Survival is not enough: Why SA's SMMEs must learn to let go of old habits

IN THE FIRST four months of this year alone, 482 South African businesses shut their doors. It’s a haunting number not only for our economy but for the families in crisis and the employees out of work.

- ALVIRA FISHER

What went wrong? The hard truth is that many of these businesses probably thought they were doing everything right. They had loyal customers. They survived hard times before. But yet, this time they didn't.

One of the most dangerous things in business is the belief that you already know your customer, what worked before will work again and experience equals insight.

Longevity isn’t the same as relevance. Just because you've been in business for ten years doesn’t mean you know what your customers need right now.

Often, business owners mistake time served for insights gained. We assume that because we've been in business for years, we have nothing new to learn and we continue to do things the same way we always have. We live with a blind belief of our customers loyalty. Meanwhile, our customers’ lives have shifted under our feet. Their habits, budgets, and priorities change frequently and too many businesses fail to notice until it's too late.

Lessons from start-ups

In the incubator space, early-stage entrepreneurs are coached to question everything, taught to assume nothing and to approach every idea with curiosity. They are guided to understand that just because they believe it, it doesn’t mean it’s true for their customer.