There are many reasons and benefits to starting a small business in South Africa. Follow these steps to find the most profitable business opportunities and run your own business.
Starting a business isn’t for everyone. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Starting a small business in South Africa requires you to invest time, energy, and patience.
But more than anything else a Start-up needs passion, commitment, and a clear sense of purpose. If you have what it takes and are willing to do the difficult things, then you should start your own business.
Related: Start-up checklist
“The world will make way for someone who knows what he or she wants because there is not much competition when it comes to passionate commitment”. Laurie B. Jones.
Reasons for starting a small business in South Africa
Own and run your own business in South Africa in order to provide employment and produce wealth. Your wealth represents potential jobs for countless people and it can lead to a better life for many South African as well as for yourself.
Always consider your wealth as a means of improving living conditions everywhere. Remember, you have a responsibility toward your associates, employees, stockholders, and the public. Use your capital to benefit your employees, customers, and their families.
The secret to your success:
Do work that interests you. Increase your ability to earn. Start with desire and persistence. The more interested you are in your work, the more persistent your efforts will be.
Benefits of starting a small business in South Africa
Step away from that photocopier and work for yourself
Use your current skill set and expertise to become your own boss. You set the rules. You set the deadlines and you decide how to run your business. You don’t need permission to implement business ideas in South Africa or take time off, you can just do it!
You can work from anywhere at any time. You don’t need to be stuck in a cubicle listening to your colleagues complaining. Drinking instant coffee and trying to exorcise the smell of tuna lunch from your nostrils.
Owning and running your own business in South Africa can be very fulfilling. You’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor and can feel proud of your accomplishments. Many small business owners find they enjoy the respect they earn from their peers for having the courage to go out on their own.
Building your own brand can mean passing on a legacy to your children. Your children will be motivated to do great things and follow in your footsteps.
Owning your own business forces you to be more creative, learn more, and in most cases teach others. It’s an opportunity for both personal and professional growth.
Better income potential: Make more money
As an employee, there are limits to how much money you’ll make. When you start your own business, you have the opportunity to earn an unlimited income based on your own efforts.
An entrepreneur who starts their own business can break free from the restrictions of a month-to-month paycheck and make their own job security.
You’ll never have to worry about being laid off or whether you’ll get that promotion. As a business owner, you’ll have the resources and decision-making capability necessary to stay current and competitive.
Explore your interests
You can profit from your passion. Get paid to fulfill your destiny and live out your life purpose. As someone else’s employee you rarely, if ever, work on projects you are personally invested in.
You’re completing tasks in order to increase someone else’s bottom line. Working for yourself means you’re personally invested which will increase your persistency and likelihood of success.
Related: How to write a strategic marketing plan
Owning your own small business means you have time to explore the things you’re interested in. Expand your mind. Become who you were truly meant to be. Travel more, pursue your hobbies or just drop everything and go for a walk.
“I consider business as a game and I play it as a game. That is why I have been, and still am, so devoted to it.” Claude C. Hopkins. My Life in Advertising
Marketing is easier than ever before
Marketing no longer requires thousands of Rand. Today you can easily and cheaply spread the word through social media platforms and build a Million-Rand company.
Transitioning your business online will give you access to a much wider network of clients and buyers. No longer will you be competing against other start-ups in your area, instead you’re free to think as big as you want. You could even go global and expand your business dramatically.
Shape your own working environment
You can base your workplace culture on your personal values and beliefs. You are not restricted by having to follow a set work methodology, you’re free to change your work process if your wish. Make your own schedule and find your own work/life balance.
You’ll become an expert and authority figure
As head of your own business, you won’t just learn new skills, you’ll become an expert at them. You will receive multiple opportunities for acquiring new abilities and in the process discover hidden talents.
Deductions: Tax breaks and benefits
Keep every last bit of paper you receive when you buy things for your business. For example, when your business operates out of your home: Determine your home’s square footage (your house plans should show this), then measure the surface of your office space.
Now, determine the percentage of space your office takes up within your home (house 820 square feet and office 164 square feet – your office takes up 20% of the total space). Now you can claim 20% of all your household expenses as “office use as part of the house”.
This includes insurance premiums, electricity, cleaning services, house rent, and interest on your home loan. Other expenses you can validly claim as a small business owner include:
Stationery, printing, computer expenses, and advertising, internet, and telephone fees. If you need to claim for travel expenses be sure to keep a logbook and capture all business-related trips. SARS allows a certain amount per kilometer.
Tax tips for small businesses:
- Diarise due payment dates
- Keep close track of all business expenses
- Claim maximum retirement annuity deductions
- Keep business and personal expenses separate
- You can deduct educational expenses that maintain or improve skills required for your business.
Often start-up entrepreneurs make the mistake of trading from their personal bank account. This makes it harder to differentiate between your personal expenses and business expenses. It also doesn’t allow you to build up a credit risk profile for your business, which is an important factor should you ever want to approach a bank for financing. Rather, start trading as a business from the get-go by opening up a Business Current Account.
What start-up business options should I be looking at?
Choose a field you know and understand
Do not start until you have a good, solid working knowledge of the business. To help you get started, here is a list of some of the most profitable small business opportunities.
There are increasingly more business opportunities in South Africa if you are considering working from home. You can start these businesses and run them directly from home. Some lucrative home-based business opportunities include:
- Website consulting: Everybody wants a great website. Advice and guide others to building, growing and improving their websites.
- Corporate catering: You can prepare and deliver delicious healthy lunches and snacks for business parks and offices.
- Virtual assistant: Virtual assistants are becoming very popular as we live in an increasingly virtual world. Your small business could provide typing, research and other administrative services. Start-up costs are very low for virtual administrative assistants and if you want to increase your profits even more, get a certification. See resources at the end of this article.
- Start an eCommerce website: You can launch your own website and sell products that you purchase wholesale from other companies. South Africans have become a lot more comfortable buying products online and are always looking for more ways to conveniently make their purchase through the internet.
Wrapping up
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, and more.
With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
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