can easily be adjusted to conform you your needs.

c. Developing of an Employment Equity Plan.

As part of our EE Committee training we provide the basic templates for the following:

1. An appointment letter for the EE Manager; 2. Appointment letters for the EE Committee Members; 3. EE Policy and Constitution.

So give us a ring or pop us a mail – our experienced advisors will ensure EE submissions are “Easy Peasy”.

Gauteng Reports Significant and Sustained Improvement in Financial Management45

GAUTENG PROVINCEPROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTREPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

46Gauteng Reports Significant and Sustained Improvement in Financial Management


Having a well thought out business plan is one of the most important documents to have in your company. If you are just starting out with a new business or if you are an experienced entrepreneur the benefits of having a business plan is great. It will guide your direction and plan forward as it should be a detailed document covering all the aspects of business. But not just that, your business plan should be modified to suit your specific type of business and the audience for which the plan is written.When writing a business plan think of your audience that you want to attract. What do they want to see? What will be expected of them when they invest? How much capital do you need to start or continue with you endeavour? Knowing your audience and writing for them will help you win them over. It will increase your chances of gaining their trust and more importantly, getting the investment from them that you need.

REFINING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN: 2 DOMINANT THEMES TO INCORPORATE

1 FOR RAISING CAPITAL

FOR BANKERS

Bankers want assurance of orderly repayment. If you intend on using this plan to present to lenders, include:

● Amount of loan● How the funds will be used?● What will this accomplish (how will it make the business stronger)?● Requested repayment terms (number of years to repay). You will probably not have much negotiating room on interest rate, but may be able to negotiate a longer repayment term, which will help your cash flow.● Collateral offered and list of all existing liens against collateral

FOR INVESTORS

Investors have a different perspective. They are looking for dramatic growth, and they expect to share in the rewards.

● Funds needed in the short term● Funds needed in 2 to 5 years● How company will use funds and what this will accomplish for growth● Estimated return on investment● Exit strategy for investors (e.g. buyback, sale, IPO)● Percent of ownership you will give up to investors● Milestones or conditions you will accept● Financial reporting to be provided● Involvement of investors on the Board or in management

REFINING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN:2 DOMINANT THEMES

TO INCORPORATE


2 REFINE ACCORDING TO TYPE OF BUSINESS

MANUFACTURING

● Provide production levels● Provide levels of direct production costs and indirect (overhead) costs● Gross profit margin, overall and for each product line● Production/capacity limits of existing physical plant or of expanded plant (if expansion is planned)● Production/capacity limits of existing equipment or of new equipment (if new equipment is planned)● Potential production efficiency increases● Prices per product line● Purchasing and inventory management procedures● Anticipated modifications or improvements to existing products● New products under development or anticipated

SERVICE BUSINESSES

Service providers sell intangible products. They are usually more flexible than other types of businesses, but they also have higher labour costs and generally very little in fixed assets.

● Prices, methods used to set prices● System of production management● Quality control procedures● Industry averages or accepted quality standards● How is labour productivity measured?● What percent of total available hours are actually billed to customers?● Break-even billable hours● Percent of work subcontracted to other firms● Credit, payment, and collection policies and procedures● Strategy for keeping client base, strategy for attracting new clients

HIGH TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

● Economic outlook for the industry● Do you have information systems in place to manage changing prices, costs, and markets?● Do you employ the best available technologies and does it keep up with updates/upgrades?● What is the status of R&D? And what is required to: - Bring product/service to market? - Keep the company competitive?● How does the company: - Protect intellectual property? - Avoid technological obsolescence? - Supply necessary capital? - Retain key personnel?

If your company is not yet profitable or perhaps does not yet generate sales, you must do longer-term financial forecasts to show when profit take-off will occur. All your assumptions must be well document and well argued.


