What Is BusinessFIT?

BusinessFit is an established Enterprise and Supplier Development Beneficiary; providing business support services to entrepreneurs and developing businesses. As such, the company is well positioned to help you invest your enterprise and supplier development spend wisely, and in so doing, you are able to:

• Optimise your B-BBEE rating, an essential ingredient in ensuring enterprise sustainability, as an indicator of corporate governance best practice
• Secure the sustainability and growth of your suppliers, and/or any business not in your supply chain but which you choose to support
• Contribute to the broader South African economy

Who is BusinessFit?
BusinessFit is a formally constituted Black female owned enterprise comprising a team of experienced business owners. These business owners have grouped together to pool their respective skills and knowledge, with the common objective of helping support the growth and development of small and medium businesses. The team has done this because they know that South Africa's economic future depends upon a vibrant and ever-growing small and medium business sector.

An important principle for BusinessFit is to help an entrepreneur understand that his/her business idea is not in itself a business. What is critical is supporting their Business idea with a sound business foundation, from which their business can become a sustainable and growing quality producer of products or services to its customers. The business should have the capacity to create employment and staff development growth opportunities, while providing an acceptable return to the shareholders.

BusinessFit's passion is to grow entrepreneurs and their businesses, and to encourage a culture of continuous improvement in the delivery of core competencies, client relationships and therefore, the provision of job opportunities. The company's contribution, as such, is to bring emerging businesses into a circle of expertise, assess their current systems, structures, and goals, and set in motion necessary leadership and best practice support procedures to encourage the businesses' development and growth.

How do they do this?
In line with the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice, BusinessFit will:

• Confirm that intended beneficiaries meet the definition of Black Owned as per the B-BBEE Act
• Assist such beneficiaries in expanding their businesses through interactive workshops, coaching and mentorship from industry experts
• Introduce best practice to help beneficiaries meet trading, governance and compliance responsibilities
• Promote sustainability of beneficiaries' businesses through a structured plan of Discover, Develop and Deliver
• Work within the client's supply chain and enterprise development networks to help them improve the suppliers' productivity, sustainability and service quality
• Support the overall development of entrepreneurs and their businesses

As has been the case with many developing economies, the responsibility of our South African business environment's growth and sustainability lies increasingly in the hands of entrepreneurs and small business. Through innovation and commitment to supporting a better world for all, entrepreneurs help to grow the economy, and most importantly help to create sustainable employment opportunities.

Service Methodology
BusinessFit promotes and encourages sustainability through a structured plan. The structured plan focuses on helping to improve a beneficiary's current situation through the three-step process of Discover, Develop, and Deliver!

Based on the experience the BusinessFit team has gained within a diversity of business services, they are confident in their ability to help small and medium size business owners quickly and efficiently meet compliance responsibilities, and to introduce best practice in their businesses. BusinessFit's mission is to help entrepreneurs and developing businesses, gain confidence and clarity, and to plot a sustainable growth curve for their companies.

Outcomes of the Process
The tangible goals which BusinessFit aims to achieve with these enterprises are to:

• Increase the business's turnover
• Increase profitability of the business operation
• Improve industry best practice
• Achieve better business compliance status
• Grant access to broader and greater market opportunities and,
• Importantly to create new jobs in the economy

BusinessFit understands that entrepreneurs often juggle a few balls in the air. It is with this in mind that the accomplished BusinessFit network exists. No matter what obstacles a business may face, BusinessFit's network of industry experts will work with the entrepreneur to ease the burden and accomplish sustainable results. This solution not only closes any gaps within a business, but also leads to continuous development and learning for the entrepreneur.

Full Name of Association: BusinessFit
Nature of Business: Practical support for established entrepreneurs
Date Established: 2012
No. of Staff: 80
B-BBEE Status Level: 2

KEY PERSONNEL
CEO: Akhona Mahlati
Chairman: David White
Director: Bruce Lennon
Administration Manager: Lindiwe Bhadi

CONTACT DETAILS
Physical Address: Unit 12 Braehead Office Park, 1 Old Main Road, Kloof, 3610
Tel: +27 (0)31 767 0625 Fax: +27 (0)31 767 3280
E-mail: info@businessfit.co.za
Website: www.businessfit.co.za

BusinessFit

DRG OUTSOURCING
E-mail: david@drg,co.za
EWE SANA MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
E-mail: info@durbanentrepreneursclub.co.za
FLEURIOT & ASSOCIATES
E-mail: pat@fleuriot.co.za
FREE ME CONSUMER
E-mail: micromanage@mweb.co.za
Osborn Thomson
E-mail: ross@o-t.co.za
THREE PEAKS MANAGEMENT
Email: info@threepeaks.co.za

BusinessFIT

OUR HERITAGE

BusinessFit is an organisation that has been formed to help grow entrepreneurs and their businesses. Its purpose is to encourage a culture of continuous improvement in the delivery of core competencies, developing client relationships and the provision of job opportunities. Founder and Chairman, David White and CEO Akhona Mahlati, met in 2012 and discovered that they both shared a passion for helping entrepreneurs.

