My passion is business.Entrepreneurship is an exciting journey. I am stimulated by like-minded entrepreneurs and am always on the lookout to learn, to share and to grow.If exploring commercial opportunities and monetising them is addictive, then I’m an addict. I try to balance being “street smart” and “book smart”. This has skilled me with a combination of theoretical and analytical abilities. The school of hard knocks has refined me into a knowledgeable and resourceful consultant and business partner.Being born into a family that has been trading for generations, my entrepreneurial journey started selling fruit and vegetables on the street in the Eastern Cape town of King Williamstown. Following my passion, I obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (NQF level 7) once I realised that unmanaged growth is the leading cause for business distress. That built on the practical experience I obtained while working in the family business since the age of 7. My working life has included spells as the butcher, the baker, the security guard, the cashier, the driver, the buyer, the accountant, the marketer, the HR manager, the IT guy and, most importantly, the salesman.What I learned is that success comes from crafting – and implementing – the right strategy, which entails hard work. To develop the right strategy, one needs a combination of accurate data and information, the ability to analyse it, and then to come with fresh solutions and disruptive approaches. Crafting the strategy requires developing a deep understanding of the market and supply variables in order to identify both opportunities and risks. My focus throughout the process is on the outcome.There is nothing as satisfying as being able to steer a company to become more competitive, to enter into a new market or even to change direction completely.Most often the key to unlocking the potential lies in strategic collaboration and not competition.That plays to another of my strengths – identifying potential business partners, introducing them and establishing a mutually beneficial relationship. Digitisation is bringing new challenges and opportunities.This is a massive and uncharted frontier – and I am tingling with excitement to explore it further with my clients.No matter how good your product or service, if it is not packaged correctly and does not meet a real need then it will fail. Win-Win thinking needs to always prevail.If sales is the life blood of any business, then marketing is the heart that pumps it throughout the ecosystem.