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CONTENTS

01 / The roadmap to success

02 / Counting the bucks

03 / On the right side of the law

04 / A resourceful bunch

05 / Starting a brand, baby

06 / Perfect pitch

07 / The retail race

08 / Taking tech seriously

09 / Smooth operator

10 / Cheques and balances

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Karl WestvigRetail Capital, CEO

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At some stage, every small to medium-sized enterprise

(SME) owner has had to tackle the seemingly

mountainous administration of financing, legal and

other issues that form part of the fabric of running

a successful SME.

The giving of life to a business, and then keeping this

business alive, rests on the will and guts to piggyback

this thing until it takes shape and becomes workable,

even in the face of seemingly insurmountable

obstacles. You may either be in the process of

doing this or have been for years. Thus, another

challenge awaits, the next Eldorado of making a

good thing better.

This not only takes short-term vision, but also a

grounded and realistic vision for the years down the

line. It also helps if there are companies and people

who believe in your vision and are willing to partner

with you.

The Symmetry Business Toolkit outlines for SME

owners the ways, or hacks if you will, to scale finance,

legal, tech, human resources and other mountains.

You will find that with guidance, these mountains

turn out to be easier than they seem. It’s to show

that with help, this idea and vision, be it starting a

business or stepping it up a notch, is – contrary to

popular belief – well within reach.

“ The Symmetry Business Toolkit outlines

for SME owners the ways, or hacks, if you

will, to scale finance, legal, tech, human

resources and other mountains.”

Your vision. Our belief.

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THE ROADMAP TO SUCCESSThe journey from idea inception to the first sale is

long and arduous for every business owner, and

can be downright deflating. It’s where a clear,

structured strategy roadmap plays an essential

part in lighting the road ahead.

The value in creating this strategic plan is twofold:

you have a blueprint for your company vision, and

the simple act of sitting down with the relevant

people will reveal the essentials of your business to

everyone involved.

THESTRATEGY PYRAMID

01 / Vision

The vision for your brand and company will be the

foundation everything else is built upon. It’s crucial

that you, your clients, and business partners know

exactly what it is you’re selling, and have a precise

outline of where it is you aim to be in future, as well

as how you plan on reaching this destination. As

others have succinctly put it, your vision is the

reason you exist beyond making money.

02 / Mission

Businesses are often started on the basis of

personal interest and passion; but it must tap into

a clearly identified need of potential customers, or

a void in the market that needs filling. Ensure that

your company specifically caters to this demand in a

way that is easily distinguishable from your competitors.

03 / Objectives

Know exactly what it is you want to achieve by

setting key milestones. Think big, but be realistic

when considering whether your business is scalable

to what you have planned.

04 / Tactics

How exactly are you and the team going to deliver

on these set objectives? This is the most detailed

section of the strategy roadmap that should include

budget and employee requirements, among other

key considerations. If the tactics aren’t executed

properly, the strategy planning will remain mere ink

on paper.

05 / Goal setting

Through key performance indicators (KPIs) and goal

setting you can keep track of how the strategies

have delivered, as well as how your employees have

performed in bringing these ideas and strategies

to fruition.

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Know exactly what it is you want to

achieve by setting key milestones.

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COUNTING THEBUCKS

Few SME owners are in this game purely

to make mountains of money, but money

is what keeps the vision and passion of

your business alive and glowing. Simply, it

keeps the lights on.

The close regulation of your finances

requires discipline and expertise, but once

the cash flows are flowing, it opens the

way to investors.

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01 / Hire financial people to do the financial work.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you should hire the

priciest chartered accountant in town. A good

bookkeeper will go a long way in ensuring your

business runs smoothly, says CFO of iShack Innovation

Consultancy, Richard Bensted.

02 / Ask questions of your financials, says Bensted.

A business owner must know which products make

money and which don’t. A monthly and quarterly

review will help you pinpoint the strengths and

weaknesses of the business; and you can forecast

and set targets based on these findings.

03 / Look good on paper and sound good in

person to woo your investors. Good housekeeping

and management of account records are critical

when acquiring funding. A recent survey showed

that investors require from you promising and

thorough financial records and statements, a convincing

sales pitch, and expert business knowledge before

they will part with their dear money. Age and

qualifications were lower down on the criteria, and

other issues like costing and pricing are easily addressed.

