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Single costliest financial mistake for the average small
SINGLE COSTLIEST FINANCIAL MISTAKE
FOR THE AVERAGE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
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This rises to R136,205 for businesses with 10-49 employees, demonstrating that more support is needed to close the financial literacy gap. The findings are based on a survey of 400 entrepreneurs conducted by global small business platform Xero. The research discovered that the four most expensive mistakes businesses made over the last 12 months were: Being irresponsible with cash flow (41%) Not investing in financial tech fast enough (36%) Not knowing about or not using appropriate government support schemes (32%) Being too slow to adapt their business (29%) Four-fifths (80%) of small business owners are calling for greater advice and support to help avoid mistakes in future.
This is understandable given that over a third (38.4%) currently rely on themselves for financial advice, with 37.91% turning to friends and family for help. Colin Timmis, Country Manager for Xero South Africa, said: “Financial literacy is the backbone of any small business. Having a clear view of cash flow and what money is coming in and out is the only way to make informed decisions. Small businesses simply can’t afford to make mistakes. “We need to see a greater focus on financial skills development and more collaboration between government and the technology sector to educate owners on the tools available to them.” Tax is one of the biggest knowledge gaps More than a quarter (27%) of small business respondents said submitting tax returns is one of the top areas they struggle with. Meanwhile, 41% said they wish their interactions with the South African Revenue Service could be more efficient. Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses have received a penalty fine because they did not understand the tax rules. Timmis continued: “We know that boosting the taxpayer base is one of the most important drivers of our economy. Yet, many small businesses still don’t have the support they need to file them confidently. Digital tools, like Xero’s direct VAT eFiling with SARS, can make the process easier for businesses, so they don’t face unnecessary penalties and fees.”
Covid-19 creates positive shift in attitude The pandemic has put into perspective the importance of financial literacy. Nine out of ten respondents (93%) said it had changed their approach to finances, while more than half (57%) said they wanted to learn more about managing money as a result.
FOUR IN FIVE SMALL BUSINESSES WANT TO BECOME MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, BUT TWO THIRDS LACK THE SUPPORT THEY NEED NEW RESEARCH REVEALS THAT SOUTH AFRICAN SMALL BUSINESSES ARE MAKING MISTAKES COSTING THEM AN AVERAGE OF R91,311 PER YEAR
DUE TO A LACK OF FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE.
Half (49%) now recognise how important it is to have an accountant by their side to play a business advisory role. Technology is helping to close the gap Encouragingly, the research reveals that the adoption of new technology is helping business owners to better manage their finances. Nearly half (44%) had adopted financial technology before the pandemic, while a quarter (25%) reported adopting it this year to give them better control over money in response to Covid.
About the research The research is based on a survey of 401 South African small business owners conducted by Censuswide in August and September 2021. About Xero Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform for small businesses with over 3 million subscribers globally. Through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data anytime, anywhere and on any device. Xero offers an ecosystem of over 1,000 third-party apps and 300 plus connections to banks and other financial partners. In 2020 and 2021, Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and in 2020, Xero was recognised by IDC MarketScape as a leader in its worldwide SaaS and cloud-enabled small business finance and accounting applications vendor assessment.
IT’S VIVA LAS VEGAS FOR EXP POWERHOUSE STEVE JOHNSTONE
For three months, all agents, teams and ancillary real estate professionals battled it out for the main prize… and the winner couldn’t be more deserving! The stakes were high, and competition stiff, as eXp South Africa (eXp SA) laid down the gauntlet to its agents. The main prize was a trip to eXp’s biggest global event – EXPCON in Las Vegas in November. What did it take to win? Over a three-month period, eXp agents were challenged to expand their network by educating and sponsoring a minimum of five new agents to the innovative cloudbased brokerage that is breaking barriers and making real estate history… and the winner and runner-up’s were recently announced at Simbithi Country Club, on the
READ MORE: HTTPS://EXPWORLDHOLDINGS.COM
ON 12 NOV 2021, OUT OF 68000 AGENTS IN 18 COUNTRIES, EXP SOUTH AFRICA’S ASSOCIATE STEVE JOHNSTONE WAS AWARDED BY MICHAEL VALDEZ WITH THE EXP PRESIDENTS AWARD: AGENT OF THE YEAR, GLOBAL. EXP SOUTH AFRICA’S RACE TO VEGAS WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!
