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© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Free Tutorial by Tiisetso Maloma
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Learn How to Start a Business Easy – Cutting Out 80% of the
Things You Thought You Needed
‘Finding Your Penetrative Advantages
To Starting A Business Given Limited
Resources
(Lessons Business Plans And School Do
Not Teach)’
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
I’ve been an
entrepreneur for
over ten years in
this beautiful
country of ours
(South Africa)
and had the
most fun – and
headaches.
I’ve written four
books on the
subject of
entrepreneurship: The Anxious Entrepreneur, Forget the Business Plan Use
this Short Model, Township Biz Fastrack and Tales of an African Entrepreneur.
I’ve started businesses in different industries such as clothing, publishing and
technology.
I created and run Business Me Young entrepreneurship workshops. I devised
EBC Business Model. My work has featured in platforms such as The
Huffington Post, Biz Community, Under 30 CEO and numerous podcasts
across the world.
Consequently out of having a multiple of interests, my key skills are:
Starting a business with limited resources.
Managing anxiety.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
In this very short tutorial, I will show you how you can start a business
without certain things that you think you need, or you deem ideal to enable
you to start:
- It could be funding,
- It could be finding mentors
- Or anything else that you deem standing in your way to starting your
business venture
In this short-elaborate tutorial, you will be able to:
Come up with an easy and simple way to start your business venture
Cut out 80% of the things you thought you needed (offices, or
something as simple business cards)
Feel confident that you can start a business with the little that you
have
Lets’ Start... The Background Of This
Module
Before we pursue a cause or a venture we think need X Y Z.
We think we need money to get into a romantic relationship. To be a leader
in a community. To be respected by our families (OK, maybe we do here).
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
We think we need material things to be part of most things in life.
We don’t. Well, certainly not to start a business.
I’ve started many business ventures with no or little money. And these
businesses to an ordinary person required a lot of money.
I am not the smartest too. It is just things I’ve accidentally learned as I was
starting many business ventures.
This tutorial is inspired by a consultation I gave to a lady who thought she
needed a lot of money to start her business venture.
I showed her she doesn’t need over 80% of the money she thought she
needed.
I love this case because... well I’ve learned the lessons this module is teaching
in many different ways.... but this case is the best way to narrate it with
enough detail, colour and nuance (I love the word nuance, I take every chance
available to slot it into a conversation).
I call this lesson or trick ‘finding penetrative advantages of starting a
business.’ It’s not the most sexy title. I hope you realise the importance of
calling it this.
- -
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Finding Penetrative Advantages To
Start A Business Given My Limited
Resources (A Lesson Business Plans
And School Don’t Teach)
Let’s call her Mbali (fictitious name of course).
She wants to start a kiddies clothing boutique where she designs all the
clothes.
This is a noble. I like her idea.
She has written a wonderful business plan, with good projections. She
studied accounting in university; it was easy for her to write it.
Her shop will be at Mall @ Reds in Centurion. A lot of families live there – the
middle class to upper middle class.
The business requires R300 000. She has good projections. Mall space isn’t
that cheap FYI.
She needs funding. She only has a startup capital of R5000.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
She is demoralized at the thought that she might not get funding for her
awesome business idea.
Can she get funding? THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION.
This is her first business. She has no business experience whatsoever.
Sometimes she cries at night. She really wants to make this business
happen. Making clothes for kids is her passion.
She applied to the four banks for funding.
They all said no. It is her first businesses remember! And she has no collateral
at all. Banks require these two mentioned things: collateral and a bit of
experience.
She applied to two government funding agencies. It has been six months and
she has heard nothing from them.
She cries again. At least her boyfriend is there to encourage her. Maybe she
should date a richer boyfriend.
She is getting impatient. She realises she cannot leave her progress in the
hands of other people.
She tells Nthabi, her friend, of her challenges.
Nthabi refers her to Tiisetso (that is me). According to Nthabi, I am an expert
in starting businesses with little funds. Ok, I will take that – I can't refuse such
a compliment.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
The reality is money isn’t cheap. It is only smart for investors to backup
projects which have some traction or leverage: Either the venture has
produced some directional progress or the entrepreneur has some
entrepreneurial experience.
No one is forced to finance anyone. I often hear aspiring entrepreneurs
complain that getting funding is hard. The entitlement mentality can hold a
person back.
What Should Be Of Worry To New Entrepreneurs?
For a new entrepreneur (Mbali), the worry should be about exploring
possible simple angles that will allow her to start however small the her steps
are, however little the funds she has, and whichever way possible even if it is
not pretty.
She should realize her priority goal is not necessarily to get funding but to
start her business.
**F Business Plans (They Won’t Teach You To Start A Business)
A business plan is a tool required by banks to evaluate the risk of financing a
business. It is like a questionnaire. Yes, it makes the entrepreneur aware of
important business concepts.
But, it doesn't help you to conceive an angle, or as I call it here ‘penetrative
advantage’ to start especially with very limited resources.
Just to digress a bit, I share the hate I have for business plans in my book
‘Forget the Business Plan Use this Short Model.’ I am kidding with the hate
part. The book explains a far better alternative to Business Plans.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
It explains a model I devised called the ‘EBC Business Model.’ Check it out.
Business plans won’t teach you an angle to make a business work given what
you don’t have.
I showed my dear sister Mbali that she can start bit by bit.
Her business model is she will design the clothes herself. Buy fabric and take
it to a CMT (A CMT is clothing phrase for a manufacturer. You come with the
designs and fabric, they sew up the clothes. Usually it is small time
manufacturing).
So far Mbali is fine with her planning (remember I used to make clothes – if
you don’t then you didn’t read my bio haha).
The only problem is she doesn't have the funding she requires.
