Challenges faced by South African entrepreneurs - and how they were overcome

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of any economy. They are the harbingers of new ideas and exciting brands. More often than not, it is entrepreneurs who push the boundaries and test new waters, but they seldom do so without facing immense challenges. South Africa has many remarkable stories of entrepreneurs who have overcome the hurdles in their way to achieve household-name status.

Selling a bakkie for start-up capital

Back in 1999, Albé Geldenhuys was working as a sales rep at a gym. To make some extra money, he started creating and selling his own nutritional supplements. This idea was based on Geldenhuys's passion for health and fitness, and it soon became apparent that this was where his destiny lay. Geldenhuys explains that while the market was fairly saturated, his competitors' products tended to be of low quality. He took the time to read all the scientific research that he could get his hands on and started making his own formulations. He named his company Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN) and an initial challenge that he faced was a lack of start-up capital. To solve this problem, Geldenhuys sold his bakkie and bought a cheap Fiat Uno. He used the profit from the sale of his bakkie to fund his business and the Uno to deliver his products.

Working around some tough restrictions

Ever since he was a child, Fats Lazarides knew that his future was in in the restaurant business. The Ocean Basket story began when Lazarides came across a vacant shop in Menlyn Shopping Centre. Lazarides, seeing his chance to follow his dream, resigned from his job and went to see the centre manager. What he didn't know was that the existing restaurants in the centre had been promised that no more restaurants would be allowed to open their doors. Fats got the lease, but it came with jaw-dropping restrictions. They could only serve five types of protein and two starches - and no salads, desserts or coffee could be offered. To add yet another layer to the challenge, they were not allowed to serve dinner, and had to be closed by 7pm. 

Lazarides and his team overcame these challenges by keeping their prices reasonable and focusing on quality and on getting feet through the door. With no dinner trade allowed, Lazarides targeted the lunch crowd and soon had a loyal base of customers who would eat dinner early in order to beat the 7pm "curfew". By focusing on the quality and freshness of the seafood they served, Lazarides and the team were able to win the hearts of their target market in spite of odds that would have seemed insurmountable to many.

Trying, testing and trying again - with some creative innovation

Wally Fry had no intention of becoming an entrepreneur. By 1991, both Wally and his wife were vegetarians, and the experimentation that led to the creation of Fry's Foods was simply an attempt to create healthy meat alternatives for the family. Having been a meat-eater for most of his life, Wally was interested in finding tasty alternatives to what was then typical vegetarian fare. After two years of hard work, their first four products had been perfected. While Wally did not have all the machinery technically required in these first two years, he proved his entrepreneurial spirit by thinking out of the box. When steam was required in the production of vegetarian sausages, it was delivered by a cappuccino machine, proving that an innovative mind can solve any problem.

Entrepreneurs are the beating heart of our economy, and 3Cube Property Solutions is proud to have found the perfect premises for many businesses, enabling them to spread their wings and flourish. If your business is in need of premises in Gauteng, contact us today.