What does your company do?

Executive Nails is a space dedicated to the treatment of hands and feet.

What inspired you to start your company?

Bringing a difference to the Mozambican market as it is a premium space with investment in refinement, dedication, and implementation of unique details such as gourmet catering service and excellence in service.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

Unique details such as gourmet catering service, excellent service, investment in staff training, official distribution of the Andreia Professional brand in the country, among other details such as the introduction of individual booths with iPad’s and headphones for the customer to use with space services, choice of varnish color, service bell, automatic cell phone charging, choice of essence in exfoliation, creams, and oils, and much more. We are always thinking about the customer as a priority and always thinking about creating another special moment for the customer.

by Sylvia Walker 

Whether you’re starting a new business, or on your way to success, managing the money aspect can be tough.  In the early stages, you are the business and lines are easily blurred between your personal and business finances. You may find yourself paying for business expenses from your personal bank account, or maybe buy some groceries or other personal items, and charging it to the business. 

The problem is that if you don’t set separate boundaries and separate accounts, the more difficult life will be going forward. Record keeping becomes a nightmare, and as the business grows, it will be difficult to manage your cash flow, payroll, debtors and even calculated tax payable. You also will battle to gauge whether the business is growing or not. 

If you have your own assets tied up with the business, this can threaten your personal financial security and even damage your credit record, amongst other things. Consider these important business reasons to keep money matters separate but equal:

1. Business credit

If you need credit or funding for your business, you may need to supply bank statements and cash flow projections as part of the application. If accurate records haven’t been kept, it won’t be a true reflection of your business, jeopardising your chances of securing credit. Borrowing money from the business for personal reasons can also easily get out of hand, impacting on the business cash flow.

2. Easier tax process

You can face some real challenges when it comes to doing your tax, as it may be difficult to track and offset business expenses if these were incurred through a personal bank account. You will also save so much time trying to separating business and personal expenses if you run your business through a separate bank account. Also, if the business is audited and requested to provide proof, it could be hard to justify these expenses if they were not paid by the business bank account.  

3. Protect yourself and your assets

Set up the right legal structure for your business so that your personal assets are not at risk if something goes wrong with the business. It makes no sense to pour every last cent that you have into a business and run that risk. As a sole proprietor or in a partnership, you would be personally liable for any debt incurred by the business. If the business is registered as a company, it is a separate legal entity and responsible for its own debts.  As an individual, you are a shareholder or employee, and will not be held liable for company debt in your personal capacity. If you have a closed corporation (CC), you are also not liable for the debts of the CC.

4. Showing that you mean business

Having a business bank account looks far more professional than using a personal bank account. Coupled to your registered business name and logo, it will make prospective clients more likely to buy from you. It will also build up a track record with creditors which could perhaps mean better rates and terms if you needed financing in future.

Do things right from the beginning. Pay yourself a salary instead of funding it from the business. As your business grows, it will become more complex. Manage your cash flow through a business bank account – all your transactions will be in one place and you may find specific features in a business bank account that you won’t get with a personal bank account. Speak to your bank about the options they offer and get it right from the word go! 

by Naike Moshi 

My personal branding journey started 6 months ago; I did not understand what it meant to have a personal brand. I have been busy promoting my business brands for the last 8 years and have been behind the scenes for a while. People are aware of my brands – CVPeople Tanzania and WIMA (Women in Management Africa) but did not know the person running behind the brands. I was under the radar and have remained hidden for a while. After the Covid-19 outbreak, I was disrupted and had to change tactics, focusing on improving my personal brand. Another major wake up call came when I was nominated for the best female CEO, but guess what, I was the one with lowest votes meaning my personal brand was not working well. For the past 6 months, I have made my mission to work on my personal brand and the journey has been amazing. I will share my personal experience and knowledge so that you can improve your own brand.

Personal branding is one of the new trends that has emerged in the last few years. Personal branding is important for business leaders, employees or everyone that wants to promote their expertise, skills, or talents. In the past, branding used to be a thing for only big companies and organisations. Now, branding is not just limited to businesses, but also individuals. Personal branding is the art of becoming knowable, likeable and trustable – John Jantsch

Why should I create and promote my brand? 

People do business with people! In this case, it does not matter if you are a business owner or employee. We all like to feel that we relate to one another, that we have something in common, share the same values, or have a similar outlook on life. The brand answers a fundamental question “Is this person a good match for our business/company?” Your brand has to reflect you – your image, your mission, expertise your values, and your vision

Here are 5 ways you can start building your personal brand

Do a  SWOT analysis

As I was working on my self-assessment, I came to realize that there were many skills and talents that I possess such as talent acquisition for executives, branding, fundraising, networking, business management, and many others. The skills came from my work experience, training, others are natural gifts. One of the first steps in building a personal brand is to do self- assessment or a personal audit of your strengths, expertise unique abilities. You need to demonstrate what makes you unique and different from your competitors. What are you known for as a leader? What value can you add? What do you represent? What do you stand for? By taking that stand as a leader, voicing your opinion, making yourself known, communicating what matters to you.

