The Healthy Business Show

Today we see Discovery as one of South Africa’s biggest businesses with thousands of employees and hundreds of thousands of clients, but in 1992 it was just a small team trying to pitch their idea and break into the market. Barry Swartzberg (Vitality Group CEO) chats to Fred Roed about when and how to scale your business. How important is honing your product and market validation? In this first exciting episode, we hear why, when it comes to entrepreneurship, you need to 'fall in love with the process’. Barry gives valuable insights into how they succeeded and overcame major hurdles to grow Discovery into a global organisation, ranked as the second-strongest insurance brand in the world in the 2019 Brand Finance Insurance 100 report. Join the conversation: #DSYHealthyBusiness Discovery Business Insurance

What mindset does it take to ‘make it’ in business? Is work-life balance a myth? What turns great employees disloyal, and how damaging is burnout really? Open your mind as Fred Roed speaks to Marc Rogatschnig, an organisational psychologist, about the psychological dynamics of leading a business and the personal attributes and awareness that can set you apart in a competitive environment. Discovery Business Insurance

SA’s challenges are a breeding ground for innovative opportunities, says SweepSouth CEO, Aisha Pandor. For her, happy customers are the greatest measure of business success and she says, “word of mouth is still the biggest driver of our new business”. Hear about the SweepSouth growth from an idea created by need to a start-up sensation that is the first on the continent to bring technology to home-cleaning services. Aisha talks to Fred Roed about changing careers, the challenges and the satisfaction of owning your own business, and her vision to address societal needs while running a thriving business. Discovery Business Insurance

Why is it important for entrepreneurs to learn to present and communicate well? Rich Mulholland, a seasoned public speaker and entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses, including SA's largest presentation firm, Missing Link, chats to Fred Roed about the must-have skill of building a presentation that works. Rich says you have to “give the audience a reason to care. You’ve got to buy an audience’s attention before you sell them anything – even an idea.” Sharing from his own career and experience with TED Talks, this maestro in public speaking tells all about presentation techniques and tools to get people on your side and to respond to your “call to action”. Discovery Business Insurance

In developed nations, the SME sector contributes around 90% to employment, while in South Africa it sits around 50%. Endeavor South Africa, a not-for-profit organisation, has dedicated years to mentoring high-impact entrepreneurs and knows just what SA businesses need to take off. Catherine Townshend, former MD of Endeavor South Africa, speaks to Fred Roed about the importance of good, high-quality mentorship, support providers focused on SME development and the different life cycles of a business. “Do your homework, know your blind spots, and get the right support to navigate your business through each life cycle.” Discovery Business Insurance

Having the right partners with the right resources can make all the difference to your business. What are some of the secret ingredients to solid business relationships? For this week’s guests, Mike Anderson, CEO of National Small Business Chamber, and Jos Dirkx, an international consultant and entrepreneur, learning to listen is an important skill in partnerships. Fred Roed speaks to these seasoned entrepreneurs about their personal experiences and the main attributes in attracting lasting business partnerships. Discovery Business Insurance

Keet van Zyl, co-founder of Knife Capital, and Dov Girnun, CEO of Merchant Capital, talk about the exciting environment that entrepreneurs find themselves in. In conversation with Fred Roed, they delve into the different aspects that funders of initial capital and funders for growth would look at to invest in a business. Get their top tips to guide your thinking around funding and gather some pearls of wisdom on how to make sure your business stands out in a crowd of attractive investments. Discovery Business Insurance

This week on the Healthy Business show, the conversation goes to sales. Can anyone be in sales? What are the differences between B2B and B2C sales processes? Fred Roed chats to two seasoned sales professionals, Sean Raymond who is the founder of The Sales Department and Claire van Wyk, a certified financial consultant. Answering some tough questions, they share experiences and tips on how to be successful in sales as an individual and as a business. “It boils down to: How well do you know your market? How well do you know your products? How good is your critical thinking to be able to map those two together?” Sean Raymond, founder of The Sales Department “Successful salespeople are very high in EQ. If you have raw energy and enthusiasm, the finer details can be learnt over time – if you’re teachable.” Claire van Wyk, certified financial consultant Discovery Business Insurance

If you have a small business and don’t have much to spend on marketing, how do you build a brand in an impactful way? Market research maestro and experienced entrepreneur, Musa Kalenga, started his first business at the age of 19. Hear what inspired him as he talks to Fred Roed about building a business and personal brand. A seasoned researcher, Musa believes your sales and research need to happen simultaneously. He shares how to do that and how to change your focus in marketing for services and marketing for goods. Listen as Fred and Musa share a laugh in between contemplating the future of marketing for a new generation living in a technology-age. Discovery Business Insurance

Don’t lose your livelihood over a tweet! This week Fred Roed gets to hear about the many risks of social media as he chats to Emma Sadleir, Africa’s leading social media law expert. They keep the conversation real and Fred even exposes what he terms the “underbelly” of social media. Emma underlines the need for education and business policies that employees understand. Because one thing to stress, says Emma, is there is no such thing as “I post in my personal capacity”. Get all the facts you need from this candid talk, filled with trends among teenagers and real-life examples to protect the reputation of your business in a digital world. Discovery Business Insurance

There are five new viruses or pieces of malware set loose on the internet every second of the day. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to cybercrime. Fred Roed chats to Charl Ueckermann, CEO of AVeS Cyber Security, about ‘black hat hackers’ and ‘white hat hackers” and their roles. Charl says awareness and proactive monitoring puts you in a place to predict incidents and not simply react. Cyber-attacks come at a high price. The average value of one cyber-attack for small businesses, is about R1 million and it shoots up to about R16 million for bigger organisations. Listen and learn how to protect your business. Discovery Business Insurance

Businesses are prone to all kinds of liabilities, from theft and fire to load shedding and road accidents – but InsureTech can protect your assets, clients, employees and revenue in a worst-case scenario. Fred Roed speaks to Robin Burgess, Technical Manager at Discovery Business Insurance about how sophisticated, granular tech information is being used to reduce business risks and to make tailored insurance a seamless part of your business. Discovery Business Insurance

Employing the right people is crucial for business success. In this week’s episode, Fred Roed talks to industrial relations and wellness experts about how to take care of your best asset while running your business. Get to know what fosters loyalty, attracts talent and how to create an inclusive culture. As you reach targets, it’s important not to lose focus of the people you employ. The discussion highlights mental wellbeing in the workplace and points out experts to guide you. The lesson? Be sure to make employee wellbeing part of your business goals for greater success. Discovery Business Insurance

South African comedian, Riaad Moosa, talks to Fred Roed about leaving a career in medicine for his instinctual drive to pursue stand-up comedy. Riaad shares some laughs with Fred as he talks about how that instinct has now developed into a focused career with the goal of combining both his passions in a powerful way. Riaad shares his approach to his work, to social media and talks about his movie, Material. His latest experience with Netflix also brought about valuable lessons about connecting with people, becoming better at what you do, and scaling your personal brand. Discovery Business Insurance