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Welcome to www.2BBiz.co.za
Hello fellow South African entrepreneurs. We salute you and your courage in taking the risk of starting a small business and adding to the prosperity and job creation of our wonderful country.
2BBiz.co.za is an education and information portal to help South African entrepreneurs like yourself, to build your business, increase your practical business skills, connect with each other, have your say and find out what is happening in the local environment that will affect your small business.
There is a lot to look at on this site, so we suggest that to start with you sign up for our free weekly newsletter and join as a Member of our 2BBizClub (for FREE) where you get access to a whole bunch of extras such as premium content, free webinars, open supplier database / tender notices, tools, reports, expert help, lots of special deals and participate in our online Community where you can connect with other entrepreneurs and do business.
Building your practical small business skills
Unfortunately while our universities do provide business and economic education it generally tends to be expensive, theoretical and geared towards working in large companies. There is a huge need for accessible and affordable ways to improve our practical entrepreneurial skills.
At 2BBiz.co.za we give you:
- loads of practical articles written by experienced entrepreneurs;
- case studies for you to see how other entrepreneurs run their businesses;
- and regular live and recorded webinars on issues specific to South African small business owners.
Supporting your South African SMME
Most entrepreneurs at some stage have questions and just a little bit of information can be very useful. Let’s see where 2BBiz.co.za can help you….
- In our 2BBizHELP! section a selection of experts may help you to fix your biz by answering a question of yours.
- You can make use of our community forums and the extensive array of tools, resources, information pages and links offered on this website.
- We also help you find business with our tender and business opportunities posts.
Know what is going on that will affect you!
The South African entrepreneur lives in interesting times. To help you keep up to date with legislation, the economic environment and what people and groups think about business, we bring you:
- a daily roundup of articles in the press and some of our own news stories of interest to small business owners;
- viewpoints from business people and stakeholders;
- the latest on legislation affecting SMMEs; and
- the information on what various business and management bodies in South Africa are doing.
No business is an island
Doing business is about connecting with other people. They may be your partners, your suppliers, your customers, people you do only a project with or even the people who tell others about you and what you do. To help you make business connections we bring you our 2BBiz Community where you can build your personal profile, network online, and ask for and receive support. Various sections in our Biz Practice section such as classifieds and company news also give you the chance to tell others about what you have done and have to offer. And keep coming back for more news about our live networking sessions in the near future.
Why we do this…
www.2BBiz.co.za is an independent enterprise and does not get any support or grants from any government agency, corporation, bank or political party. We are an innovative media, training, support, and consulting business that relies on memberships, selling online products & training, events, advertising and promotional partnerships.
We believe passionately in fostering entrepreneurship and small businesses in South Africa as a way to alleviate poverty; make individuals, families and communities self-sufficient; get people working together for mutual benefit, boost innovation and grow the economy.
As a result we run as a social entrepreneurship company which has a much larger vision than only profit.
But why start another entrepreneurship offering in this market?
After having worked in heavy industry in the production and quality assurance fields for many years, followed by a number of years in journalism, including having been Online Editor for Business Day newspaper, I started consulting for micro-, and small-sized enterprises.
THE place to go:
While there are many magazines, online communities, Chambers of Commerce, live meetings and networking, as well as training, available for the South African small business owner – what I found was that I was coming up against a brick wall of where to send my clients to get the various information, services and support that they needed. While they could go to a whole lot of different places to know what they needed, no one single resource had a full range of offerings….
Don’t pay a fortune for up-to-date knowledge:
Another thing that was a huge hassle for smaller business owners was getting to grips with all of the legislation and government requirements of small business owners. Okay. Much of this information etc WAS available – IF the entrepreneur was willing to pay thousands, or even tens of thousands of Rands to either an accountant, a lawyer or an expensive consultant. And most often this was for things that the entrepreneur could quite easily and even fairly cheaply do for themselves if only they know how to. (Part of this knowledge is know WHEN to use the professionals and there are definitely times when this is necessary….)
Useful training:
Our other main issue has been the transfer of knowledge. Training for entrepreneurs is generally very expensive. Very, very basic skills training can cost R1500 a day. Practical seminars and conferences by experienced people will cost R3 000 to R6 000 a day. Doing an MBA will cost you at least R150 000 and usually isn’t that practical in running a smaller business….
Great value:
Entrepreneurs running small businesses want real-world knowledge; they want it at a good price; and they don’t have the time to spend it in a classroom getting bored to sleep with slow theoretical lectures. So the training and interactions we have are all practical, fast-paced, highly interactive and excellent value-for-money.
We welcome you on this journey of knowledge, action and connection together with us.
Thank you,
Ann (Founder & Editor)
Daily Dose – thoughts from the editor
Beware – ambush marketing can backfire badly
The Daily Dose By 2BBiz.co.za Editor, Ann Williams. Ambush marketing is when a company targets a competitor and specifically plans to ‘ambush’ them by piggybacking on, or
It can take so little to help another entrepreneur out
By Ann Williams. At an event last night I was handing out my business cards to the people I met who wanted to stay in contact. I was in two minds about doing so however as our
Blog: Does your business tithe?
By Ann Williams. Many religions ask their followers to tithe. This is usually a gift of 10% of what you bring into your home which is given to your religious leader to support
What’s happening at 2BBiz.co.za & with our partners
MasterClass (live): Print advertising for SMMEs
Stop wasting thousands of Rands on print advertising that doesn't work. With this half-day practical MasterClass workshop we'll show you have to get more 'Bang for your Buck' with your print advertising. To be held on 14 June 2012 in Centurion, Pretoria, Gauteng. Have … [Read More...]
MasterClass (live): Profitable Trade Show Exhibiting for SMMEs
Exhibiting may seem to be expensive, but even micro- and small-sized businesses can make an excellent profit from exhibiting their business at trade shows. Join EXSA Founder Member, Joy Donovan, for a knowledge-packed half-day MasterClass workshop to help you get more … [Read More...]
MasterClass (live): Using a Website to Market your Small Business
Does your website do what you expect it to do? Or are you considering getting a website for your small business? Before you do anything more about a website, join 2BBiz.co.za Editor Ann Williams, for a MasterClass workshop that will clear up your queries about starting … [Read More...]
MasterClass (live): Changes & Dangers in the SA labour legislation
South Africa has a highly legislated labour environment and there have been a number of major changes to these laws recently with a lot more drastic changes in the pipeline as well. This will have a major impact on all companies - whether you hire one person on a … [Read More...]
We offer a variety of MasterClasses by experienced professionals offering exceptional value. Here is the schedule of half-day MasterClass Workshops (interactive) & Seminars (speaker) coming up during June & July 2012.
By joining us as a 2BBizClub Member you will enjoy VIP treatment in your quest to make your small business the best it can be.