RETAIL BUSINESS

● Company image● Pricing: - Explain mark-up policies - Prices should be profitable, competitive and in accord with company image● Inventory: - Selection and price should be consistent with company image - Calculate your annual inventory turnover rate. Compare this to industry average for your type store● Customer service policies: should be competitive and in harmony with company image● Location: - Does it give the exposure you need? Is it convenient for customers? Is it consistent with company image?● Promotion: - Methods used and budget - Does it project a consistent company image?● Credit: - Do you extend credit to customers? If yes, do you really need to, and do you factor the cost into prices?

The type of business that you have or are starting should be clearly visible throughout the plan. Each process and step, service or product should be well defined and detailed for potential investors to know exactly what you are offering and how it could benefit them.

FACT SHEET – 2014/15 AUDIT OUTCOMES

1. SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENTS AND ENTITIES

Fact Sheet - 2014/15 Audit Outcomes 50

Audit Outcomes Per Department

Department /Organisation 2014/2015

2013/2014

2012/2013

Office of the Premier

Unqualified with no other matters*



Legislature



Unqualified with no other matters*Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation

Unqualified



Social Development




Treasury




COGTA



N/A (Merger of Housing and Local Govt)

Education

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Community Safety

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Roads and Transport

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Infrastructure Development

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Agriculture and Rural Development

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Economic Development


Unqualified

Unqualified

Finance


Unqualified

Unqualified

Health Qualified Qualified Qualified

Human Settlement Unqualified QualifiedN/A (Merger of Housing and Local Govt)

Housing and Local Government N/A Demerger Qualified

Audit Outcome Per Public Entity

Entity/ Organization 2014/2015 2013/2014 2012/2013

Gauteng Partnership Fund




Gauteng Funding Agency

Unqualified



Gautrain Management Agency




Gauteng Growth and Development Agency

Unqualified


Unqualified

IDZ Development Company




Supplier Park Development Company



Unqualified

Consitutional Hill Precinct



Unqualified

Innovation Hub



Unqualified

Greater Newtown Development Company

Unqualified with

no other matters*


Unqualified

Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site



Unqualified

Dinokeng



Unqualified

Gauteng Film Commission



Unqualified

Gauteng Tourism Authority



Unqualified

Gauteng Enterprise Propeller Unqualified Unqualified Unqualified

Gauteng Gambling BoardUnqualified with no other matters* Unqualified Unqualified

Gauteng Liquor Board Unqualified Unqualified Qualified

Fact Sheet - 2014/15 Audit Outcomes51

Cost Recovery (DACEL) Unqualified Unqualified Unqualified MEDSAS

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

Gauteng Housing Fund

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

G-Fleet Disclaimer Adverse Unqualified

2. IRREGULAR, FRUITLESS AND WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE A.

Irregular

expenditure

The major contributing departments are Gauteng

Department of Education, Department of Roads and Transport and the Department of

Human Settlements.

This largely relates to instances of non-compliance with Supply Chain Management rules and regulations.

Irregular expenditure

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

R' 000

R' 000

R' 000

Irregular expenditure relating to the financial year

5,758,794

3,751,481

4,688,375

Total irregular expenditure

5,758,794

3,751,481

4,688,375

B.

Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure

The Department of Health and Department of Roads and Transport

were the main contributors to Fruitless and Wasteful expenditures.

Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

R' 000

R' 000

R' 000

Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure relating to the financial year

415,615

166,416

182,929

Total fruitless and wasteful expenditure 415,615 166,416 182,929

Issued by Gauteng Provincial Government

For media releases, speeches and news visit the Gauteng Provincial Government's portal at ;; follow us on twitter

22 Hamilton Ave, Brakpan, 1541

P.O. Box 2251, Brakpan, 1540

compliant

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[email protected]

send your designs to:

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R485 (excl. VAT)

Your One Stop Finishing Shop

Powder Coating

Sandblasting

Mirror Image

Polishing

Cnr Wright & Hasset Road, Raleigh Ind. Park Nuffield, Springs 1559

Tel no. (011) 363 0224 * Fax no. 0865779206078 423 2746 - Jonathan * 083 440 6706 - Theuns

We also Offer: On Site Sandblasting & Industrial Spray-painting

Tel: 011 873 7313 * Fax: 011 873 7316

13 Harries StreetIndustria West

Germiston

Email: [email protected]: www.ovnl.co.za

With over 45 years experience in freight forwarding throughout the world, FelTra is committed

to delivering exceptional service with our dedicated team and network of operators. Whether

it is air, sea, rail, or road freight, our skilled teams will ensure the best, most efficient and

economic way to move your freight.