Find and define your niche 

This is one of the biggest challenges that I faced in finding a niche, coming from being a generalist background with having that broad perspective, it is tough to narrow it down. I believe to differentiate yourself and stand out in a niche or market, it is crucial to start by choosing a niche that you’re truly passionate about, or show your expertise, one in which you will aim for nothing but excellence. It’s equally important to be completely authentic in your approach. “Time will either promote you or expose you,” Donald Cohen. Identifying your niche will allow you to educate, inform, persuade/influence, entertain, and/or build relationships with the right target market. As you are clarifying your brand, you have to express the value you can bring to that market (niche) based on who you are and how you are different from your competitors.

Create a valuable and engaging content

Content is king and engagement is queen. Content and engagement go hand in hand. If the content is catchy, can drive traffic, and provide brand awareness, it needs to reach the right people at the right time via the right platform. As you are creating content, it’s important to be authentic and transparent. One of the best examples of engaging content that I have ever shared was my personal experience, and I was vulnerable on “starting over” – people want to relate/resonate. The post attracted more than 100 comments with many shares.  Always provide content that is shareable. When your followers start sharing your content, it’s free advertising for you, your content is shared outside your network and thus provides more visibility for you. As you are building your personal brand, learn to be “You”. Be believable and be true to who you are and not an imitation of someone else.

Find social media outlet (Share)

There are many social media platforms for you to get your brand out. This creates an avenue to access your audience, With the likes of Facebook, YouTube LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, clubhouse, podcast among other popular platforms, personal branding has become much easier. You have to find ones that matches your personal brand. You need to tailor your content to your audience. Linkedin  is the right platform for me and has provided me with amazing results. 

Measure your personal brand 

If you can’t measure it then you can’t improve it. Set up some key performance indicators for personal brand success so that you know you are heading in the right direction. Find out if you are personal brand is resulting to possible outcomes. I do check my insights to find out which posts are engaging, with more views, mentions,  how many people are viewing my profile- I get to connect and introduce myself , search appearances etc. based on the insights, I get to know which content is relevant to my audience and what my audience are looking for.

Hapa kwenye profile yangu weka (personal brand strategist)

Your first video will be awful.

Your first article will be awful.

Your first podcast will be awful.

Your first LinkedIn LIVE will be awful.

BUT you can’t make your 50th without making your first.

I have gathered my courage to post my first video, thank you L   inkedin family for pushing me. I will be sharing more content on building a personal brand so stay tuned!

Here are five ways you can start building your brand.

1. Do a SWOT analysis

2. Find and define your niche

3. Create a valuable and engaging content

4. Find social media outlet (Share)

5. Measure your brand

Israel Nemaorani, a pioneer black farmer, started farming vegetables in Tshivhilwi outside Thohoyandou in the 1990s and took title to his land in 1994. In 1996 he began to transform the 202ha farm into what is today a successful black-owned commercial citrus farm. Sadly, Israel passed on in 2019. His son, Lavhengwa Nemaorani, intends to make his father proud and take the farm to greater heights. Lavhengwa talks to Peter Mashala about his goals and ideas for the future of Easy Farm.

Easy Farm is a commercial operation producing citrus and bananas in Tshivhilwi village near Thohoyando, at the foot of the southern slopes of the Soutpansberg in Limpopo. Lavhengwa Nemaorani, son of the late Israel Nemaorani, legendary farmer and businessman, runs the farm today. Lavhengwa, who took over the reins from his father before Israel passed away in 2019, says they plant 90ha to citrus, which is exported mainly to Europe.

“We also grow Commercial citrus farmer Lavhengwa Nemaorani says he scraps an orchard once the trees become old and production falls to below 40t/ha. Trees yield their first harvest at three or four years and production peaks at about seven years.

FROM BIG-CITY BUSINESS TO CITRUS AND BANANAS

Israel started farming vegetables on a small scale on the 202ha farm in the 1990s. In 1994 he was granted full title to the land, and he was allocated water for scheduled hectares. Irrigation water is pumped from the Mwedi River, which flows through the property. In 1996, a fellow farmer and friend from Levhubu advised Israel to start farming fruit.

With the help of the owner of Du Roi Nursery in Letsitele, Israel set up a small orchard and never looked back. The Citrus Growers Association (CGA) was so impressed by his operation, they approached Israel and asked him to serve as a board member, which he did for almost 10 years. When he handed over to Lavhengwa, the farm boasted more than 60ha of citrus and 40ha of bananas.

“My dad grew up in this village and later joined the army before he moved to Tembisa in Gauteng to join the police,” says Lavhengwa. But it was not long before Israel and his wife, Eunice, left their jobs to start a small business. They opened a spaza shop that grew into a supermarket, and started a successful dry-cleaner’s in Tembisa. Later they decided to leave Joburg and move back to Tshivhilwi. “They sold off the businesses and re established them in Thohoyandou, where they built a supermarket and a dry-cleaning shop,” he adds.