04 / Keep your investors and partners updated on any

important movements and shifts in the company, especially

if these will affect cash flow and profit. Let’s face it,

slowdowns happen, and rental and supplier payments can

become delayed; but you must engage with the people

involved and come to some alternative agreement on the

terms of payment.

05 / Partner up, but know thy partner. However delicate

the process of forging relationships, it’s often very beneficial

for both partners involved. Look for partnering opportunities to

leverage off with the possibility of scaling, but it all comes

down to whether the partnership can increase revenue.

02

SARS recently introduced Section

12J into the Tax Act which offers

taxpayers a 100% tax break, in

that year, if they invest in an SME

through a subscription of shares

in a 12J venture capital company.

If these shares are held for more

than five years, only capital gains

tax is paid.

* SECTION 12J

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5 CRUCIAL CONSIDERATIONSFOR SME FINANCEAND FUNDING

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ON THE RIGHTSIDE OF THE LAWThe legal and insurance side of a business is like a piece

of broccoli on a plate that a child pushes and prods until

eventually there’s no way out but to confront it.

For business owners, insurance and legal issues are

generally the part of business operations they don’t fully

comprehend, at least not to the same extent as the sales

and marketing stuff. A misstep here can be crippling to

your business vision.

5 THINGS ABOUT LAWYOU SHOULD KNOW

01 / The structure of your business will decide the nature of the legal structure

for your business; whether you’re registered as a sole trader, partnership, or as a

company.

02 / Intellectual property must be registered so that your brilliant product

concepts won’t be duplicated by others.

03 / Debt recovery is the unpalatable side of doing business and, when it does

reach this stage, is best left to your lawyer.

The 3 essentials

Legal

Compliance

Insurance

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04 / The Basic Conditions of Employment Act regulates

working hours, payment, leave and other issues around labour

employment. Ensure that each employee understands the ins and

outs of their contract.

05 / BBBEE is a series of compliance requirements that every

business owner in South Africa must be fully aware of.

COVER YOUR REAR

/ Work with a specialised broker and review your business assets,

which include equipment, premises and products, among other

things. Then also consider if you require professional indemnity

(PI) insurance that protects you against third-party legal action;

or key-person cover should something happen to other shareholders

in your company. Your broker will assist in structuring an

insurance plan under one umbrella. For goodness sake, don’t try

and tackle this yourself.

/ Do a special risk management process by which you analyse

the potential risks to your company, ensuring that you are neither

underinsured or over-insured, as both will be costly to you and

your business.

Intellectual property

must be registered.

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A RESOURCEFUL BUNCH Human resources, the actual employee resources along with the

people who deal with your employee issues, are the unsung heroes

of the business, without which there wouldn’t be a company.

It is essential that your employees fit the company culture and

brand for smooth operations in-house, but also to carry the brand

to your customers.

5 STEPS TO HEALTHY HR

01 / Communication with employees is critical, especially

around the rules and regulations of the company.

02 / The company culture and values must be clear to each

and every employee, especially to those who must oversee the

implementation of this approach. This needs to be communicated

clearly and directly from the top. Many SMEs don’t have clearly

defined company cultures and values, which can make it difficult

for employees to fit in, especially for new employees as the

company grows, says Henk Oliver, MD of Ozone Information

Technology Solutions. However, don’t expect results overnight,

he warns.

03 / See to the personal and professional well-being of your

employees. Those that have the opportunity to grow as an

employee and in their personal capacity are happy and will remain

with the company. Make this part of the company culture.

04 / Communicate always, not only in times of trouble.

A healthy flow of information from top to bottom creates

transparency in the company, which will inspire trust.

05 / Document all HR processes clearly for the sake of the

business and its employees. You can’t have an HR department

without clearly defined and documented internal business

processes, says Oliver. This includes the steps you will take to

recruit a new candidate, to the processes of an exit interview

when an employee decides to leave the company.

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It is essential that your employees

fit the company culture and brand

for smooth operations.

