Making it Rain Using the Cloud (Part1)
A review of how some of South Africa's Entrepreneurs are using e-Commerce and creative thinking with a bit of tenacity to grow businesses. Part 2 will expand on how using the Cloud can mean running your business anywhere.
As we speed to a new evolution in how we handle business with the beauty of the internet, the freedom of information and the power it can give to a single voice for those who chose to speak. We are in an interesting time of our lives now. We the New Original Entrepreneur, the ones that fight, the ones with heart and a relentless pursuit to achieve a dream that was once a whisper. There are no limits anymore and it truly lies within you to achieve what you dream.
Bruce Lee once said:
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”
That saying has changed my life in many ways.
Why be the next Bruce lee though? Be the person that thinks like him and knows how to take it to the world on a different level. Think to expand and understand, I don’t care if you are from the streets or from Harvard take to your battle on any level and win.
Why not combine Bruce Lees analogy with air ?
The New Original Entrepreneur will be using the cloud, it’s a necessity now. So let your idea sit in your air, your space, let it float as you move forward learning what you need to learn, a sort of business condensation process. Until with all the knowledge gathered, combined with action, timing and location brings rain. No matter how shapeless or formless water maybe, air is just as shapeless, even more so and under the right circumstances it can either bring the gentle relief of a cool breeze on a summers night or it can bring a hurricane.
Today I’m focusing on e-commerce and how some Entrepreneurs using the cloud have brought rain to what seemed like dry lands. Taking a store online or even starting a store online can be daunting but the fact that there are many that have tried and thrived means that allowing time for the business condensation process to build to a point as if it were bringing life, very much like the thunderstorms in the High veld.
I like Bid or Buy because of the way it works, sometimes having an e-commerce site doesn’t necessarily mean having to hold the actual products in a physical warehouse costing you to hold the stock and investing to move stock. Merely providing a platform where people are either the buyers or sellers very much like the Sunday Markets of old without having to setup a stall and acquire a public space for people to exchange money for goods.
In 1999 Andy Higgins got seed funding from Professor Yair Tauman, Professor Abraham Neyman, Mr Danny Barnea (Pvt LinkedIn Account) and Mr Zohar Gilon (Pvt LinkedIn Account). Having its initial teething problems in its growth, it now faces an International market with steady climbs and with shares having been sold to Chase Coleman there is no telling how much bigger they may get.
This brands Identity has become synonymous with South African style. Getting right into the counter culture and being the mirror for the modern South African with mixed in international appeal the brand itself is cleverly appealing. If you ever wandered where and what we found interesting in South Africa this is the place to go. Deeply entrenched in the scenes that influence our culture from Art to Style and everything in between they have established a brand that sells products based on the identity of who and what some South Africans are and they do it beautifully.
Originally known as CITYMOB when Luke Jedekin, Cluade Hanan and Joey Khuvultu had started at the Old Biscuit Mill and now being fully owned by TAKEALOT.COM. The blog “The way of us" brings a lot of insight into all things culturally cool.
Lets face it if you are a man reading this at some point in your life you have realized that there is still a boy inside you. Mantality has provided one hell of a toy store. Mantality has specifically targeted men in South Africa and provides products for almost anything you would want. One of my favorite things to do is go to their “stuff” section, there you’ll find some of the most interesting products that are weirdly soothing.
Started in 2008 by James Mew and his sausage dog Branson. He had gotten R 100 000,00 in seed funding. Opened up shop in his parent’s garage and the rest is history. Having been seen in FHM, MENSHEALTH, SABC2, GQ, STUFF and POPULAR MECHANICS proves that you need to keep that business condensation going and you will get results.
I found this one looking for a Vinyl album and it is a clever idea. You see the thing is when you do collect vinyl records it is increasingly difficult to find the one that you want. Riding through the coastal towns in Cape Town and stopping when I see a little record shop that I see along the way is always fun but knowing that someone is actively looking for you so you can complete your collections is reassuring. Not only have they capitalized on the trend of Vinyl but they have made it easier for starting collectors to attain a relatively good collection from modern too old. Interesting to see how it will grow.
As you can see you need to start somewhere, you will get results. Keep your business ideas in the condensation process eventually it will rain.