Once he was back home, Israel’s love of agriculture was rekindled. He planted cash crops such as tomatoes, butternut and cabbage, selling his produce at the Joburg Market until he established the citrus orchards. “While my dad was planting trees and running the farm, my mom was running the businesses in town,” says Lavhengwa. Lavhengwa joined his father in 2009 after a four-year stint working for the Du Roi Group in Letsitele.

He had worked as a general labourer learning the ropes in different sections of the business from 2005. “I started working there after graduating from the Lowveld College of Agriculture. My dad then asked me to come back to the farm in 2009,” recalls Lavhengwa. “Since I’ve taken over, we have expanded the citrus operation to 90ha and reduced bananas to 20ha. We planted the extra 20ha to citrus. There is about 60ha of virgin land that we plan to plant to soft citrus,” he explains.

All the citrus produced on the farm is handled by their own Global GAP-accredited packhouse before it is exported by various companies. “We use Zest Fruit, Alliance Fruit, Extreme International and Rodanto Ltd as our agents,” says Lavhengwa.

On Easy Farm two varieties of oranges are grown: navels (Bahianina) and Valencias (Bennie, Delta, Du Roi, Midnight and Turkey). “Most of our fruit is exported; the fruit that doesn’t qualify for export is sold locally. We don’t set a specific percentage of what we export, as it is determined at harvesting when we do the grading and sorting,” Lavhengwa explains.

“You can never have 100% export fruit. We are working with nature, so anything can happen.” He says sometimes they have hailstorms, or it may rain for two weeks. When it is impossible to spray the trees, pests and diseases have ample time to spread, and this can affect the quality of fruit.

PACKING FOR EUROPE

Lavhengwa says the busiest time of the year is at harvesting, between May and September. “We start getting ready and preparing from 7am; by 10am, when the morning dew has dried off the trees, we start harvesting.” The Easy Farm packhouse is designed for dry-dumping.

This means the fruit is dumped dry onto a conveyor belt and then taken through high-pressure spray, fungicide sprays, waxing and drying, and – finally – sorting, grading, and packing into boxes of different sizes, Lavhengwa explains. The largest fruit he produces is 36 counts, while the smallest is 125 counts. The packhouse packs more than 152 000 cartons per season – a milestone they reached for the first time in 2018.

Their agents provide the specifications that guide Easy Farm’s order preparation. “There are different preferences on the market – some want smaller fruit, and some want large fruit. Some of the fruit also goes for juicing overseas,” Lavhengwa explains. It is a stressful time for the farmers, because if things go wrong in the cold chain during transportation and the fruit is rejected, the customer will claim from the farmer.

According to Lavhengwa, his biggest challenge is funding. “Our packhouse needs up-to-date equipment with the latest technology, so we can get into the more lucrative markets like China,” he says. “Right now, I can’t touch China because of my old equipment.”

The machinery, which he bought last year, is second-hand. Lavhengwa would like machines with an optical sizer to check the percentages of the blemishes as per China’s specifications. This is a task that cannot be done manually. “New machines will save us time,” he explains. “What we do now in a 12-hour shift, we should be able to do in six hours. It would be much more efficient, and it would give us a competitive edge, because we would get the fruit off the farm and onto the market quicker.”

ORCHARD LIFE

The harvesting period might be the busiest time, but there is always activity on the farm. From Day 1 of planting, Lavhengwa says, one must invest in maintaining the trees. “For the first three years of the tree’s life, you just spend money on it – money for electricity, irrigation, fertilisation and spray programmes.” The oldest trees on Easy Farm were planted in 1998, whereas the youngest were planted in 2019.

This year, these young trees will be harvested for the first time, for the export market. “Depending on the management system, trees will start to bear good fruit when they are between three and four years old. Their production peaks from seven years to go beyond the 40t/ha mark,” Lavhengwa says. The records on each orchard block determine whether the trees should be replaced. “I won’t accept anything below 40t/ha. But 40t/ha is just a norm or a minimum – some farmers won’t tolerate less than 50t/ha or 60t/ha,” he says.

GROUNDWORK

In February, Lavhengwa says, they take soil and leaf samples for analysis. The results of the analysis will determine what type of fertiliser is needed and when it should be applied. “We scout continuously for insects and pests. This helps us with our chemical spray programme. The biggest problems we face are black spot and thrips during flowering.

These can cause serious damage to the orchards in the blink of an eye,” explains Boxes of citrus packed and ready to be shipped for export to Europe. Lavhengwa is looking at more lucrative markets in places like China, but says he needs to upgrade his packing equipment before he can meet the more rigorous standards set by these markets. Lavhengwa. It is clear that maintenance on a citrus farm is an ongoing process that never stops.

Lavhengwa’s plans for the farm go beyond developing the remaining 60ha under soft citrus. “Once I’m done covering everything here, I plan to look for more land outside the village,” he says. He insists that he is still young and passionate about what he does. “I would like to set an example for the youth, show them that agriculture is the way to go. I want to contribute to the economy by earning foreign currency and creating much-needed jobs,” he says. His drive and passion are what wakes Lavhengwa up every day, Monday to Sunday, to work on the family farm.