Of all the challenges facing a fledgling business, gaining access to the market is one of the most demanding. It is true that there are two conditions that have to be met to succeed in business. The new enterprise must either offer something different which will attract the market, or, if it offers the same as a host of other competitors, it must do so far better. But writing this in a business plan is far from being sufficient. The market has to be made aware of what is being offered and this is the really difficult part. One cannot simply open one’s doors and wait for the customers to roll in. As many have found to their cost, placing expensive adverts in the daily newspaper doesn’t help very much either. The cost of gaining exposure through the media is very high. One may be tempted to offer cut prices in order to attract customers, but if this is the favoured method, it must be remembered that the costs of delivering a particular service or making a product cannot differ very much from one supplier to another. For the most part, the input costs will be similar and while certain techniques may lower production costs, the differences will be marginal.

Marketing is also a time-consuming undertaking. Specialist entrepreneurs – those who are electricians or engineers, for example – are the key workers in their businesses and they have neither the time nor the inclination to go out and obtain additional orders. I remember the abject frustration of one such entrepreneur who was so busy executing a particular contract that he could not spare the time to seek the next one. He did not have the financial means to employ someone to do so on his behalf either.

What is to be done, therefore? Well, it is not possible to over-emphasise the value of networking. This is the least expensive, most effective way of getting one’s business to be known. It is perfectly true that people, generally, prefer to do business with someone that they know. The reality is that the owner of a micro or small business must realise that he or she is the business. It is linked inextricably to the personality of the owner. In order to raise the profile of the business and ensure that it becomes known, the owner must do everything he or she can to elevate his or her own personal profile. Sadly, this is no environment for one who is shy and retiring. Good networkers make an impact, not because they are pushy necessarily, but because they inspire confidence and have appeal. They present themselves as people worth doing business with.

However, before one can impress with one’s personality, one has to find the environment in which one is able to mix with other business people. The value of this, which I have found to my own benefit, is that this provides a wonderful opportunity for learning. Learning from others, listening to them and engaging in conversation with them are all aids for developing a more successful business operation.

This, incidentally, is a fundamental value of a chamber of commerce. Here people expect others to expose their businesses and seek contacts. Here a network of potential suppliers and customers is available to anyone who wants to take advantage of joining the chamber and supporting its activities. The value of networking is never to be under-estimated – it is the most effective marketing that an entrepreneur can do.

Zinhle Sokhela - PCB President

This article appeared in the Edendale Eyethu on the 17 July 2008