There is hope for KZN entrepreneurs says new EO president
“There is hope
beyond the bad news and the high petrol price. We have so much to celebrate as
entrepreneurs in this province. If we all retreat, we are not going to go
forward as a province. KZN needs entrepreneurs that are bold and carry that
hope.”
That is the
message from newly appointed president of the Durban Chapter of the
Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), Denzil Steyn.
He takes over
the mantle from his predecessor, Clinton Holcroft, CEO of Serco - one of South
Africa’s leading truck body and trailer building companies - as the city’s
businesses face a whole new set of hurdles in the face of both local and global
economic turbulence.
“What I have
learnt from Clinton and can take away is his willingness to empower others to
be their best. He gives people the freedom to express themselves and even make
some mistakes but in a very supported environment. Clinton is very level headed
but he is also very expressive when it comes to new ideas and new initiatives
and investing in new things,” he notes.
For Steyn,
entrepreneurs need the support of an organisation such as EO more than ever
before.
“We are not
going anywhere as individuals and as businesses if we don’t have hope and that
hope is going to come through a supportive and energetic environment. I want to
make sure that members feel like they have a strong foundation, that they have
a voice. That way, we can feel confident to be able to invest and move forward with
those plans that have been in the back of our minds for the past few years,” he
says.
EO is a global,
peer-to-peer network of more than 14 000 influential business owners with 199
chapters in 61 countries. It is open to entrepreneurs with businesses that
turnover more than US$1 million a year.
Since its
launch in 1987, EO has encouraged entrepreneurs to grow by expanding interests
and learning leadership skills from fellow members who challenge their
perspectives and question their presuppositions as well as via interaction with
experts, mentoring and networking.
Steyn has been a member of the Durban Chapter for over six years and this
perfectly aligns with his belief that business is an ecosystem of people and
relationships. Creating an environment for good people to grow, perform and
engage with other likeminded people is one of the key elements to success, he believes.
Steyn started his business, Intellisec, which installs and services CCTV,
access control and fire detection systems, 14 years ago from a room that he
rented from a friend who had a scuba diving shop in Kloof. The fledgling
company had three clients and one technical team and contracted in when needed.
It wasn’t an easy journey. “I sold my
vehicle to fund the business and rented a vehicle from the technician we had
contracted in. By the grace of God and through hard work, the business was
sustained and grew to six branches in South Africa and two across the border
servicing over 650 clients, primarily blue chip companies, with either national
roll outs or large turnkey projects.We employsome of the most talented people in our
industry,” he says.
His three key pieces of advice for his
fellow entrepreneurs are:
- Surround yourself with smart and experienced people who want the
best for you and are willing and brave enough to tell you to stop when
they see you heading into impending danger.
- Build people, systems and cash to support the business you plan to
be in the future.
- Serve your employees, customers and suppliers well. They are all
working to make your business vision a reality - and don’t be scared to
distance yourself from those who are not.
These closely echo the values of
EO.
“As an
organisation and as forums within EO, we are all feeding off each other. We may
go into meetings with our heads down but we come up with world class plans to
bring about change, to improve efficiencies and to be smarter and leaner. We
help create a positive outlook in what can possibly be seen as a fairly gloomy
business environment,” he says.
Referring to a
book by Steven Johnson, called Attacking Anxiety, Steyn talks about two
different forms of anxiety - debilitating anxiety and functional anxiety.
“What we’ve
seen in EO is definitely functional anxiety. This is driving EO members to be
that much sharper to look at the small things that they possibly just left
before and work out how to be leaner and roll with the punches. As Durban
entrepreneurs, we are world class. We’ve had to be as we’ve had so much thrown
at us. That’s why we want to assist members to realise the benefits from that
functional anxiety that we all have naturally,” says Steyn.
He believes
that you have to be part of something like EO to fully understand the value
that it provides.
“As Mark Stockli, the head of EO says: we are an organisation
that leverages trust and we all want the best for each other. It’s not one
person standing on the side lines looking at an entrepreneur doing
exceptionally well and hoping he is going to fail. We all want each other to
succeed and we will go out of our way to make sure that everybody is supported.”
Ends
(895 words)
Denzil Steyn is
the Managing Director of IntelliSECa systems integrator of intelligent site management businessthat is based in Pinetown with branches
in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,
Richards Bay and Nelspruit.
Ends.
For more info:
e-mail -[email protected] orhttps://www.eonetwork.org/
Distributed
by Shirley Williams, contact Shirley on 083 303 1663 or
[email protected]
About
Entrepreneurs’ Organization: Entrepreneurs’ Organization:(EO) is a global, peer-to-peer
network of more than 17,000+ influential business owners with 199 chapters in
61 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading
entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and
beyond.