It does not matter where your cargo's destination is or where it's departing from we will

ensure that it arrives at it's destination, safe, intact and on time. Using our network of Air and

Sea freight shipping, and Overland Trucking we'll ensure that your cargo gets to where it

needs to be while providing one of the most reliable and exceptional services you've

experienced.

We ensure that our clients get the best value for money on every move. Open lines of

communication exist between ourselves and our clients with regards to all aspects of the

logistics process. We strive to reduce transit times between supplier and consignee. We

place our customer's cargo first. We are committed to first class service on an on-going and

sustainable basis.

If you need to store or hold your cargo in a safe and secure place, look no further than our

warehouse. FelTra offers personal yet professional cargo collection and delivery.

FelTra prides itself in providing its clients with personal, professional and exceptional service.

Willing to go the extra mile no matter where that mile might take us, we promise to move your

freight, Wherever. Whenever.

FelTraFreight Forwarding and Logistics

43 Director RoadSpartan Ext 21JohannesburgSouth Africa

P.O. Box 710Isando, 1600South Africa

Tel: +27 11 974 8228Fax: +27 11 974 7624

Email: [email protected]: www.feltra.co.za

Tel: 011 914 2210 / 11 * Fax: 011 914 2209 / 086 653 1605

23 Haggie RoadDunswart, BoksburgGauteng

P.O. Box 6669Dunswart

1508

Email: [email protected]: www.umholi.co.za

Umholi offers a wide range of services to our customers in the Lifting and Rigging field such

as: On site inspection, Proof loading of all steel wire rope etc.

Umholi is the sole distributor of the Indian based company Usha Martin for the supply ropes

for STS and mobile harbor cranes, the mining industry and for Tirfors / Rigging.

For the Port and Crane Lifting industry Umholi manufactures customised products such as;

Spreader slinging or chain systems, Steel Wire Rope Slings, Chain Slings etc.

For the Lashing and Securing industry Umholi supplies; Shackles, Turnbuckles, Thimbles

etc.

Umholi also supplies a second-to-none Health, Safety and Environment (HSSE) policy

whereby it renders to the Ports and Lifting Industries that includes Safety Seminars,

Inspection Services etc.

All our products are supplied with a Test Certificate underwritten by HWSETA, L.T.I, L.M.E.,

L.E.E.A.S.A. and SASCO.

For the past 85 years Bibby Turboflex SA (Pty) Ltd has grown and adapted to meet the

requirements of the South African market. Formerly known as Wellman Bibby, Bibby

Transmissions UK, part of the Altra Industrial Motion Group (USA), Bibby Turboflex brings

together the expertise of market leading companies in the power transmission and motion

control industries to create an organization of formidable capability.

Altra is a leading multinational designer, producer and marketer of a wide range of mechanical

power transmission products.

Altra also provides products for use in a wide variety of high-volume manufacturing processes,

where the reliability and accuracy of our products are critical in both avoiding costly down time

and enhancing the overall efficiency of manufacturing operations.

Our products are marketed under a variety of well recognized and established brand names.

The Altra product portfolio includes electromagnetic clutches and brakes, overrunning

clutches, enclosed gear drives, open gearing, couplings, engineered bearing assemblies,

belted drives, linear actuators and other related products.

Our customers operate in a diverse group of industries, including packaging, general

industrial, material handling, oil and gas, aggregate and mining, marine, power generation,

food processing, transportation and turf and garden.

We are dedicated to finding new and better ways of handling some of the most demanding

power transmission applications. By working closely with our customers and applying the

latest technologies in design, materials and manufacturing we have accelerated the

development process of bringing new products to the marketplace.