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STARTINGA BRAND, BABY

5 KEY ELEMENTSOF YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

SME owners had it easier a few decades ago.

They built a brand around the family name;

booked an ad on radio, TV, or in the

newspapers; paid; and then waited for a call

or visit from a client.

Then came the Internet and changed the

game completely. It has given rise to more

marketing platforms than most people know

what to do with. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

(Facebook with cufflinks), YouTube,

Instagram and email are among the popular

mediums, and should all form part of your

marketing strategy. However, don’t ignore

older, traditional media channels, such as

print media and its online offspring.

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PIECES OFTHE 360 PIE

BrandObvious, yes, but a strong brand has a constant and

recognisable theme and message.

WebsiteThe destination where many of the marketing channels

will direct your clients. Start with a strong and navigable

site and build your online media plan from there.

SEOSearch engine optimisation (SEO) is the lure for Google’s

computers to recognise your brand and display it more,

or less, prominent in the search results. The better your

SEO practices, the brighter the lure, the better the catch,

so to speak.

Pay-per-click (PPC)Essentially, using something called Google Adwords, you

pay Google to have your company displayed at the top of

relevant search results.

EmailWeekly newsletters enable you to connect directly with

clients, alerting them to new products and information.

01 / Customer

Build an intimate profile of your customer and construct

your marketing strategy around this profile.

02 / Business

Describe your business in a concise manner and lay out the

plan for where you want to be in a few years. In other words,

what’s your vision for your business? A complicated and long

message will confuse your clients.

03 / Differentiator

This ties in with the clear and simple communication of what

differentiates you from your competitors, and why you think

customers should choose your services.

04 / Competition

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer rings true

in business; and by knowing exactly what your competitors

are up to, it will enable you to adapt your marketing

strategies accordingly.

05 / You

The what, why, where and how apply here, and you should

be able to answer these questions about the nature of your

business without blinking. What is it that will see your company

survive where others fail.

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PERFECTPITCHAmongst the marketing fraternity, SME is also an acronym for

subject matter expert, which is the first step in selling what you’ve

been preaching.

It always comes back to keeping your vision at the centre of

everything you do. You’ve built the brand and done the marketing,

now go clinch the sale.

01 / Salespeople sell, just like accountants count.

02 / Walk around in your client’s shoes.

03 / Know your unique selling-point off by heart.

04 / Relook your sales channels to see if there’s space and

opportunity to increase your sales online.

05 / Repeat after me, AOV. If you play in the e-commerce

space, it’s crucial to know your company’s average order value

(AOV), which is revenue divided by number of orders. This will

help you set your margins for advertising and other expenditure.

10 QUICK SALES SOLUTIONS

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06 / Set achievable objectives, or risk a demoralised and

unmotivated workforce when you don’t reach targets.

07 / Instead of selling hard, constantly communicate with

clients and companies to convince them to come to you when in

need of service.

08 / Analyse every sale. Why did that client or company

specifically choose you as supplier and not the business down the

road? What could you have upsold them on?

09 / It usually takes four attempts before the person on the

other end of the line or email, or whichever medium, will engage

in constructive conversation.

10 / Instead of selling with a shotgun approach, identify strong

client candidates and spend your time and energy selling them on

your offering.

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It always comes back to keeping your

vision at the centre of everything you do.

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THERETAIL RACE

5 HACKS FORTHE RETAIL INDUSTRY

The retail sector is notoriously difficult, with a scrummage of competitors

all wanting a piece of the action. In this sector, a clear and definable vision is

arguably more important than in any other.

Your clients need to know who you are, what you stand for, and what makes

your product and offering better than the rest.

01 / There are retail factors under your control and

those beyond your control, and to know which of these

you can influence through proper strategic planning will

help you sell products, but also keep a lid on your blood

pressure. You can control store location and the look and

feel of your store, but seasonal retail trends is something

you can plan for, but not manage directly.

02 / The pricing of your product is a core capability of

any SME owner in the retail space. Start by establishing key

value categories (KVCs) and key value items (KVIs). As

explained in Price Intelligently, pricing is the exchange

rate you put on everything in your business, and

everything else works to justify the rate.

