A quick Google Search on ‘side hustle’ shows how the conventional 9 to 5 job solely won’t work to achieve your professional goals. One of the positives of South Africa’s current economy is the rise of a determined breed of Entrepreneurs who are extremely resourceful in chasing their dreams, with a sound business plan to back them up.
One such entrepreneur is Aphiwe Mxabanisi, a 2019 TSIBA Graduate and Client Services Consultant at Prudential Investment Managers. TInvestments and Assets are not the only passion area for this young and ambitious businessman; during his Bachelor Degree of Business Administration at TSIBA, Aphiwe incubated a Sound Management company, TruSound Entertainment PTY, with a fellow budding Entrepreneur. What initially sounded just like a weekend gig for their DJ aspirations, turned into a real management project.
Besides his calendar filling up so faster than ever before, Aphiwe recognises how these two sides of his career are complementary. ‘Only when you have your own business, you learn to treasure important factors that employers seek in potential employees, mainly strong values, high-quality communication, and the role of evaluation.’
1. Be clear about your values
“For the first time in my life, I am a Managing Partner and this is a very important relationship. The TSIBA Values of Integrity, Dignity and Purpose; guide the way we treat not only each other, but also our clients, partners and stakeholders. It is crucial to decide what you stand for and let your actions speak louder than words.”
2.High-quality communication
“Managing different demands at once makes us busybodies; this means that prompt communication is very important, to make sure we are on the same page regarding our work commitments and schedules. WhatsApp is very helpful for quick messages, but weekly meetings assist us with short-term and long-term planning.”
3. Evaluation & Monitoring
”Values such as honesty and trust come together with high-quality communication when we evaluate how effective we have been in our work. It can be quite difficult to look back at what we have done, only to see that we didn’t achieve what we had hoped; but this is part of the business process, and there is lots of room for learning. Make sure you take the time to reflect on what you need to start doing, and what you need to stop doing. ”
Aphiwe’s email signature includes a quote by Kevin Hart, which underlines his management approach to career and business development “The one thing about the business of entertainment is that you have to learn to be patient”.
Do you have any questions for Aphiwe? Drop them in the comment section or follow TruSound ‘s business journey on their Facebook page.