And that might and might not happen. She isn’t in control.
She can take control though. She must take control.
I asked her to do the following:
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
What products does she intend selling?
She intends selling jeans, t-shirts, caps and belts.
What is the ease and cost of making each item?
T-shirts
To make a t-shirt, 1 square metre of fabric is required (costs R25). To sew the
garment, the manufacturer (CMT) charges R30.
And ohh, a pattern of the t-shirt has to be drawn out. It costs a once of fee of
R500. The pattern can be used over and over again.
For each t-shirt style she designs, it needs to be made available in 3 sizes –
small, medium and large.
Therefore, it costs R55 to make a t-shirt; plus the once off fee of R500 for the
pattern.
Jean pants
It takes the same procedure as t-shirts. To make things simpler, let’s say it
costs the same.
To make jean pants, it costs R55 per pants (R25 fabric and R30
manufacturing), plus the once off fee of R500 for the pattern.
Caps
She found a cap supplier that makes an assortment of caps. Big retailers also
buy from this supplier and brand with their logos.
She has decided that at first she won’t design and manufacture the caps from
scratch. She will buy from this supplier and put her stylish/catchy/awesome
logo onto it.
The cap costs R20. The embroidery costs R15.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
To have a cap, it costs her a total of R35.
And it is a one size fits all kids. Therefore no need to make other sizes.
Belts
She has found a canvass manufacturer to make the belts. She will get nice
belt buckles from a factory in downtown Johannesburg.
The canvas costs R20 and the buckle costs R10. A whole belt will cost her R30
to make.
She will attach (sew) the canvass to the buckle herself.
What is Mbali’s thinking right now?
The questions and break down above were to lead her to realise what she
can do with whatever she has. This is the taking control I was talking about.
She is thinking it would be easy and affordable if she were to start with caps
and belts. She thinks the process of making t-shirts and pants is a bit
complicated and expensive as opposed to making caps and belts.
Her R5000 is enough to enable her to start. She can start with either just caps
or plus-either with belts, t-shirts and jean pants.
She is thinking she can’t afford a store, and a store shouldn’t stop her from
starting her venture.
She can sell from the boot.
Why should renting a shop hold her back?
She just realized she doesn’t need a shop to start her business. She will start
without a shop.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
What of her products would work in the market?
I asked her which of her products are?:
- Easy to make and sell
- Hold higher value in consumer’s eye than the others
- Easily strike attention to her brand
- Has a price her immediate buyers (co-workers, friends, family) are
willing to pay
Belts and caps are easy to make or source.
Caps strike easy attention. Sharply branded t-shirts do. Well crafted jeans do
also.
Her immediate buyers won’t mind paying R60 for a cap. She is uncertain
what the right price is for t-shirts and jeans.
- -
The idea is not to be fancy or wait until one has the PERFECT resources. The
idea is to find what is workable, get in the market with it and use the
proceeds to finance the fancy stuff.
The idea here was to find a penetrative advantage product or products, i.e.
one or two products which are easy for her to make, finance and sell. And
holds a higher value for the consumer and would easily cause a stir in the
market thus exposing her infant brand.
Caps, t-shirts and belts are products which might have that penetrative
advantage in her case.
So, from thereon is for her to make samples of the products. It could even be
2 items (cap and t-shirt). Dress her cute kid and take photos. Put on social
media (Facebook and Instagram). Then she is in business.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Then from thereon she markets the business and takes orders. The question
would be where to find parents whom might have interest in her clothes. It
would be more effective if she found them in places where they are in
bundles.
- The start is everyone she knows: friends, family, acquaintances etc.
- She can test her social media audience. If the clothes strike attention,
the business will take off.
- Negotiate exhibition space at school activities where parents are
invited.
- Depending how she feels about it, but if it were me – I would
convince (bribe/donate/pay) crèches to put the catalogs in the kids'
backpacks.
- Introduce her brand to kid’s blogs.
Nothing fancy. Interaction with the market will tell her where to improve and
how to proceed.
It is about testing baby, without much capital outlay.
The idea here is to help you understand that you have the power to start
your business.
You have to do the following:
List the products you want to sell.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Break each product down, i.e. the components and processes involved –
the makeup and the cost thereto.
Evaluate which products are easy to make. When you have dismantled
the products, you will then realise what products are easy and affordable
for you to start with.
Then analyze which of the products could bring easy attention to your
business and make quicker and easier sales.
Evaluate which other things you could do without
Then it becomes easier for your mind to decide which things you do not
to start with. In Mbali’s case it is renting a shop, and that she can start
with just caps, belts and t-shirts – with her little R5000.
If there is any part you do not understand in this tutorial, ask me questions.
I will answer all questions.
You can even ask me specific questions about the businesses you want to
start.
But please give detail.
The question cannot be ‘I want to start a laundry business, where do I start?’
You have to give me detailed insights: where are you in the business, what is
stopping you, etc.
Put your questions in the comments section on this page here
www.tiisetsomaloma.com/startbusinesseasy. Or email me on
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Other ways you can get help from me to
start a business
Print books in South Africa | Amazon | iBookstore | Kobo | Barnes &
Noble
THE ANXIOUS ENTREPRENEUR
FORGET THE BUSINESS PLAN USE THIS SHORT MODEL
TOWNSHIP BIZ FASTRACK TALES OF AN AFRICAN
ENTREPRENEUR
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
TOWNSHIP BIZ ADJACENT
AFRICAN B2C MILLIONS
N.B. I charge a minimal amount to startups and idea stage ventures.
Tiisetso Maloma
For more information on me, visit my website – www.tiisetsomaloma.com.
© Tiisetso Maloma – All Rights Reserved
www.tiisetsomaloma.com
Email any queries to [email protected].