Perseverance the key to business success
‘A winner is a loser who is too stubborn to give up’
FOUNDER and CEO of Ditshego Media, Tebogo Ditshego, on Thursday encouraged small, medium and micro sized enterprises (SMMEs) in Zululand to see challenges as opportunities for growth.
He was speaking at the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (ZCCI) 2017 SMME seminar at ZCBF in Richards Bay.
The aim of the seminar is to equip up-and-coming local entrepreneurs on compliance, skills and ways to access funding.
Ditshego, a 32-year-old businessman from Kagiso, shared his struggles and successes on the journey to becoming an entrepreneur.
‘When you start a business, you are creating something that does not exist,’ he told delegates.
‘There is no guarantee that what you believe in will become a success. And most people give up, but I didn’t and you shouldn’t.’
In 2011 he started Ditshego Media with only R8 000 in his pocket.
Picture: Gugu Myeni
‘People thought I was crazy. Even my own family.
‘And the business actually failed in the first three months, but I never stopped. I kept knocking on doors,’ he said.
Sticking to his vision and persevering, three years after his business took off he was listed as one of Forbes Magazine’s top 30 African Entrepreneurs under the age of 30.
Ditshego is also the Chairman of the South African Reading Foundation and a judge in season 4 and 5 of SABC 1’s TV programme One Day Leader.
He said it is important to take every rejection or failure as growth.
‘A winner is a loser who is too stubborn to give up,’ he said.
He told entrepreneurs that they need to see the world beyond the current reality.
‘By deciding to become an entrepreneur, you are deciding to join us in becoming the solution to our problems,’ he said.
Ditshego further urged women in particular to not be deterred by the ‘patriarchal society trying to keep women in the bottom half of society.’
He concluded by calling aspiring businessmen and -women to ‘build something that is bigger than you, meaningful and will leave the world in a better place than how you found it.’
Meanhwile, ZCCI President Judith Nzimande said it was vital to surround oneself with people who add value to business growth. She called on entrepreneurs to empower themselves with knowledge on their surroundings.
‘Be a successful entrepreneur and ensure that you are empowered by educating yourself. Ask people who know more than you. Knock on doors of big companies and seek help, even if it’s help on human resources,’ she said.
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