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03 / What are your competitors doing? Evaluate what’s happening

in the market around you and see if you can take anything from your

competitors, be it adjusting your pricing models or the look and feel of

your store – this includes the online space.

04 / Managing your merchandise using best industry practices

will save your bottom line. Be strategic about the products you offer

by considering the shopping behaviour of clients. Shopping trends

differ for each type of merchandise, which includes convenience

goods, impulse goods, shopping products and specialty goods. There’s

a fine balance in stocking each of these products.

05 / Know your inventory, and learn the various inventory

management techniques, which are customisable to each business.

These include dropshipping, first-in, first-out, and demand forecasting.

At this stage, knowing your KVCs and KVIs is very important.

There are retail factors under

your control and those beyond

your control.

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TAKING TECHSERIOUSLYImagine doing business without email? Or a cellphone? Since

the introduction of these essentials to our daily business

operations, some staggering stuff has happened with tech

applications in the business sector.

It pays to keep up with these latest developments because

it permeates everything we do, from accounting and HR, to

storage and marketing. Innovation is a key driver for business

growth, and this goes hand-in-hand with employing technology

to your benefit.

BUSINESS IN THE CLOUD

Cloud computing is fancy terminology for outsourcing the storage

and maintenance of your business data to an external service

provider, such as Microsoft or Amazon. This extends to mobile

and web services, along with the storage of data.

WHY THE CLOUD

You can save a lot of money by storing your data online, negating

the need for big and clunky data storage infrastructure.

Cloud computing is widely used in Europe and the US, and is

slowly catching on in South Africa. The cloud offers a range of

automated software products for anything from accounting to

data analytics. Your data is kept safe in the cloud behind more

firewalls than the North Korean border.

BIG DATA

We’ve established that knowledge of your customers is essential,

but big data sees the wood for the trees, or the crowd for the

individuals, if you will. This illuminates patterns and habits of your

client-base, and, very importantly, how this base interacts with

your business, which gives you the luxury of foresight.

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GOING MOBILE

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70% of almost 5 000 South Africans

interviewed in a survey used their

smartphone to browse the Internet.

1/4 of SME businesses have no

online sales channel.

Ensure your website is mobile-

friendly, and look at the potential

for an App to simplify mobile

accessibility for your clients.

Open your company to mobile

payment platforms, which are

quickly gaining traction.

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SMOOTHOPERATOREnthused motivational speakers always hammer

the point home, “execution, execution, execution!”

with fists slapping their mitten palms for effect.

But the cliché holds true. If not managed correctly, the

daily operations of your business will be the black

hole that swallows your time and money.

3 BUSINESSGOALS

Cash flow

Opportunity

Visibility

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01 / Operational capacity must be optimised to achieve a smooth

running of your business activities to achieve the above three goals.

This includes the right balance of employee numbers to do the

necessary efficiently, and a correct flow of information from top-

management to the rest of the ‘hive’. This ensures that the decisions

made at the top reach the right people in the form originally conveyed.

02 / Beware of implementing new initiatives while busy with

others. This has a severe effect on productivity, leading to what Charlie

Gilkey on Productive Flourishing calls a “continual state of overwhelm”.

03 / Delegate responsibility, but delegate to the right people. Many

SME owners still take it upon themselves to be a Jack-of-all-trades; as

they did when the business opened its doors all those years ago. Free

your time up and direct your energy at managing the business.

04 / Cash flow is more important than profit, say the experts. Take

care of the former and the latter will follow. Ensure you have at least

three months’ cash reserve set aside for unforeseen issues like supply

chain disruptions. Invoicing your clients immediately after services

provided is one way of maintaining a healthy cash flow.

05 / Customer relations manager (CRM) technology collects all

company activity on one platform and collates this data into usable and

traceable information.

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5 CONSIDERATIONSFOR SME OPERATIONS

CHEQUES ANDBALANCESBehind every successful business is a good

accountant. Thorough accounting is more than a

simple balancing of the books.

Good, and bad accounting practices have a way of

rippling through company operations and will pay

dividends, or come back to haunt you when you do

forecasting and budgeting, or when you knock on

investors’ doors.