KZN North Coast. An exclusive event was hosted – and streamed live to all agents - by South Africa’s managing broker Andrew Thompson, with the announcement of the winner done by way of an audited, random draw. As one of five agents in the running as finalists, it was the last name in the draw who walked away with the golden ticket to Vegas: Steve Johnstone, one of eXp SA’s top performing agents. To win, he’d attracted the most new agents into his network.
Through an innovative business model anchored in world-class technology, eXp has attracted over 68000 actively operating real estate professionals in 18 countries. The company, cited as the fastest growing real estate brokerage in history, forms part of the Nasdaq-listed eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) and has been voted among the best companies with whom to work on multiple occasions. In results released last week, the company confirmed the third quarter of 2021 the company grew revenue 97% to a record $1.1 billion and gross profit rose 70% to $79.5 million. This is real estate done differently. Says Thompson, “It offers agents the ability to earn via multiple income streams, and build a business of their own with exponential revenue-generating opportunities. In short, an agent can focus on sales and building their network of passionate and skilled agents”. Working in this virtual property world suits Johnstone and, in addition to it being just plain ‘hard work’, he attributes his success in the competition – and generally as an eXp SA agent - to his crystal clear network building strategies: “The real work of agent attraction is done through personal invitations”. Unlike most, Johnstone is not focused on social media as a marketing tool – he’s way more interactive and personal – but he believes in video. The best advice he gives other agents is to “produce a high-quality video and release it consistently on multiple channels, then drive traffic to those videos using bulk email to the database you’re building up”.
For him “video is so powerful - when people watch you consistently they begin to feel as if they know you, they begin to trust you, all before you’ve even met them. Essentially, you’re winning before you arrive.” For Johnstone, attending conferences like EXPCON is an invaluable experience, and one of which he makes the most. “If one goes to these events with a mind to work hard, to fill every spare moment with meeting new people and forming new relationships, one can return home wealthy with new contacts and people with whom to stay in touch.” He adds, “eXp’s Workplace app enables us to direct message anyone in the entire organisation in advance, and ask for five minutes of their time. The speakers at these events are highly successful business people and learning from them, emulating them, is one of the great secrets to life’s success. At conferences of this calibre, I’ve always been able to point to one or two absolute revelations. Often it’s not from a speaker I would have anticipated, but a break-away session I attended to at the last moment.” EXPCON has one more thing Johnstone finds invaluable, or rather, intangible. “Something happens in countless people’s hearts at events like this. They return home profoundly changed, and their business suddenly goes through the roof. It could be any number of random factors or conversations that precipitated this, but suddenly they’re on fire.” And on fire are the other winners of the Race to Vegas. Shani Jordaan won a fournight midweek stay at Southern Sun Resort Hotel, while William aka Bill Campbell, a finalist in the Final Draw and eXp SA growth champion, will be snorkelling with Capebased diving company Animal Ocean. JamesConyers brought the first team of agents across to join eXp SA and therefore participated in the final draw - he won a weekend stay for two people at The Riverside Hotel in Durban. As one of eXp SA’s top trainers, Janine Rowe won two nights for two at The Peninsula Hotel bed-andbreakfast in Cape Town, and Rene Bekker, another top-performing growth agent, won three nights at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, a leading destination resort hotel in Africa. In this virtual property world, innovation is key whether it emanates from the group or from individual real estate agents. In a ground-breaking model such as this, fresh ideas and concepts are constantly explored and shared. This is real estate done in a way never seen before.
BY LOUISE HUNT, DIRECTOR HUNT PR
