Building businesses into a brand

Alexandra-born Xoliswa Moraka believes that first and foremost entrepreneurship is about solving problems.

“Ideas are plentiful, there’s so many things that people can wake up and do, but if one is not clear about why they want to do what they want to do [then reconsider]." 

Moraka said for her as a mom, she needed control of her time to be present in her children’s lives and to get the financial freedom she wanted.

“It was very important for me to see my business not just as a way to pursue my passion or to do what I love but as an investment vehicle that I can build and really position into an asset of value for me and my clients. I wanted to make the entrepreneurship much better.”

The mother of two daughters home schools her children and says it was the best decision ever. She said being a mom is her biggest role in life.

“I want to create an enabling environment for my kids to discover their potential at an early age and understand that they are gifted and they are here to serve a purpose in this world; the sooner they can figure that out the better for all of us because they know they can serve intentionally.”

She said it was important that her girls learn how to be self-sustaining through entrepreneurship and self-development.

Moraka has been on her business journey on and off for 12 years. Moraka said she felt called to start her business strategy company, Colab4Growth, where she helps entrepreneurs build their business by supplying  coaching, training and all-round personal development.  

Moraka said if an entrepreneur can identify a problem that needs solving, find the solution and whether people experiencing the problem would pay for the solution, then they’re on the right track.  

“You know you’re on the right track to building that business that will make impact but also provide significance for you and give you a sense of purpose in what you do,” she said.

Moraka said she’s always wanted to be in the service business, and as a child she wanted to be a social worker. The shift in making this passion into a business happened in 2009, when the company she worked for decided not to take in a new group of learners from her area into a work programme due to the recession.

“It was as if a part of my soul had been ripped out. I knew the need in my community, particularly for this type of programme,”

So she quit her job to help the youth in her community prepare for the world of work. She started a company that would help young people write their CVs, prepare for interviews and so on

Moroka said the biggest problem in the black community was that there is no reference of anyone running a business in most families. She uses her mother as an example, her mother bakes but her business has not left the survival stage.

“A majority of us are only exposed to those types of business, women who make vetkoek to survive. Our businesses don’t grow past the survivalist elements and for me I think being on this journey and being exposed to various types of businesses, there’s a different path to this, and now I’m taking my mom on this journey. I tell her she needs to start thinking about her baking business as a brand.

“It’s a culture shift for us more than anything because we have been entrepreneurial but we’ve never really been in a position to build businesses for growth or businesses as an asset. We’ve always built businesses as a means for survival.” 

Moroka said she would advise people to be clear on how they will maintain their living standards or how they would survive their first 12 months as a business owner, to rather keep your employment and start your business as a side hustle.