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Start-up versus corporate: which one’s for you?

startup-vs-corp-shoes

This article was published in the 10-July-2014 issue of Finweek Magazine

My former boss Kabelo ran his own business before moving into the corporate world. So he had a valuable perspective on both the corporate and the entrepreneurial “be your own boss” environments. At that time I had only ever worked for a large company. One day in the car park we were both admiring a sleek, red Aston Martin convertible. Kabelo roused my interest in the start-up world when he said, “Want to own that car? You won’t do it working here. But you might if you start your own company, because you’ll write your own paycheque. Think about it.” Of course, he hadn’t quite cracked it himself, but his words made a lot of sense.

In this article, we unpack the pros and cons of working in a start-up versus a corporate. Hopefully this will help you decide whether you should work for someone else or start your own business. Continue reading


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Why we need competitors

This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 2-Jan-2014 issue

Defeat your competition, is what we often hear in business. No company wants competitors, right? Wrong. Competition is good for your business. Here’s why. Continue reading


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Why Budgets are Bad for Business

This article also appeared in Finweek Magazine in their 16-Aug-2012 issue

In my previous life in corporate, one of the biggest time-wasters was the budgeting process. We would write off three months preparing budgets for the next year. Invariably we tweaked last year’s numbers, added some inflation and extra for contingency, and there you had the new spend which you had to defend.

Why is this exercise destructive for your business?

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