Take off and Fly in Your Business

By Xlibris US

This book is inspired by my personal experiences in business. Born
into a family business of undertakers, I quickly learned the tricks of the
trade, after we stopped playing hide-and-seek in the coffi ns. I also married
a highly business-minded gentleman, Sibusiso Maxwell, uDlamini.
You may have been contemplating for a long time or just started
thinking about starting a business and have no idea where to start. With
this book in your hands, you will get basic ideas of some of the important
things you need to focus on and practise over and over again to get
you on the right track. One thing I have learned in my experience as a
businessperson is that you dont have to know how to do everything, but
you need to know everything that needs to be done and make sure the
people who know how to do those things form part of your Power Team.

Enjoy your journey to success!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493154975

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by N. Nompumelelo Tobo Thabede.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013923342

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4931-5496-8

Softcover   978-1-4931-5495-1

eBook   978-1-4931-5497-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 05/14/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

541611

CONTENTS

Introduction

Dedication

Chapter Z

Chapter Y

Chapter X

Chapter W

Chapter V

Chapter U

Chapter T

Chapter S

Chapter R

Chapter Q

Chapter P

Chapter O

Chapter N

Chapter M

Chapter L

Chapter K

Chapter J

Chapter I

Chapter H

Chapter G

Chapter F

Chapter E

Chapter D

Chapter C

Chapter B

Chapter A

INTRODUCTION

And so the people of the world go about doing what they do. But some dream of change, of doing something else. Success is the preserve of those who are steadfast in their desire for they become great. Because when you follow your passion, success follows you.

—Stanlib TV advert

This book is inspired by my personal experiences in business. Born into a family business of undertakers, I quickly learned the tricks of the trade, after we stopped playing hide-and-seek in the coffins. I also married a highly business-minded gentleman, Sibusiso Maxwell, uDlamini.

My parents, Theodore Nkumbulo Luxolo and Nomfanelo (Jwarha) Gwiliza, worked as partners in their funeral businesses for more than twenty years before my father died of an aneurism of the aorta. Dad translated his initials T.N.L. to Tell No Lies because when he said he would be the last man to let you down, he meant it. I hung around with my dad a lot during the school holidays when we returned from boarding school. We would take early-morning jogs together that headed for the family farm about five kilometres from our home. There we would milk the cows, weigh the milk, and prepare it for sale. We would jog back home, and after bathing, Dad would drive to work, and I would drive back to the farm to collect the milk to sell in town. Mom used to plant mealies and a variety of vegetables. When the milk was all sold out, I would go back to the farm to collect the vegetables and mealies and sell them at the fruit and veggie stores in town. I received 10 percent of all my sales on a daily basis.

When I was in high school, Mom opened a shop in town where she sold gifts, cutlery, crockery, plasticware, materials, and lace and also hired out tents, chairs, tables, pots (three legged), pans, cutlery, and crockery. This was the first hiring business in town and was named after our clan name: Lombe Bargain Centre. I started working at this store during my school holidays. I would take back to school some of the traditional material (amahiya—Swazi print) and sell to the students.

At one point, Dad joined a network company that sold slimming and nutritional supplements. They also had breakfast bars, yogurt bars, and energy slabs. I used to take some of these back to school and sold them at the tuck shop. I always had money. It was never a problem for me to make money. I sold! I could convince people to buy from me, and they did! Jokingly my husband recently warned the children, If you are not careful, your mother will sell you to yourself, and you will gladly buy!

You may have been contemplating for a long time or just started thinking about starting a business and have no idea where to start. With this book in your hands, you will get basic ideas of some of the important things you need to focus on and practise over and over again to get you on the right track. One thing I have learned in my experience as a businessperson is that you don’t have to know how to do everything, but you need to know everything that needs to be done and make sure the people who know how to do those things form part of your Power Team.

Enjoy your journey to success!

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the special people in my life. My husband, Sibusiso Maxwell Thabede. I cannot imagine my life without you. You are my friend, my confidant, my business partner, my mentor, my strength, my everything.

My children, Thabo, Malusi, Mzamo, Celiwe and Siphokazi. You’ve made being a mother the greatest honour because you are the best!

My Dad, Theodore Nkumbulo Luxolo Gwiliza, you were and always will