How do you keep the crowd interested in your comedy?
Be honest, because they need to realize you are one of them.
What is your business strategy?
You need to be open to what is going on in the industry. There was a time where we were able to plan a year in advance, but we can’t do that anymore. Social media platforms are evolving so fast. You can’t drop the same images and messages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You have got to do it differently… So stay current and on top of things. It is also more than just about the technology; there are networking opportunities springing up.
What is your investment philosophy?
I am a conservative investor. I go for short-term investments rather than long-term investments. I would like to keep it to the medium range of risk.
Financial discipline means…?
Knowing when to say no, no matter how good it feels.
How do you remain financially disciplined?
I struggle a lot.
How have you diversified your investments?
I own a couple of classic cars. I also have a couple of properties.
Your most recent acquisition?
I bought a piece of property on Long Street, Cape Town.
You most regrettable financial blunder since you entered the industry?
Starting the comedy club! It was difficult making a concept like a comedy club work in a conservative space five years ago when I started.
However, it became the best decision I ever made. At the time, it was a huge investment of energy and time to get it started. On one or two occasions, I remember thinking this was too hard. It has been a very bitter-sweet thing but in the end, the advantages are huge and the disadvantages just as staggering…The theory of business is basically failure till you reach the point of success. But failure is a very important part of success. You can’t have the one without the other.
<div id="attachment_36696" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36696" class="size-medium wp-image-36696" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MG_9957-5-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Kurt Schoonraad. Photo by Casey Bertie</div>
How do you decide your fee?
My personal fee is affordable. I think it is important to stay within range. It is very easy to price yourself out of the [market]. We need to understand that the universe has not made all comedians equal. My fee is about R35,000 ($2,600) for a 45 minute-to-an hour set.
How much is it to start a comedy club and what does it entail?
More money than you know how to come up with but you figure it out. It is [just] one of those things. There was no comedy club in Cape Town yet there was one in Johannesburg. It is a no-brainer that comedy needed a home in Cape Town…I had to sell one or two classic cars and my partner also invested heavily in my business. It is at the V&amp;A Waterfront [in Cape Town] so the rent is extremely high. It was worth it because at least 30 percent of our audience is not from Africa. We would have not been able to call on that market had we not been situated where we are.
How do you strike a balance between being an entrepreneur and a comedian?
This must be the thing I am struggling with the most. By just opening up the comedy club, people assumed you have taken up the other side. In the early stages, I found out that there are very huge demands on the business side of things. I work during the day and I perform at night.
Money or fame?
Most definitely, fame.

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A Serious Investment For A Funny Man

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A moment too soon or a moment too late, you lose in business. Furthermore, if you wait for everything to fall in place, your wait might end up with nothing.
The underlying message is that timing in business is crucial.
Industrialization really took off in the 20th century &#8211; it was also the same time in history when the population explosion occurred, with more than 4.4 billion people born during that time.
If you look back at some of the most successful entrepreneurs, it seems as if they knew it was the perfect time to launch their business, but maybe some of them stumbled upon their circumstances unknowingly. Maybe their success owed a lot to luck.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/02/01/uneasy-partnership-may-necessary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">An Uneasy Partnership That May Be Necessary</a>
In the world of investments and forex trading, timing is everything. It can be the difference between making a profit or a loss.
Patrice Motsepe, one of the most revered African entrepreneurs, timed his approach perfectly. It led to him becoming a billionaire in a relatively short period of time. He went into mining at a time when gold prices were high and South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment policies were in their first phase of implementation; corporate companies were actively looking to partner with capable black entrepreneurs and professionals.
In Nigeria, it was the right time to jump into business as the government was privatizing state-owned companies in the 2000s. It might still be the right time.
Some of the world’s most famous tech titans, such as Michael Dell, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, founded their companies between 1975 and 1984. The 70s and 80s proved to be best time for computer companies and Dell Technologies, Apple and Microsoft are giants today. Between 2002 and 2009, most of the successful social media companies, like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, were born. The key for entrepreneurs is seeing the writing on the wall and knowing how to take advantage of it.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/06/05/agriculture-behind-africas-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Agriculture Behind Africa&#8217;s Health</a>
The dot-com bubble in the late 90s was the opportune time to start a technology company as money was readily available. However, that time has returned. Tech ventures have a tremendous amount of money ready to be deployed as long as conditions are met; the validity of the business and which market you raise the money from is important.
The tech capitals of Africa are Nairobi, in Kenya, and Cape Town, in South Africa. The tech capitals of the world are Silicon Valley in the United States, Tel Aviv in Israel, and Seoul in South Korea. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t succeed if you are not from these places.
Africa is a virgin territory in a few sectors. The time is now to go full force into infrastructure development, energy generation and beneficiating raw material produced on the continent. Most of our technological products and services are from countries outside Africa.
Europe and China have a tendency of tailor-making Silicon Valley technology to fit their local users. In China, they have WhatsApp rival WeChat, eBay rival Alibaba, and, before they merged, Didi Chuxing rivalled Uber.
Timing is multi-faceted; it can be when to go into business, when to expand, or when to close a deal at a particular time with favorable conditions.
But, how do you determine when the time is right? You can’t merely be excited by the vision of what could be.
It helps to be well-informed about the sector you are in; study the previous trends, patterns and circles which tend to repeat themselves; and engage as many people as you can in that field.
Just remember, if you wait too long, you might miss the opportunity. When Gates founded Microsoft, he was not necessarily sitting down and realizing the timing was right. He just moved as he saw a niche in the market.
My advice is to wake up and get back to the grind. If you need to, fail a few times until you get it right. As Abraham Lincoln once observed, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” &#8211; Written by Paul Mashegoane

