TOO many business plans end up forgotten, in the bottom drawer, because business owners simply don't look past the paper they're written on. So says successful entrepreneur and founder of cosmetic company Black Like Me, Herman Mashaba.

“Most business owners read  about how to do business planning in the newspapers, or hear someone talking about it and then base their  plans on these models.”

Mashaba points out that plans like these  won't work because business owners who draft them aren't involved in the step-by-step compilation of it.

“How can you believe in something you don't understand or have a passion for?” He says for a business plan to work it must become a ”living, breathing animal”  for the business owner.

“It must become part of your life. It must evolve with your business,” he explains.Mashaba believes this is the key difference between an owner-managed business and a corporate.

“That passion is not part of the corporate make-up. Once the business plan or year plan has been formulated, they have dedicated teams focusing on the execution of those plans.

Unlike owner-managed businesses where the business owner is the manager, sweeper and tea maker,” says Mashaba.

He says when he started Black Like Me 20 years ago he had no experience of business plans, only a basic education and experience in the field he had entered.

“I sat down with my partners and we thrashed out a business plan. I came from a sales background and I knew what sales I could generate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

“I told them 'this is what I can deliver and  and this is how I'm going to do it'.  We all used our experiences in this way and then based our costing on this.”Mashaba says many business owners he comes across, do not plan. 

“You cannot run a business with a positive attitude alone.  Plans help run a business. It is a guiding document. If you employ people, you need to know what they are going to do. The same applies when you bring a partner on board.

“The lack of a living document might create misunderstandings between you and your partner which can be detrimental to the success of the partnership.” He feels that the entrepreneur's inability to write proper business plans can be put down to a lack of  direction.

Mashaba blames business schools and government for not fostering an acceptance and acknowledgement of the capitalist spirit among the youth. 

“They've got to encourage them to develop a killer instinct when it comes to business and making money,” says Mashaba.

He believes a culture of entrepreneurship at school-level should be encouraged, where learners can be  taught the basics of business planning.


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