SA Entrepreneur Bulelani Balabala Explains How He Balances Running A Business And Giving Back To The Community
SA Entrepreneur Bulelani Balabala Explains How He Balances Running A Business And Giving Back To The Community. In an interview on the Hustler’s Corner with DJ Sbu, South African entrepreneur and founder of Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA) Bulelani Balabala explained how he balances running a business and giving back to the community. Running a business is something that can be overwhelming to a lot of people, which might force some to quit, but there are other entrepreneurs that find a way to not only run their business efficiently but also make time to do other projects they are passionate about.
Balabala said, “So obviously when I started TEA, it started as a passion and I’m running this printing company, it worked but I think over time as this passion grew and became bigger and bigger, I had to find ways of commercialising the work we do through TEA. Whether it’s through offering enterprise supplier development programs and then we bill corporates to pay for those under TEA to keep the TEA work going, because the TEA work is most of the time thanks less, because you go out you see 9000 entrepreneurs in a year, the money is gone but you got this fulfillment in your heart.”
“The biggest driver has always been to say, ‘what are we solving for?’ ‘what are we building towards?’ and the thinking that says build long term and if the thinking is building long term it helps you to also then nip certain desires in the bud and delay that gratification.” Balabala added.
Building a passion project is something that entrepreneurs should do when they have built their businesses to the point where the business is making money. This way the entrepreneur will be able to balance and give both the passion project and the business enough time and attention they need to grow and become successful. Balabala explains that entrepreneurs can also find ways to make money when they are giving back so that their organisation can be sustainable on its own.