Unit 11, Middle Park, Cnr Craig & Dormehl Roads

Anderbolt, Boksburg, P.O. Box 16524

Atlasville, 1465 South Africa

NCR REGISTERED DEBT REHABILITATION SERVICES

UNABLE TO REPAY YOUR DEBT?

Reduce your current installmentsMake one consolidated paymentper month

Retain your assetsWe will help you enforce yourlegal rights

THE GOAL OF THE CREDITACT IS TO PROTECT

THE CUSTOMER

sms MONEYto 35521 for assistance

FOR A FREEASSESSMENT CONTACT

KEVIN RUSSELL: 082 900 4129 or MARLENE MULLER: 011 363 2956For more information go to www.livingdebtfree.co.za

East Rand Chamber of CommerceSERVICE DELIVERY SURVEY

We�ran�a�survey�on�companies�in�the�East�Rand.�Below�are�some�of�the�results�collected.

ANNUAL�TURNOVER

R1 - R5 Million

R5 - R15 Million

R15 - R35 Million

R50 - R100 Million

R100 - R250 Million

18.18%

9.09%

27.27%

27.27%

18.18%

WHERE�IS�YOUR�CUSTOMER�BASE?

33.33%��1�-�10

41.67%��11�-�25

8.33%��26�-�508.33%��51�-�100

DOES�YOUR�COMPANYHAVE�SOCIAL�MEDIA

ACCOUNTS?

ARE�YOU�A�MEMBER�OF�A�CHAMBER�OF�COMMERCE?

YES16.67% NO

83.33%

LOCALNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL BOTHNATIONAL�&

INTERNATIONAL

IS�YOUR�ACCESS�OF�INFORMATION�MANUAL�REGISTERED

60%YES

IS�YOUR�OCCUPATIONAL�HEALTH�AND�SAFETY�ACT�MANUAL�ON�DISPLAY?

YES75%

NO25%

DO�YOU�HAVE�A�PORTFOLIO�ON�YOUR�COMPANY?

75%SAY�YES

INFO GRAPHIC BY:

HOW�MANY�DAYS�IS�YOUR�AVERAGE�DEBT�COLLECTION?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

70%

10%

20%

30�DAYS 90�DAYS CASH

NUMBER�OF�STAFF

8.33%��1�-�10

YES

NO

33.33% 33.33%

25%

8.33%

DO�YOU�USE�THE�ARBITRATION�ORJUDICIARY�SYSTEM�FOR�DEBTORDISPUTES?

30%

0%

50%

20%ARBITRATION

JUDICIARYSYSTEM

BOTH

NONE

ARE�YOU�ISO�ACCREDITED?

YES36.36%NO

63.64%IS�ANY�OF�YOUR�PRODUCTS�SABSAPPROVED?

YES

41.67%

RATE�YOUR�SERVICE�DELIVERY�FROM

SARSMUNICIPAL�SERVICESTELKOMCELLPHONE�SERVICESESKOM

9.09%�-�VERY�GOOD50%�-�GOOD18%�-�VERY�GOOD8%�-�VERY�GOOD25%�-�GOOD

ARE�YOU�SELF-SUFFICIENT�OR�DO�YOU�RELY�ON�ESKOM?

RELY�ON�ESKOM

50%BOTH

42%

WHAT�POSTAL�SERVICES�DO�YOU�USE

50%50%

POST�OFFICECOURIERSPICK�&�PAY OTHER

IS�THERE�ILLEGAL�DUMPING�IN�YOUR�AREA?

33.33%SAY�YES

66.67%SAY�NO

DO�YOU�HAVE�A�BBBEE�CERTIFICATE?

NO�-�16%YES�-�83%

WHAT�LEVEL�IS�YOUR�BBBEE�CERTIFICATE?

123456

22.22%11.11%33.33%22.22%11.11%0.00%

DO�YOU�MAKE�USE�OF�A�BEE�CONSULTANT?

