__Profit! One of my favorite shows on Kwesé TV is “The Profit.” In it a wealthy entrepreneur called Marcus Lemonis goes around helping entrepreneurs to fix their businesses and make them bigger and more profitable. He invests his own money. By now you all know that a “profit” (in simple Continue Reading →
By now you know that one of my burning passions was always to set up a business that expanded outside my own country. I remember traveling to Namibia in 1990 with a plan to set up a business there. By then I’d been in business for less than five years, Continue Reading →
__ Kwesé Sports wins FIFA World Cup 2018 rights, and NBA game for Africa. Last week I said Kwesé Sports will make a big announcement… Here goes! FIFA, the world governing-body for soccer, has just awarded Kwesé Sports the exclusive free-to-air rights to broadcast the finals of the FIFA World Continue Reading →
__Imagine a new world, beyond what you see and know today! As the New Year approaches, let’s start planning ahead. Look around you, what do you see? I’ll say that time and again. Now is the time to start preparing for the future, because it’s already here! Are you ready? Continue Reading →
When my business was still very small, I once found myself facing a crushing cash flow crisis. My biggest concern was finding money to meet the payroll, and this one month, it just seemed impossible. Being a believer, I prayed every day for a miracle as the deadline drew closer. Continue Reading →
A young woman came up to me the other day and said, “Mr Masiyiwa, I follow you on Facebook and I’m still trying to decide whether or not I’m an entrepreneur?” “Are you curious by nature?” I asked. “How do you mean?” she asked, puzzled. “An entrepreneur is someone who Continue Reading →
__Process: getting the right things done right. For the last few weeks, I’ve talked about the critical importance of “people” in organizational management. Today I want to talk about “process.” Every single day, I’m approached by people with great business ideas, and I also have my own fair share of Continue Reading →
__Do well AND do good. Last week I took part in a summit of global business leaders, convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican, to discuss how business can play a more central role in solving some of the 21st century’s biggest challenges, such as climate change, high youth unemployment Continue Reading →
__A great vision needs great people. Organizational management is really about “people and process.” If you don’t know how to master these two, it doesn’t matter what you’ve invented, or how much money you’ve raised… you won’t make it in business. It’s usually really hard to get the best people Continue Reading →
__Always pay your workers first. You can’t call yourself an entrepreneur if you have the habit of not paying your workers on time, erratically, or not at all. Real business leaders always pay their employees first. Let’s call it the first law of entrepreneurship. Let’s talk. I began my business Continue Reading →
__Talking a good game is not enough. I was meeting with one of New York’s most successful bankers, when he quipped, “In my business we don’t rely on intellectual property. There’s nothing we do that’s so special; we’re just damned good managers of businesses!” I could immediately understand what he Continue Reading →
___Building an efficient organization. As an entrepreneur, you may have a great idea or innovation which you believe is going to change your community, your country, or maybe even the world we live in. And you’ll probably make a lot of money along the way. That’s allowed, and there’s nothing Continue Reading →
__When partners break the Golden Rule. Looking back at the times I have sold businesses or stakes in businesses, there’s one reason I’m almost guaranteed to sell. Do you know what it is? Wrong partners! When I was younger, I would tough it out and fight, but these days, on Continue Reading →
__What stands out? A few months ago, I discussed the importance of setting up a website for your business. Have you launched yours yet? Every single business, however big or small, must have a website. As soon as I announced we were going into sports television, we set up a Continue Reading →
__A big idea, an excellent team. A few months ago, Liquid Telecom, one of our businesses, bought a South African telecoms company called Neotel Communications, for about $450m. Quite a few of you who saw the news about the transaction wrote to me, asking me to share some insights into Continue Reading →
I may have shared this story before with some of you: Many years ago, I was giving evidence in a hearing over a dispute with a partner. The hearing was taking place before an arbitrator in London. As a requirement of the arbitration process, before the hearing each party had Continue Reading →
During the last few weeks, I have blogged on the importance of sales and marketing skills. We’ve also begun to discuss the importance of building, nurturing, and sustaining a brand. I’ve tried to show you that behind the sales campaigns, promotions, and advertising you see on TV and in newspapers Continue Reading →
More than 20 years ago, I came across the teachings of an American pastor called T.D. Jakes and I would listen to him whenever I had the opportunity. Although I listened to his teachings on television and the Internet, I hadn’t actually met him until a few months ago. There Continue Reading →
___Seize the moment when it’s offered. Over the past few years, I’ve talked to you a lot about the most important skills in business. First and foremost – the capacity to READ. Second, and completely essential: the ability to work in numbers (data). Now in the current series we’re looking Continue Reading →
I promised to update you regularly on our progress towards the launch of KweséTV. I do this to share some ideas with those of you planning to set up new businesses. It’s not about making you a customer, so make your comments based on being an entrepreneur, rather than a Continue Reading →
Follow