This month my business partner and I have decided to shut the business down for good which is quite remarkable we lasted this long. Having survived Covid along with the lockdowns, the raw material shortages what really killed us was the power cuts. The every 4 hours or unplanned outages due to breakdowns and cable theft has resulted in so much wastage being created it is sucking up all the profits.
The reality of doing business in South Africa as the hours for production are declining. In our case we had to start doing smaller batches of production as the risk would be throwing away material when the power went off. I would estimate $10K was being thrown away monthly due to incomplete orders and wastage. When you set a machine to run x amount of material and it stops mid way whatever is being manufactured at that point in time is normally tossed as clients don't want irregular roll sizes.
I feel for my business partner more than myself as he started the company over 20 years ago. I only joined him over the last 4 years and it is a shame really as the potential is there. This is a story that can be said a 1000 times as this is not new as in this case it is outside influences that have caused this and not down to the business itself.
What is next I have no idea as I am always full of ideas and need to see with my own eyes the opportunity before I get involved. With a world wide recession looming I don't see doom and gloom, but more of an opportunity.
Ever since the Bitcoin days when I tried to purchase $10K Bitcoin back in 2010 and had no clue what and how to go about it so gave up on that idea I live with no regrets. I had no idea the price would do what it did and nor did anyone else and the only reason I wanted $10K worth was I saw the use for buying and selling on the internet. I thought if I could buy 1 million or two million Bitcoin maybe they will be worth $1 at some point. This was purely seen as internet money that would make transactions easier by passing the likes of PayPal. I was selling on Ebay at the time dealing in cell/mobile phones. A missed opportunity for sure, but there is no time to dwell on what might have been.
Somehow we always seem to bounce back and land on our feet especially those of us who have a positive outlook on life. Very few things get me down and I am quite happy with the business closing down as it brings a finality to the situation. What would have been far worse is shutting down at the end of the year wasting another 8 months and why making the call was important.
The manufacturing machinery will be placed in storage until we decide on what is going to happen next as selling it now in this market would be crazy. The hope is the possibility of investing or picking up another business in need of some help on the cheap possibly early next year. I have already been scanning what types of businesses are available and will continue my search over the coming months.
What needs to happen next is clearly obvious and that is to start travelling and hunting for opportunities as there are none in South Africa under these economic conditions. Basically I have a blanc canvas and some ideas in my head which will guide me along with the business experience I already have.
Thankfully I have many contacts from the business and sporting world dotted around the globe and will be reaching out to them for assistance. At 55 this is not ideal, but age is just a number as I have no intention of retiring as working is too much fun especially if you find something you enjoy. Manufacturing and sales/marketing is what I enjoy as numbers somehow speak to me and make perfect sense.
The next opportunity is around the corner and all one has to do is to be able to spot it. Luck and timing play an important role, but also knowing what to look for helps.