40%EXTERNAL

50%NONE

DO�YOU�HAVE�EMPLOYMENT�CONTRACTS�IN�PLACE?

83%YES

17%NO

DO�YOU�USE�SALARY�AND�WAGE�SOFTWARE?

YES67% NO

33%

DO�YOU�HAVE�AN�INDUSTRIAL�RELATIONS�OFFICER?

YES25%

NO75%HOW�MANY�CCMA�CASES�DID�YOU�HAVE

IN�THE�LAST�YEAR?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

75�%

16.67%8.33%

NONE 1 2�-�5

DO�YOU�PAY�UNION�LEVIES?

33.33%�-�YES

66.67%�-�NO

HAVE�YOU�DONE�INTERNAL�HEARINGS?

50%�-�YES

50%�-�NO

NO YES

DO�YOU�HAVE�ANY�OUTSTANDING�CLAIMS�TO�THEWORKMANSHIP�COMPENSATION?

83.33%

16.67%

18%82%

NO BOTH ONLY�WSPONLY�EE

DO�YOU�YEARLY�SUBMIT�YOUR�WORKPLACE�SKILLSPLAN�(WSP)�AND�EMPLOYMENT�EQUITY�(EE)?

HAVE�YOU�APPOINTED�A�FIRE�FIGHTER�ANDFIRST�AID�OFFICER?

41,67%�-�NONE

41,67%�-�BOTH

16.67%�-�ONLYFIRST�AID�OFFICER

DO�YOU�DO�YOUR�ANNUAL�COMPULSORYOCCUPATIONAL�HEALTH�&�SAFETY�TRAINING�FOR

Basic Fire Fighting

Accident & Incident Investigation

Health & Safety for Management

First Aid Level 1

Health & Safety Representatives

Health & Safety for Supervisors

45.45%�-�YES 54.55%�-�NO

40%�-�YES 60%�-�NO

30%�-�YES 70%�-�NO

66.67%�-�YES 33.33%�-�NO

50%�-�YES 50%�-�NO

30%�-�YES 70%�-�NO

HAVE�YOU�APPOINTED�A�FIRE�FIGHTER�AND�FIRST�AID�OFFICER?

Only�a�First�Aid�Officer

None

Both

16.67%

41.67%

41.67%

DO�YOU�USE�A�CRM�SYSTEM?

YES

NO

25%

75%

DO�YOU�PURCHASE�GOOGLE�ADD�WORDS?

16.67%YES

83.33%NO

WHAT�IS�YOUR�MONTHLY�HOSTING�COSTS

LESS�THAN�R100

R100�-�R200

R200�-�R500

R500�-�R1000

MORE

0.00%

33.33%

33.33%

16.67%

16.67%

HOW�REGULARLY�DO�YOU�UPDATE�YOUR�WEBSITE?

DAILYWEEKLYMONTHLYYEARLYSELDOM

22.22%0.00%44.44%22.22%�0.00%

NEVER 11.11%�

YES8.33%

NO91.67%

HAVE�YOU�HEARD�OF�INBOUND�MARKETING?

IS�YOUR�WEBSITE�RESPONSIVE?

100%SAY�YES

WHAT�METHOD�OF�ADVERTISING�DO�YOU�USE?

Print

Post

Outdoor Signs

Internet

66.67%

16.67%8.33%

83.33%

WHAT�IS�YOUR�CURRENT�MARKETING�BUDGET?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

25%

0%

12.50%12.50%

0�-�500 500�-�2000 2000�-�5000 5000�-�10000 MORE

50%

22.22%�-�INTERNAL

0%�-�EXTERNAL

DO�YOU�DO�INTERNAL�OR�EXTERNAL�TRAINING?

77.78%�-�BOTH

IS�THE�TRAINING�ACCREDITED�ORUNACCREDITED?

ACCREDITED87.50%

UNACCREDITED12.50%

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[email protected]

send your designs to:

[email protected]

R485 (excl. VAT)