It’s a big deal towards getting you and your team to

where you want to be years down the line.

THE SMELANDSCAPE IN SA

34 is the average age of an SME owner

R10.9 million average turnover

47% employ between two and five people

VAT REGISTRATION

/ Any business whose value of taxable supplies exceeds, or is

likely to exceed R1 million in a consecutive 12-month period

must register for VAT.

/ A VAT 101 form must be submitted to a local SARS branch

within 21 days of exceeding R1 million.

MAIN CHALLENGESTO SMES

/ Inability to manage cash flow and debtors

/ Inability to manage administrative and business process

/ Registering for value-added tax (VAT) at the South African

Revenue Service

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WHAT’S YOUR SCORE?

Under the public interest (PI) score a company

is allocated points according to the number of

its employees, annual turnover, stakeholders

and the level of third party liabilities at the end

of the financial year.

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POINTS AREALLOCATEDAS SUCH:

1 point for each employee or the average

number of employees throughout the year.

1 point per R1 million of third-party liability.

This is the money owed in terms of loans,

debentures, and other financing.

1 point for each R1 million of turnover during

the financial year. If the turnover is half a million

rand, you score a ½ point.

1 point for every individual who at the end of

the year is known to have a direct or indirect

beneficial interest in the company. This includes

shareholders, beneficiaries of a trust where a

trust is a shareholder, and other stakeholders.

100 or less: Required to have an independent

review conducted by anyone who qualifies as an

accounting officer.

100-349: Non-owner companies will be reviewed

if statements are independently compiled; or

audited if internally compiled.

350 points or more: Required to have an audit.

Any company, whatever its points score, that

holds funds of R5 million or more for a client in a

fiduciary capacity, at any time during the year, is

required to have an audit.

TO AUDIT ORNOT TO AUDIT

The Financial Services Board and Estate

Agent’s Board may require an audit.

An audit may be advisable if you’re looking to

sell or apply for a loan in the near future.

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WHY RETAIL CAPITAL?

Retail Capital is a proud supporter of South African

entrepreneurs; partnering with business owners,

like yourself, to help you to fulfil your business goals.

We offer a quick and business friendly funding

solution that, unlike traditional funding options,

is more convenient, offers more flexibility, and

requires no security or collateral.

As a small business owner, the chances are that you

will experience a cash flow challenge at some point

during the next 12 months and accessing capital

through traditional banks is onerous and restrictive.

As supporters of South African entrepreneurs we’ve

advanced over R 1.2 billion, helping thousands

of businesses to renovate, revamp and expand.

Retail Capital’s Business Cash Advance provides an

upfront cash lump sum that is available immediately

and can be used for any purpose.

Restaurant owner - Cape Town

“Retail Capital is sensational! The staff we dealt with were professional, patient and well-trained. Personally I will use Retail Capital again and I have already recommended Retail Capital to friends of mine in the restaurant industry.”

QUICK APPLICATION

Tailored advance based on average card

turnover.

Fixed daily repayment percentage

Approval in lessthan 3 days

Complete Application

Money in yourbank account

FUND YOUROWN GROWTH

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HOW IT WORKSQUICK & SIMPLE APPLICATION PROCESS

DO YOU QUALIFY?

Retail Capital will buy your future card turnover for an upfront

cash advance, today.

Over 80% of applications are approved

Our payment terms are flexible and in line with your

business turnover

We don’t require security

Our fee structure is transparent

There are no restrictions on how you use the funds

Once you are a client, additional funds can be made

available in 24 hours

Repayment period is determined by business

performance

Your daily card sales

Your daily pay-over

SEP

110 000

100 000

90 000

80 000

70 000

60 000

50 000

40 000

30 000

20 000

10 000

OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB

Completed application form

Copy of your ID

3 months’ bank statements

6 months’ merchant statements

If your business has been operating for longer than six

months, we only need the following:

“How refreshing to discover a model that is workable, where the delivery is professional, the process seamless, the costs transparent, and that uses a methodology that is able to address seasonal cash flows.”

Restaurant owner - Johannesburg

Call us on 0861 17 17 17 or

Visit www.retailcapital.co.za

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TAKE NOTE(S)

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