David had previously entered the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000 with his entrepreneur development idea. At the time, David called his company Rising Tide, and in his presentation explained that his primary purpose was to help create successful businesses, and, in so doing, to assist in employment creation. Akhona had also been working with young entrepreneurs and developing them through lecturing, mentoring and managing various development programmes.

Akhona explained,"There was some magic between the two of us and a spark that really ignited everything. From then onwards our joint endeavours just started flowing." David's concept was taken forward to create the BusinessFit model.

David explains, "We had the benefit of sitting together with 12 like-minded CEOs from KZN who ran diverse and successful service businesses. We sat together every second week for two hours for 18 months. We focused on helping ourselves to discover and understand a model through which we could help entrepreneurs."

"Of note, was our realisation that entrepreneurs were not entirely business-minded and that their idea and vision were not sufficient as business drivers," says Akhona. "Consequently, we needed to separate the entrepreneur from the business idea in order to focus them on the diverse functional areas required to provide a platform in supporting the realisation of their entrepreneurial idea." Entrepreneurs needed to understand where they were on their particular developmental curve, where they needed to be and how to get there. They need to realise that they were not necessarily able to do everything required run a successful business. As such, BusinessFit would position itself to bring in expertise and add value, to allow the entrepreneur to focus on being a leader and remaining close to important stakeholders.

BusinessFit has developed a structured plan that focuses on helping to improve an entrepreneur's current situation through the three-step process of discover, develop, deliver!

OUR LEADERS

David and Akhona are strong leaders with different personalities, however they are like minded and collaborate together. "We are colleagues, directors and friends, share thoughts and have a mutual understanding based on absolute trust," says Akhona. A key strength of the leadership team is in the continuous communication that they share, especially when giving feedback. Together they find conversations easy to as they want to make a difference to communities and the economy. "We have had to focus on different areas, there has just been too much ground for us to cover together," explains David.

OUR PEOPLE

As the organisation's vision is too big for only two people to share, BusinessFit may be characterised by a commitment to teamwork. Consequently, a network of competent and caring people has been pulled together, not all of whom are in South Africa, to do this work.

Akhona explains, "The one sentence which has given us the right to help entrepreneurs is: We are entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. We have walked these paths and we continue to walk them day in and day out. We know the challenges and we also desperately know that these guys need a friend."

BusinessFit's job is to make entrepreneurs capable and their business sustainable, which is the crux of what the various team members do. A key component of the approach is in providing mentoring to their clients. Successful entrepreneurs often say that they have had mentors that have built their confidence in themselves to achieve great things.

"The purpose is to create employment, which is in our hearts and in our blood. It is a privilege to help these entrepreneurs," says Akhona.

OUR CLIENTS

BusinessFit's clients range from corporates, to entrepreneurs and to anyone who wants to make a difference. The clients include large organisations who have embraced transformation and have wanted to change their procurement practices. Developing entrepreneurs allows corporates to have a great pool of diverse service providers to choose from.

The BusinessFit team know that the entrepreneurial journey is a lonely one. Everything is about building confidence and if someone is in need, BusinessFit will assist. "We love working with entrepreneurs, there are lots and lots of amazing people. Entrepreneurs see the world differently they want to make a positive impact on society and want to create employment," says David.

OUR SUCCESSES

"BusinessFit's success is inspirational," says Grant Adlam, CEO KZN Top Business. "We get our dopamine from our entrepreneurs successes," says David. BusinessFit has mentored approximately 250 entrepreneurs, many of whom have created very successful companies.

BusinessFit works with them over a period of time and never loses touch. "We are often included on the invitation list when our clients celebrate something special."

THE FUTURE

A visit to London in 2018 has culminated in the creation of BusinessFit International. In conjunction with Mike Miller, (South African Chamber of Commerce (SACC) UK Founder and current director) and the SACC Business Hub, the organisations have developed a trade conduit service.

This initiative offers an opportunity for successful South African businesses and brands to launch into the United Kingdom (UK) market with a high likelihood of success while, at the same time, offering the same opportunity UK based businesses wanting to enter the South African market, generating increased employment opportunities South Africa.

A Business Assessment Questionnaire (BAQ) has been developed as the BusinessFit International project backbone and features five stages, including top line review, two questionnaires, research and recommendations.

In addition, BusinessFit has created a first of its type in industry app. This new app is aimed to help entrepreneurs meet potential clients, comply with governance reporting responsibilities, introduce best practice into businesses, and take their business to the next level.

"We are purposeful," concluded David, "This is our Godgiven purpose. It is just so special for us to be involved this important work."