In 2006 all six of my Internet connections in Durban failed. And then I made the worst decision of my life. In a huff I chose to sort the problem out by leaving Durban (almost reasonable) and heading for Hampshire (utterly silly). Talk about hopping out of the frying pan.
Seven years and two countries after leaving Durban I am happy to admit that leaving was a very bad choice. Living as an expat has given me a lot of time to reflect on the real value of South Africa for small business owners.
Before I throw my hat into this ring, however, please accept that I understand the challenges. I know that SARS is as wild as Wyatt Earp at the OK corral. Try dealing with HMRC and you will long for the frying pan you rejected. I know that Home Affairs gets an E-minus most days. Try the UK Border Agency and explore a whole new alien world.
In other words, this article is not to make light of your challenges, some of which are very interesting, as the Chinese might say. But do not throw the puppy out with the bathwater, yet.
For an aspirant entrepreneur South Africa offers a few priceless benefits.
Startups need a very, very optimistic owner. The root of all optimism is Vitamin D, also known as the happy vitamin. The sun offers it to each of us for free, and in SA that means an unlimited supply. Norway has a lot less sun, and a heck of a lot of very sombre people. Like the UK.
Neither country is remotely entrepreneurial compared to SA.
A key to startup survival is keeping initial costs low. That is very, very easy in SA compared to the UK or Norway. This means SA labour is very cheap compared to, say, the Norwegian effective minimum wage of about R38,000 per month. (No, it does not buy much.)
This cheap labour allows SA business owners to invest a lot more time on their venture than a Brit or Norwegian. In Norway, once again, a few hours every day get lost in winter shovelling snow, which is like digging a hole for yourself and filling it up again so that you have something to do tomorrow. A report I read said that the average Norwegian man loses about 30 hours each week on life maintenance (car, home, gardening, roads, washing, …) In SA getting help is easy and does not cost a lot.
Finally, I can boast about my cheap 50GB down/40GB up 4G internet as much as I want, but that isolates a single number from the vast swathe of other costs involved in living here so that I can get that access. (More to the point, I don’t need it, and I am a power user.)
You have the same access to the world market that I have. You have the same access to a dollar or pound income. But your costs are much, much lower than mine, and almost anyone living in the UK or Northern Europe. You speak the same international business language – English.
But you get to do it for three quarters of the year while sitting around the pool, also known as a melted-ice-rink on this side of the globe.
Finally, I know that Norway is 1st or 2nd in every measurement of great places to live. But they do not measure how much sun there is, nor how happy the people are.
And that is one of the many reasons I am coming home for a month. I need some of that happy vitamin stuff. And to meet people that talk as if they mean it.