Timing Is Everything

Russell Loubser rose from humble beginnings to take over the sleepy Johannesburg Stock Exchange, turning it into one of the world’s top 20 bourses and the best regulated exchange on the on the planet.
Loubser grew up in a small town near Mafikeng in South Africa’s North West province, a million miles from the rapid international trades of the JSE.
“No-one in those days, black or white, ever mentioned stock exchange or shares,” he says.
Loubser was the youngest of four boys and admits life was not easy. Both his parents were uneducated and struggled to bring them up. His father was a boiler maker in a cement factory and they never owned a share or property in their lives.
“They were good, hard-working people and smart, despite not being educated,” he says.
The way up, Loubser, decided was to pursue what he calls “hard degrees” that is, qualifications with practical use. He was good at mathematics so he enrolled for a Masters in Statistics at the University of Pretoria. After completion, his rugby friends convinced him to train as a chartered accountant.
Following a successful career in investment banking, where he was highly critical of the JSE, he was approached by the exchange and offered a five-year contract. Five years turned into 15 and Loubser oversaw the transformation of the JSE into a modern exchange.
Loubser is concerned about South Africa’s high youth unemployment rate and warns of the consequences.
“This country is  good at talking and researching, but does too little implementing,” he says.
Solutions? Firstly, he believes South Africa has enough leaders but those leaders need to be placed in the right roles. Secondly, he recommends, a better education system which can produce graduates with his so called “hard degrees”. He adds getting graduates work-ready and trained should be left to employers. Lastly, he points out that instead of jobs, the focus of governments should be on creating a conducive environment in which entrepreneurs and business can thrive.
Following his retirement from the JSE, on December 31, this respected executive is keeping himself busy with three non-governmental organizations and three boards that he sits on. We have not seen the last of this battle-hardened executive from Mafikeng.

Pearls Of Wisdom  Born Of Struggle

On New Year’s Day, Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, announced the end of the country’s 19-year-old fuel subsidy. It meant the fuel price soared by 116% (to 150 naira from 65) overnight. Before then a liter of oil was cheaper than a 350ml can of coke.
The reason, according to the government, is that the subsidies have strained the country’s coffers.
The people were angry, with labor and civil society groups organizing nation-wide strikes. Protestors stormed Nigerian airports to prevent operators from checking in more than 500 passengers—a mere sideshow in what was to prove a massive and violent protest.
On any given day, traffic on the Lekki expressway, where it meets Ozumbo Nbadiwe Street in Victoria Island, Lagos, resembles a writhing dragon, seeking escape. The mass action left these streets  deserted. Protestors shut down petrol stations, banks, shops, schools, offices and ports. Barricades went up and tens of thousands took to the streets.
The protests turned violent; a curfew was imposed in the Kuduna and Niger states. Borno state was placed under a state of emergency. Fourteen people were injured in Kano as the protestors clashed with police. The police used teargas and live ammunition to disperse the crowds. In the confusion the authorities put the death toll anywhere between three and 22.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil exporter and the fifth largest provider of oil to the United States. Its economy relies heavily on oil, with production of approximately 2.5 million barrels per day with a target of increasing to three million bpd this year.
The reported $7.4 billion a year that will be diverted from the subsidies is to go towards investment in infrastructure. This is the idea of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme. Pouring the money into infrastructure projects in power, transportation, roads, water and petroleum sectors. The creation of a downstream sector could lead to job creation and a large stream of revenue on the way to lending Nigeria middle-income status.
For the 160 million people in Nigeria, the long-run benefits of the subsidy removal are as naught, compared to rising food and transport prices.
Wole Famurewa, a presenter at CNBC Africa [in Nigeria] says:  “The price of bread was up by 10% after the first week. ”
This is what the people, most earning less than $1.25 a day, now face.
Several reports indicate that the strikes cost the economy between $600 million and $1 billion dollars per day, with worries over the Nigerian oil supply pushed up global oil prices. The fifth day of the strike came with a threat by workers to completely cut output on Januart 14 if fuel price was not put back to 65 naira ($0.40).
The last oil strike was in 2007, when outgoing president, Olusegun Obasanjo, raised fuel prices, doubled value-added tax and privatized refineries.
The Department of Petroleum Resources said: “Both parties know the importance of the negotiation and we are quite confident that they will come to an agreement.”
At this point, the labor movement had declined an offer by the government to reduce fuel prices to 100 naira-a-liter and Nigeria’s House of Representatives passed a motion urging government to return fuel subsidies.
The mass action in Nigeria takes place against the backdrop of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). PIB seeks to deregulate and decentralize the oil and gas industry to make it more efficient. The process of transforming the Bill into law has stalled for more than five years. Civil society argues, the solution for government should not be in the removal of subsidies, but decentralizing and deregulating the industry to be more efficient and profitable.
A possible compromise could be to phase out the subsidies, rather than scrap them. On January 16, the government agreed to a fuel price of 97 naira ($0.60) and the strike was suspended.

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FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

A Serious Investment For A Funny Man

Timing Is Everything

Pearls Of Wisdom Born Of Struggle

Uproar In Nigeria