Book of the Month

Review by Puseletso B. Motsemedi

The story

Entrepreneurship theory has it that when human beings start living together, demand and supply immediately kick in as no family or individual is self- sufficient. Entrepreneurship is defined as the discovery, identification or creation of opportunities present in the environment by school of thought.

I am sure you and I have either read or heard stories of how the San people gave so much (livestock), for so little (mirror or matchstick) to Dutch Spice traders at the Cape Good Hope. As the world is about to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, let’s be reminded that entrepreneurship in South Africa did not begin with colonialism.

Dear Mr. Entrepreneurship by Jabulile Msimango is a brutally honest read in a world where we have lifestyle entrepreneurs, tenderpreneurs and influencers. The book takes the reader on a sobering adventure ride filled with dreams, desires, marriage of ideas, pitfalls of business partnerships and the hammering of deals for a practicing and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Often times, entrepreneurs who have made it then lost it all, and managed to not only bounce back but forward answer the popular question “how did you rise from the ashes after losing everything?” with “I just worked hard”. Which begs another question: “So, when you lost it all the first time, you didn’t work hard?” Are you saying entrepreneurs who are forced to shut down their business doors, spent their time sipping cocktails at golf courses instead of working “hard”?

Jabulile Msimango was and is still a smart and hardworking woman, who deservedly earned her stripes in Corporate SA because she had the Degree to back it up. Like most smart people who would boggle your mind when they make mind boggling decisions, she soon discovered that entrepreneurship does not care about her expensive paper. What matters is that an entrepreneur must constantly do their homework, as if it would go out of fashion.

Her willingness to use her heart instead of brains in running her business, set a chain reaction of business harm, because the heart proved to be very stupid when it came to balancing the balance sheet. Even though the Black Economic Empowerment legislation was implemented in 2003, I can bet a Dollar that the majority of black South Africans don’t actually understand the machination of BEE.

The book proves that point, as Jabulile Msimango signed a BEE deal without understanding what she was bringing to the business table. Even though the BEE legislation wanted to address the injustices of the past, the reality in South Africa is that whoever has the gold makes the rules in a BEE marriage.
Have you heard of the saying men lie, women lie but numbers don’t? Business is a numbers game that needs sales to stay alive however, record keeping keeps the entrepreneur in business. These are painful lessons that Jabulile Msimango had to learn as her business was teetering.

The book has taught me that, it’s simply not good enough to have a great business idea, because that idea needs to work financially and the only way to find out is for an entrepreneur to do their homework and have the ability to make business decisions quickly based on facts, not the heart.

Heart driven business decisions serves an entrepreneur nothing but trouble. In South Africa, suppliers or other stakeholders that benefit directly/indirectly from the business have the right to sue the owner of the business if it goes under due to recklessness from the owner. And you know what the kicker is? The supplier or other stakeholders can invite SARS as the friend of the court and should that happen, the jig is up.

Whilst you digest that, I am leaving you with this quote as you celebrate and run your businesses “A well-structured business is like a well-constructed building. Its foundations must be solid and its legality like concrete, provides support it needs to grow without collapse”

This review is the twelth and last in the Book of the Month series from the Goethe-Institut South Africa. A new review by South Africans for South Africans will be published every month, check back regularly. 

All books can be borrowed from our library, the membership is free.