A business person is somebody who is all about their business, says motivational speaker and businessman Vusi Thembekwayo. “It’s your ability to create something bigger than yourself and something that will add value to society.”
Thembekwayo is an entrepreneur himself, having established his owns consulting business, Motiv8 in 2008. He got his start as a motivational speaker at a relatively young age. At 17 he was ranked 1st in Africa for public speaking and 3rd in the world at the English Speaking Union International Competition.
Since then he has gone on to speak in 4 of the 7 continents and speaks to over 250 000 people each year. Thembekwayo is the only South African speaker to be invited to speak at The World Bank, and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard called him the “Rock Star of Public Speaking”. He also is the youngest JSE director in South Africa.
Here are his tips from his Frenzy Business Tips 101 talk, for staying business savvy in the ever challenging world of business:
Don’t compromise yourself
Making it is about getting there without compromising who you are, our standards and what you believe in, and most people who are really established will tell you that, he says. The key is to only be aggressive enough to chase your dreams.
Success builds success
Thembekwayo says he believes in the theory of compound success. Success, he says, builds success. “If you get yourself successful in small things, those will cascade into bigger successes and before you know it, you’re riding the wave of success”
“Surround yourself with people who want to get you to where you want to go”
There’s no escaping the bad times
“You will never be prepared for the bad times,” he says. If you’re in a business that isn’t experiencing bad times, you’re not in business. The bad times challenge you, your thinking, the assumptions you make and most importantly who bats for your team and who doesn’t.
Get Social
Thembekwayo says young people in business should look to social networks for help, as there are always people who will get in touch with you for help, but the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who want to get you to where you want to go.
For more of Thembekwayo’s motivational advice and wisdom, follow him on Instagram. His account is a creative extension of his brand, where he posts a combination of inspirational business quotes, as well as his exploits during his travels.
