This Innovation Month, I chatted to creative thinker, brand strategist and chairperson of First Business Wellness, Neil Smith about the initiative and his view of offering small and medium-sized business owners the opportunity to fast track sustainable growth.
Brian Kantor is a pre-eminent economist. He is an investment strategist and economist at Investec Wealth and Investment and Professor Emeritus at UCT. He regularly writes on the South African and global economy.
"The initiative First Business Wellness (FBW) demonstrates beneficent market forces in action. They are the actions of a risk taking and highly innovative new enterprise. South Africa needs more of both risk taking and innovation if it is to prosper. Should FBW work out as so carefully planned it will help deliver a more productive South African business sector. One that will promote not only the well-being of the owners of a business but that of its employees, suppliers and customers - and with improved profitability and incomes - higher tax revenues for the State. This is what all successful businesses achieve.
“FBW, should it succeed, will then rely on its reputation for delivering benefits as promised to its clients. It will be also offer an assurance of quality. Sustaining reputations by maintaining quality are essential for business success. Competition in the market place secures such outcomes. Government regulation or intervention is not required to such important purposes and is best avoided. South Africans should have a much better appreciation of why successful businesses left free to act can promote a broad public interest and offer the only known way to eliminate poverty. My book Get South Africa Growing promotes these ideas of which First Business Wellness is a living example of innovative business. I wish them every success."
Ben Durandt - Turnaround corporate specialist - (CA) (SAICA). He serves on the board of the Turnaround Managers Association SA, is a member of the Institute of Directors SA and the Insolvent Practitioners SA, and has 25 years experience at KPMG.
"First Business Wellness has created a vigorous platform for entrepreneurs to forge viable financial pathways towards becoming real contenders in a highly competitive business environment."
Anton Rautenbach (Executive Financial Advisor, DL Sure)
"With so many investment "scams" in the past combined with an unhealthy economy, it becomes very difficult to fund new business ideas. The First Business Wellness offering is, in my opinion, definitely a step in the right direction and is ideally positioned to offer attractive investment opportunities."
Philip Pla [Partner Adams & Adams, Bsc (Mech Eng), BProc(SA)]
"The First Business Wellness platform will provide essential multi-disciplinary support to entrepreneurs, allowing them to lay a solid foundation to unlock the true potential of their business."
Hannelize Mouton [Marketing and Communications Executive, Cloof Wine Estate]
"A truly holistic and innovative approach to align your business units using a group of professional, each an expert in their specific fields, operating as one system."
Annie Carter [CEO Photo Cushion On-line Business]
"I felt overwhelmed by the many unanswered questions about my fast growing business. I was paralysed by it all, and had no idea where to go and who to see for the right advice. First Business Wellness is 'Day Spa' for my business. The 'All in one Package Deal'."
Anja Dedekind [Managing Director Solucare Cleaning Detergents]
"After completing the First Business Wellness Check Up complimentary survey with one of your consultants, we have been able to identify all the critical success factors for our business in minutes.
"As an entrepreneurial enterprise, we have many challenges to face in a highly competitive market. We do not have the manpower or knowledge to invest in all the aspects of our business that needs attention. First Business Wellness offers a great opportunity to get affordable access to certified professionals whom we can trust."
Our seminars will be offering a multi-disciplinary platform of all the critical business success factors. Each success factor will be represented by a First Business Wellness member company specialising in their area of expertise. The professionals and experts will engage with the audience (invited small and medium size business owners), address the core areas of success factors and offer follow up assessment sessions to offer guidance and affordable plans for implementation.
Vega School of Brand Leadership support the FBW initiative and made their schools available in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban available for our seminars and workshops.
We welcome all organisations and institutions that share our vision to support us and collaborate where possible to create an awareness of our initiative. Financial institutions could support us by referring entrepreneurs to the FBW association for guidance.
One of the many FBW areas of concern is funding readiness and we believe that our unique holistic approach of Risk Management does not only address the borrowing risk aspect, but also address the exponential growth aspects of potential borrowers.
We hope to create a higher level of awareness amongst all stakeholders including large corporates, professionals and experts in the South African economy, that we should not only look at entrepreneurs and SMEs as risk factors, but rather focus on the opportunities of how to manage great initiatives holistically.
FBW hope to play a meaningful role in the South African economy by offering the SME sector exactly what they need for sustainability and exponential growth!
Please visit our website www.businesswellness.co.za
Our contact details:
az.oc.ssenllewssenisub@ofni
National contact Center: Tel 087 135 3013
